It’s not get rich quick, but it is get rich for sure… that is…if you own a landscape business… and you follow this plan.
Step One of Five:
You must boost profits.
Our industry has a long history of creating puny and unpredictable profits. We shared the data on our recent webinar broadcast of The Wealthy Landscaper Plan 2024 (watch/listen link here in case you missed it).
Yes, in 2018 the top landscape companies reported a puny 2.3% net profit on two million in revenue. That created $47,000 in profit.
But things changed fast.
With the 2020 government handout program called the PPP, profits exploded to an industry average of 12% on three million in revenue in two short years.
Remember how everyone was forced to stay home in 2020? Then… they decided a home improvement project was a high priority.
It was (and may prove to be) the fastest and biggest landscape industry-wide profit-turn-around in our life times.
In the 2020 financial report published by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), we learned the best of the best landscaping operations reported a handsome 19% net profit. They refer to these guys as the “high profit firms” (and rightfully so.)
Do the math and here’s what you learn. That creates a landscaper bank account boosting $570k of profit on three million in revenue.
The three million revenue company with 12% net enjoys $360k in profit dollars.
In each case, landscape business owners have found the keys to the bank…one landscaping customer at a time!
Of course, those remarkable (and unprecedented) landscape industry profit results in 2020 were made possible by the PPP.
All that cash has fueled industry growth even further.
The latest NALP report, compiling 2022 data, now shows revenue has passed $4.4 million per year for NALP reporting companies.
However, this recent report also shows that profits are shrinking.
In fact, profits have shrunk by a third in the latest report released fall of 2023.
Those average operators are now suffering (sarcasm intended) with just 8.1% net or $357k in net income. That’s still pretty good…especially when you consider pre-2020 results.
Here’s where it gets a bit more worrisome.
The companies reporting sales over ten million per year are now operating with just 4.3% net (that’s two thirds lower than 2020 results).
This is a troubling trend for our industry.
It appears that demand for landscaping services has cooled down just a bit. (This happens every winter season… just in case you haven’t noticed.)
With lower demand and government support programs drying up, we might be seeing a regression to previous habits of puny profits. That would be a tragedy.
We love big fat profits!
Lower profits could be a tragedy for the companies that have become accustomed to operating with a huge cash pile the past 3 years.
Cash has been put to work. Many are spending money on new facilities, extra skid loaders, and higher employee wages to keep growing.
With more than three and a half decades in this industry, I have witnessed the incredibly fast damage that a slowdown in economic activity can have on a landscape company.
And the most disturbing trend…from my observation working with landscape contractors from coast to coast and border to border… is the fact that many have abandoned a steady routine of marketing their company to make sure their calendar stays full of projects.
For the past 3 years, it has been incredibly easy to find work. While we felt short-staffed, we thought there was very little reason to invest energy and money in marketing.
After all, there were plenty of projects in our backlog…or will this backlog dry up soon?
It’s winter as I write this message.
There’s rain, snow and poor weather all around. So…things have already slowed down.
It sure seems like a setup for contractors to get nervous about running out of work so they begin to lower their prices. That will shrink profits faster than anything.
So we continue on our mission to teach 10,000 lawn and landscape business owners how to double or triple net profits over a 12 to 24 month period (without a government handout).
The best news is our systems work for small operators with revenue under a million a year or those who generate a few million dollars of sales each year.
The truth about boosting profits!
To boost profits, you need to do some math. You must know your numbers.
If numbers have not been the favorite part of your career as a landscaper, You Are Not Alone.
The good news… we are here to help!
Make 2024 the year you commit to financial success. Get your business plan completed before the busy season arrives.
Join us for an upcoming Profit Builder Training event in January or February!
And if you’re interested in additional marketing, operations and management training with Profit Builder, you can join us in our special Profit Builder membership package for the low price of $465 with the 12 month payment plan.
We don’t allow direct competitors in the same class. Each class is limited to just 12 companies. We only have 2 spots available for the January 19-21 course.
Join us!
You’ll be glad you made the decision.
Tony Bass, founder
866.923.0027
PS – Contact Tabitha right away to check on availability or if you have any questions! She’s our Director of Training and Education. You can reach her at 678-943-4856 or tabitha@superlawntoolkit.com.
