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Status of The Landscape Industry in 2020
What segments of the industry boomed? What segments of the industry busted? What could potentially happen in 2021? According to Mark Bradley, LMN CEO, the residential sector is booming and commercial projects have been hit the hardest. Listen to this new episode of Landscape Disruptors to find out why!
In this episode of the Landscape Disruptor Podcast, LMN CEO Mark Bradley and Stanley Genadek review the industry's wins and losses in 2020 and how the design-build and residential maintenance took a surprising leap forward despite the unforeseen pandemic. However, on the commercial side of things, there are still many unknowns, and as we head into 2021, Mark and Stanley provide some predictions and advice on how to move forward and prepare.
2021 Landscape Business and Snow Industry Predictions
Mark mentions the amount of incoming business across the board from the residential sector has been booming. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Homeowners are now more at home than ever before which translated into increased work for contractors who specialize in the residential sector. Most contractors saw that their current residential customers were not cutting back, but instead requesting additional maintenance and renovation projects. The demand for small projects resulted from increased time at home and attention to home improvements. Residential maintenance contracts turned into enhancement jobs. Did you know that there is even a shortage of building materials and products that are normally available?
Unfortunately, the commercial markets were hit hard. The travel and tourism industries have had significant setbacks. In fact, substantial cuts were made on expenses that impacted landscapers who service big box retail, hotels, airports, and other commercial industries. Most commercial properties still need maintenance, but at this time excess work such as muchling and seasonal color have been cut. Commercial contracts are still in place, but are being negotiated to the bare minimum.
On the snow business front, many properties have decided not to maintain their parking lots and have cut back by 50 percent on maintenance to minimize cost. This has been truly hard on contractors in the snow business.
What about New Construction in 2021?
Mark discusses how the houses market has stood up throughout the pandemic. New home construction starts were strong at the beginning and anticipated to increase due to the work from home initiative. Many people working from home want to beautify the space.
Mark predicts an enormous change in commercial real estate next year and well beyond. People have had a taste of working from home and companies have technology now to manage productivity and communication. There will be a huge decline in office rental space as well as fewer new construction with office parks and low rise industrial. Going back to normalcy after COVID-19 is slim to none. Business and life will never be the same after the pandemic.
How to Prepare Your Landscape Business for 2021
2021 is truly up in the air. No one has a crystal ball. No one knows what is going to happen regarding COVID-19 or the economy. For that reason it is important to have a budget and use a pessimistic forecast on revenue. Have a plan to manage budget and expenses if things decline quickly. Most importantly, look where the opportunities are in the industry and don’t be afraid to pivot to rebound on revenue. All it takes is retooling your service list, staff training, different marketing strategies, and then get out there and get it done! Listen to this episode to discover additional ways lawn and landscapers, snow business and design/build can prepare for 2021.
Mark Bradley
Mark Bradley co-founded LMN in 2009 based on his company’s need for landscape software that simply didn’t exist. Now the industry’s best business management software, he credits LMN as a catalyst for helping him scale TBG Landscape from a backyard business into one of the Top 100 landscape contractors in North America. Since his first lawn care customer in 1999, Mark has been passionate about educating the industry on best practices for building better businesses. Now a sought-after speaker and business coach, he regularly shares his insight at events including GIE+Expo, Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA), the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association, to name a few. Having recently completed the transition from landscape business owner to tech entrepreneur, Mark is committed to transforming talented landscape professionals into better business owners through industry leading software and learning opportunities.
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