Lawn Care Franchise Ownership Tips - Spring-Green

Spring-Green Lawn Care's National Advisory Council

2012-02-21T17:01:51-06:00

Preamble: My mantra, which was instilled in me many years ago, is that the strength of franchising is found in the collective knowledge of its franchisees, strategic vendors and staff. It is the responsibility of the franchisor to leverage that knowledge and create an open platform for the exchange of ideas and information. Therefore it makes sense to have and active franchise advisory council. Spring-Green has taken steps to ensure that active participation and I will share some of that with you today.

Role of the Spring-Green National Advisory Council

Our National Advisory Council is made up of five members. Each member represents a region of the country and each member is elected by their peers. Typically we meet face to face at least two times a year but may schedule conference calls as appropriate. Often we will combine the NAC meeting with another event such as strategic planning, or most recently, a brands strategy session. This allow for some fellowship over at least one evening. We also have a designated private forum within our intranet for updates, sharing of information and discussion topics which can be initiated in either direction. In addition, Spring-Green will often invite our NAC to participate in our strategic planning process.

Spring-Green chose to structure our NAC agenda around six key areas of focus to increase our productivity as a group. For five of the areas a member volunteers to be active in the support centers action plans and report to the group any updates. Action plans are typically tied to our director and VP level staff so this is a great opportunity for us to solicit real world input while working on improving Spring-Green. The areas of focus include:

Franchise Relations

Marketing

Technology

Training and Support

Profitability

Environmental & Governmental Affairs

This month Spring-Green Lawn Care’s National Advisory Council (NAC) met at the Spring-Green Support Center.

A Breakdown of the National Advisory Council’s Areas of Focus

Franchise Relations – Everyone on the NAC along with the executive team is accountable for this area. Agenda items may include system performance updates, strategic planning, franchise owner concerns, support center communication, franchise agreement updates, operating manual changes, franchise owner survey information, re-sale’s, franchise expansion and development updates.

Marketing – Jim Bernier franchise owner in Charlotte, NC leads this area of focus and is also the chairman of the marketing committee. Being such an important topic for our organization, it requires its own subcommittee. Much of the detail is left to the subcommittee and action plan updates are provided to the NAC. Action plans are typically assigned around Acquisition, Additional Services, and Loyalty & Retention. Current action plans have to do with our vision of how Spring-Green franchise owners will interact with customers in the future. Past action plans centered on our expansion of services for our national call center, national direct mail campaign, pay per click, search engine optimization and more. It is common for us to ask the marketing committee members to help test new ideas.

Technology – Ken Brown franchise owner in Rochester, MN leads this area of focus. Ken was a long time employee of IBM before purchasing his franchise which includes two locations, one which his son Ryan operates. Many action plans that involve technology naturally bleed into marketing so often Ken is asked for his input in this area as well. Spring-Green continues to invest heavily in technology and has undertaken the centralization of all of its data. This allows for the creation of proprietary tools that create highly personalized marketing campaigns and can measure performance across all changes in real time. Current action plans center around offsite backups and tech support for franchise owners. It seems with the advent of tablets and smart phones more and more tech support is required.

Training & Support – Training and Support are the backbone of a franchise system. A wise man told me that we can never lose sight of what business we are really in and for Spring-Green that is enriching the lives our customers through beautiful lawns. Jeff Anderson, franchise owner in the Oklahoma City area, participates in this area of focus. Current action plans involve improvements to our online learning center, national meeting planning and front line training for field level employees at the franchisee level.

Profitability – In our business model, a marketing reinvestment is needed each year. Our recurring customer base helps fund much of that marketing investment but if the expenses are not managed the franchise owner will have limited funds available to reinvest in growth the following year. The Spring-Green support center recognized the importance of a strong financial road map years ago but with the advent of some helpful technology we believe we are now providing even more relevant and valued support in this area. Our proprietary platform allows for peer to peer comparison and rankings based on several key areas of the business including expenses. Most franchise owners like to compete for top line growth in their building years but as a business matures it is very helpful to compare expense with other franchise owners of a similar size. In 2012, Roger Grose is the franchise owner participating in this area of focus. Action plans for this year revolve around our franchisee lead peer groups. The support center provides data and mentorship to a defined peer group. This data then becomes the foundation for discussions on material cost and labor, but can stretch to phone expenses and of course marketing.

Environmental & Governmental Affairs – Like in every business, there are outside influences that need to be monitored so that you are always aware of any potential impact that they may have to your business. Things as broad as changes in our governments administration, healthcare reform, tax regulations, credit card compliance, economic outlook, green industry legislation and more. Spring-Green’s CEO Ted Hofer actively participates on the government affairs committee for PLANET which is our one of our industry associations.

