Big change has been brewing in our industry for more than a decade. It started when consulting firm McKinsey & Co. began examining ValleyCrest in the late 1990s. It proved itself with a private equity firm merging ValleyCrest and Brickman in the $2 billion megadeal earlier this year. The upside potential of the green industry is no longer a secret.
These changes will have significant impacts on our businesses. Among the more important is to create companies built to sell—that is, built on recurring revenue and renewal rates. As owners and CEOs realized during the Great Recession, when construction started to stall, having a solid book of consistent landscape maintenance income made a huge difference in their ability to survive. It’s also one of the first things an investor looks for in assessing an opportunity.
Another change we can expect is the shifting role of horticulture vs. business. It’s our challenge to create business models that integrate the two. I foresee a greater emphasis on hiring people with business degrees and outside experience, and it’s vital to educate students that the green industry is more dynamic than they realize. Landscape companies, who aren’t historically on an MBA grad’s radar, should look to widen their recruiting options and begin targeting these candidates.
Another trend is the need to invest in marketing and hire those who understand shifts in customer tastes and preferences. We need to understand clients’ buying habits, learn how they want their landscape services delivered and use market research as a tool to help solve problems.
