Landscape Live!

Whether you're a high school graduate, a college graduate or have a masters degree, you should never stop learning. For many of us, this means on-the-job training or a painful education from the school of hard knocks.You can also learn how to improve your knowledge base from trade magazines, trade shows, landscape associations and continuing education programs. Many of these short courses are geared towards the landscape professional. They focus on everything from landscape design to budgeting and estimating to turf grass management.In this episode, Joe Canzano, program coordinator of the landscape and grounds management program at Rutgers University, discusses the importance of continuing your education.

In this episode, Kristen Edens, or Kris the Scribbler, discusses how networking can be the key to business growth. It’s not as hard as you think—and you never know where your lead of the year will come from.

Have you ever wondered what your clients experience during a construction project? In this episode, we talk to my clients, Don and Donna Hammer, about their current backyard renovation project.

In this episode, we are going back to design school with Susan Cohan, Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) landscape designer and adjunct professor. We are broadcasting live from the design studio at the Gold LEED Certified Landscape Horticultural Technology Building at the County College of Morris (CCM) in Randolph, NJ. Listen in as Cohan, principal of Susan Cohan Gardens, voices her opinions on landscape design programs and the landscape design process, along with some innovative projects she is working on at CCM.

In this episode, Karen Rivera, owner of Dynamic Push, talks about how to properly manage your landscaping company using QuickBooks.

In this episode, Bill Vogel, president of Project EverGreen, talks about the "GreenCare for Troops" and "SnowCare for Troops" programs and how you can get involved.

In this episode, Dave Hunter of Crown Bees discusses the difference between native bees and honey bees; how mason bees help reduce stress on the troubled honey bee; raising mason bees; and how landscape contractors can use bee houses in their designs. In addition, he talks about the decline in bees and what we can do about it.

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott, MBA and author, discusses what a company vision is and how to create one. He also explains who should participate in developing a vision and how this vision can motivate current employees as well as attract new ones.

In this episode, Danny Kindergan, president of Kindergan Landscaping, talks about how he transitions his company from snow and ice management to landscape maintenance and design/build. He also discusses staffing, equipment and scheduling issues as makes the transition from one season to the next.

Last week, we spoke to Arnulfo Hinojosa, vice president of the Federation of Employees & Workers of America (FEWA), and Jarrod Sharp, general counsel at FEWA, about the H-2B issue. Since that time, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement saying they are working to issue a joint Interim Final Rule (IFR), which would update the 2008 processing rules by April 30, 2015. They also announced they are trying to determine whether processing can continue during the period of time before an Interim Final Rule.In this episode, Jody Shilan and Gail Woolcott discuss recent updates regarding the DOL and UCSIS's decision to temporarily suspend the H-2B guest worker program. Plus listen for breaking news!

If you have not heard by now, as of March 5, 2015, the H-2B program has been temporarily shut down at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) level.In this episode, Arnulfo Hinojosa, vice president of the Federation of Employees & Workers of America (FEWA), discusses why the DOL and USCIS have temporarily shut down the H-2B program and what it means for those using H-2B workers as well as the entire landscaping industry. He also explains how the shutdown happened and what you must do about it right now.

In this episode, Patrick DuChene of DuChene Design Solutions and Jody Shilan discuss the pros and cons of working with an independent designer for your company. They'll also talk about how to integrate an independent designer into your workflow, as well what the process looks like, including payments.

In this episode, Ron Mondello, a foreign national criminal defense lawyer in New Jersey, discusses how landscape business owners and Hispanic workers can protect themselves in 2015. He also explains changes in and enforcement of immigration law, as well as a concept called "crimmigration."

In this episode, Jeremy Wishart, deputy director of business development for the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), discusses why propane continues to grow in popularity as an alternative fuel source for landscape contractors. He explains what equipment uses propane, grades of propane and how propane compares to gasoline. He also talks about modifications that can be made to current equipment in order to accept propane as well as pricing incentives for switching to propane.

In this episode, Dave Marciniak of Describeit discusses the importance of sales cycles and evaluates on why they should be kept short. He also explains some excellent do's and don'ts when it comes to your overall sales process. Finally, he talks about reasonable time frames for getting back to clients with a design or proposal.

In this episode, Dan Pestretto, founder of Sales People on Demand, discusses why the landscaping business is part art, part science and all heart. He also touches on the four core functions of every business, the importance of business systemization plans and how to create processes. Pestretto also explains organizational charts and job descriptions.

In this episode, Kevin Kehoe of Aspire, LLC, discusses what numbers in your financial reports matter most. He also explains performance ratios and how company size can affect these ratios. Finally, he talks about net profit drivers and reveals eight of his best management practices.

Chris Spain, co-founder of HydroPoint, explains how this next generation of smart irrigation systems will make it possible for an irrigation contractor to respond to a high flow alert, remotely verify when the master valve is closed down and send a status report to the property manager.

In this episode, Danny Wood of Sandler Training discusses how to engage a potential client in 30 seconds or less to determine if there is a good fit. This is not some canned sales pitch, but a short and intentional process that is engaging, easy to do and sounds completely natural, no matter how many times you repeat it.