Ok business people lend me your ears and minds

[ditchdr]

so here is the deal, I own and operate a pretty busy lawn and tree company. It can grow much bigger then it is, talking multi state bigger. And i want it to be bigger REAL BIG, but I dont want everything stuck to each other.. The plan is to have everything under one LLC, but have different divisions. Say D1 would be mantain lans, trim hedges, pull weeds and so on, but under D1 would be the commercial division also. ( wow about 10 fire trucks just flew by) D2 would be the chemical division, D3 would be the landscape and hard scape division, but also under that one would be the lighting and sprinkler crews, D4 would be the tree division.

Now keep in mind NONE of this will happen untill I am done with school and back working EMS. I know I will need managers for each division that i can trust 100% with the company, as well as crews who love their jobs as well as do top notch work.

Now my question is how can I do this and make it al happen? I know there will be pot holes along the way, and issues we can not forsee. But does it look s something that can be done?

As of right now it kind of is, but i am the one doing it, and i wont make it rich doing 2 and 3K jobs.. The real money is in the high end jobs that pay 50 to 100K each.

[CWCobra]

Hard part is attracting and retaining good people...as in any business.

Good luck!

[aussiekeeper]

Hmmm, I own a business(25 years) and am wanting to get out of Ca. Need a manager? ...............

[Mr Brown]

I suggest multiple LLC's, that way one lawsuit won't kill them all....
Key to retaining good people is to give them a sense of ownership, people will be more likely to work hard if they feel they have a stake in things, not just you. Offer rewards for clearly defined and met goals. You cannot make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you.

[F=MA]

Check the worker's compensation insurance rates for this type of business in your state. You may find it's better to keep all the various divisions tied closer together to take advantage of a group rating plan, if one is available.

I'd suggest sitting down with an accountant for an hour or two to discuss your ideas before you commit to them too far.

You're probably going to need a sales rep or marketing division working full time to build up enough business to keep your staff busy.

You'll probably need capital to buy equipment and serve as "working capital". If you don't have $30k or so sitting around you might want to start putting together a business plan, as banks will require one before considering funding your business.

These are some of the first things that come to mind. Don't let the obstacles prevent you from starting though!

[tdrcomm]

Hmmm, I own a business(25 years) and am wanting to get out of Ca. Need a manager? ...............

No kidding.
Would the last business out of Cali please turn out the lights.

[aussiekeeper]

I don't have the lights on, electric is too expensive..........

[tdrcomm]

Check the worker's compensation insurance rates for this type of business in your state. You may find it's better to keep all the various divisions tied closer together to take advantage of a group rating plan, if one is available.

I'd suggest sitting down with an accountant for an hour or two to discuss your ideas before you commit to them too far.

You're probably going to need a sales rep or marketing division working full time to build up enough business to keep your staff busy.

You'll probably need capital to buy equipment and serve as "working capital". If you don't have $30k or so sitting around you might want to start putting together a business plan, as banks will require one before considering funding your business.

These are some of the first things that come to mind. Don't let the obstacles prevent you from starting though!

All excellent advice.

I'd add that the sales/marketing effort is hugely important.
Many business have gone under not for lack of current work, but because of lack of FUTURE work. Lots of companies focus so much on the present work they don't have time to go after new business. It helps to have others beating the bushes while you keep the present clients happy.

Let everyone you know that you pay a finder's fee or commission on any new paying business. No matter how small, break off a piece. It's better to have 80% of something than 100% of nothing.

If you get too busy DO NOT be afraid to farm-out some of the work. Make it transparent - you are the vendor to your client and the client to your subcontractors. It's better to accept ALL work and contract what you can't do than to EVER turn away work. It rarely ever comes back. My ex BIL could never understand the concept. He owned a small silkscreen company. Just him and one other helper. Ever freakin' time he's get a chance at a HUGE order (2000-5000 shirts) he'd get greedy and think of all the cash he'd make if he did the job in-house on his 6 color manual press. And every huge job would be late or screwed up because he would work for weeks, sometimes all night, physically printing all those shirts. All because of his greed. All of those customers were so angry at the lousy job that they never came back. All he needed to do is contract out to a buddy with an automatic press, take .20 a piece and deliver a product on time and correct. Sure, he'd make more money if he did it himself but I dunno... $600 - $1200 for doing nothing but making a phone call? I would have done it in a heartbeat. He could have used that time to drum up new business, and the current customers would happy to get their stuff on time for a change, and continue to send him work.