During a recent conversation with a young, aspiring landscape pro, I was asked about the industry’s many conferences, trade shows and educational opportunities and which ones I thought might offer the most bang for the buck for someone looking to grow their business.
My first response was to tell this person that they were barking up the wrong tree. I’ve been a part of the landscaping and lawn care community for about 10 minutes (OK, it’s been a year and a half, but it sure as heck feels like 10 minutes). There are people way more qualified than I am to answer that question and provide the kind of advice this person was looking for.
But the query did get me thinking, especially since we’re now deep into the season when these events dominate the industry’s calendar, and yours truly gets to jack up his frequent-flyer miles to heights previously unrealized. Depending on where you are on your journey, does one conference offer more than the other?
Well, I eventually decided: It depends. After having made the circuit one time through with my second on the immediate horizon — I leave for Equip Exposition 2025 less than 24 hours after writing this column — I sincerely believe there is something for everyone at each of these events, regardless of shape, size or location. Very diplomatic of me, right?
Take Elevate 2025, for example, which we preview in full in this issue of Landscape Management. The National Association of Landscape Professionals’ big show, which heads to Phoenix Nov. 2-5, enters its fourth year with a well-earned reputation as a more intimate affair with in-depth educational and networking opportunities, plus an exhibit space that matches the event’s specific focus.
But don’t take my word for it. In this issue, you can check out how Elevate resonates with a trio of industry stalwarts and go in-depth to learn how NALP approaches planning for the event with the association’s CEO, Britt Wood.
Then there’s the big dog, Equip Expo, which is one of the 10 largest trade shows of any kind in the country and was recently named the Greatest Trade Show of 2024 by Trade Show Executive magazine.
While it’s a massive, potentially overwhelming experience for some, it also offers up pretty much everything that anyone in this business could ask for out of a conference and trade show (including — shameless plug here — a full slate of education sessions sponsored by your friends at LM). If you want to learn, network, check out big-name keynote speakers or explore the largest indoor-outdoor exhibit floor on the planet, then Equip Expo is for you.
But if something smaller than either of those is more your speed, the industry’s got plenty of that, too, and you’re likely to find just as many benefits at those events. A few weeks back, for example, I spent a few days in Dayton, Ohio, to be a fly on the wall at one of LM columnist Marty Grunder’s field trips at Grunder Landscaping Co.
There were around 40 folks in attendance at this field trip. We toured his facility, observed a morning roll-out and went deep into how Grunder’s company operates at all levels. If you didn’t come away with a few new industry friends and a tidbit or two that will help your business improve, then you probably weren’t trying.
So, you see, it depends. And like I told that up-and-coming contractor whose question sent me down this rabbit hole in the first place, putting one industry conference and trade show in the top spot over the others isn’t that important. What is important is that these opportunities exist at all — regardless of size or scope — for business owners looking to take their game to the next level.
Whether it’s Elevate, Equip Expo, a peer group meeting, the LM Growth Summit (another shameless plug; learn more here) or a small show-and-tell at a landscape company, I hope you’ll take the leap, get out there and say “hi” if our path’s cross.
