May 2021 What Are the 4 R’s That Help Make a Successful Landscaping Business?
We are coming to the end of a busy financial year in just over 30 days, so now is a good time to start planning your business for a successful new financial year. Now is also a good time to start thinking about what has worked well over the past 12 months, and what could be improved on. The 4 R’s will help you develop your business with more efficiency, effectiveness, proving much more satisfaction..
RE-ENGINEERING
In business, we all tend to continue doing everything the same way we always have, until someone comes along and shows us a better way. Re-engineering is the process of looking at all the MAIN tasks you perform each day to see if they could be done more efficiently. Looking at these tasks with another person could help. Initially, just look at the ones that take up the most of your time.
For example: Quoting takes a lot of time for landscape contractors. It is a crucial process that must be done, but the question is: How can you do it with more efficiency, accuracy and in less time?
1. Only quote the jobs that are worthwhile to your business, in terms of potential profit and being a good fit for your business.
2. Have your most common quotes set up in your quoting software or spreadsheet so you can copy and paste the major elements. This will reduce time quoting each new job.
3. Update a list of materials and their prices for easy access.
4. What about getting an estimating company to do your larger quotes? Such companies do exist.
5. Employ a part-time or full-time estimator (if your business can afford it) and train them.
RE-STRUCTURING
Do you need to re-structure your workload? Have a look at all that you do, and see what you can delegate to bookkeepers, an office assistant, a social media assistant, or another employee. You might think it will cost you money, but it would be costing you much more by not being free to work on more important areas of your business. What about re-structuring your team? Even if you have a small team, the areas where they are slower and less skilled would be better outsourced. For example, a labourer who prefers soft scaping could be re-structured over to the maintenance department. I know not everyone has that option, but re-structuring is all about getting the team, and your workload, working more efficiently.
RE-INVENTING
Imagine if you closed your business and decided to start fresh. Which of your current team would you want to re-employ? Which clients would you want to work for? What systems would you use, and which would you stop using? Re-inventing your company every 12 months by asking these questions, and acting on the answers, is a great way to stay fresh and ahead of the game.
RE-ORGANISING
Organise your day so that you are providing greater value for your company by doing the things that count. Tidy your desk and computer. When your physical environment is tidy and in order, you will be able to think more clearly. Re-organising office shelves, storage sheds, stock in a retail area, and a job site, will have a positive spill-on effect throughout the entire business and team.
IN A NUTSHELL..
. Go through your main work processes and make them simpler, and more efficient.
. Look at your workload and your teams responsibilities, and see what can be changed.
. Imagine starting your business today, what would you do differently?
. Organise your computer, desk, and files, and then help your team to do the same with their systems.
Pick one of the 4 R’s and start applying it now, so Winter and the beginning of the new financial year will be much better.