Putting it into practice

Regular readers will recall our trip to Las Vegan in October for the Brad Sugar's Billionaire seminar. As with all these things, they only work if you put what is taught to you into practice.

Over this last month, I have been applying various tips picked up to improve the business, as well as our private lives too.

The results have been staggering.

November has been our busiest month ever, with record billings achieved, more contracts won and more quotes sent out - I am also looking to improve our close rates (its pretty good anyway, but always room for improvement!). Furthermore, I have implemented monitoring and quality measurements to ensure our performance is always improved.

My next project is to update our website http://www.garden4you.co.uk/ and improve our conversion and click through rates via Irun Solutions and more google campaigns.

We have had a few set-backs - mostly due to mechanical failure of vehicles and machines, but this also has to be expected with an increase in work load. This obviously has an affect on the business, but my aim is to plan for these and ensure we have a back up option.

In our private life, Karen and I have got more organised, employed a cleaner/ironing service to remove the pressure of constantly having to think about this, attempted to sort out our shopping via the Internet (this really takes up loads of time to sort out initially!) and basically started to manage our time more effectively so we can spent more time together.

I have also managed to fit in more hobby time - I now spend much more time working my gun dogs and doing more field sports.

The law of space has prevailed - basically if you create space it will be filled, by getting more things sorted, I have more time to do other things and spend more time with the family - brilliant!

Neale James's 40th

Another event not blogged was Neale James's 40th birthday. Neale James is a great mate of ours and runs Breathe Pictures - the awesome photography company as well as being a broadcaster on Reading 107 breakfast show.




As we were away in Las Vegas during Neale's birthday, it was decided that the party should happen before we go so we didn't miss it. The usual suspects were there of course looking to get Neale truly slaughtered.

The venue was the Madagascan Gin Palace - always a great night out and so the scene was set.

During the afternoon, Adam, Karen and I popped round to Neale & Sam's house to watch football and so we managed to get a bit of a head start - so before we got to the restaurant we were very merry to say the least!


As the evening progressed, things got pretty lively and we managed to get Neale in "The dentist chair" a really horrible form of torture where you get tipped back and alcohol is administered directly - Neale's eyes did go in different directions after this!



Things get a little blurred after this - there was a disco laid on and so dancing etc broke out before we finally ended up back a Neale's....after this I'm not to sure!

A really great night had by all - many thanks to Sam and the girls for arranging etc.

All for charity mate!

Picture: Karen & Donna before the run

During my lack of PC, several events took place which are very worthy of note, one being a 10K run the wife did.

Karen, the wife, of Irun Solutions Newbury, Donna of WhyNot Jewellery and Carl of The Fit Farm all decided to go on a 10K charity run in aid of Cancer Research (note my absence from this venture!).

Training was a laborious affair comprising of twice a week early morning runs at either Sneslmore or Greenham Commons, with the occasional "drop me in Thatcham" run on a Sunday where I would literally drop Karen off and drive away - something I tend to do from time to time (usually when we are away on hols etc much to her annoyance - but that's another story...!!)

Then the day finally came, so off we went to Eton Rowing Arena near Slough. The weather was less than kind to the runners as it was cold and wet, however with about 5,000 runners taking part, the atmosphere was pretty amazing.

As the time grew closer, a group warm up session broke out and everybody got ready to go. Nerves started to show at this point especially as neither Karen or Donna had ever done this before. The circuit was two laps of the lake, with watering stations at several points along the way.

Carl was determined to put in a good time and so set off with an early fast pace, followed by Karen and Donna at a more sedate pace. After the first lap, Karen broke away from Donna and set about at achieving her goal.

After a grueling run, all 3 finished looking pretty good considering and achieved not only great times but also adding cash to the Cancer Research pot.

Picture: Karen, Carl and Donna during the run

As a spectator to this event, I was impressed with all the runners and there was a really spirit of achievement - many runners did this for a relative either lost to cancer or surviving it - a truly worthwhile cause - well done to all.

There's only one way to get rid of a mole.....

.....according to Jasper Carrott anyway!

