"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes."
- Washington Irving

Is This as Good as it Gets?

When we do something wrong, because we are human and our choices are so complicated and temptation so strong, we do not lose our humanity. However, we do lose our integrity, our sense of wholeness, of being the same person all the time.

We create a situation where part of us, our good self, is at war with another part of us, our weak and selfish side. We lose the focus, the singleness of purpose, that enables us to do the things that matter to us. That is when we need the religious gift of atonement and forgiveness (making our split selves at one).

But should we ever conclude that there is no point in trying to be good enough, that is when we lose everything. Being human can never mean being perfect, but it should always mean struggling to be as good as we can and never letting our failures be a reason for giving up the struggle.

From: "How Good Do We Have To Be?" by Harold S. Kushner

Isn't this an interesting thought? All of us are imperfect. We all will make mistakes, commit errors, hurt others, and fail. This is inevitable and part of our individual paths to knowledge, wisdom and growth.

The question is – what do we do with these failures?

Many people want to have their own business. A lawn care or other service business is a natural choice for many who are considering their first business venture. There are as many reasons for success or failure as their are people. Here are two stories of two people and their approach to their first business venture in landscape maintenance.

The first man had worked in the field for some time and was quite knowledgeable about plants, lawns, irrigation and gardening in general. He observed the operations of the company he worked for and started to lay his plans. He carefully planned every detail. Prepared sales materials. Bought his truck and equipment. Set up his books. After months of careful planning he was ready. He left his job and set off on his dream of his own business.

Months later he had some regular lawn care accounts, but not enough to pay the bills. He was gaining some accounts and losing some accounts. His forward progression in building a viable business was slow and not very profitable. In frustration he called it quits. His quitting comment was that "I'm doing the best that I can, and that's all that anyone can ask".

His failure was large to him, but in his mind it was not his fault. He never did go back into business again.

The second man had worked odd gardening jobs in college. He pushed a lawn mower, learned the basics, but never really liked the work. Years later he had a dream to work for himself, to build a business of his own. Where should he start? He knew how to do lawn care and knew he could start such a business. Without another thought he bought a used lawn mower, threw some hand tools into the back of his old truck, and announced his intentions to his wife. He placed some ads in the paper and his business was off.

During the first few months he made mistakes. Some mistakes cost him money, some cost him customers. With each mistake he learned and came back trying harder. Soon he had enough work to quit his job and pursue his business full time. After a year, though, he remembered why he never stayed in lawn care the first time, he did not enjoy the work. Faced with failure, unhappy with his daily grind, he made a decision. He bought a second truck, hired another employee (now he had two) and launched another lawn care route.

Although he did not enjoy the daily work of lawn care, he found he did enjoy interacting with his customers, selling, and managing his business. So he forged ahead. Along the way he made more mistakes, as we all do, faced more crises and rebounded more strongly each time.

There are many paths to success, but one common ingredient to them all. You must have a passion to succeed. Our best is never good enough if we fail, and we can always ask ourselves for more. Failures will happen, but success will only happen if we keep trying.

ProGardenBiz is here to help you start your own business in the field of landscape maintenance. To help you grow your lawn care business into a profitable enterprise. To keep you profitable and, hopefully, entertain you a little along the way.

Now, if that sounds familiar, then you read this column in our last issue. Hey, we're new and some things need to be said over for those who have just joined us. For the rest of last month's column (and previous issues), you can read it in our Archives.

As an online magazine we're a bit different than a print magazine. Our issues do not come out all at once as a new issue. We update columns and articles over a period of a few weeks and we often add new material weekly or even daily, so check back often.

What's New?

We've added a number of new regular departments:

Spotlight on... In the Green Industry Professional Organizations department we've added this feature to highlight a different industry trade association in each issue. Our first is a Spotlight on the PGMS. Check it out.

Public Relations Toolkit by Lisa Kern. Your business needs to be cultivated, just like your gardens, if you expect it to grow. Public relations is just another tool in marketing to help you do just that.

Being a Pro: Templates & Forms. If you need ideas on professional presentation materials, contracts, brochures and more, then this is the place to find it - and it's FREE!

Interiorscape by Liz Thompson. Indoor plants and their care is another great business facet in the Green Industry. Learn the trade here.

Garden Ponds by Brigitte Burchett. Ponds, fountains, waterscapes are the "hot" trend for making your landscape beautiful and keeping it cool. Learn about the basics of aquatics here and in our other water feature, Waterscapes.

Aboriculture & Landscape Maintenance by John A. Keslick, Jr. Garden planting guides and tips on tree care in the landscape.

What's Wrong with this Picture? See how many things you can see that the gardener in the photo is doing wrong. Safety tips for the outdoor workplace.

Free Article Content. Many of the articles, cartoons, and features in ProGardenBiz are available at no charge to be used on your website or print publication, newsletter, of other publication. All we ask is the byline with our web address (and a link if it's on the web).

Green Industry Survey. Tell us how you are doing in the industry by answering this survey.

ProGardenBiz Ezine. A Bi-Weekly email newsletter with articles, tips, and advice. It's FREE, so subscribe today.

If you have ideas to share with others in the Green Industry, write to us at editor@progardenbiz.com. Submissions of articles, columns, tips, ideas, or other features are welcome. Send us a description of your company, how you started and grew, your trials, tribulations, and successes. You could be famous!

If you have a web site and would like some gardening information to use, contact us. Selected ProGardenBiz articles and columns are available, with permission, for reprint on other websites or print publications. See our Free Article Content page.

Let us know what you would like to see in ProGardenBiz. This magazine is for you and your business success. I hope to hear from all of you soon!

Happy & profitable mowing.

Editor
eMail: editor@progardenbiz.com

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