When I was 24 years old I purchased the property that Grunder Landscaping Co. operates from and built the building we still use. Our office and shop are simple and streamlined, we have what we need and we keep it clean but it's not overly fancy.

Over the years some changes and updates have been needed. We've given the front office, sales hub and loft, and operations office a facelift over the last few years, and our most recent addition has been creating a nice, clean team room where our crews each have a locker to store their extra uniforms and any belongings while they're on job sites. 

We have some bigger changes in the works too that we just announced to our team and got started on this month, and I thought I'd take the time to share what they are and why we're doing them now.

1. We're renovating the bathroom in our shop. Truthfully, it was overdue for an overhaul. All of our actions going forward are to ensure we can retain and recruit team members, and we don't want a rundown bathroom to be a reason someone doesn't want to work at GLC.

2. We're putting in a salt depot. We are contracting more snow work each year as part of our efforts to avoid involuntary layoffs in the winter and increase our revenue. It's working for us: between snow removal, salt applications, and other winter work, we've been able to keep on anyone who wants to work through the winter.
   The new salt depot will allow us to order salt in bulk at the start of the season. It's going to reduce our costs, making salt applications more profitable, and helping us bring in revenue during typically slow months.

3. We're redoing the concrete pad behind our shop. The concrete needed to be replaced and we need a new circle drawn for our team to gather around for training to accommodate our growing team. I'm excited to get it done: we've found that the circle on the ground helps our team intuitively space out in a way where everyone can see and hear the trainer when we gather them all together. 

4. We're preparing for a new building. Like we said, a lot going on. A concrete pad is going in at the back of our property and will be for a new building when we need it. We're using space pretty efficiently in our existing building, but we're going to launch lawn care services in 2022 and anticipate needing more space as we continue to grow that and our other services. This is providing more opportunities for our team to grow within our company. 

5. We moved our team member parking. If you've been to our shop, you know we're fortunate to have a lot of space. We're shifting around the setup of our yard so that our crews have a logical, and efficient, route to arrive to work, load their trucks, and head to a job site. Team member parking had to move to make way for the new building preparations, but we think this location may be even better for them. Routing has been a big focus of ours this year and routing starts with our shop and yard. 

We are offering a FREE virtual event this month focused on how you can prepare your own company now for growth in 2021. Register on our website to join us on October 29 at 1 p.m. ET, we'll be sharing plenty of ideas and strategies for setting your company up to make growth achievable.

We also have a virtual event on November 3 that will go in-depth into the tasks your company should be focused on this winter to lay a strong foundation for the year ahead.

I hope you'll join us for one or both events!