← Side Hustle Squad
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- [00:01]
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Are you ready to kick back and get inspired? Grab your favorite drink, pop the top and join the Side Hustle Squad with Mike Garvey. This podcast is the perfect resource for anyone who's already started their side Hustle or is just considering taking the lead. With in depth interviews featuring guests from the green industry and beyond, you'll gain valuable insights and learn what it takes to succeed in running a business while juggling a full time career. From personal stories to practical tips, the Soc side Hustle Squad podcast has everything you need to turn your passion into a thriving business. Now, here's your Side Hustle Squad host, Mike Garvey.
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Hey, what's going on guys? It's your host Mike Garvey with the side Hustle Squad podcast coming at you from the Branded Bull Studio here on a spring like day. But now it's about to get we're about to get hit with a blizzard. So once we thought we were ready to go in in two weeks or so we might be delayed and I'm sure some of you across the Northeast are feeling the same thing. We get that little glimpse last week of warm weather and sunlight and sunshine and looking good. Things are starting the the we had some rain and we got the some melting of the snow and now we're in a blizzard starting probably after you hear this, we're right in it. But you know, still some things we could talk about about getting ready for your season. So exciting things going on here at Coastal Fertilization. We're opening a new branch, coastal fertilization of 100 Warren counties. So we're launching a new branch. It's gonna be under the same umbrella of course under the same name under the and we're just branching out a little bit, moving around New Jersey and taking this as our first pilot program of a branch. So really looking forward to that. So we're taking baby steps on that. That doesn't need to be launched really until middle of April just because of the client base. It's gonna be like how we were when we started out coastal of you know, Ocean county. And you know we're going to see if we can replicate this again. So exciting stuff about that. Going to be able to talk about doing that again, building a business from the ground up and excited with that. Excited with the now authorized Crest Dealer Robotic Outdoor Power Equipment Distributors AKA Roped that we're building out a trailer, gonna be hitting some events, hoping to make it out to Cornell Max event with the rope trailer with all the Crest equipment. That should be exciting stuff in Pittsburgh, I believe on the 21st of March, Saturday. So we have that coming up. And then again too we also have some other things going on and I'll talk to about that in some future episodes coming out this week. But I wanted to talk about 30 how to get your lawn care business ready before your spring rush hits. You don't want to be left flat footed and it's going to be here before you know it. So I would, number one, start with your cleaning up your customer list, getting rid of those low profit headache clients that don't do any sort of upsell. They don't do any spring cleanups, they don't do any fall cleanups, they don't do any aeration, they do no hedge trimming, they do nothing. So. Or outliers, ones that are out of the, that are out of the area that you don't want to do anymore, that are not profitable based off the windshield time and stuff like that. So you're going to want to eliminate that. We did that about two years ago or last year, I can't remember, eliminated 30 clients and it was the best thing we ever did. We gained 30 more clients in the area and it took off a lot of stress. Initially it was very difficult to get rid of that, but it was totally worth it. So that's something you should look at too. Are you wasting time traveling hours or traveling just to help a friend? And it hurt. I had to get rid of some people that were really close to me, but it just wasn't making sense financially. So again, identify those low profit headache clients, the ones that are not doing anything else. You know, look at things, you know, start upselling your customers for that spring cleanup. Get your emails out, you're gearing up for spring. Send out any renewals, send out any price increases, make sure you're increasing your prices. This year we did 7%. You know, some people might think that's high on every service and that it is what it is. I mean, some people say we're high, that's fine. I'm okay with that because I look at it, If I lose 7% of my customer base at the new rate, okay, well I'm still doing the same amount of work, less work versus the same amount of money, I should say. So We've talked about this. We've talked about again, looking at those mo only clients that you, that don't ever buy extras. What are you doing with them? Are you making anything off them? You know, it's, it's just not something that you want to be doing. So let me let's take a quick break here from the show sponsors and we'll come right back.
- [06:10]
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- [07:02]
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And be sure to tell them the Side Hustle Squad sent you. Hey guys, Adam Fullerton here with Branded Bull. As a proud sponsor of the Side Hustle Squad podcast, we're all about helping lawn care and landscaping businesses make their mark and stand out from the competition. Visit us@brandedbull.com to learn more about our professional branding website and graphic design design services and how we can help your business look awesome and grow hard.
