Sounds self-evident, doesn’t it? The single biggest challenge for the owners of small businesses is creating a business model that works specifically for them.
Apparently, it’s not that easy, the reason why people like Greg Wittstock, founder and CEO of Aquascape, Inc., based in St. Charles, Ill., command such respect within the contractor market.
His success in building a $60-million-plus water feature supply company in a little more than 10 years, serves as both an example and, perhaps even, an object of envy to contractors that purchase his company’s pond supplies and rely upon its installation/maintenance systems.
Wittstock, who definitely marches to the beat of his own business drum, grabbed the attention of the 1,000-plus contractors at his company’s most recent week-long Pondemonium. His keynote address to the pond builders was Wittstock as motivational speaker, consultant and pitchman. Or put bluntly, Wittstock as Wittstock. And at his confident best.
He prefaced his presentation by riding a bicycle to the stage at the front of the cavernous MegaCenter at the Pheasant Run Resort, then doing a couple of neat turns in front of the tables jammed with pumped up Pondemonium attendees.
They realize that they’re selling “the lifestyle” and not just products, a lesson that landscape contractors should take to heart, as well. But, back to Wittstock’s core message—that each owner, to be successful and happy in business, should create the particular type of business that suits him or her.
The bicycle, an ultra-modern cruiser-type model, served as the young CEO’s metaphor for the need to be attuned to changing markets and ready to take advantage of changing conditions. He explained how one bicycle manufacturer foresaw a fundamental shift in that market—fewer hardcore enthusiasts and more people wanting to enjoy neighborhood spin arounds—and responded with simpler, easier-to-ride and easier-to-maintain bicycles. He said other bike manufacturers are responding to the new “sweet spot” in the market by manufacturing simple “coaster-type” bikes, which fits the lifestyle of today’s leisure-loving consumers.
He gave four examples of typical business models. No one is inherently better than any the others, and an owner can chose any one of the four, assuming that’s the model that best suits his or her personality.
- The “hands-on” model, where the owner does just about everything, including much of the production. It has its advantages — not too many people to manage, not a lot of overhead, lots of control over each job. Its disadvantages: There’s one big one; it’s basically limited to what the owner can accomplish with his own two hands.
- The “working with others” model. Your company has some employees; it’s bigger than you and a couple of buddies but it’s smaller than most others in your market. The owner still wears many hats, including handling the accounting and other administrative tasks. Or they’re done by his spouse.
- The “systems-based” approach. The owner sets up the company to run by well-defined processes with managers assigned to each department. The owner typically concentrates on marketing and sales, and makes sure that employees are trained and are following the processes.
- The “strategic” model. The owner has a very specific idea of the company’s direction, and is very results driven. The owner or management team is always looking for what’s next, always reviewing and analyzing the market.
“If you don’t design your business, your business will, by default, have a design and it will be the wrong design,” opined Wittstock.
Creating a model that fits an owner’s personality, abilities and that will provide balance in their lives is a much better way to become a successful contractor rather than piling up sales or work just to be adding to the numbers.
“When I talk to contractors about their businesses, they talk about how many ponds they build or how much they sell,” says Wittstock, adding a better, a much better indication of how they’re doing is “how much they will net.”
Wittstock says that regardless of the business model or the business climate, contractors can count on one thing never changing—problems.
“All business is,” says Wittstock, “is overcoming problems.”
