2021 has hopefully been a good year for you. Sales have been strong and demand for our services at an all time high. While there have been challenges with finding team members and supply shortages, we're fortunate that so many clients and potential clients are putting more value on having outdoor living spaces to enjoy. 

That's not to say this year hasn't been hectic and stressful in it's own way, but we're a ways away from the recession we feared and were preparing for a year ago. In the mad crush that comes along with increased demand, make sure you're also taking the time to create and build upon systems that will allow you to scale up or down with whatever next year brings.

We aren't seeing as many objections on price now, but we can't lose our focus on maintaining efficiency, creating systems for more profitable work, and reviewing jobs that have too high—or too low—of a profit margin. Building good systems now will help you replicate success and make growing and scaling easier in the years to come.

Ruppert Landscape, our tour host for this year's NALP Field Trip: Frank & Marty's Excellent Adventure, is an expert at looking and planning ahead. You don't grow to 29 branch locations across 9 states without lots of preparation and intentionality behind every system put into place. They've built their whole company around how they can best serve both their ideal team member and their ideal client, with systems set up to make sure both groups are getting what they need to be happy. It's an incredible organization, and my team and I are thrilled they've agreed to open their doors up for this event. 

This week take a page out of Ruppert's book and spend time reviewing your systems and answer these questions:

• Do we have processes that need fixed immediately? It could be scheduling, routing, client communication, accounts receivable, onboarding, or something else. Look at processes that are causing disruptions or impacting profitability.
• Who is going to own the process going forward? Only one person can truly own something. Empower them to create and maintain the system. 
• When is it going to be done by and when is the next time we will review it? We need to force a timeline for this to get done. 
• What is a win going to look like? When this process is in place, what improvements will we see? It is important to remind yourself of the good that will come when a smooth system is up and running, and framing the changes this way can help you focus your efforts on what's important. 

If you need some inspiration on new systems, join us for 24 hours in the D.C.-area on September 1-2, where we'll learn from the key leaders at Ruppert, tour their facility, and get an up-close-and-personal look at what makes them successful. This event is filling up quickly, register now before it's full. My own team from Grunder Landscaping Co. is joining us, I hope we'll see you there too!

Have a great week!