We were lucky to catch up with John Dennis recently and have shared our conversation below.
John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge to having higher profit is having time to do jobs effectively. You need to have time at all hours to go quote, work and pickup jobs that just come up. Many times when your on a property working neighbors will approach and want work completed same day. I have found if you aren’t able to do work same day then your ability to close on that job falls significantly. Picking up spur of the moment jobs is a huge win to drive profits up, along with good route density.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started my business in 2014 in order to have another income while working a full time job. I started small only doing what I could accomplish on the weekends. Eventually I would grow to making more than double what my job income was working my full time. So in 2018 I resigned from my current job and vowed to never have a boss again. I had tons of fear motivation that drove me to work as much as possible and 3 months after leaving my job I had already made my yearly income as an employee. Most of my success comes from some simply communicating with clients and being reliable. When 2020 came I decided to go from doing just lawns and minor maintenance to full landscaping jobs. We now offer almost any yard related service from yard clean ups to complete removal and installs of all landscape and some tree work. We are a small business and are looking for the next quality job we can provide to our clients.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Reliability and communicating were the .main driving factors to my success. I would line up work with my clients and then delivered. It seems like such a basic strategy but is something that is missing in this industry. If you can delivery what you promised you will never be out of work.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
When I decided I no longer wanted to be a employee I invested in some cheap wireless headphones. I would listen to start ups, business management, and landscaping videos all day. One that was truly inspiring was Keith Kalfas he started from nothing and grew a successful business. Someone I think everyone would benefit from if they need motivation to quit that 9-5.
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