Here are some metrics I have collected, that some will find preposterous…and yet others will find these numbers eye-opening and hopeful.
Running a Lawn Care Business you can earn 30% Net Profit (NP) and higher as measured by EBIDTA. And as high as 78% GPM (gross profit margin, measured after cost of unburdened labor, subs and materials), though 69% is more common.
Running an Irrigation Business you can earn the same high 30% NP (and as high as 37% EBIDTA), with GPM margins as high 66% (and higher in Irrigation Service, which is where the money and value are!)
Running a Landscape firm you can earn 20 to 25% NP. Pure commercial will be less, but still possible to earn 20% EBIDTA and also scale your business.
Where did I learn this?
These are numbers achieved by my top performing clients and members of my Leader’s Edge peer groups.
How do they achieve this?
By believing it’s possible, competing against one another, being open to new techniques and implementing them, looking for both constant improvement and bold ideas.
Being great is not for the timid.
Can you do the same?
If you rub shoulders with high performers, and are willing to be humble (“I don’t know everything, even with my current success.”) and also have faith (“It works for that person, let me see how I can adapt that.”), then you can achieve these same success metrics.
You must take time to work on the business, and not just keep your head plowed down in the day-to-day trenches.
If you are looking to raise the saleable value of your business, have more fun, and rub shoulders with the best, reach out to me to set up a time to talk.
Your Challenge: Honestly it is what ever you decide it is. If you want to challenge yourself to do better, and be among the best, then anything is possible.
Be willing to accept guidance, change your paradigm for how you approach your role in your business, and what your “go to market” strategy is.
I was recently talking with a client who thought these numbers were preposterous. To that I say: If you take the average of winners, losers and those stuck in a rut…you will end up with a broad based industry average. That is not where the best in our industry set their sites.
I love this industry, and the great entrepreneurs and leaders who work both hard and smart to make something of themselves, and for their people. We can make this industry great by growing ourselves, making our companies great and being an example for others.
If you want to join my peer group community, take a look at this page.
