Going into Hardscape Rehab

20 years after starting up Northern Lights Landscape, Doug Capodanno sold the company this past winter. He sold it so he could work full time in the new company he started a few years ago, Hardscape Rehab, a cleaning, re-sanding and sealing business that also does minor repairs. With Northern Lights sold and no longer a distraction, Hardscape Rehab was running full steam ahead by the spring of 2019... MORE

Biggest challenge is minimizing challenges

Contractor Marc Larsen says his company’s involvement in this porcelain project was 2 years in the making – 18 months planning and 6 months of construction. Marc’s company, Mountain West Paver Specialists, installed 9,000 sf of porcelain pavers on grade, and on 2nd and 3rd story decks. Marc says, "We focus our energy and our expertise on one thing. We are paver specialists. We do our job. We do it really well. We're detailed with it. And we're fast." MORE

What’s the owner’s job?

Being a business owner can be an overwhelming never-ending job. When you first start out, you are the foreman, field worker, estimator, office worker, salesperson, bill collector, scheduler, production manager and the titles go on and on. As the business grows, you will add other employees and managers. As growth continues, your duties will also evolve. Over time you must decide where your efforts offer the highest return on investment balanced by personal fulfillment... MORE

Are you optimistic for 2020?

The HNA show in Louisville is the winding down of a long season and time to begin reflecting on the success of all the planning, effort, time and stress it has taken to reach this point. Having attended many of these shows in my 43 years as a landscape contractor and then as speaker, I am always interested in what the general mood of the attendees will be... MORE

Plan for your future

About the time [our son] was born we decided we needed help with planning for our goals in life. The first order of business was to get disability and life insurance. This is something a lot of young people don’t think about. Look at my case though. Out of nowhere I had a stroke and was out of work for an entire season. Thank goodness I had disability insurance and savings... MORE

Contractor Profiles

Building a hybrid permeable project

June/July 2019

Building a hybrid permeable project

Hybrid permeable construction provides drainage by a pool while meeting local regulations. MORE

A big beautiful wall

April/May 2019

A big beautiful wall

Overbuilding a residential retaining wall with lots of curves and lots of cutting. MORE

Awards aren’t everything; but they help

February/March 2019

Awards aren’t everything; but they help

Awards boost employee morale, build credibility with prospects and inspire employees to produce award-worthy work. MORE

Empowering employees to buy the company

December 2018/January 2019

Empowering employees to buy the company

Giving people real responsibilities allowed John Cottrell to grow his company and sell it. MORE

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