Spring-Green Franchise Owners Prepare for a Green 2012 Season

2012-02-10T14:40:56-06:00

Winter is over in many of the 26 states that Spring-Green Lawn Care does business in and it is hard to believe that I am looking at production reports (work being done) while gazing out the window at snow covered frozen turf here in Plainfield, Illinois. It has been eight years now and you think I would have adapted. Maybe we should just move our corporate offices south.

The Spring-Green support center is at its busiest fall through spring. This year, over 50% of our franchise system visited the support center for a day and a half of business and marketing planning. This level of activity in a few short months may seem unmanageable to most and at times does to us but I cannot emphasis the significance of the opportunity to have our strategic partners connect with our entire staff. It is impossible to replicate that level of communication in the field and much of our field work done by our business consultants in season has to do with more short term day to day issues. The day and a half at the support center is all about the future, setting a road map for this year and for the next three years. Here is typical agenda.

Business Planning Day 1

Team breakfast – with franchise owners

Marketing Discussion – A-Z Acquisition, Additional Services, marketing tool review, campaign setup, direct mail, call center review, renewals, web site review, web leads, SEO, PPC, Groupon, Living Social, home shows other non-traditional marketing, loyalty & retention, customer surveys, net promoter scores and database maintenance and integrity

One on One lunch - with executive team member

Business Planning- operations analysis, revenue, sales & cancels, expenses, materials and labor, production breakdown, weekly performance comparison, review marketing playbook, past years performance, price chart, competitive shopping, online learning center course completion

Dinner - with business consultant and other team members

Business Planning Day 2

Business Planning – 2012 business plan review, 3 year business plan review, executive business review, long term strategic planning, long term goal setting, exit planning, acquisition, resale discussions as appropriate, equipment review, shop discussions as appropriate

Lunch - Support Center Staff, Equipment

The History of Spring-Green - Part 2

2012-02-02T08:29:07-06:00

Celebrating our 35^th Anniversary earlier this week was a great opportunity for reflection but as our chairman Tom Hofer so eloquently put it, “Let’s not spend too much time on the past because we can’t change any of it. What we can change is our future and the work we are doing today will affect all of our futures, so enjoy it!”

While many at our company lived the past not everyone knows it. So I want to share some of the highlights that you may find interesting. The story of Spring-Green Lawn Care is one of hard work, family values and entrepreneurship. Enjoy!

While growing up in the 1950s, Bill Fischer and Tom Hofer were both working on their respective family farms, learning the value of a hard day’s work while wondering what the future would bring. While at the University of Illinois studying agriculture economics, the two joined the same fraternity and developed a long standing friendship and a mutual appreciation for opportunities that existed outside of returning to the family farm. Bill and Tom headed in different directions after college but were both determined to create a bright future. Tom went off to the Vietnam War where he became a Navy pilot conducting anti-submarine missions. Bill become involved in a brand new industry called lawn care and in 1977 he founded Spring-Green Lawn Care.

In 1978 Bill and Tom would reconnect. The lawn care industry was still in its infancy and few people were aware of the need for a lawn care service but that was part of the appeal for these two young entrepreneurs. Both men evaluated franchising as a vehicle to replicate this new home service and Tom became one of the first Spring-Green franchisees. Within three years Tom’s franchise had achieved great success, doubling in size each year.

The success of Tom’s franchise fueled both men’s passions to expand the business even further and in 1980 Tom Hofer rolled his successful franchised business into Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. and joined Spring-Green’s executive team. The company began taking shape as an organization committed to franchising and its franchise owners. The common values and principles established then still shape the Spring-Green organization today: honesty, integrity and fair play.

In 1982 Bill helped form the lawn care industry’s first trade association (now known as PLANET) bringing exposure to this new trade. Spring-Green became a charter member and Bill later went on to serve as President of the association.

In 1987 Tom Hofer assumed the role of President and CEO after Bill Fischer ended his battle with cancer. Spring-Green Lawn Care continued its evolution under the guidance of the former Navy Lieutenant. It became a lawn and tree care organization made up of professional people who are very good at what they do and take their responsibilities seriously. The Spring-Green franchise system grew rapidly in the Midwest and expanded throughout the East, South, Southeast and Pacific Northwest.

In the 1990s the lawn care industry faced several new challenges as the scrutiny of legislators increased and as several lawn care companies were bought and merged into one large competitor, TruGreen. But unlike many other companies in the industry Spring-Green came out of the decade as a stronger company. Spring-Green expanded and grew its company-owned franchises significantly and the increased royalties from this growth helped fund a significant reinvestment in the support structure of the franchise system.

