Wall job grows from 1,100 to 11,000 face feet (not a typo)

Contractor Jason Myers went to a site visit for a project specced at 1,100 face feet. “I explained that wasn't realistic for all of the things that they wanted to do on that hill. And then as we went along, the client liked the way the SRWs looked compared to the cast-in-place walls planned for other parts of the project. They're more economical than cast-in-place too, so our walls were substituted and the job grew substantially.”… MORE

Do you track time & materials on every job?

The last thing you need is another item on your plate. And that’s exactly what taking time to track materials/time on your jobs feels like. I think we could agree that tracking every material, receipt and minute of time on a job is, well, hard. Do you know what else is hard? Working your tail off all year, getting to the end of the year, and realizing there are pennies in the checking account. That’s hard…. MORE

What’s the most profitable service you can offer?

Landscapers ask me: What’s the most profitable service? landscaping, lawn maintenance or hardscaping? The answer might surprise you. The fastest way to improve profits in any service line is to raise prices…period. But, is there one type of service that can produce higher profits than the others? Here’s the short answer… Nope…one service line is super profitable in one company and in the next company it’s a different service line…. MORE

Whatcha selling?

Some of us are natural sales people, others frankly stink at it. Maybe you’re the proverbial person selling ice to Eskimos in the middle of the winter! Or maybe you’re the person who couldn’t sell ice cream in the Sahara in the dry season. If you look at those extremes, one is brashly selling what he knows is completely useless to the buyer. The other can’t communicate to the buyer what they clearly need…. MORE

20 years of Hardscape Magazine

August 2023 marks 20 years since Charles Vander Kooi hired me to launch Hardscape Magazine. Chuck saw that the hardscape market was growing fast and was being underserved by the media. It didn’t matter that Chuck had never been involved in the publishing business. He had an amazing grasp of the numbers straight from the gut, what costs would be to run a magazine and what income could be expected.... MORE

Contractor Profiles

Productivity & profitability in a people business

August/September 2023

Productivity & profitability in a people business

Bob Tunzi likes where his business is. 10 field employees, an office manager and no middle management. MORE

Keeping cool & organized under pressure

August/September 2023

At Prime Lawn nearly everyone knows how to do everything

Brooding over problems or beating yourself up doesn’t solve issues, it just keeps your mind too busy to focus on solutions. MORE

1/2 the management team leaves the company

June/July 2023

1/2 the management team leaves the company

Mitch Andrea’s young 1-crew company still builds big projects as he works out how to fill in for the loss of his brother. MORE

All walls all the time

April/May 2023

All walls all the time

Drew Nicoliello carved out a profitable niche as a 1-crew company specializing in engineered residential retaining walls. MORE

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April/May 2024

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