[Paul]

What is a big bonus? $3000-$7000

[jwholden]

That would DEFINITELY keep em coming back! Heck, if I saw that potential I might not be self employed!

[Paul]

Most companies give a one week bonus, or what would be = to one weeks check. To date the largest bonus check we have written was just over $5,000 to a hourly worker. This year that will change. I have one labor who is buying a house and he's been with me for 9 years now so he'll get a pretty good bonus.

Other things to think of have any of them asked you for a loan? We have finaced a few cars and helped on down payments for loans on houses.

[Stonehenge]

JW - The bonus package I'm putting together gives the foreman the opportunity to earn just over $7K in bonus. Though I would expect that in this first year they do not hit that mark.

But I'm trying to put it together so that everyone benefits - if they do sloppy, slow work, they don't get $$. And I won't, either. But if they do efficient, quality work, they'll get $$, because I'll be getting $$ too.

We could use a guy with all kinds of hort knowledge in this neck of the woods. Let me know if you're tired of the headaches out East.

[jwholden]

I have loaned money to employees before.

I gave an extra weeks pay for the past couple years. It just seems like the right thing to do.

I sold my truck to my five year man.

I have started buying hot chocolate for everyone in the mornings and just spent $100 for wool socks and long johns for the guys. I've got work to do if the weather stays above 32.

I pray the guys get the point that they are appreciated and that I hope they return next year.!

[Nebraska]

With small business being the backbone of our country and the majority of people out there are employed by small business why is it that business has the perception of being cold and heartless... If what many of us are implying how we really feel about our employees by how we treat them as evidenced here, good employees seem to be well taken care of. I doubt that we are just some statistical anomaly.

[Dale Wiley]

The snow can definetly have an impact on that. Your indication that you are noit dependent on snow is basically what I think snow should be. All profit after all overheads and nets have been meet off regular landscape work in a 9 (??) month season.

We don't do snow here in our temperate climate, but it rains to beat hell here. We base our season on 9.5 months. Anything we do after Dec 1 in a normal year is all profit, as is January and 1/2 of February. Fortunatley we are booked throught the first week of Janaury, so this will help make up our shortfall from last year.