The green industry’s place to be

Jim Huston

If you want to grow your business, first you have to grow yourself. Like such explorers as Columbus, Marco Polo and Lewis and Clark, business professionals embrace the edge of the unknown for it is there that discovery, newness and innovation take place. It’s where life transforms from an experience of the mundane to one of adventure. It’s where the risk of chaos replaces security as its safety melts away.

Most men cannot handle the trauma of such chaos. Today those who embrace it are called entrepreneurs. However, to grow you have to make a conscious decision and take action to plan a metamorphosis of your intellect and spirit. You have to plan the evolution.

There are things you have to do to grow your intellect and spirit. Class room study, on-the-job training, apprentice programs, college courses, networking groups and audio books are just a few. One form of growth comes from attending trade shows. The really good ones combine a number of learning experiences into a high-impact and content full smorgasbord for the senses. It’s like Jazzercise for the green industry.
 

One of the best of the trade shows is the GIE+EXPO on Oct. 22-24 in Louisville, Ky. Here are some reasons why I’m going and six reasons why I think you should join me.

1. The GIE+EXPO attracts green industry leaders from all over the globe. You’ll have a chance to meet and network with vendors, manufacturers, distributors, association leaders, consultants, publishers, educators and so forth.
2. You’ll see more equipment than General Norman Schwarzkopf used in the Persian Gulf War. If it has anything to do with the green industry, it will be there. You’ll not only see it, you’ll be able to ride it, operate it, crawl all over it and maybe even break it. There will be trucks, tractors, skid-steers, mini-excavators, trenchers, pullers, mowers, edgers, trimmers, grinders and much more. If you can’t find it at the show, it probably doesn’t exist.
    
3. Are you looking for software to help run your company? Virtually all of the software companies with products for the green industry will be there. There will be vendors with software for scheduling, estimating, accounting, job costing, customer relations management and more.
    
4. There will be educational workshops and seminars on marketing, selling, managing, HR, operational techniques, hardscape, etc. There are so many educational opportunities that, like me, you’ll get educated way beyond your intelligence.
    
5. Of course, there’s my seminar on Oct. 22. It’s on my fifth book covering the six methods of estimating commonly used in the green industry today. During the seminar, I’ll explain how to price your services and projects, format a profit and loss statement, identify direct and indirect costs, bid equipment costs into your pricing and more. I’ll also explain why you should not use percentages to calculate general and administrative overhead costs for including in your bids. As an added bonus, attendees will receive a free audio book copy of my book.
    
6. And sixth, you’ll be at the premier for my new book: “Job Descriptions for Green Industry Professionals.” If you come visit me at the Lawn & Landscape booth, I’ll give you a free copy of the new audio book.
    

If you want to grow your business, you first have to grow yourself. The GIE+EXPO is a great place to grow.

To help make it worth your while, I’m going to raffle off a free day of my Bid With Confidence on-site consultation (a $2,400 value).

Come grow with us! You’ll be glad you did.