Financial Archives - Jeffrey Scott

Guatemala: A Vacation and a Place to Give Back

Aug 25, 2026 | Financial, friendship, Growth Tips

Every year after the Summer Growth Summit, we take a vacation to decompress. This year, we flew directly to Guatemala, but with a greater purpose this time.

A longtime mentor of mine, Steve Lewine, passed away suddenly last year. This week, his life was commemorated in Guatemala with the inauguration of a school and early-childhood learning center he helped build in a rural community there.

We were among 35 people who traveled from the United States to honor Steve and meet the students and teachers whose lives he touched.

Pricing Mistakes That Are Sabotaging Profits

Aug 11, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Management, Planning, Pricing, Strategy

If I asked five people in your company who owns pricing, would I get the same answer?

Probably not.

Pricing tends to evolve in different directions as a company grows:

Different salespeople start setting their own negotiation.
Perhaps an estimator builds the proposal to their own standard.
Account managers may make their own exceptions.

And operations has to deal with all the consequences.

Facts Before Emotions: Five Lessons from visiting North County Landscape Co.

Jun 16, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Planning, Productivity, Strategy, Training

Once his wife, Sonya (MBA), joined four years ago as General Manager, they made several big moves together:

Raised pricing and expanded Google-based marketing, Expanded crews and hired production managers, Implemented Aspire, Built a state-of-the-art facility, Developed a leadership team that is helping the owners regain balance

Kevin jokes that he is now able to work part-time: 35 to 40 hours a week.

The team has worked quite hard to get where they are. Kevin is now able to play golf weekly, so things are on the upswing.

Last week I held a 1.5-day roadmap session with their team and then took a wonderful vacation on Vancouver Island with my wife and partner, Corine.

During the roadmap session, we reviewed department and company-wide strategy and refined their Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). We set a much stronger course for the future.

Here are five lessons every owner and leader can learn from.

How Much Should You Pay Yourself as Owner?

Jun 9, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Income, Planning, Pricing, Strategy

What should an owner pay themselves? You may have heard the rule of thumb: pay yourself 5% of revenue. But that falls apart quickly. It does not work for small businesses or very large ones. There is a better way.

Brand Equity: The Overlooked Way to Increase Company Value

Apr 21, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Strategy

There has been a lot of discussion about how to build a valuable business.

You know the usual advice: build strong systems, teams, earnings, and recurring revenue.

Many owners miss a fundamental value-driver hiding in plain sight: brand equity.

It may start with a new logo, website, truck wrap, or color scheme. But it goes deeper.

I know from my family’s business—where I always kept a focus on building brand equity. When it finally sold, our loyal client base, reputation, and market position were a large part of the value.

That is why your brand equity matters. It affects the economics of the business in ways many owners underestimate.

Why Your Accountant Doesn’t Understand Your Business, And Why That’s Bad

Feb 17, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Planning, Strategy

This is a common financial problem I see with landscape firms of all sizes.

You’re making important decisions about staffing, equipment purchases, and pricing, and you hope your accountant can guide you through the financial implications.

But the advice you get often comes back to cost cutting and tax minimization. It’s frustrating.

Facing Loss Head On Makes You a Stronger Leader

Jan 13, 2026 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Peer Groups, Strategy

Everyone understands how to handle a win. You track your successes and celebrate your gains.

Whether it’s a promotion, a strong month, or a beautiful project, wins are shared at the dinner table and reinforce who you believe you are.

But loss is different.

At a recent peer group meeting, one member shared news that caught everyone’s attention.

The Profit vs. Growth Exercise – It Will Unlock Hidden Gems

Dec 9, 2025 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Pricing, Strategy

If you could only achieve profit or revenue growth next year, which would you choose to focus on?

It’s just a theoretical question, but one to consider as you lock down your plans (for growth and profit) for the coming year.

How much do you plan to grow in 2026?

Leadership & Growth Lessons from Aspire Software, with Mark Tipton and Eli Zevin

Dec 9, 2025 | Employees, Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Marketing, Peer Groups, Podcast Series: The Ultimate Landscape CEO

Join Jeffrey Scott for an insightful conversation with two leaders from Aspire: Mark Tipton, co-founder and former CEO, and Eli Zevin, the current General Manager. Mark shares his 12-year journey building Aspire from a skunkworks project into the leading landscape...

10 Steps to Financial Mastery for Landscape Entrepreneurs

Nov 20, 2025 | Financial, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Peer Groups, Podcast Series: The Ultimate Landscape CEO, Productivity

👉 Register for our Financial Masterclass In this episode, Jeffrey Scott breaks down the complete roadmap to financial mastery for landscape entrepreneurs. Whether you're running a $1 million or $50 million operation, Jeffrey guides you through ten progressive steps...

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