Ellison Chair in International Floriculture
Ellison Chair in International FloricultureTeaching, Research, Extension and Service

Sustainable Sites Initiative releases landscape guidelines

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The Sustainable Sites Initiative has released the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. It was developed through a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden. The initiative’s rating system represents 4 years of work by the country’s leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals, as well as public input.

“While carbon-neutral performance remains the holy grail for green buildings, sustainable landscapes move beyond a do-no-harm approach,” said Nancy Somerville, exec. v.p. and CEO of ASLA. “Landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats and ultimately give back through significant economic, social and environmental benefits never fully measured until now.”

“We are facing unprecedented environmental challenges such as water scarcity and climate change that require fundamental changes in the way that we interact with the land,” said Susan Rieff, exec. director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at Univ. of Texas at Austin. “This voluntary rating system and guidelines covers all aspects of working with outdoor spaces of all sizes, and provides information for designing landscapes that go beyond beauty to actually improving ecosystem health and the health of communities for generations to come.”

The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40%, 50%, 60% or 80% of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively. If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance. These credits can apply to projects ranging from corporate campuses, transportation corridors, public parks and single-family residences. The rating system is part of two new reports issued from the initiative, “The Case for Sustainable Landscapes” and “Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009.”

To test the rating system, the initiative opened a call for pilot projects in conjunction with the release of the rating system. Any type of designed landscape is eligible, so long as the project size is at least 2,000 sq. ft. The call will remain open until Feb. 15, 2010, and the initiative will work with and oversee the projects during the two-year process.

HT: Garden Center Magazine

Landscape benchmarking reports available

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How does your company’s financial performance compare with other lawn and landscape companies in your area — across the country for that matter? Find out in the newly updated 2008 Operating Cost Study for the Green Industry report. More than 200 companies nationwide contributed data from their 2007 income statements, balance sheets, and operating costs to this report, which features trending analysis for the industry. Click here to order your copy.

Lawn & Landscape magazine recently released its Benchmarking Your Business report. In an uncertain market riddled with variables, the one thing landscape contractors can control is their numbers. This report is a comprehensive guide to your profit and loss. Use it to measure business success. Click here to obtain a PDF version of this report.

New landscape services report available

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“Landscape Services Market in the U.S.” is a new report just released by leading industrial market research publisher SBI, providing an in-depth treatment of this under-investigated market. Drawing from nearly two dozen sources, data is presented for the following categories: Market Size and Value 2004-2008; Professional Standing: Education, Certification, Employment; Major Trends Driving Industry Growth; International Aspects; Projected Market Forecast 2009-2013; and End-User Demographics. Click here to view other details.

Warning — it’s expensive!

Survey indicates slowdown impacting landscape architects

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Less than half of landscape architecture offices responding were busier than usual last quarter, and only a quarter of firms plan to hire in the short term as the economic turmoil begins to be felt across the profession, according to the latest Business Quarterly survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

Only 44 percent of the 267 responding landscape architecture offices reported average or above billable hours in third quarter 2008, (July 1 – Sept. 30), and just under 43 percent reported average or above inquiries during the same period—12 and 7 percentage-point reductions, respectively, from the previous quarter. Additionally, just over 25 percent plan to hire in the upcoming quarter, down from 29 percent in the second quarter.

“The reduced demand for landscape architecture work comes as no surprise considering the current problems with the economy,” said Nancy Somerville, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA. “International projects, particularly in the Middle East and Pacific Rim, are a strong and expanding source of work for many firms. Domestically, the public sector remains the most robust source of projects.”

If you're a service provider, then take note…

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FYI — Dow AgroSciences is sponsoring a successful landscape business owner/entrepreneur, Marty Grunder, who will be hosting a business building seminar on August 27th in Dallas and Aug. 28th in Houston. This is an excellent opportunity for professional lawn care/landscape, golf course managers, pest control, and other green industry professionals to come and learn about some of the practical things Marty has done over the years to start with a $25 lawn mower in high school and grow his landscape company to over $4 Million as of last year!

Marty is a friend of mine; I have heard him speak on many occasions and I can vouch for the fact that he knows his stuff, has a big heart, and sincerely wants to share his success secrets. I promise you — you will NOT come away from his seminar disappointed, but you will come away with a much bigger to-do list than you have now!

Go to Register at www.BusinessIdeasToWin.com to register today!

Coping with a down economy

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As promised, here are a few strategies to consider for coping with a down economy. Some of these steps are radical, while others are a more milder form of defense. Implement them according to the conditions you experience in your market area.

  1. Conserve your cash. Don’t spend a dime on anything that isn’t absolutely necessary to your operation. Examine every personal expense you have to find alternatives to any spending patterns.
  2. Refinance anything and everything you can. Stretch out the payments because getting cash later on will be difficult as more people will apply for loans and banks will become very picky.
  3. Work out a worst-case scenario cash flow projection that projects your company having a decrease in sales. As part of this, determine what expenses will be unavoidable. Look through your cash disbursements. Pre-plan a less expensive alternative to any expense category that you can.
  4. Know your costs well because poor pricing can put you out of business faster. Assume that cost-side pressures caused by a recession will last about two years after a recession is over.
  5. Beef up your advertising/marketing. Everyone else is cutting back. Now is the time to gain “mind share.”
  6. Slowdowns mean layoffs. Therefore, new hires become available and are sometimes available at a lower rate of pay than your current rate. Take advantage of that fact.
  7. If part of your fleet is going to be idle for some time, try to store unused vehicles and get a reduced rate of insurance due to non-use.
  8. Selling off assets during a recession is difficult. Nevertheless, selling off unused equipment reduces insurance and registration costs and property taxes. Convert anything you don’t need into cash well ahead of any signals that your area will be hard hit.
  9. Apply for credit long before you need it. You may have to “borrow” your future, and banks will raise interest rates on high-risk loans as conditions worsen.
  10. Look deeper in your own markets. Can you offer your current customer base a more diversified line of products and/or services?
  11. Review your business insurance to make sure your premiums have been adjusted for the depreciated value of your vehicles and equipment.
  12. Take a look at your estimated tax payments made to the IRS. Decreased earnings call for decreased estimated tax payments.

Cash is “king” during economic slowdowns no matter how mild or severe. Expect your customers to also feel the effect, which means they will pay you at a much slower rate than during the good times. That’s precisely the reason that you’ll need additional working capital to finance your receivables if nothing else.

Run a cash flow working capital projection using 60 days, 90 days, 120 days and even up to six months to be paid from some of your customers. How much cash do you need to survive? Find the answer to that question. Prepare and save for that eventuality and you’ll be ready for a downturn.

Economics of Bidding and Estimating

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Landscape service firms must do 2 things if they are to make money in today’s competitive Green Industry environment — (1) develop an accurate estimate of hourly field-labor costs and (2) develop a system to fully recover overhead expenses. Once this is accomplished, generating realistic (and profitable) bids and estimates becomes a much more straightforward task. Benchmarking the firm’s performance relative to similarly-sized businesses is also a mandatory managerial task for those who desire to see their business grow and prosper. More detailed information can be found in a presentation delivered at the recent education seminar held by the Southeast Texas Nursery Growers Association. Click here to view this presentation.