This redbud puts out more volunteer seedlings than any plant of any sort I have ever seen. I am not exaggerating to say that every time I work in the yard I find 8-10 tiny redbuds in random places. It's a shame that they don't appear in a convenient location, because I know they come from good stock, and I would love to have another tree of that caliber in my landscape. But invariably they sprout in my vegetable garden, or next to my foundation, or any other spot where they simply can't be.

My father told me once that "a weed is anything growing where you don't want it." I'm sure a horticulturalist would take some exception to that quote, but I have come to agree with the spirit of what he said: if something is growing in the wrong place, it's a "weed," and it should probably be removed.

About 18 months ago, I had to let one of our team members go. It was hard, because he was a great guy, a willing worker, and I legitimately like him as well - he's still a good friend of our family. But no amount of mental gymnastics could get me around the fact that he was simply growing in the wrong place, and that we didn't have a place to transplant him that made sense for him and our business. It was hard, but it was the right decision.

The challenge is always to identify weeds early. Maybe your weeds are certain team members, or certain clients - and sometimes we can be the "weed" in our own company simply by being too involved in parts of our business that we should delegate. I imagine most of you are starving for staffing right now, and you might look at someone in the wrong role or who isn't a good fit and think that you will just let it ride and deal with the issue later. But weeds get harder and harder to pull the longer they grow, and hard decisions don't get any easier by putting them off. 

E-Mail Communication Ideas

Communicating with your clients is always a good idea, even if the message you need to bring isn't great news. When we help lawn and landscape companies with their e-mail marketing and communication, it's not always to sell more services. Below are two examples of using an e-newsletter to communicate important information. 

Hively Landscape needed our help with a situation afflicting many of our landscape clients: slowed production caused by staffing and supply chain difficulties. Of course, no homeowner wants to hear that their project will take longer than expected, but it's far better to be proactive about letting them know. 

Carrier's Turf Pros contacted us to help explain why lawn fungus diseases were so prevalent in their area this summer. The newsletter below aims to educate their clients, reducing phone calls, service calls and complaints.

If you have an issue of any sort that needs to be communicated to your clients, we can help, and it's probably less expensive than you think. Contact me directly to learn more.