In recent years Tom has focused his efforts on shaping Spring-Green’s transition to the next generation. James Young was brought in during 2004 and has become the President of Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. Tom’s son, Ted Hofer, joined the company in 2005 and transitioned into the CEO role in 2010. The focus more than ever has been on reaching the company’s long-term goals through “Growth thru Independently-Owned Franchises"

Today, Spring-Green delivers both traditional and organic lawn and tree care services in 26 states. Our services are centered on the beautification of middle class and affluent neighborhoods and communities. Our customers include both residential and commercial establishments.

Spring-Green Lawn Care Celebrates 35th Anniversary

2012-01-31T07:49:36-06:00

Today we are celebrating Spring-Green’s 35^th birthday and I have never been more proud to lead this organization. Spring-Green has always taken great pride in its history, the contributions made by its long line of successful franchise owners and tenured staff. Early this year we lost a senior staff member, Kent Sutton and it reminded me of how special it is to work with good people sharing in their lives as we work toward common goals. Over the last eight years I have been fortunate to lead an organization of good people and one that that had already built a strong foundation of moral code and who put our franchise owners success first. I have worked to follow that road map as we extend our journey for what I expect will be another 35 years. Happy Birthday Spring-Green!

Company remains committed to future, poised for further growth and innovation

When Spring-Green Lawn Care was founded in 1977, the lawn care industry was in its infancy. Today, Spring-Green is a leading company in a $45 billion industry. Over the last 35 years, Spring-Green has seen growth of all kinds, which is a testament to the franchise model and the high level of customer service provided by each locally owned and operated franchise. Spring-Green is committed to continuing this growth for the next 35 years and beyond and their strategic partners (franchise owners) are a big reason for their success. Maybe that attitude is the secret formula to their success and why in a recent independent survey 90% of franchise owners said “My Franchisor and I are committed to positive, long term relationship.” FranSurvey, Dec 2011

The company has thrived throughout three recessions, proving it a recession-proof business. Revenue has grown every decade for the last 35 years, and Spring-Green’s revenue was over $36 million in 2011. Spring-Green saw 30 percent growth in revenue from 1990 to 2000, and 90 percent from 2000 to 2010. Spring-Green has also experienced consistent customer growth, with a 19 percent increase from 1990 to 2000, and 43 percent increase from 2000 to 2010. Average revenue per customer has increased by 72 percent from 1990 until today.

As a founding member of the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA), known today as the Professional Land Care Network (PLANET), Spring-Green has been a leader in the green industry since the association’s origin in 1982, promoting education, certification programs and industry standards. Spring-Green has been listed on the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 for nearly two decades.

Spring-Green Lawn Care focuses on innovation and reinvesting in its franchisees. One way the company does this is by providing industry-leading business and marketing intelligence. They have a centralized database with relevant and timely data, which allows their lawn care franchise owners to monitor their business intelligence in areas like production and sales. Spring-Green also offers proprietary tools for marketing selection and analysis so franchise owners can view and analyze all of their current and prospective customer demographics, select their mailing lists and promotional offers and send this information directly to the printer for timed- or event-driven distribution. A national call center supports both inbound and outbound calling services during peak times of the year. This gives franchisees the opportunity to focus on their team and customer experiences. James Young, President of Spring-Green said, “It’s important for us to drive sales for our franchise owners so they can be focused on servicing the customer. Our national marketing programs influence over 70% of the total sales for our franchise owners.”

Spring-Green’s corporate employees have an average tenure of 13 years. Led by Chairman Tom Hofer, CEO Ted Hofer and President James Young, the team provides a strategic blend of experience including lawn and tree care knowledge. The staff also has specialists who can provide assistance to franchisees in specific areas ranging from marketing to equipment and more.

“We are thrilled to celebrate 35 years in business and are excited to continue our growth and innovation for the next 35. Recently a succession plan was implemented when Ted Hofer took over for his father, Tom, as CEO. Tom remains as chairman and Ted’s youthful leadership will take the company into the future,” said Young. “Each franchise has a local owner who is the face of the business in his or her community. We also operate 26 company-owned franchises that are very successful. Franchise owned, single-territory franchises average over $261,000 in revenue, while multi-territory franchises are averaging over $787,000 annually. At the Spring-Green franchise support center, we are maintaining focus on providing the best service to our customers, which generates customer retention and greater profitability for owners. We remain steadfast on our vision of helping our franchise owners to build large scale, highly profitable businesses.”