Looking to 22

In November, I hosted a virtual State of the Industry event where the panelists discussed how the industry fared in 2021, along with any challenges they faced, and how they or their clients worked past those. We also discussed what to expect in 2022. Here’s what the panel had to say about the next 12 months. Visit, bit.ly/lawnsoi22 to listen to the whole webinar.

Claire Goldman, principle, R&R Landscaping in Alabama: Just being very close to our numbers and very aware of what’s going on. I think just one view of optimism is all of this is forcing us into embracing innovation a little bit faster than we typically do. Whether that’s technology or culture, I think we’re all being forced to think outside the box. That could really be a positive as we go into 2022.

Jim Huston, J.R. Huston Consulting: People are going to need to increase prices at least 5%, if not 10% or even 15%. Most of my clients are raising their hourly rates by $5 an hour. If you got 10 people in the field working 2,000 hours a year, that’s 20,000 hours. An extra $5 an hour and it’s $100,000. We might think that’s all profit. Well, if you don’t raise it five bucks an hour, you’re going to be in the hole $100,000. So, this is where I’m cautiously optimistic, but boy, be prepared.

Ed Laflamme, The Harvest Group: It looks like next year should be very good. Things are settling in. The customers are beginning to accept the price increases my clients are putting out. They’re not getting a lot of pushback. They’re losing very little. I think the supply chain will stay the same, if not get worse.

“Whether that’s technology or culture, I think we’re all being forced to think outside the box. That could really be a positive as we go into 2022.”

— CLAIRE GOLDMAN, PRINCIPLE, R&R LANDSCAPING

Bruce Wilson, Bruce Wilson & Co.: I think it’s going to be a good year for companies that are very strategic. A lot more planning has to go into what a company is going to do over the next year. Strategically make sure they positioned their company to take advantage of what’s in the market. The financially strong companies really don’t have too much to worry about. The companies that have weak balance sheets have to be really careful. I’ve already seen some companies that are cutting back — they’re just playing defense and not offense. The companies that win in just about any economy are always playing offense.

— Brian Horn