Sharing thoughts with a successful business owner
By John Corban
During a recent interview with Grant Boyle, owner of Fig Landscapes, I invited my clients to attend and ask questions about running his business. We loved his humble, open and honest chat.
John: To what do you attribute your success?
Grant: Having a passion for this industry, designing and building gardens. I live and breathe landscaping. I am always researching materials, designs, and trends, and I find it hard to switch off because I love it so much.
John’s Clients: How large is your team?
The business is broken into three elements. Design: I oversee all designs. I have a part-time Landscape Architect (in Byron Bay) and two part-time designers (one in Sydney and one in Thailand). Construction: I am often on site as the project manager (sometimes on the tools, but not often). I have four people in construction (a leading hand, a tradesman and two apprentices). Horticulture: Two employees do all our maintenance and small softscapes work. A few years ago, I had a crew of thirteen and three teams, but I found it too hard to control (both quality and profit); it was too stressful. So, my model is now smaller, where I can ensure the quality is high, designs can be more spontaneous, and communication with clients and my team is much better.
John’s Clients: How do you train and manage your team?
Grant: I give the team the space onsite to make mistakes, learn, and realise why things happen (the steps and processes) and how it all interplays. Early on, when they join Fig, I take the time to show them how to do things the right way and don’t cut corners. Also, I take ownership of every mistake or problem that happens. When mistakes occur, I know I either didn’t give the guys the right direction, or I didn’t explain something properly or didn’t give them enough training.
John: What systems do you use?
Grant: I tend to keep my systems simple. I still use the quoting sheet you provided, John, (from when we worked together). I also use Xero, Vectorworks®, Instagram, FB and an Apple Calendar. But that’s about it.
John: What are the keys to growing a business?
Grant: One of the keys to growing a business is to build the team from the ground up rather than taking on all this work and finding employees quickly. I preferred taking the time to find the right people, train them properly, stay small, ensure quality, and grow from there. By putting effort into developing my young guys, they will become a massive asset to my business. I don’t want to be a large business. Keeping my construction team to five suits my model at the moment. If you bring on tradespeople and your teams are growing, if you’re not around a lot, the culture will not be there, and it causes problems. One bad apple can poison everything. I always say, remember why you started your business and stay true to your core values.
John’s Client: How do you attract the work you want?
Grant: When I first moved to Byron Bay, I reached out to some high-end architects that I wanted to work with, and our relationships are still strong today. It’s always been important for me to have the right alliances with architects who can feed us the work we want.
John’s Client: Do you ask a potential client for a budget?
Grant: The ‘2 Bs’ are really important – Brief and Budget. I emphasise really understanding the client’s brief, so I know their project is right for me and fully understand what they need and want. I also discover/determine a budget from the client when I meet a client, so I know what we have to work with.
Grant runs a small, highly manageable team and business. He emphasises doing things properly, communicating openly with his greater team and ensuring his quality never suffers. He could talk about landscaping and business for hours because he is so passionate, and it’s a big reason why he will always be successful.
John Corban
Business Coach for Landscapers, Horticulturists and Nursery owners
Mob: 0433 27 1980
www.landscaperscoach.com.au