Let Your Lawn Care Business Run WITHOUT You

Hey everyone, this is Mike Andes and you're listening to the Business Boot Camp podcast. Today's a little bit of a different scenery. If you're watching this, if you're just listening, I am on a beach right now up in Blaine, Washington, not too far from where I live. And it's just 9 o' clock at night and I figured I'd try to change it up a bit instead of being at the studio. So today we're going to talk about the five things you need to do if you want to run your business and have a business that runs itself and you don't have to be there every day in the day to day operations. Before we get into that, a big thank you to a sponsor, which is Gusto. If you haven't already, go to gusto.combootcamp try out their software for 90 days and I promise you will want to extend it past the trial. It's only $9 per month per user, which is comparable, if not cheaper than a lot of other products. And what really sets Gusto apart is the ease of use for you to make payroll and to make sure you get all the payroll taxes and Social Security and all that stuff taken out correctly. Very easy to use from a business owner standpoint and very simple from the employee standpoint. So check it out Today go to gusto.combootcamp and make payroll easier. So today I want to talk about five different things. And these are not necessarily things I've mastered. These are things I'm working on, things that I'm still trying to perfect in my businesses. But I run several companies and so there's no way I can be there every day, every minute, every hour. There's no way I can make all the decisions within the business. So if you're wanting, if your dream or your goal is to eventually have the business run by itself, today might be a good episode for you. So the first thing I would is so crucial to running a business without you being there every single day would be the team. And so you really have to build a great team around the business, whether it be from an executive standpoint right down to the people on the front lines. It really comes down to how, what size of business you're talking about. And so for example, Anytime Fitness, the gym that I own, really there's one person that kind of runs the show. We only have a few employees there, so it's not like a big operation. The systems of the franchise kind of run it themselves. It's open 24 7. There's not a huge amount of employee interaction that's needed. And so, you know, I go there maybe twice, three times a week max. I spend maybe two to three hours a week working on that business, but for the most part it runs by itself. And so the number one thing that I would say, if you want to run a business without you being there every single day and you want to own that company and maybe you just want to make more of the executive decisions, hiring decisions, strategic decisions, acquisitions, things like that, but you don't want to be there on a day to day basis. And the team is imperative at anytime. Fitness Sammy is my club manager and she's fantastic. She really does everything for me. And then occasionally if she has questions, she'll run it by me. She does all the social media side of things, she runs payroll, she does really everything in the business and I'm just there to help her, try to give her ideas. If there's big situations, like we had a big situation happen last weekend with a club, with or with members at the club, getting in a fight at the club, which is not cool, but you know, then I'm brought into the picture a little bit more. But in general, she can run everything and there's nothing that I can provide the business that she can't make a decision about. And so that's very powerful. When customers come to your employees and they can say there's nothing the owner can do that I can't do for you. And so that really puts them in a place to make decisions, to make calls on certain things, whether it be customer service related things, discounts, refunds. If you empower your team and you make sure that they know their level of authority and what they can and cannot do, and then you just absolutely make sure that you back them up and are there when they need you, then that's really the ingredients to a team that can sustain that business going forward is made of. So the number one thing is a team, great individuals, people that are going to want to see the business grow, want to see it continue to thrive. The number two is training. This really ties in. Number one is you have to train those team members. You have to train them what to do in certain scenarios. You have to train them to start thinking the way you would think in certain instances and certain circumstances, so that when problems arise, they do make decisions the way you would make them. And so how can you make this tangibly, how can you make training better in your business? Videos are a great way to do this. If you do a lot of office work. If you do a lot of online work, if you do stuff on your computer a lot, doing screen flows, basically just screen sharing your screen and show them how to do invoicing, how to do billing, how to deal with certain scenarios, how to do estimates, how to put those things together, how to communicate effectively with customers on the computer. All of that can just be literally screen shares. Saving those into videos, making into folders of different sectors of the business and just using that as training. I really do feel that like literally just a simple cell phone is all you really need to capture those videos. If it's out in the wild, not on a screen, you can very easily take your cell phone out and go video yourself doing the job, doing the tasks that you want them to do, and then naming those