Features

Productivity & profitability in a people business
Bob Tunzi likes where his business is. He has 10 field employees, a full-time office manager and himself. So, no middle management. While he no longer works in the field, Bob does all the selling and project managing, and nearly all of the design work. “It keeps me busy. But that’s okay because that way you always have your hand on the pulse of what’s going on with your company….It’s all about profitability.”… MORE
Features

Keeping cool & organized under pressure
In recent months, I’ve written about integrity & authenticity and dealing with code officials. I’m beginning to believe that if I write about a topic, God’s going to send a test to make sure I really meant what I wrote! Will I hold to integrity when challenged? Do I really respect code officials? Some situations this spring were tough to work through, but I’m going to focus on one that taught us a few lessons.... MORE
Features

Tired of spending money on unexpected costs?
In the peak season, demands come at you from every direction, and sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to just throw money at the problem. Which works – as long as your budget accounts for it, and you’re not spending money that was supposed to be your profit! My goal for today’s article is to prompt you to do one thing: Review your expenses so far this year and compare them against your budget.... MORE
Features

How to tell if your financials are accurate
Contractors are notorious for poor paperwork and not taking an interest in accounting. Having good numbers and using that data to make business decisions can be exciting and much less stressful. As consultants, we see thousands of contractor statements that don’t make a lot of sense. We must conclude these contractors are either not reviewing the data or do not know what to look for.... MORE
Features

20 years of Hardscape Magazine
August 2023 marks 20 years since Charles Vander Kooi hired me to launch Hardscape Magazine. Chuck saw that the hardscape market was growing fast and was being underserved by the media. It didn’t matter that Chuck had never been involved in the publishing business. He had an amazing grasp of the numbers straight from the gut, what costs would be to run a magazine and what income could be expected.... MORE
  • Growth makes you busy; efficiency makes you profitable
  • Growth makes you busy; efficiency makes you profitable
  • Growth makes you busy; efficiency makes you profitable
  • Growth makes you busy; efficiency makes you profitable
  • Growth makes you busy; efficiency makes you profitable

Contractor Profiles

1/2 the management team leaves the company
June/July 2023

1/2 the management team leaves the company

Mitch Andrea’s young 1-crew company still builds big projects as he works out how to fill in for the loss of his brother. MORE


All walls all the time
April/May 2023

All walls all the time

Drew Nicoliello carved out a profitable niche as a 1-crew company specializing in engineered residential retaining walls. MORE


Still learning after 30+ years
February/March 2023

Still learning after 30+ years

After 3 decades in business, Burnell Weaver is transitioning out of day-to-day operations, and into full-time managing his company. MORE


At Prime Lawn nearly everyone knows how to do everything
August/September 2022

At Prime Lawn nearly everyone knows how to do everything

Cross-training employees allows the company to offer a range of services and consistently do them well. MORE


See More Contractor Profiles
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Digital Edition
October/November 2023



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