management
... Prior to opening his business, Josh worked for the Augusta National Golf Club in the nursery department for four years, and as the head horticulturalist at West Lake Country Club for two years. The first decision that Josh had to make was selecting a company name. In this process Josh had to pick a name that no other companies were using or had legal rights to. He said “it is important to choose a name that clearly conveys what his company does and is easy to remember.” Josh also decided to have a company slogan. He chose the slogan, “whatever it takes”. Josh said “that this slogan lets the customer know that he is willing to go beyond expectations to achieve satisfaction.” When dealing with hiring and firing employees, Josh has a simple process. He prefers a potential employee to have some type of prior experience in the landscape industry. “From that point it is a trial and error process until he finds an employee who is hardworking, honest and dependable. If any of those criteria are not met the worker will be fired.” Josh starts new employees at eight dollars per hour. “Every three to six months employees are eligible for a twenty-five to fifty cent raise dependant upon performance.” Josh currently has six full time Brown 3 Employees, and two part time employees. In the spring and summer month’s additional seasonal employees are hired due to the increased demand for business. Marketing is another important aspect of successful business. Deciding which way to market could make a substantial difference in success of the business. Direct marketing is a low cost way of reaching in with your message, piercing that gruff exterior customer shell and finding your way into their hearts, minds, and wallets ( Dobkin 74). Dobkin states that different types of direct marketing include post cards, self mailers, and letters. (74). Each method allows you to send a message to a specific target audience without a lot of wasted expense (Dobkin 74). Josh uses the method of sending colorful brochures to his potential customers. His brochures include all services offered by his business as well as before and after pictures from previous jobs. Josh relates a lot of his business’ success to customer service. Delivering exceptional customer service is absolutely crucial to the success of any business, and the lessons in this are everywhere we look (Grunder 14). Josh said that “customer service in the landscaping business separates ones who are tremendously successful Brown 4 from those who are just getting by. In this...