files according to what they are going to be needing when the time arises. So if you want to shoot a video on certain sales aspects, like when a certain confrontation comes or a certain objection comes from a customer, how do you deal with that? Literally you can take your phone out, have someone stand up and be the customer, give that objection, you retort back to it, show your body language, show the way that you handle that objection, and then name that file underneath a folder called Objections, and then just name that objection as the file name. So literally 50, 100 videos can really compile it and make into a training package. And when things arise, when things come up and they have to contact you and you're like, well, we know what, we can create a system around that to where they it's dealt with the same way every time. Make a video. I truly believe that a 50, 60 page manual doesn't do a whole lot of good. A lot of times people don't like to read. People don't tend to read that in advance. It's usually harder to index and harder to make it accessible. Videos are a great way to do that. You can make a private YouTube channel and compile those videos and then make it searchable for your employees. So training your team is great. Number one, having a great team. But then number two, training your team to continually think the way you would in every scenario. Number three is systems. And so when you start wanting to make your business run without you being there, either it's going to run with you there and you're gonna be able to watch every system or watch every transaction, watch every interaction with customers, watch every sale, watch every everything that's going on, or you have to have systems do that for you. There always has to be some sort of governance in a business. And it's either going to be you as the business owner, or it's going to be the systems you set up that your employees thereby are dictated by. And so the systems and procedures allow it, allow your business to create a uniform product or service to your customers without there being fluctuations based upon the person or, or personality that's giving that service or offering that product. And so you want to make sure you create that uniformity by making sure you have the right team and you have the right training that enforce the systems you want to have made. And so if you want to have a follow up process, you've got to have a system in place. It can be an automated system using software, like systems and software. I think software has allowed us to make systems much, much more easily in our businesses and much more cost effectively. So if I want to make a follow up process, I can use an email responder that automatically sends emails out after three days and then seven days, then 15 days and then automatically every month to stay in touch with the customer. I can create that system without having to tell everyone, without having to train them, without having to find team members to fill those positions. So if you're wanting to leave your business, I would ask as much as possible, you allow software to run the systems within your business wherever possible. If it's hiring, there should be a system, whether it be from the point of getting the lead, getting the application from your website, right, to the point of having interview, to the point of a job offer, to the point of then training that new hire. There's gotta be a system all the way along so that they're not constantly having to ask you as the owner how things should be done. They simply have to look at the system and, and they've been trained on the systems, like training. The most of your training should be around the systems you've created. And so if you're in that position where you want to get out of the day to day operations, what I would do is during your day to day operations, constantly asking yourself the question, can I create a system that will run this when I'm gone so that they don't have to ask me, they don't have to talk to me all the time, they don't always have to figure things out, but there's a system in place that, that runs the business. The fourth thing is simplicity. All right? And so this is a big thing. When people are wanting to get away from their business, they start thinking, well, you know what, there's no One else that can run the business like me, like no one else, is going to be able to interact the customers the same way or upsell the same way, or be able to communicate in the same way to the customers, or be able to do what I've always done at the level I've always done it. And to the large extent that's probably true. You're the owner, you have equity, you have so equity. Everything depends on it. In your, like, there's a really good chance people are not going to do things as good as you. However, if you can make your business model simple, you can then have. It takes a whole lot less training, it takes a whole lot less systems, and it takes a whole lot less quality of individuals on your team. If you've simplified the business, if you make it really complicated, you have lots of moving parts, you have lots of different services and you have millions of different products. Like really try to simplify things if you're wanting to make the business where you don't have to be there every day. So what we've done at Augusta, when I'm, you know, next year will be completely out of day to day operations, focusing on the franchising. In order for that to happen, we had to simplify our services. So we had to take out certain things like artificial turf. We did it, it was great, made money on it, it was cool, it was fun. But it's not going to be. It's not simple. And so we took that out. It required