Chasing revenue versus chasing costs

Anna Turner points out the importance of focussing on profit, not turnover.

- Anna Turner

I get fired up about this topic (yep, I'm wired a little different). It strikes a nerve because it's so simple, yet the majority of landscapers focus on revenue over profit. They wrongly believe more revenue will lead to more profit, when it most likely does the opposite.

Sort it out

Chasing revenue with little consideration for the knock-on effect can have catastrophic consequences, like:

• Increased operating costs - an increased volume of work leads to increased overheads, and if you don't have those under control in the first-place costs will blow out in no time.

• Burnout - more work means more problems to juggle. If you don't have processes in place to manage the extra work, you and your staff will be stressed to the eyeballs. Before you know it, your employees will be jumping the fence for a more sustainable work environment.

• Increased defects - quality control will go out the window and soon you'll be fixing defects every evening 'til forever.

When you focus on increasing profit over revenue, it forces you to look at your business from a whole different angle. It forces you to ask some hard truths and make harder decisions. When you do, your business will be profitable, sustainable and ready to grow.