Now that we're well into fall, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the summer season. Hopefully it was as good for you as it was for LC/DBM!

This year ad revenues and page counts grew at LC/DBM by more than 10% and that usually indicates that the vendors are seeing more sales activities, which generally means that you are seeing more work . . . The most recent LC/DBM survey bears this out as more than 57.9% of you indicated growth in 2014 with 37.5% growing by more than 10%. Of the remaining group, 35.3% said that business was about the same as last year leaving only 6.8% who saw a decrease. We did a similar survey for landscape architects and a similar majority saw business growth, with 32.3% showing growth of better than 10%.

Looking forward, most of you are also optimistic for a steady year ahead, with 96.4% predicting a steady if not growing 2015 and 43.4% saying that they expect to grow by more than 10%. The landscape architects are even more optimistic as 48.8% indicated that they expected growth of greater than 10% over the next year.

Now, it is an election year, so anything can happen . . . But surveys are great indicators of the trends and moods of the industry.

In that LC/DBM survey, we also found that almost half of the private sector readers are doing better than $1,000,000 in revenue, 56% of you doing that with less than ten employees, while the rest of you (some 44%) are working with more than ten crew members with 9.7% of you pulling in more than 4 million in revenues a year. Hey . . . We might start looking for BMW to start advertising to you guys . . .

We also found that most of you do a variety of work including custom residential projects (57.7%), commercial developments (47.1%), multi-unit housing developments (46.2%), parks and city work (40.4%), hotels, sports fields, amusement parks, HOAs, golf courses, schools and roadways.

And don't think you're alone when it comes to doing the books, preparing the bids and sweeping the floor . . . Almost all of you do almost all of everything at one point or another. According to the survey, 66.3% of you are involved with business management, 63.5% do the estimating, the same number do the landscape designs, while 57.7% are managing projects, purchasing equipment (49.3%), and doing the selling and marketing (50%). Sometimes being the boss means that you get your hands dirty too, as 37.5% admitted to doing ground work and equipment operation as well.

Remember virtually all of LC/DBM readers either have ownership status in the private sector or superintendent or manager status in the public and facility sector, so if you find your self restocking the copier or dropping off the bid at Fed-Ex you can take solace in knowing you are not alone! Instead you are members of a great profession, greening up the environment, building and growing landscapes across the nation . . . Good Job . . . Well Done!

God Bless!

George Schmok, Publisher

Equipment equipment everywhere . . .
There is a good chance you are reading this at either the GIE + EXPO out in Louisville or at The Landscape Expo – Long Beach. LC/DBM has a booth at both those industry leading trade shows and are passing out an additional 1,500 copies of the magazine. Trade shows are a great way to see almost everything that has been developed over the past year to make your life easier in your landscape business or career. Everything from mowers and loaders to lights and pipes . . . If you are within 100 miles of a trade show this fall . . . Go!!!

Kind of on that train of thought . . . If you get a chance to stop by our booth you might get to meet LC/DBM editor Mike Dahl. However, if you can't get to the Expo, take a look at page 28, as Mike was recently shipped out to Kohler, Wisconsin for a media event and we have a picture. Ok . . . It's nothing like the recent celebrity photo leaks, but in this one you can tell it is Mike . . .