highly skilled individuals, it took higher paid individuals. It was labor intensive in terms of cost as well, like upfront costs, larger deposits from customers required like more admin work from the office standpoint, longer sales cycle. And so we decided to take that out of the business. Artificial turf. You know, we just sold our tree chipper. We're not interested in doing massive tree jobs anymore. What else have we cut out? We've cut out really big installations, we've cut out water features, we've cut out irrigation. All trying to simplify the business to the few things that we do really well. Mowing, landscaping, property cleanups. And simple like those are the three. Those are our three pillars is mowing, landscaping and property cleanups. And around mowing and lawn care is like, you know, fertilization, weed control, things like that. But those are our three pillars. Mowing, landscaping and property cleanups. And we took out like three or four other things. And so why are we doing that? We're trying to simplify the business. I'm trying to simplify the business. Model so that when I leave there's not so many moving parts and so many different departments and so many different areas that they can mess up on. And keeping the business model simple is absolutely imperative not only to you moving out of the business, out of day to day, it's also really imperative to be profitable when you do that, because the more complexity you add to a small business, and when I'm talking about small business, you know, 10, 15, 20 employees or less, like when you add more and more complexity and more and more layers and more and more services, more and more divisions and departments to a small business when you leave, there better be a really good facilitator of communication to. There's got to be a really strong executive team. And that many times will suffocate from a financial standpoint, a small business that doesn't have the resources to support the infrastructure that is required to run that type of organization with all the complexities. So simplify, simplify, simplify and then get really good at those few things that you do really well. Get really, really good at producing those products that you know, you can produce a solid product profit margin and create a solid product and your customers are very happy with them. Focus, focus, focus. Simplify, simplify, simplify and cut away the excess. It's not easy to say no to new work. It's not easy to say no to customers or jobs that are presenting themselves to you. And you have to say no to them because you're simplifying your service mix or you're simplifying your products and what you offer to the, to the market. But I promise you, the more and more you simplify, the less and less the business was required for you to be around. And it's amazing that it happens when you simplify, simplify, simplify, when you do leave, your profit margin is dramatically increased because there's not waste and overhead that is required to support the infrastructure of a system that's moving fast and has a lot of complexities. So number five, if you're wanting to move out of your business and not be there on a day to day basis and maybe manage it from afar, maybe spend four or five hours a week working on it, working on the business, working on the strategy, working on the growth, working on hiring new people, whatever it is, there's got to be trust. Trust from you to the employees and from the employees to you. Because if you're not always there, a lot of times it's easy to say about trust from us to them, like okay, we're not there anymore. So we're going to have to trust our employees and to handle the customer accounts and make sure the work is done correctly and make sure they're doing things according to the systems and according to what I've put in place. And that they're respecting each other and respecting the customers, and that the brand is being moved forward with their presence and with them being the face of the image and of the brand of the company. But also, not only do we have to trust them as employees, the employees have to trust us as business owners, because now they're not seeing us every day, no longer. If we're not there all the time, they aren't able to get feedback from us. They're not able to see you working in the shop early and leaving late. They're not able to get that positive reinforcement when they do a great job. And you as the owner, are able to tell them, great job, good work there. And so trust is very important because they're not going to see you for maybe a few days or a few weeks. And because of that, they might begin to lose trust in you simply because they don't see someone that's there that's moving the business forward. And so trust on our part as business owners, we have to trust they're going to do everything right within the business and adhere to the systems and procedures and treat each other well and move the brand forward. But they also then have to trust us as business owners that the decisions we're making when we're not at the business are in their best interest. And they have to see that us being away from the business and is going to somehow move the business forward or there's just some strategy behind it. And they have to trust that we're not somehow trying to undermine them as employees and just leaving them to be and just leaving them at their own devices and like, hey, good luck, guys. Figure it out. I'll see you. I'm coming back from my Barbados vacation in two weeks. No, there's got to be a level of trust that they know that when there are really big issues and when there are really big problems, that they can get in contact with you, that they can lean on you for support, that