EDUCATION
At Equip Expo, attendees can learn from longtime industry consultant Jeffrey Scott on developing a second in command and benchmarking for profit. Landscaper Education
BY SETH JONES
If running a landscape company was easy, then everyone would do it. Industry consultant Jeffrey Scott knows from experience how hard it can be—at age 34 he expanded a design-build-maintenance company to a $15 million enterprise. He has redirected his passion for the industry into consulting for up-and-coming companies from around the country. It’s in Louisville at Equip Exposition that he often finds himself surrounded by like-minded, entrepreneurially spirited people like himself. “I love Expo for a couple reasons: It pulls in people from all over the country; there’s a great mix of people, creating a hubbub; and the show isn’t just for gearheads, even though you can see the greatest in mowers, skid-steers, you name it,” Scott says. “You can really see where we’re heading as an industry by being there.” For the 2022 Equip Exposition, Scott will be making two one-hour presentations at the Kentucky Exposition Center. On Wednesday at 3 p.m. he will share his popular “Develop Your Second in Command” seminar. On Thursday at 3 p.m., he will present “Benchmarking for Profit.” Scott says the concept of developing a second in command has a significant meaning to him because of what it could mean to the people who take the seminar to heart. “An owner needs one or more people they can really trust. Without that, you
your own company • And what to focus on to drive bottom-line growth.
risk the business,” Scott says. “Without a good second in charge, the owner carries the load. That load can break your back, it can break the business and it can even break your family.” In the “ Develop Your Second in Command ” seminar, attendees will learn: • The different types of roles a second in command can have at your firm • The ideal background for this role, and when they should come with green industry background, and when they should come from outside • How to find and recruit this person • The main responsibilities of this role and how to measure their success • And most important, how to get the owner and the second in command on the same page. Scott adds that he believes that all successful businesses have multiple people who are second in command. In his Thursday seminar, “ Benchmarking for Profit ,” attendees will learn: • The owner’s role in driving the financial literacy of the entire leadership team • The key metrics for measuring and steering financial success • How to include the team so they take ownership of the company’s success • Non-financial benchmarks that will drive growth of the team and the business • Tips for benchmarking your results with other companies, and within
The benchmarking discussion is a seminar that has evolved over years working with a diverse group of landscape companies. “As I’ve had more and more clients, the more I go down this path, I learn more because I have more test cases with larger companies,” Scott says. “With that I’m able to bring more examples every year.” Scott says it is important to closely monitor a business’s own numbers, but to also benchmark the company with the best in class. Those two activities set an owner up for success, he says. “You have to do both, you have to run those numbers and you have to aim high,” Scott says. “This has been a foundation of my coaching for the last several years and it has enabled so many owners to be successful.”
The author is Editor-in-Chief of Landscape Management magazine.
Develop Your Second in Command Wednesday, Oct. 19 3 PM – 4 PM Benchmarking for Profit Thursday, Oct. 20 3 PM – 4 PM
17 / equip / Issue 3
www.equipexposition.com
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