By John Corban
How can I increase my rates and win the work I want?
What is the reason for wanting to increase fees?
If you look at your P&L statement and don’t like the profit you see you need to delve deeper to discover why this is happening.… Continue reading
By Karen Smith
For more than 60 years Benara Nurseries in Western Australia has ticked many boxes to become one of Australia’s most successful production nurseries. With a commitment to sustainability, quality services, and their team, what contributes to their longevity and economic success?… Continue reading
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By John Corban
We are now settled into the new calendar year and it’s a suitable time to act on some important strategic decisions for your business, if you haven’t done so already. It might be that you are seriously thinking about hiring or removing a skilled worker, removing or adding a service, increasing charge out rates, improving a system in your business or buying an expensive piece of equipment.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Corban
Many businesses share similar problems so I thought I would share solutions to problems that I have shared over the last twelve months.
Problem: I need more profit, what can I do?
Solution: Understand where your business is at financially first, plan to remove any unnecessary costs, then create a six-month profit forecast until June 30.… Continue reading
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Power struggles in the workplace can be difficult to manage. Let’s look at some of the common issues with team members that business owners face and discuss how to deal with them.
Many business owners are more aware today of how they can manage and develop their managers and team members.… Continue reading
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By Andrea Caldecourt
Managing the demands of a horticulture business is challenging enough but what happens when you have multiple rapidly-growing businesses to manage, all with very different needs?
Multi-award-winning Sunshine Coast business Cedar Hill Group is the parent company to seven separate entities, each operating in discrete horticultural fields, from tissue culture and tubestock production, to cut flower export and online retail.… Continue reading
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By John Corban
We cannot control external occurrences, like the economy or the weather, but we can control our response to what happens. We have experienced an extended boom in the Landscape Industry, so what we might be experiencing now is business as usual, (in other words the boom has subsided).… Continue reading
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For several months you may have felt that everything at work is tough, whether its winning work, trying to find a new employee, managing team members or managing cash-flow, your energy is flat and you feel you and your business is in a rut.… Continue reading
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By John Corban
Think back to when you started your business – you were probably somewhat fearful, but incredibly excited about what you were starting. And you probably imagined growing your business over time to a larger business with a key team, great clients, good profits, and a reasonably high profile.… Continue reading
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By John Corban
The beginning of the new financial year has begun, so now is the perfect time to analyse your Profit & Loss (P&L) from the year just finished. Then, create a forecast knowing what areas of quoting, projects, project management and maintenance, and retail you need to improve.… Continue reading
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We all know what service and products we provide in our business; we also know how we provide our service or products, but are you clear about WHY you run your business?
Many business owners in the horticulture Industry might say they love working with plants, maintaining and installing gardens, or growing and selling plants, but do your employees and clients know WHY you do what you do.… Continue reading
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Typically, what happens after a boom period is a slowing of enquiries. Many business owners get very cautious, and decide to cut expenses and operate from a restrictive mindset.
They can feel the pressure of going from excessive enquiries to much less, or they find clients holding back on spending as much.… Continue reading
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By John Corban
Enquiries have been at a peak for the last few years, however, with the media reporting interest rate and cost of living hikes, some prospects and clients may be reducing their original spend or even delaying a project.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Corban
When I work with a new landscaping client, in the first two sessions, I analyse their profit and loss (P&L) and highlight their four main expenses (as a percentage of their sales), and compare these to what the targeted percentages should be.… Continue reading
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Five steps to create a viable succession plan for your business (This plan can also be used to sell your business)
Are you at a stage in your business where you have been thinking about creating a succession plan?… Continue reading
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By Melissa J Scott
Too often when a business owner is looking for a website developer, the focus on technical ability and the mechanics and not on the brand identity or how to convert traffic into paying customers through heart-felt connection.… Continue reading
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By Melinda Hird
Today, the world of digital marketing is bigger than ever before. What’s more, consumers are demanding more variety in their daily lives. This means that marketers need to adapt their strategies accordingly and add new content types to their mix of existing media.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Corban
As business owners we are busy, often being more hands-on than we want to be, so when someone asks if you are happy with every aspect of your business, we might currently think ‘enquiries are good, sales are good, but systems could be better and I need to offload some of my tasks so I have time to manage my business’.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Corban
Remember when you were keen to start your own business? Let’s look at the how and why it is important to stay hungry to run your own business.
You may have been doing small jobs on weekends and that gave you the confidence to launch your business full time.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Corban
When there is not enough time in the day to do everything, time management is crucial for a healthy work-life balance.
When I met Steve, a landscape contractor and horticulturist, he said he felt that there was never enough time in the day to do everything.… Continue reading
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