Exciting times

While it was nice to have a break from travel in 2020 and the first half of 2021, it was important to get back out on the road the last few months. You just can’t beat networking with people in person to learn about this industry.

I attended our Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference in late August and stopped by Louisville in October for the GIE+EXPO and LANDSCAPES events.

I sound like a broken record since I’ve written about this before, but the autonomous mowing topic was front and center. I saw more autonomous and robotic mowers in Louisville than when I first attended the show in 2010.

We also had more autonomous and robotic mower exhibitors at our show in 2021 compared to 2020. It’s still going to be a while until this technology becomes commonplace, but it will happen.

On top of that, there has been a ton of movement in the green industry software market. WorkWave recently purchased Real Green and Slingshot, and, after being acquired by ServiceTitan in July, Aspire recently acquired Go iLawn and LandOne. In August, LMN acquired Greenius — and that’s only naming a few.

With all of this activity, this industry seems to be at a key turning point. The industry shifted due to COVID-19, but the influx of private equity money continues to pour in for landscape and lawn care companies and on the supplier side.

As we enter 2022, are you doing homework on this rapidly changing market? Are you setting time aside to investigate a new technology or process to make your business more efficient?

As we enter 2022, are you doing homework on this rapidly changing market? Are you setting time aside to investigate a new technology or process to make your business more efficient?

I know every day for you is a full workday, but it’s important to schedule time to plan for the future. That means putting it on your calendar like you would meeting with a client. If you don’t — and I know this is a cliché — you risk being left behind.