Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.
LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry
LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.
For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.
Replies
I raised this a little while ago in the BOG and then approached my clients. It was a no go for me, nearly all preferred our monthly invoice system and prefer to pay by BACS.
'Here is' the link to my post in the BOG.
my regular clients love it from december to march when i don't even bother sending them a bill for 3 months...and when i do its equates to less than 1 month of maintenance charges in the growing season...its a stinger but ive had to accept thats what happens when you run a seasonal business.
There are many jobs, tasks etc can be undertaken in these seasons to give a good stream of income.
This year with such relative mildness, albeit wet in the southern half of the U.K. has proved this even more so.
However, some decide that a seasonal service suits their business or life style better.
My regular maintenance jobs have very little that need doing over the winter, by mid december i've pretty much done it all with the exception of a bit of winter pruning on a nice day, and tidying when branches fall down etc. There is other work and one-off or annual jobs but my regular ones really don't need much attention. And I'm glad in a way because they are so time consuming the rest of the year! Also I don't like working outside in the rain or bad weather and the days are short so that works out fine for me.
As a lifestyle choice, that's good.
Some come on LJN worried about year round income, no work, empty pockets, phone not ringing etc this time of the year.
I wanted to remove confusion that some decide as a lifestyle they do not want to work during the Winter, but cover it by saying 'there is no work' as a justification.
If you want/need work in this industry some advance planning, foresight and determination can see you through.
We just had one of our busiest Winters, with income likely to exceed the Summer's, to the point we have been trying to recruit since late last year.
What is/was notciable that of the few people I have actively looked at, some really didn't want to be working outdoors in the Winter !!
Like Colin, I suggest, we've forward planned, got a budget approved with the client and it is paid monthly, thus giving us cashflow, which as we all know if the lifeblood of any business.
Yes I like to be honest about it lol... if it's too cold too windy or too wet you won't catch me doing much outdoor gardening... maybe up the yard pottering around in the polytunnels or in the office looking at packets of seeds or polishing the cordless tools. But flat out busy all day 7 days a week if necessary when the going is good. Working with the seasons, nature and the weather rather than against them. I find that gardening in bad weather makes a mess and is a miserable task. Am primarily a one man band so not got any employees whining about no work or money in winter lol
Ironically, it's not employees driving this, it's our clients. They want work done and we'll take it ...and the income.
We're an "outside industry" and there's many a task that is season independant and thus you aren't working against nature or causing major problems.
Yes probably a better climate down there in leafy surrey than grim oop north where I'm based lol ... not much demand from clients here for winter garden maintenance, I have a certain amount of winter work which keeps me going but the main income is spring/summer/autumn
Where are you based, Charles ?
Our work is spread out across the South East - not so much 'leafy surrey' ;)
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
of 4 Next