What is Cracking the Code to Profit?
Cracking the Code to Profit is the complete, start to finish blueprint for building a REAL BUSINESS in the lawn care and landscaping industry. The author, Ryan Sciamanna, shares all his knowledge on how he went from a solo operator to six crews in three years.
Who is the book for?
Cracking the Code to Profit is for anyone thinking about starting a lawn care business to companies trying to break through the $200k to $300k gross revenue barrier. If you would like to, but are not already, making $100k per year as the owner of your lawn care company, you will benefit from reading this book.
Why Ryan wrote the book:
In 2016 Ryan narrowed his lawn care companies service offering down to lawn mowing and lawn treatments only. Prior to that, his company was a full-service lawn and landscape service provider offering all of the typical services including mulching, pruning, cleanups, leaf removals, hardscapes, landscape design and installation, and snow removal. He made the change in his business model to increase profit margins and reduce the amount of time required of him as the owner of the business.
Naturally, he needed to find referral partners for his lawn care customers because they still had other lawn and landscape needs his company no longer performed. He contacted several other lawn and landscape business owners in his area and told them he wanted to send them referrals for the work his company no longer performed and only asked they don't 'steal' his customers for the services they were still providing.
After shooting off the first several referrals, Ryan quickly realized that a lot of these companies needed help and until they improved their business operations, referring his clients to them was only making him look bad! He has since stopped referring work with the exception of a couple companies that proved they would provide his customers quality work at fair prices and actually be reliable.
Ryan says, "I think most lawn care business owners started their business just like I did...they enjoyed the work and were good at it, so they said, why not work for myself. In the beginning, it usually goes pretty smooth, but as they add more and more customers and eventuallyneed to hire employees, they get in over their heads. I did the same thing, but quickly educated myself on how to run an actualbusiness and not just be self-employed."
He organized all of his knowledge into Cracking the Code to Profit in hopes it will save new business owners years of frustration. Ryan read a similar 'book' before he started his business that his father had bought for him online. It was actually just a word document that someone had written on starting a lawn care business and his dad printed it off for him. It cost his father $79.95 for that! Ryan still has that 'book' and even though it was overpriced, terrible quality and a lot of the information was not good, he still credits that book towards helping him get his business off the ground.
What you can expect from Cracking the Code to Profit - How to Start a Lawn Care Business:
The book flows in chronological order from starting your business to your exit strategy. Ryan put every detail he could recall from his own experience. You can see the book chapters in the book preview. After each chapter, action steps are included so you know exactly what you need to do. At the end of the book, you will find the resource section for continued learning and execution. You can expect to have a much better understanding of how to start and grow your lawn care business is a healthy, profitable way. Ryan's contact info is also included in the book. He would love to hear from you after you finish it.
Ryan grew up in Florence, KY in a middle-class family with both of his parents and 2 younger brothers. He I got caught up in the wrong crowd in high school after Tommy John Surgery ended his dreams of playing professional baseball. He still managed to get accepted into the University of Cincinnati's Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning Program which he ended up completely blowing. His uncle got him his first job in the green industry at a commercial lawn care supply warehouse after he dropped out. He bounced around working at a couple restaurants but always ended up back at a lawn care or landscaping business of some sort. When he got hired at a small family owned lawn care and landscaping business he realized that is what I wanted to do. He started his business, Loyal Green, with his parents' lawn equipment and even their vehicle to haul the equipment around. He literally had nothing and didn't have the money to buy it either. He also did not have a clue how to run a business at that point! He kept working at the local business until he built up enough clients of his own...Ryan would do his customer's lawns in the evenings or on the weekends around his full-time work schedule. In March of 2011, he had to tell his boss that he was sorry and could not put in his 2 weeks. He had to handle his customers' lawns full time. After 1 year of running the business full-time as a solo operator, he hired one of his friends and his brother in the second year running the business full-time. He kept adding trucks, equipment, and employees through 2015 which was his lawn care company's biggest revenue year ever. The problem was the profit margins were terrible and the number of hours he was working was not sustainable! So, in 2016 he made several changes to his business model. 2016 and 2017 were the most profitable years of his business and the best part was, he was only working 8 hours a week on his business! The systems Ryan had created allowed his employees to handle most of the daily operational tasks. 2018 is poised to be Loyal Green's best year ever. Ryan just wants to see more people succeed!
