RECENTLY I WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT SURVIVING MAJOR H-2B DELAYS AND HOW WE FOUND EMPLOYEES TO WORK FOR US JUST 8 DAYS BEFORE LAWN MOWING SEASON STARTED LAST YEAR.
 
One of the steps we took that has really paid off was to make sure that our website is appealing not only to customers, but also to prospective employees.

It’s baffling how many people miss this one important step for recruiting. Ours is not a perfect example and we’re always learning new things when it comes to digital marketing, but so this has worked for us!

HERE ARE TWO WAYS THAT WE’VE USED OUR WEBSITE TO ATTRACT MORE EMPLOYEES:

1. Posting job descriptions – posting the jobs that you have available is a great way to get job seekers to visit and stay on your site. They can learn more about your company and the possibilities they have when joining your team.

*BONUS TIP*  Who said they had to be in English? Cater to the Spanish-speaking demographic by translating your job descriptions for them!

2. Promoting Dowco Academy ...

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with work that you’ve caught yourself rushing through project after project?  

You scramble to answer a phone call while you’re checking your overloaded email inbox in the midst of completing an overdue report.  You push off your workout to make more time for another report that just hit your desk and by the time you look up from your desk to go home, it’s already dark outside.

It’s time for a pause. 

If you’re a business leader, the majority of the tasks you’re working on WILL impact someone’s life. If that’s the case, take a deep breath before moving forward.

Remind yourself that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. 

You’ve accomplished so much already in the first few months of the year. Have you celebrated these achievements with your spouse, your team, and yourself?

Slow down and enjoy the ride! And know that you’re not the only one on this train. Encourage the people your leading to take a momentary pause as well. The peopl...

FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, OUR FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY HAS APPLIED FOR OVER 40 WORKERS TO TRAVEL FROM TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO TO ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI ON TEMPORARY 9 MONTH WORK VISAS TO PERFORM LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPING SERVICES FOR OUR CLIENTS.

Over the winter we jump through a few government hoops, pay a bunch of fees, send out renewals to our clients, plow for a few snow events, and vacation in the tropics with NALP.  When spring time comes, the Mexican employees arrive and it’s off to the races!  We get busy completing massive amounts of work and clients are happy. It requires minimal quality oversight because the same men have been coming each year and know our properties and training. We throw a goodbye party in November to say thank you and then the cycle repeats itself. 

For 20 years this process has repeated and our company has grown and experienced huge successes serving nearly 1,000 clients.  Until 2015.  

• 2015 was the year that our help didn’t arrive.
• 2015 was the year that 8 days
...

Spring time in the landscape industry is our biggest opportunity for sales. Many of our clients and prospective clients see the ads from Lowes about all the latest and greatest gardening ideas and they want it all now!
 
This week I led our weekly sales meeting with a chat about our conversations. The amount of people that our sales team talks to can be overwhelming in the spring and it’s really important that we find a balance between ‘building a relationship’ (shooting the breeze) with capturing unique insight that will help us land the sale.

So what are the best conversation starters that help you quickly jump into the content of the conversation without making the prospect feel rushed? Here’s what we came up with:

• What’s your story, how did you get to this point?
• What’s a day in the life of [name] look like?
• What’s your favorite part of what you do every day?
• What are your biggest goals and dreams for [your landscaping]?
• What’s most challenging for you right now? How do you p
...

Last week, I listened to a Podcast by Brendon Burchard about avoiding overwhelm. We all know the feeling of overwhelm – when your plate is alarmingly full and the list of things to do seem endless. He offered a few tips, and here are the ones that stood out to me.

Be smart enough to recognize the difference between overwhelm and burnout. 

If you are CONSISTENTLY overwhelmed, you’re closer to burnout. If your attitude changes from positive to negative, you’re closer to burnout. Feeling overwhelmed is okay once in a while. Burnout means something needs to change.

Start your day organized. Make sure you have a plan for the day and you do your best to stick to it.

There are hundreds of popular thought leaders out there who can help you identify the way that will work best for you to stay organized. My technique is to build blocks of time into my Outlook calendar and make sure they’re phrased so that I’m achieving specific results, not just doing work.

Transition well. 

The ability to...

There are two big enemies of success, happiness and personal fulfillment.

The first is “The Path of Least Resistance”. This is what causes people to take the easy way in almost every situation and seek shortcuts.

The second is “The Expediency Factor” which says that people invariably seek the fastest and easiest way to get the things they want, right now, with little or no concern for the long-term consequences of their behaviors.

In other words, people do what is fun and easy rather than what is necessary for success. In many ways, this is even worse as far as leading people to underachievement.

Successful people make it a habit to do things that other people don’t like to do. Successful people are also more concerned with “pleasing results” whereas unsuccessful people are more concerned with “pleasing methods”.

How can you practice delayed gratification, the ability to put off satisfaction in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term?

This morning as I was driving to work, I had a realization.  Typically I like to listen to a podcast and prepare my mind for focus and achievement on Monday mornings. But today, all I wanted to do was listen to loud music and drive fast! (Probably not a good thing, because if you know me I’m always getting pulled over for driving too fast.)

So at 6 AM, I was pumped up and full of energy…. and quite frankly this made me feel a bit guilty about missing out on a morning ritual.  But after reflection, I realize it’s ok to change up my routine every once in awhile. Here’s why.

At work, your level of enthusiasm HAS TO BE a 10.

If you consider yourself a leader, then you know the importance of bringing your ‘A’ game to work every day… especially on Monday’s and especially in the morning.  Your team relies on you to set the pace for how the day and the week is going to proceed.

I think most people will agree that they’re at a higher enthusiasm level during the weekends than they are when a...

Last week at a conference in Phoenix I was listening to Millionaire Coach, Scott Harris, and he asked the group to finish this sentence, “Rules are meant to be ______.” We all shouted out in unison, “BROKEN!”

Because, rules are meant to be broken, right?

But, we were wrong. Rules are meant to be followed. Here’s why.

Life is all about the decisions and choices that we make at every moment. If you decide you want to live to be 100 you have to follow proper rules around exercise and nutrition. When you get hungry, do you eat an apple or do you have cake? Do you take the stairs or use the escalator? Do you skip the workout when it’s raining or do it regardless?

Chances are you know the answer to these questions already. These are the rules.

If you make the decision that you want to keep your own teeth when your 80 years old then there are two very simple choices that you have to make every single day. Brush & floss. Brush and floss every day. That’s it! 

It’s so easy to be successfu...