A big Thank You to LJN!

Just thought I would spend the time this morning to say a big public thank you to the members and operators of landscapejuicenetwork.com for all of the help and assistance I have received over the last couple of years since stumbling across the site in 2012.

I pay £40 per year in a one-off payment as a Pro Member but the payback from this very small investment must be many thousands of pounds saved or gained through knowledge and advice. Only this week I have gained detailed advice from members in the BOG about specific charging rates for commercial weed control work, and received via e-mail a full set of COSHH and RAMS documents completely free of charge from a member, saving many many hours of personal work and research. Completely selflessly with no expectation of payment or reciprocity.

This is in addition to:

Money saved through equipment purchases recommended by members
Selling parts of my business last year to another LJN member through the BOG
Numerous document downloads saving days and days of work
Sound business advice allowing profits to be increased
Technical advice about carrying out specific jobs and increasing efficiency
Seeing how other people manage their business day-to-day hints and tips
Sales, marketing, customer service, costing, accounting, tax - all advice

The list could go on and on...

And all this on top of a general wealth of day-to-day information about people's successes, problems and solutions in their businesses on anything from edging lawns to tax returns.

I maybe don't contribute as much as I should, partly because I still class myself as a relative novice compared to many, but I help out where I feel I can in areas where I have useful knowledge, such as new start-up businesses.

So if you are a regular user of the site and are not yet signed up as a Pro Member/Supplier etc. then I highly recommend it. An absolute no-brainer and one of the best investments of £40 you will ever make in your business. That money allows the site to develop and progress and provide even more benefits in the future.

If anybody else wants to share specific ways in which they have benefited directly from LJN then feel free, otherwise this post is just me rambling on!

Hi Brian

great to hear business is booming, brilliant!

Ive not been on much either, but I've been trying to get on more lately. I wish I was busy, Im looking towards going back to a regular job or going in another direction as self employed, the garden business here is fickle, on top of weather dependant and seasonal, this is the worst part of the year for me, and I cant say I was rushed off my feet during the summer.
I enjoy doing the gardening and landscaping, but I only enjoy it being my own boss, I have been asked to put in for garden jobs with councils, but I don't feel id have the same enthusiasm being told by a boss, don't mind on a sub-con basis, Ive not had many bosses worth their salt. I personally wouldn't give these people I had to report to at these jobs authority, in fact I wouldn't give them control of my tv remote.

If I do go back to a regular job (logistics/warehouse/stores work) I would keep my website and business going on a part time scale, nights/weekends, The majority of my customers are pensioners, and they've had bad experiences by fly by nights taking their money and doing a quick cut and run, they've been with me now since my first year, so they've adopted me haha.

Keep up the good work, and to everyone on LJN, best wishes to you all with your businesses and organisations.

Replies

Paul McNulty August 30, 2014 at 10:15am

Can't add anything except to second everything you say!
PRO

James Brett August 30, 2014 at 11:02am

I have to say, being a member for only a short time I have found this place to be fantastic!!! I hope to be able to help people in someway to!!
PRO

Gary RK August 30, 2014 at 11:14am

James, don't ever think you have nothing to say - whether you are a novice or an expert there is always something to contribute & learn. Often some of the best discussions stem from the most obvious questions :-)

...and really great you find LJN such an important community and meeting place.
PRO

philip shaw August 30, 2014 at 9:02pm

i also second everything thats been said this site has been great for myself and helped me no end thanks to all the members and operators of landscapejuicenetwork.com
David Cox August 31, 2014 at 11:20am

I echo your comments above totally - without LJN I'd be operating as a shaddow of what I am now - The selfless help of this site and its members is what keeps it together, and has made it work. Every penny spent has turned out to be worth it.

http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/thank-you-ljn-phil
PRO

James Brett August 31, 2014 at 5:16pm

I always have something to say Gary, sometimes it's just not very helpful
Scott Kinnear September 14, 2014 at 8:33pm

I agree too LJN is great and top community/forum, I got another job thru asking the forum about the plant in my customers garden in my last post, when I called to tell her the name she asked me to do a job for her outwith the usual cycle visit.

I am still due Brian Moore from MIBServices a pint or 2 for inviting me to join, he sent me an email back in 2012, so one day Brian, I've still not forgot, I've just not been over your part of the country for a while, but its up there, its not forgotten ;-)

and best wishes to all you guys with your businesses and organisations.
PRO

James Brett September 15, 2014 at 1:41pm

I have found so much of this site valuable for saving me hours or days trying to do risk assessments and other things. The volume of documents available is incredible!!
PRO

Brian www.mibservices.co.uk September 15, 2014 at 3:29pm

Hi Scott, your welcome, good to see you still involved. I've not been on much this year as business growth this year has been over whelming, not that I'm complaining. I've just been dipping in and out briefly of late but still managed to help quite a few members with RAMS and the like. Hope to get more involved after November time. Hope you've been busy too mate.

Scott Kinnear said:
I agree too LJN is great and top community/forum, I got another job thru asking the forum about the plant in my customers garden in my last post, when I called to tell her the name she asked me to do a job for her outwith the usual cycle visit.

I am still due Brian Moore from MIBServices a pint or 2 for inviting me to join, he sent me an email back in 2012, so one day Brian, I've still not forgot, I've just not been over your part of the country for a while, but its up there, its not forgotten ;-)

and best wishes to all you guys with your businesses and organisations.
Scott Kinnear September 16, 2014 at 10:11pm

Hi Brian

great to hear business is booming, brilliant!

Ive not been on much either, but I've been trying to get on more lately. I wish I was busy, Im looking towards going back to a regular job or going in another direction as self employed, the garden business here is fickle, on top of weather dependant and seasonal, this is the worst part of the year for me, and I cant say I was rushed off my feet during the summer.
I enjoy doing the gardening and landscaping, but I only enjoy it being my own boss, I have been asked to put in for garden jobs with councils, but I don't feel id have the same enthusiasm being told by a boss, don't mind on a sub-con basis, Ive not had many bosses worth their salt. I personally wouldn't give these people I had to report to at these jobs authority, in fact I wouldn't give them control of my tv remote.

If I do go back to a regular job (logistics/warehouse/stores work) I would keep my website and business going on a part time scale, nights/weekends, The majority of my customers are pensioners, and they've had bad experiences by fly by nights taking their money and doing a quick cut and run, they've been with me now since my first year, so they've adopted me haha.

Keep up the good work, and to everyone on LJN, best wishes to you all with your businesses and organisations.