Lawn Care Franchise Ownership Tips - Spring-Green

Spring Lawn Care Tips

Spring is the time when, after months of being confined to the interior of your home, your living space opens up to include your yard as well as amenities like patios and decks. Spring-Green Lawn Care has long been in the business of maximizing outdoor spaces, so we can share the following tips for springtime lawn care that will lay the foundation for a healthy, beautiful lawn throughout the spring and summer. 

Water your lawn according to weather.

When it comes to watering your lawn, there is no one-size-fits-all answer in terms of how much or how often you should do so during the spring season. In most regions, enough natural rainfall is produced in the spring to make watering unnecessary. However, supplemental watering should be done in the event of drought periods – especially if drought conditions are accompanied by warm temperatures. Generally, in this case, it is best to introduce about one inch of water per week.

Reintroduce your lawn to mowing. 

In most instances, all varieties of turf grass should be mowed at 2½ to 3 inches from the spring until early fall. However, if you notice that the grass has turned brown due to winter dormancy, administer a slightly shorter mowing so that the new grass blades are not forced to compete with the old blades. For grass that is healthy, set mowers on the high side initially.

Fertilizing early is imperative.

Ideally, it is best to fertilize your lawn prior to June, as doing so will improve the chances of cultivating a strong, attractive lawn in the summer. If you have not done so yet, do not panic. Focus on fertilizing your lawn as soon as possible, and make sure you use a product that is high in nitrogen, as most plants need an infusion of this nutrient to maintain good color and growth.

A Mother’s Day Salute from Spring-Green

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the joy that mothers bring to our lives – and here at Spring-Green, we want to acknowledge the mothers on our team who add tremendous value not only to the work we do, but also to our daily lives.

Gillian Hrycyk, Consumer Marketing Manager – print for Spring-Green, has been with the company since 2005. She came on board as a marketing coordinator and was promoted to her current role in 2008. Gillian was drawn to Spring-Green by the marketing initiatives and goals the company has in place to drive revenue for its franchisees.

“I love helping to create marketing programs that use amazing technology for these family owned businesses,” she says.

Gillian also enjoys the family atmosphere cultivated at Spring-Green, as well as spending quality time with her own family – her husband, Richard; eight year-old daughter, Ragan; and five year-old son, Owen. Family time includes outdoor activities and trips to Disney World.

Gillian is looking forward to spending Mother’s Day with her husband and children, along with her own mother.

We want to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to Gillian and the other equally fantastic moms on our team: Lisa Fillers, Nancy Babyar, Gwen Pothier-Ward and Mychelle Prichard, thank you for all that you do and happy Mother’s Day!

Meet Our Team: Gwen Pothier-Ward

This week, we are excited to spotlight a member of our team whose drive and dedication fueled her rise to head of our national call center operations. Gwen Pothier-Ward, Marketing Support and Call Center Supervisor, first joined Spring-Green in 2009 as a seasonal employee, but due to her work ethic, professional background and the sales success she achieved for the company, Gwen was made a permanent part of the team. In July 2011, Gwen was promoted to her Marketing Support and Call Center Supervisor role.

At one time, Gwen considered opening her own life coaching business, as people tend to seek her out for advice and guidance. Happily, however, the position with Spring-Green has proven a good fit for Gwen, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in information technology, enjoys helping people and has an enduring love for computers. “I feel that I can access the world from my computer wherever I am,” she says.

In her free time, Gwen enjoys family life with her husband, Isaiah, as well as Isaiah’s children and grandchildren. Calling herself a low key person, Gwen prefers quiet activities like reading motivational books and business development books, as well as spending time outdoors. Gwen also relishes opportunities to learn, and says that she has learned a great deal about the lawn care business during her time at Spring-Green.

A Message From Our CEO, Ted Hofer

Arbor Day is this Friday, April 26, marking the beginning of spring and the return of the planting season. The holiday itself celebrates planting and caring for trees – but on a larger scale, it recognizes the importance of taking care of the environment and giving back to nature. Here at Spring-Green, we’re aware of the importance of a beautiful (and healthy!) natural environment and the role it plays in keeping us happy and healthy.

That’s why Spring-Green is committing itself to going green, not just on Arbor Day but all year long. “The Green in Spring-Green” is our overarching program to raise awareness about environmental issues, use green practices in all of our franchises across the country and give back to the environment that has given so much to us.

In honor of Arbor Day and to help raise awareness of our tree care programs, we have formed a strategic alliance with the Arbor Day Foundation. We’ve committed to planting 10,000 trees in 2013, in addition to the 20,000 we’ve already planted. That’s a lot of trees! And if you're interested in helping us extend our tree-planting campaign, you can donate as little as $1 for a new tree on the Spring-Green page on the Arbor Day website.

Plus, for each new customer that likes our Facebook page, we’ll plant a tree in a forest that’s been damaged by natural causes like insects or disease. And if you donate directly to the Arbor Day Foundation, you can help bolster Spring-Green’s commitment to going green and help preserve our forests, one tree at a time.

And remember, Arbor Day is just the beginning – going green is a year-round commitment. Visit our website to learn more about Spring-Green’s many environmentally-friendly initiatives, and take the pledge to join us in preserving greenery around the globe!

Spring-Green Lawn Care Prepares for March Madness

Winning a college basketball championship requires a lot of planning and execution. As NCAA teams across the country prepare for March Madness, Spring-Green Lawn Care is also preparing for our busiest season.

Spring-Green Lawn Care franchise owners use a tried-and-true system of business planning and marketing to prepare for the spring. Our franchise owners take advantage of the off season to plan for spring, and they are already starting to get out on the lawns in some parts of the country. They are also using the marketing support provided by our corporate support center. We are in full swing of the spring acquisition season, but as the weather turns warmer we will focus on selling additional services to existing customers.

