[bcx400]

I have not seen much here about the terrible economic conditions we are experiencing. I have been in the landscaping biz for 25 years (10 years on my own) and have never had a slower time.

I suppose I am not the only one- anyone else in the same situation?

[Stonehenge]

We're actually doing pretty well. Have been the last couple years, despite competitors going out of business pretty consistently over that timeframe.

Though when the news of AIG, Merrill Lynch, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae etc hit the airwaves, our phones pretty much went dead. But we had all but a couple weeks booked already, so it's not going to impact us that much. Gives me a couple extra weeks to work on a couple winter projects, I suppose.

[TheShrubber]

Most of my work is landscape renovation so the down housing market didn't effect me much. The stock market unstability has caused my clients' 401k funds to vaporize - that has hit me hard. I am virtually out of fall work. I had numerous clients put their fall work on hold so they can just "hold their money".

[NCSULandscaper]

its very slow here as well, alot of larger projects i was fixing to start on was going to be paid by selling some stock, well those got cancelled and now i am scrambling to find more landscaping work

[papercutter]

The market's definitely tightened up here. I'm not turning down a whole lot of work, just gathering my acorns for the winter. One of the nurseries that sends me leads has been laying off staff, but they're still sending me 2-3 decent leads per week. I don't know; the work is still there, it's just haaaaard! And customers are a lot more waffley. Stick some googly eyes on an Eggo and there's half my client base.

[Mac]

most of my work is residential maintenance on a recurring schedule; im not too worried about the rest of this year but I have pessimistic expectations for next year.

[johnkeegan]

Alot of people lived beyond their means over the last 10-15 years and now the bill is coming due. Those crazy boom years won't return. If we run lean operations and continue to focus on the basics (quality, customer satisfaction etc.) we should do fine.


Maybe we'll actually have more free time to spend with family and friends...So we will be "richer," afterall.

[agla]

Most landscape projects are a result of something else and are not a stand alone decision. Either the house has changed hands, is about to go on the market, has just been built, or has undergone a renovation or repair of some sort.

Increasing home equity has been the driving force behind most of this. That "increase in wealth" has allowed people to sell their homes to move to better ones, or to remodel. Without that money from re-financing, most did not have the money it takes in their pay check. No growing equity equals no new money to finance bigger projects that result in needing a landscape.

People invest in new homes when they know that the value of that home is going up. No one wants to buy a house for $500k today that is going to be worth less next year. No one is going to sell their house right now for $450k when it was worth $500k last year.

And you maintenance guys who think you won't be affected, what do you think all the guys who gave up maintenance to do construction wll be doing when they can't get construction? ... and anyone else who is out of work?

[Stonehenge]

Ultimately, to keep going and maybe growing it's going to come down to being able to take market share away from your competitors. That's kind of how we've approached it the last few years.

[msfxJeep]

I was making decent strides in moving into full-time design work. Every single person I was talking with a few weeks ago has put their projects on indefinite hold. They all promise to call me as soon as they decide to go forward.

I'm very relieved now that I held on to my 'real job' (as my father puts it) when I was debating quitting to devote more time to my growing design work. It doesn't make me hop out of bed every morning, but it's relatively insulated from the economy. Otherwise I wouldn't have a reason to get out of bed at all . . . lol

[Greensmith]

One of my larger clients is a management firm for the big wall street companys. She builds their finance buildings essentially. She was telling me that the effects of the recent plunge are drying up all her projects. She then informed me she won't be doing a full property cleanup in the fall.

Trickle down economics she said with sarcastic chuckle.

Yea.

[VoodooChile]

We have a few projects that have "disappeared". People who seemingly are "comfortable" enough to afford any service anybody offers, are talking money, cutting expenses, and closing sales calls with "we'll see..."

Even after a good year, we are nervous but thankful for our repeat business, which has kept us busy. I am also encouraged that a few jobs are already sold for 09'.

The thing is, we are living in historic times. Nobody, not even the "experts", know what tomorrow will bring. The only response as small business owners that makes any sense is trim expenses, focus on quality, and keep your chin up. Nothing sells like confidence, optimism, and the certainty that your leads need (and can afford) what you sell.

Good Luck for the rest of 08' everybody, and I hope you all are still around GTX and kicking in 09'.

[site]

Now is the time to start chopping off the dead wood. Get rid of any weak employees. Find a way to combine job descriptions and unload the overhead. Don't buy anything you don't need. Rent it instead. Give deluxe customer service to all of your customers and wait out the slow times. It will probably be a while before the good times roll around again, so try to figure out how to make a decent living in the slow times.

[agla]

I look at the American Society of Landscape Architects job listings as part of my entertainment when I'm trying to avoid working at my computer in the evenings. I usually just search "massachusetts" to see who is doing what. Typically there has always been four to six postings for RLA jobs available in MA.

Currently, there are only 4 jobs listed in the entire country and the last one was posted 30 days ago. Not a great time for anyone coming out of school woth a BLA and a pile of student loans.

I'm very relieved that fate has put me in an engineering office and versatility has become a way of life. Hopefully, that will make a difference if there is any downsizing.

Currently, we are still very busy with more eggs in the bigger commercial basket than in residential where it had been more balanced in the past. My concern is that lenders may stop lending to our clients.

I'm hearing stories about people having their available credit getting cut way down. I understtand that your borrowed money to available credit ratio is a big part of what makes your credit rating number. Having that availability shrink lowers your credit score which then keeps you from getting your usual loans. Not good.

[Inspired]

Relationships have been keeping me afloat the last few months. People we have worked for in the past or just people I know have been referring me. Still, the jobs are smaller and customers are much more cost conscious. I was joking with Papercutter the other day that we are getting very efficient at small jobs. That is probably a good thing.

I don’t do any landscape maintenance, but I have some old customers who have used me for years as an irrigation and or lighting maintenance guy. I never turned them over to another contractor as I my installation business grew and later as my design business grew. I knew them very well from working for them for years and I just enjoyed the relationship very much. It was hard to let them go, great relationships are a blessing, so I just keep working for them in whatever capacity they needed. I have been called to come over and interpret conversations with their landscape maintenance people or as a consultant when other trades are working on the property. It really made scheduling difficult, it’s hard to pull off a busy 20,000. or 30,000. job or split crews up to take care of a 300. job. But we did and it has been paying off lately in the form of referrals.