- [07:27]
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And we're back talking about getting ready for the season some, you know, we're 30 days out, maybe even closer depending on the weather. Talking about again getting rid of those headache, low profit customers, you know, sending out those. We're gearing up for spring. Let's schedule, get you on the list for spring cleanups and identify those you know. Are you going to start looking at other things this year? Do you want to pilot program something for a small group? Do you want to get into fertilization and maybe take on five accounts for the year and see if you can do it? Something really to think about, you know, looking at your number two, looking at your pricing and profit. Are you looking at your last year's margins, adjusting your price before the season? Start talking about fuel, labor, insurance increases. Are you shopping around for insurance? Are you asking your agent to make sure they're getting you the best price? We just changed carriers this year, saved about $7,000 in our insurance. Things you need to be looking at, not just paying. So really take a moment and look about. Look at these things that kill your margins which, you know, they creep up on you. Not Increasing your prices while your expenses are getting bigger. If you need to have a financial look at your business, do what I did. I reached out to John Pajak profits with PayJack and you could get in touch with him. He could take a financial look at your business. A triple B budgets break evens bottom lines and take a great look at your business and see how healthy it is. I encourage you to do that. Then two, let's look at scheduling route optimization. We talked about tightening the routes, dropping those outliers. Make sure those days are stacked geographically. You're working in a tight knit neighborhood every single day, same day of the week, every single time. This saves fuel, time, headaches, everything like that. Let's talk about cash flow. Spring is heavy on expenses so make sure you know you have some stuff away. Are you collecting prepays for, for some items we do for fertilization we offer a discount if you prepay for fertilization. We control mosquito control for the year we offer a 5% discount and that you avoid paying for the season. Each time we do a service, you prepay up front, you know, make sure everything is, is looking good, all your buckets are filled. If you're using Relay Financial as your, as your banking like I am, I have 20 different bank accounts. I can take the money that I collect, include prepays and put that to a own separate account. And then once I start working, I take that account and I put it where it needs to be into payroll, into paying for the fertilizer supplies, putting in an emergency account, putting in my winter fund, putting it in insurance, etc. Etc. Etc. Let's talk about equipment. Are you getting your equipment ready? Are you doing your oil changes, blade sharpening, belts, filters, greasing your fittings, making sure you have a backup for your backup for your backup. Do you have a backup truck? Do you have backup mower? Do you have everything on board that you need? First aid kit? Do you have all the, is there something that was a problem last year that you need to replace? Okay, there's nothing, you know you're going to have an issue on day one like you always do of cutting or, or whatever. Just be ready for it. Inventory, you know, make sure you're all for. Especially if you're doing fertilizer. Is your fertilizer order placed? Is everything ready? Do you have your chemicals that you need? PPE restocked, all your fuel cans ready and make sure that you have your equipment all ready to go. Your trucks are operational, have you fired them up throughout the year? Have you replaced anything that needs organization or you really just don't want to be doing this when you could have done it all winter long. So I think some personal readiness things too. We like talking about leadership, personal growth. It's going to be busy. My winter gets shorter every single year. We work later in the fall and then we start earlier in the spring. So I think a lot of us have to accept that it's busy, know that we're going to be stressed, make sure we book in a day of rest, something to look forward to, a mini vacation, a mini 2 day, 3 day. Something to look forward to in May, June and you know, to communicate with your family. These expectations that I'm sure they're very used to it. You know, just make sure that you're, you're ready. You know, this, this. We've done episodes in the past about handling stress during the spring rush. We'll do more of that stuff and we'll talk about it and if you have a team, make sure that you're meeting with your team, reviewing expectations, safety reminders, standards, incentives, growth opportunities, communicating. We're looking to get more better at communicating with our team each year. We're starting to hold more zoom meetings. It's so easy now between our administrative staff and our operations staff. Really starting to be more diligent about that every single year. And then, you know, get your marketing in order too. Make sure you're posting on social media, sending email blasts, offering any, any specials look, still looking for Google reviews. It's. I know it's a lot of different things that come down to you on the as the homeowner, as a solo operator, but got to be a little bit good at everything and do a little bit of everything. So, you know, we'll, we'll talk more. We have a lot of really cool stuff going on, a little bit of travel, a little bit of exciting news and we'd love to keep you updated but just wanted to jump on, talk about some preparation things to start thinking about. I, it's going to be here before you know it even though we're going into a late season blizzard here. But I look forward to, you know, talking about all this stuff and kicking the season back up. So cool solo episode here. Haven't done one in a while. Again, we were traveling so much and did so much content with Synced and with Equip and with Lal and we have a couple more live events coming up and. But I really want to just jump on. I love, love, love just talking to you guys and with you guys even doing these solo episodes, anything comes up, hit me up. Mikeostalnj.com, hit me up on Instagram side Hustle squad podcast visit side hustlesquadpodcast.com check out the website and I want to connect with all of you. If you like the show, you know, hit that like button. Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or however you're listening. That helps us so much. Can't thank you enough. That's the least I can ask for putting out this content, so I appreciate you guys. Keep killing it and we'll catch you on the next one.
- [15:06]
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Thanks for tuning in Tuning in to the side Hustle Squad Podcast with Mike Garvey. We hope you enjoyed this episode and gained valuable insights to help you succeed in your side Hustle journey. Connect with Mike using the links in the podcast description. If you love the show, please leave us a well worded five star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback and support help us grow and continue to provide you with the best content. And don't forget to follow the show to be notified when the next edition of the side Hustle Squad Podcast is available. We have many exciting guests and topics lined up so you won't want to miss a single episode. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you next time on the side Hustle Squad Podcast.