 Marty Grunder |
I got into the landscape business more than 25 years ago; I did so because I had a passion for plants and taking care of them. Through the years I have learned a lot from tending to my gardens. Here are the three best lessons my passion has taught me:
NO. 1 – Be patient.
Many times we plant things that don’t look great on day one. In fact, in the months following their initial installation, you may have felt inclined to remove the plants because they don’t look good. I have a beautiful red oak in my backyard that looked terrible almost immediately after I planted it. But I pruned the dead out of it, gave it a deep root feeding and today it looks fantastic.
How many times are things not going well for you and you want to quit, start over, try something else or feel sorry for yourself? Smart entrepreneurs stick with their plans. They don’t take another path just because the first one isn’t working out; they keep on trying. We remove obstacles; we ask for help from friends, family and other experts. We think about the solutions out there and we continue to keep one eye on the vision we have for the future.
NO. 2 – Not all plants do well.
Some plants like wet feet; some don’t. Some like sun; others like shade. Plants that grow in Florida, for the most part, won’t grow in Minnesota. You can’t grow Christmas trees in Southern California. And some plants need to be pruned, sprayed and cared for meticulously and others can be just left alone. People have some of the same attributes.
Companies often take their best sales people and make them sales managers. It doesn’t often work because the skills required to manage and motivate people are different than the skills needed to sell. Yes, some can do both, but it doesn’t always work. We need to take hiring seriously and be careful about who we hire and make sure they are a fit.
One question you should always ask is, “What are your hobbies?” If they say hunting, fishing and landscaping, you are on the right track. You have to hire people who have a passion for the work at hand. Yes, once in a while, you can get lucky, but over time you will be far better served by creating a description of the traits you are looking for and finding people with those traits.
No, hiring people is not this easy, nor this cut and dried. But my garden has taught me that I dramatically increase my chances for success when I think about what I need and find that.
Some years your plants thrive, and other years they don’t. This year my garden looks fantastic. We’ve had a lot of rain, so my lawn is lush and green; I haven’t had to irrigate much, and have had to prune a lot. I can’t believe how much new growth there is on my hydrangeas (see photo). And my annuals look better than they ever have.
NO. 3 – Each year is different.
My business has had many good years. This year we’re working hard. It’s not going to be a great year, but we keep working. We’re thinking about next year and how we can do better. We’re not giving up, and we actually think we’ve learned a lot.
Like our gardens, our businesses will produce for us most years, but only if we tend to them and pay attention to what they are saying.
Growing a garden can be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do; running a business is as well. Keep tending both.
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