Outdoorsy Entrepreneur

10/23/2024

Had a nice conversation with lawntrepreneur Tyler about his 5 year journey running Lawn Works, check it out and drop us a like 💪
Outdoor service owners out there, we would love to have you on the pod to tell your story, reach out!

Outdoor service owners, it's time to fuel your success! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNLc8sO8iaFIxYT9Uuncqw?sub_confirmation=1In this behind the boots e...

07/09/2024

Know of someone or are yourself looking to navigate the trail of outdoor service business ownership? Patrick Harders and I have been diggin' in the dirt for 25 years and have cultivated an excellent outdoorsy business learning podcast for those wanting to rise from competition and grow profitably as a service owner professional. We invite any passionate entrepreneur to check us out and we hope to pass along some of our business acumen.
Join our outdoorsy community every Wednesday as we strive to help level-up home service business ownership. 💪
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/v9juzPBDhqaxNm1Y/

07/09/2024

Home Service Pros, no need for psycho! Join the outdoorsy boss community every Wednesday to help level-up your business!

05/15/2024

Home service contractors, Rise and Shine! In this episode we discuss why service owners should charge upfront for consultations and design work. This builds value in the relationship before the job even starts. Clients have skin in the game, it weeds out the low-ball shoppers, DIYers and tire kickers too 😎
https://youtube.com/shorts/_gQHi3r6_uI

Outdoor service owners, it's time to fuel your success! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNLc8sO8iaFIxYT9Uuncqw?sub_confirmation=1In this episode we...

05/09/2024

This week on the Outdoorsy Entrepreneur, we dive into the hiring dilemma facing many outdoor service businesses: Employees vs. Subcontractors
What are the costs and benefits of each staffing model?
Profit?
How can you decide which is right for YOUR business?
Join us on our Youtube channel as we break down this important decision with industry experts. You won't want to miss this episode!

04/24/2024

Feeling like your business is overgrown and needs a trim?
We can help!
The Outdoorsy Entrepreneur Podcast is your weekly dose of inspiration and actionable tips for outdoor service business owners.
Every Wednesday on YouTube, we'll help you cut through the clutter, focus your strategy, and grow your business to reach the next level!
👀Click our youtube link in the bio

04/04/2024

Chris Farley was onto something....

03/27/2024

😎Rise and shine service pros!
In this week's podcast Patrick and Kevin talk about the good, bad and ugly of sales. How we are refining our sales process and share some techniques of how outdoor service pros can level up their sales cycle game and close more deals.
Let us know what sales techniques are working for you.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts and on our youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76pZ2xH6MDw&list=PLi1avfddaZRMKe14VOMAeSdaOuXbRJY45

03/21/2024

After 25 years running my landscape contracting business, I needed a change.
Going from 50 employees to eventually 0 a few years ago, the structure and SOPs I had created provided the quality controls needed to transition to an all sub contract business model.
I promote recurring services but I also sell one-time landscape enhancements such as design, hardscapes, irrigation, plantings and cleanups.
When I am on a sales calls I tell clients I subcontract all my labor and guess what? They don't care. What clients care about is our ability to deliver results and solve problems, they want to enhance their outdoor living.
When selling services, the clients need to believe in you and your process. Why you do what you do, your passion and how your expertise will help provide a lasting solution.
So I wanted to share my recent HOA account I landed, it's a beautiful 86 home HOA. They had been using a landscaper for a couple years, but the landscaper was not attentive to their specific needs, so they put it out to bid and I won the landscape maintenance contract.
Acres of turfgrass, over 700 cubic yards of mulch, it is a good size property. Once I can get established with them, I will have potentially 86 homeowners to build trust with and potentially sell to for enhancements!
I already have 2 planting enhancements sold within the first month.
Running an home service business does not have to be difficult. Housecall Pro has enabled me to automate my processes, saving me time to devote on my other businesses as an outdoorsy solopreneur!
If you are a home service owner or thinking to operate your own contracting business more effectively, I invite you to join me and Patrick every Wednesday on our Outdoorsy Entrepreneur podcast on Youtube.
Join our community each week as we explore ways to grow a profitable business from the ground up to have more free time to enjoy as owners. No matter the trade and at any stage your business is at; we all want to build a brand that customers crave!

03/14/2024

In this episode we discuss five common mistakes contractors make, especially early on in their business journey, and steps you can take to correct mistakes from happening again. Recurring mistakes can be very costly, so work on standardized procedures to develop a smooth running operation and protect that cash!
Standardize your operation into a money making machine and build a business that can function without you.

In this episode we discuss five common mistakes contractors make, especially early on in their business journey, and steps you can take to correct mistakes f...

03/05/2024

Check out our Company Culture episode 2, as we share ways to incentivize staff and promote internal competition so they naturally aspire to excel amongst their peers. Motivate your employees with goals you set as an owner. Make these available weekly or monthly. Setting up internal competitions provides a fun, game-like atmosphere, celebrate their successes during each company meeting.
Pictured is Kevin's landscape contracting business where employees would vote on whom they thought provided the most effort and value for the team and company during that month. Behind them you see a crew competition board where crews race to win the monthly top score. These were scores of their work given by managers whom graded each crew's property jobs each week.
Customers whom praised a particular crew or individual we celebrated by creating the 'Complimen-Tree' on left- where crews would place their crew colored leaf onto this tree to populate the most praises each month. The company culture was to have multiple ways in which ALL employees could become engaged and make a difference, winning prizes, time off, etc to feel apart of the company growth.
Recognition is key to retaining employees and developing a fun company culture!

02/28/2024

Outdoor service owners, it's time to fuel your success!
Can cooking smores after work help improve your company culture!?
In this episode we discuss this and why having a good culture is so important in business.
Culture is a shared set of values, attitudes, and behaviors that characterize an organization.
So how do you develop culture? Like most things in business, it's an evolving process, but the key is to plan out your ideal culture right away, set the tone in your mission and vision statements and lead by example with your staff.
Kevin and Pat had a casual family culture when they started out, and they found out this was detrimental when it came time to grow and expand. They realized a well thought out culture plan was needed in order to grow their company.
We discuss how culture plays an integral part in motivating staff.

Outdoor service owners, it's time to fuel your success! Can cooking smores after work help improve your company culture!? In this episode we discuss this and...

02/22/2024

Outdoor service owners watch our premier episode where we explore overhead and how to calculate your hourly rate as well as ways to protect your profit margin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvX6bgn8VgA&t=1522s

Fuel up you outdoorsy bosses! Today we are talking about pricing for profit.In this episode, we discuss how business owners can calculate overhead costs and ...