Winter Not So Wonderland?
Winter is a wonderful season for Holiday gift giving and receiving, football, skiing, and replenishing our badly needed water supply. It’s a time of joyful family gatherings, off-season mini vacations, tasty Holiday foods, and of course all the joys of Christmas and New Year celebrations. Unfortunately, it is not a great season for most irrigation stores and suppliers.
Much of the landscape industry slows down after Thanksgiving. The grass doesn’t grow much, outdoor workdays are shorter, and irrigation system repair or installation projects are few and far between. I’m not complaining, I love what I do, I’m just being realistic as all entrepreneurs and business owners need to be.
So, what do we do and don’t do at Landscape Warehouse to offset the annual winter slowdown? Well, we don’t cut back on our staff, as some businesses do. Our knowledgeable staff members are the people that bring in and service our customers rain or shine, all year long. No, what we do in winter is put an emphasis on our lighting department offerings, sell more fertilizer, steer manure, and rye grass seed, focus a little more on equipment sales, and use the occasion to set up those efficiency procedures we have been too busy to implement during the warmer seasons.
Sure, we have known this slower time was coming, so the appropriate thing to do is to plan financially for it before it arrives… correct? Unfortunately, in business, the “appropriate thing to do financially,” is more difficult to achieve than it sounds. The good news is that we have made it through the toughest months once again. This is due to smart planning by our sharp office staff, the diversity of products and services we represent, the addition of Landscape Warehouse locations, and continued patronage from our growing list of loyal customers.
We can now see the light at the end of the winter tunnel and we’ve begun to gear up for another busy spring just a few weeks away.
Yes, winter is tough on our industry. But, as it is said about so many other businesses, “If the irrigation supply business were easy, then everybody would be in it.” Right? Well, we are not only happy to be in it, “We’re in to win it.” To be your go-to site for all your irrigation supplies and plants for every season of the year.
Speaking about “winning,” landscape beautification competitions are approaching quickly, so now is the time to start preparing your favorite projects so you can enter them and “bring home the gold.” Remember, as our motto declares, Landscape Warehouse has “Everything you need for your next award-winning landscape.” We look forward to helping you receive those honors you have worked so hard to achieve.
– José Robles, owner, Landscape Warehouse