Company growth and increased optimism in the landscape industry were evident in LC/DBM's mid-year survey. Here are some numbers, rounded off to the nearest percentage.

Growth of company in previous 12 months:
2012 Survey
46 Increase
23 Stay the Same
31 Decrease

2014 Survey
58 Increase
35 Stay the Same
7 Decrease

Prediction of company revenue in next 12 months:
2012 Survey
58 Increase
26 Stay the Same
16 Decrease

2014 Survey
71 Increase
25 Stay the Same
4 Decrease

The Many Hats Worn by LC/DBM Readers:
Business Management: 68.3
Landscape Design: 63.5
Estimating: 63.5
Project Management: 57.7
Equipment Purchasing: 49
Project Bidding: 44.2
Installation: 37.5

However, in a show of tempered optimism from previous years, only 6% predicted that revenue growth would exceed 26% this year compared to 11% who predicted it would in 2012, which could also be due to how much ground the industry had lost in the recessionary years.

Company size also reported better numbers:
30% of companies responding in 2012 had more than 10 employees and 44% have more than 10 presently.

The majority of respondents have degrees, many of them multiple degrees:
Associate - 14.4%, Bachelor's – 53.8%, Masters – 13.5%, Doctoral – 1.9% Over 52% of readers have been in business for more than 25 years.