The execution of the business planning and marketing support offered by the Spring-Green corporate support center leads to a successful, profitable season for our franchise owners, much like hard work and practice can lead to a championship in college basketball.

Who will you root for this month? We have franchise owners in the states where the current top three are located—Gonzaga in Washington, Indiana University in Indiana, and Duke in North Carolina!

Franchise Owner Marketing Committee Meets at Corporate Support Center

The Spring-Green Lawn Care marketing committee gathered at our corporate support center last week to discuss strategies to help grow our businesses. The conversation focused heavily on customer service, customer retention and (obviously) marketing.

These meetings are a great way to foster collaboration between our franchise owners and the corporate support center. We get input and feedback from the operators who are out in the field across the country on a daily basis so we can establish strategies that will help them grow their businesses.

Marketing support is one of the biggest benefits of becoming a Spring-Green franchise owner so we want to make sure we are effectively supporting every franchisee. These collaborative committee meetings are one of the best ways to offer support, and this week's meeting was very positive. Access to the expertise of a 36-year-old company is a huge benefit for our franchise owners that we are happy to provide.

We want to thank the franchise owners from Minnesota, Illinois and North Carolina who attended the meeting and who continue to represent their fellow franchisee owners' best interests. 

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring

When the groundhog emerged from its burrow on Febuary 2, there was no shadow, indicating an early spring. If Punxsutawney Phil is right, homeowners need to start thinking about their lawn care plans for this year (if they haven't already!).

Our existing customers know they are set. They can count on their local Spring-Green Lawn Care franchise owner to be ready whenever spring hits. Spring-Green Lawn Care has cultivated great customer loyalty by offering excellent customer service. Retaining customers by keeping them happy is one of our key philosophies. This leads to return business, which is far less expensive than finding new customers, and makes recurring revenue easy for our franchise owners to find.

By putting the customer first, we are providing customers with the great service they expect from Spring-Green and creating high customer renewal that helps our franchise owners grow their business. This is a great business plan no matter when spring really starts. There may be snow on the ground in parts of the country, but we are always thinking about getting our customers’ lawns back to tip-top shape.

Spring-Green Franchise Webinar Available on YouTube

If you've been following Spring-Green, you may have seen we held a webinar about the Spring-Green Lawn Care franchise opportunity last week. The webinar provided valuable information on a variety of topics for potential franchise owners interested in a lawn care franchise.

Russ Jacque, strategic business development manager at Spring-Green, talked about the state of the green industry and how existing green businesses can diversify by adding a Spring-Green franchise. He introduced John David Andrus, one of our successful franchise owners, who talked about his experience, the support a franchise offers and how Spring-Green has helped him grow his business. The marketing team wrapped up the webinar with insight on the industry-leading marketing and sales tools Spring-Green offers. The webinar ended with a question and answer session.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch it on our YouTube Channel. Be sure to stay on the lookout for an invite to the next one we host. 

Spring-Green Lawn Care Offers $20,000 in incentives for green industry business owners

Spring-Green Lawn Care’s marketing reinvestment programs make a Spring-Green franchise an excellent investment opportunity for existing green industry business owners and employees. The proprietary marketing tools and support structure make Spring-Green a great complement to any existing green industry business. The Spring-Green business model is recession proof and will create a recurring revenue stream and improved margins. We’re actually so confident that Spring-Green can help green industry business owners achieve their goals of higher profit and diversification that we are offering up to $20,000 in incentives.

The Green Associate Assistance Program applies up to $10,000 of the initial franchise fee toward start-up expenses designated or approved by Spring-Green. This program is for qualified candidates who currently own or are employed by a green industry business such as landscape management professionals, landscape maintenance companies, landscape designers, irrigation/water management professionals and others. The Green Associate Roll-In Program, which is for green industry business owners who provide professional lawn and tree care services and want to convert that portion of their business to a Spring-Green franchise, gives owners the chance to pay a reduced rate. They also get the benefits of the Green Associate Assistance Program.

For all new franchise owners that join in 2013, Spring-Green is offering a Marketing Reinvestment Program, which applies $10,000 of the initial franchise fee to marketing and advertising expenditures in the second full year of operation.

In addition to reinvesting in new franchise owners, the corporate support center is committed to helping franchise owners succeed. Marketing selection and analysis tools we built help you spend your marketing dollars as effectively as possible, and the call center and customer service teams keep the franchise owner focused on serving the customer's needs.

We’re actively recruiting new franchise owners to join the Spring-Green family in 2013. While diversifying a green industry business by adding or converting to a Spring-Green franchise is an excellent opportunity, we welcome all qualified candidates to reach out and learn more about Spring-Green Lawn Care.

To learn more and request a free franchise kit, visit our website today. 

Spring-Green Lawn Care Holds Manager Training

Spring-Green Lawn Care hosted our popular manager training seminar last week at the corporate support center. The seminar, which takes place over three days, is designed to help train new or recently promoted supervisors and managers. We focus on the skills and thought processes that will help them be more effective leaders.

The seminar covers topics like the Spring-Green story, the standards of lawn franchise operations, agronomics, customer service, equipment, selecting, motivating and evaluating employees, training, safety and sales.

The seminar is helpful for both new and old managers and is a great opportunity to touch-up on skills, interact with peers and get additional support from the corporate team. We really enjoy these seminars (we like to mix in a little bit of fun to keep things interesting!) and always welcome our franchise owners and employees to the Spring-Green corporate support center!