The NEW Minimum Wage for Landscape Workers by Tony Bass

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Your Urgent Action Plan for August 2020

Dateline: 8-1-2020

From: Tony Bass

To: Profit Seeking Lawn or Landscape Business Owners

This is a weird year!

Nope…weird is not a strong enough word.

How about this word: Bizarre!

That’s it…Bizarre!

This is a Bizarre year!

Leave it to our government to screw up everything!

They have virtually destroyed a basic tenet to capitalism and Christianity.

It WAS called “the dignity of work“.

Allow me to share a little background.

In the depression of 1929 to the late 1930’s we had a government stimulus.

One example was the CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps.

Young men enrolled to work for the government.

We built our national parks, roads, planted 3.5 billion trees, and many other conservation and infrastructure projects. Here’s how it worked.

Young men were transported to tent cities (where the work needed to be done).

They were fed and housed.

They were paid by the government…

But they were REQUIRED to send money home.

This is one example of how our government slowly propped up our economy.

Today…our dumbass leaders decided to just drop money from heaven into bank accounts. No work necessary!

Is this BIZARRE?

Perhaps not…

Perhaps this is how socialism replaces capitalism.

Think about it.

The vast majority of businesses are UNDERSTAFFED today…

While we have an 11% plus unemployment rate… Does this make sense?

Politicians have essentially destroyed the basic laws of supply and demand economics.

It’s harder to HIRE good help than ever…when the unemployment rate is sky high!

Good News – Bad News – Deadly News…

The good news is the $600 BS BONUS is ending the last of July.

The bad news is they plan to replace it with $200 to $400 the week after.

The deadly news is they may keep it at $600 per week and extend it until 2021!

Here’s the Math Behind the New Minimum Wage

Here in Georgia, the maximum unemployment benefit is $365 per week. (Each state has their own unemployment benefit pay scale).

Add an extra $600 per week from the feds BONUS program you get $965 per week. Divide that by 40 hours and you get $24.13 per hour or $50,180 per year.

Boom – this is a glimpse into the NEW MINIMUM WAGE.

But wait…

Congress is in session as I write this.

Pelosi & McConnel are fiercely debating if they will extend the $600 per week bonus or change it to something lower. We are hearing the debate could result in a lower bonus…perhaps a $200 to $400 weekly bonus.

That’s right…they may LOWER the non-workers’ pay. (Is that fair?) ☹

Here’s the math for New Plan 1:

$365 state unemployment insurance benefit + $400 fed bonus = $765 per week

$765 unemployment insurance payment / 40 hours = $19.13/hour or $39,780/year

New Plan 2:

$365 state unemployment insurance benefit + $200 fed bonus = $565 per week

$565 unemployment insurance payment / 40 hours = $14.13/hour or $29,380/year

Politicians will call each other a lot of bad names during media interviews. It will dominate the news headlines for a few days.

Then…they’ll likely pass the next stimulus…not requiring anyone to actually work for the bonus money. They will add months and months of extended benefits. And employers (like you and I) who NEED workers will have to compete with the new pay rates from above ($24.13 or $19.13 or $14.13).

So, what’s a hard-working job creator to do knowing what’s around the corner? Should you adjust your game plan? Do you really think it’s business as usual?

Consider these 4 trending issues today…

• WAGES ARE GOING UP in our industry (for many) if you want to keep or add workers.
• Your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money might run out sooner than you thought (as you pay higher wages for workers).
• There is more money in the bank accounts of Americans than anytime in our country’s history.
• There is high-demand for lawn and landscape services nationwide.

When you carefully consider these 4 trends, there’s one logical conclusion for owners of lawn and landscape companies.

You MUST raise your prices.

Don’t be scared.

Add an extra 5% to all your new quotes this week. See what happens.

Then next week, test adding 10% to your old pricing system.

Here’s what I expect you’ll learn…

You will still have work coming in.  And your single greatest challenge will be getting enough employees to do the work. And…you’ll need the added income to pay the higher wages.

What’s your urgent action plan to become a Wealthy Landscaper?

Please…stay on a steady diet of marketing your business. Client attraction is the foundation for wealth. It also gives you the confidence to RAISE YOUR PRICES!

Many landscapers get tired in August and give up. I hope YOU won’t give up!

Keep your eyes and ears open. 

If you hear of guys in your area giving up (likely because they can’t find help at their old wage rates)…

You may be able to: a) hire them or b) buy them or c) acquire their employee(s).

The BEST news is that YOU are well-capitalized today. Even unprofitable companies have CASH today. (If you stashed away that PPP loan).

I’m betting you could shut down for a few months and still survive.

(I hope it doesn’t come to that…but your fed-sponsored bank account gives you options.)

Never forget…your wealth comes from one thing: Profitable Clients. That’s it!

To keep your clients happy…communicate frequently. Share your plans. Say thanks again and again.

And…communicate closely with your suppliers.

Understand the inventory bottlenecks. Many suppliers have employee shortages and some level of supply interruptions.

Be prepared to communicate these issues with prospects, customers, and clients.

They will understand.

And…

Keep in close contact with me.

Let me know what’s going on in your company.

Don’t let the crazy situation stress you out.

I’m standing by to help.

I have confidence that a passionately committed entrepreneur is forever resilient, flexible, and capable of winning… even when the rules of business are changing.

Stay energized,

Tony Bass, founder

PS – Yes…I’m really holding the Profit Builder Training Event in August for a small group of lawn and landscape business owners. If you would like to join us, the details can be found by clicking here.

PSS – We recently issued The Wealthy Landscaper Productivity Challenge to owners of lawn and landscape companies across North America. In case you missed how to self-evaluate your company’s financial productivity, click here for the video and PDF download.