When I first started Grunder Landscaping Co. in 1984, I was just a kid trying to earn extra money for college. But there was one thing that changed everything for me: a monthly newsletter I'd receive in the mail that spelled out exactly what landscaping business owners should be doing and when.
I used to check the mailbox obsessively, waiting for it to arrive. It was my lifeline. It told me when to think about equipment purchases, when to focus on sales, and when to plan for the next season. That newsletter guided me through those early years and was extremely helpful in my success.
For years, I've wanted to create something like that for you. Not just another list of tips, but a real guide you can reference month by month throughout the year. That's why we created The Landscape Pro's Playbook.
Let me share two takeaways that are especially timely right now.
For years, we thought hardscaping was our most profitable service. When we implemented Aspire Software and allocated equipment costs correctly, we discovered watering was actually most profitable. We'd been pushing the wrong services.
The lesson? You can't manage what you don't measure.
One of the biggest cost killers is indirect labor (money spent on hourly workers clocked in but not doing billable work like training, loading trucks, drive time, and callbacks).
Run this calculation as you close out 2025:
Step 1: Average hourly wage ($18)
Step 2: Add 25% payroll burden = $22.50/hour
Step 3: Weekly non-billable hours per worker (10 hours)
Step 4: Multiply: $22.50 × 10 = $225 per worker per week
With 30 hourly workers, that's $351,500 per year in indirect labor. Know your number, find your efficiencies.
One question I hear constantly: "Where are you finding people capable of leading your crews?"
The truth? We don't find them. We create them.
More than half our Team Leaders at GLC were promoted from within and trained using our Show One, Do One, Teach One formula:
At the start of each year, we map out a week-by-week training schedule based on past issues, seasonal topics, and flexibility for problems that arise.
Right now, before spring chaos hits, is the perfect time to create your 2026 training calendar.
Want to go deeper? The Playbook includes full articles on both topics plus a month-by-month calendar. Download your copy of The Landscape Pro's Playbook, view the additional resources we have, and sign up for the webinars that go with this publication on our website.
I'll talk to you next week!
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.