No more snow

We’ve arrived at our final L&L Snow and Ice Report of the year, which means you are probably either gearing up to plow or already deep in the white stuff. But, if you get some free time in between blizzards and ice storms, check out some of the best stories we did in 2014. To view all the reports, visit www.lawnandlandscape.com, go to current issue and select June, August, September, October or November and look under the Snow and Ice tab.
 

June: Timing is everything

It’s hard to believe, but the snow has finally melted, the sun is out and the flowers are blooming. After what seemed like a never-ending season, who wants to think about winter already?

For smart snow removal contractors, though, the time to secure contracts for next winter is now, before last winter becomes a distant memory.

That’s what Tom Hougnon, chief operating officer of Reliable Property Services, says. Until six years ago, the Minneapolis-based company was strictly a snow removal company and had been so for the past 25 years.

Visit bit.ly/lltiming for the full article.

Aug.: State of the industry

The 2014 L&L Snow and Ice Report State of the Industry report showed positive results for 2013-14 season and contractors were just as optimistic for this season. On average, contractors reported that their snow revenue rose from roughly $690,000 for winter 2012-13 to $893,914 last winter. Likewise, plowable events for winter 2013-14 rose to 22 (up from 12 events last winter).

When asked if they agreed; disagreed; or neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement “I will grow my snow removal operation,” 72 percent agreed, 21 percent neither agreed nor disagreed and 7 percent disagreed.

Visit http://bit.ly/snowsoi for more.

Sept.: The Lease/Buy decision

Whether to buy or lease is a question facing many professional snow removal and ice management contractors and businesses, even as credit becomes more readily available.

While there is no one correct answer that fits every situation, nor every snow and ice removal business, compared to the simplicity of buying, leasing is far more complicated and may be getting more complex.

The lease accounting rules as we currently know them may be changing as a result of ongoing negotiations between the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which sets rules for many countries around the globe, and by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) which writes the rules in the United States.

The proposals would require many businesses to add all but the shortest leases to their balance sheets as liabilities, much like debt. Equipment leasing is similar to a loan in which the lender buys and owns equipment and then “rents” it to a snow removal business at a flat monthly rate for a specified number of months.

Visit bit.ly/snowlease for the full article.

Oct.: Death by call center

“Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed.”

Yes, businesses have effectively succeeded in making customers go away. Small businesses need to ask themselves why they installed an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.

Was it to handle calls more efficiently for the business or was it to handle calls more efficiently for the customer?

If transferring the burden of getting in touch with you landed on your customer’s shoulders, then your motivation was to make your business more efficient.

Congratulations! You are now in the customer prevention business. This kind of operations-first and customers-second thinking will force you to spend more marketing dollars each year just to maintain your customer base.

Statistics continue to demonstrate that to remain in business you must retain 60 percent of your customer base each year. It is understandable that the majority of your calls come in while you are out dealing with winter events.

Visit bit.ly/snowcalls for the full article.