you are going to be there to. To be able to train them or console them or be there for them when they need you, or when the business needs you, or when there's a problem internally or with a customer or a big account falls through or there's a big disappointment. They've got to have Trust in you as a leader. Now I find a big transition that when people go from move out from their business and start doing something else or working on more of a strategy standpoint, aren't there on a day to day basis. When that happens, that's a really big shift from business owner or boss to now becoming a leader. Because no longer a boss is there in my mind is like a boss is there telling what to do, telling what not to do. They're constantly present. When you step away from your business on a day to day operational level, you have to become a leader because no longer are you there to tell them what to do, no longer are you there to tell them what not to do or how to act or what to do in a certain scenario. And they now have to have trust in you as a leader, that you're moving the organization a certain way, that you're hiring executives and their managers that are going to take care of the business. They have to trust that you on your two week vacation have put systems in place. They're going to be set up for success. And if stuff goes wrong, you put things in place to make sure that they in their role are going to be successful. So those are the five things. Number one, create. Have a great team, just great individuals that you want to work with, that are willing to move the business forward, that want to grow, want to succeed. A great team, you know, at anytime fitness, that's Sammy for me. At Augusta, that's Liz. And then Lee is like the guy I go to in the field. So Liz is office manager side things, financial side things. Lee's like the field person. Those are the people I am like depending on 100%. And then everyone in the organization, they're solid, they're my team, they're the people I support and they support me. So number one is team. Number two is training. Have a solid training system in place. People within the organization that are responsible for training so that when there is an issue, you go to them and you work with them on the systems. You work with them with how the videos should be done for training. You work on the procedure of how training should go forward. And that ties right into number three, which is systems. You got to create systems around everything that you possibly can. If you're looking to move out of day to day operations. A system for starting up the business, for opening up the day. Like what do you do when you unlock the door and then you turn off the security system and then you turn on the computers and then you make sure that the power is on or whatever it is. Like, the reason I'm starting to think more and more about this is as we franchise, I've had to actually document so many little mundane things that you just think like, oh, that just happens. But like what are the first four or five things you have to do to open up the shop? If you've always done that, you've got to make sure that it's a documented system in place that's going to run and going to still happen when you're gone. And so I'd really encourage you, whether it be opening, you know, opening the shop up, open up the store, uploading a file, whatever you do in your business that you've documented, you have a system in place. If you're wanting to get out of the business, if you want to be there all the time, you love being at the office every day. These are not things you need to do. But if you want to ever run a business where you can leave for three or four weeks, where you can start a second business, where you can start a third business, where you can do other things when your kids are growing up and you want to be away for a couple weeks, or you want to go to their school function, or you want to, if you're going to be doing that, if you're going to be going away from the business from a day to day operational standpoint, you got to have a great team, you got to have to have training, you have to have solid systems. Number four, you've got to simplify the business model. Take out all the fluff, take away the things that are really just you, you put in place really just to stroke your ego, like more trucks, more real estate, second office, all those things that are like, don't really, you aren't necessarily needing cut away all the fluff, cut away all the extra overhead, cut away a middle layer of management by simplifying your services and the products that you're offering and just focus, focus, focus on those few services or those few products that drive 90% of the results. And focus, simplify the business model. And focus is an absolute must if you're going to step away from the business. Number five, most importantly, there's got to be a level of trust between you and your employees and from your employees back to you so that they know why you're doing it, what you're doing, and you can trust them. You've got to be able to trust them so that you know that when a customer comes to that business, they're going to be treated the same way you would want them to be treated and that you can trust your employees to handle them with the same care and compassion and consideration that you would do otherwise and if you were there every single day. So I hope that helps. Hope this change of scenery helps you a little bit, break it up a little bit from the studio, but I wish you all the best. If you have any questions, if you have a question on how to start, grow or save your business, check out businessbootcamppodcast.com and until next time, be great because nothing else pays.