Moles are very active during this time of year and so the sight of large mounds of earth are becoming common place in most gardens.

Moles are really fascinating. Not much is really known about them but they are certainly on the increase and they cause a huge amount of damage to both agricultural land and gardens.

Moles are solitary creatures and protect their territory viciously against all comers - even there own off-spring once the mother has evicted them.They can travel up to 300mts in a single day and are pretty much constantly on the move, hunting for earthworks, leather jackets and just about anything else they can find.

This is where the conflict arises. With such activity, they have to push the tunnel earth up somewhere. The biggest problems occur where there are lots of worms - you guessed it a fell cared for and fed lawn!

Our armoury of treatments have been cut to basically two options - gassing or trapping. We used to be able to deal with moles very effectively and cheaply by the use of Strychnine laced worms which were placed in active runs - if applied following proven safety guidelines was far the most effective and safe way to control them.

Today, we will either use Aluminium Sulphide gas tablets (a very strictly controlled substance that will only be supplied to fully trained professionals like us) or trapping using humane mole traps.

Now trapping is an art. Everybody has a go at it but most attempts are futile. We all have learnt over the years "the best" way to trap and the best traps to use, but there are more factors which effect the success than you can imagine. I have to say we get good results based on certain conditions and in may cases trap several moles in each trap (as one is caught, the constant search for food and territory from bordering moles is there downfall).

Gassing is very effective but again conditions must be perfect - everything from soil dampness to activate the gas down to depth of run etc will determine the success of each application.

I do have a fondness for these busy little creatures and do feel a little sad at having to wage war on them, after all we are destroying their habitat by building houses on every bit of land....but that's progress!

Incidentally, going back to Jasper's technique of shooting moles - it does work too! If you see a mole hill being produced and you have your trusty shotgun with you, shoot the mole hill as its moving and you will certainly kill the mole. The shock waves from the impact will kill it instantly - yes I have done this too before you ask!

Expansion of the Garden4You team

Its always great news to hear about business growth - especially when it is to meet customer demand.

We have recently made the decision to step up a gear and add a new vehicle to the fleet, thus creating a second team.

This second team allows us to be more flexible and respond more quickly to our customers demands and requests - reducing our lead times is essential to ensure we grow.

After looking around the market, we decided on a Vauxhall Movano. This seems to fit the bill in respect of refinements and most importantly load space and capacity. It is also very economical to run.

As it happens, the very week we bought it, my trusty Land Rover blew the differential and was off the road for a full week - restricting our movements temporarily - and costing £1,200 to fix!

By adding an additional team, we can now comfortably take on the new contracts we are winning and schedule the work more effectively.

Loads of Gardening projects completed

Over the last few weeks we have been totally flat out with work. The extraordinary weather has made life very interesting as people are calling us non-stop trying to fit in the last job before winter sets in.

We have done some really nice jobs - from the normal garden clearance to erection of children's climbing frames and swings.

Several really nice jobs of note:

Clearance of a very overgrown bank in Whitchurch on Thames for a very nice lady who seems to have had a constant problem with the bank on her property. It a bit of an odd one as there really isn't much you can do with it - but we are discussing a few ideas and hope to do some more work here shortly. I am forgetting to take the "before" pictures but here is some "after" pictures. The bank was covered in brambles to about 8ft tall and all sorts of other stuff too.

Scarification of lawns

We had a scarifier on hire from A4 Hire in Hungerford for a week and went around to loads of our customers just getting the lawns scarified. We recommend this is done at least once a year to ensure all ther old grass mass and moss is raked out before winter ensuring new fresh grass can come through in the spring. People are amazed at what comes out of the lawn in respect of the shear quantities of rubbish. One of our customers has a massive lawn and it literally took us all day to do - but it has made a huge difference.

Fencing has really kicked off again and we have already done quite a few fences in the last month - everything from replacing damaged panels to picket fencing for a dog friendly area on a new development in Thatcham.

Garden Clearances

We are still doing loads of garden clearances for letting companies or people who are selling their properties - some of the jobs are just unbelievable - but the difference after we have been is incredible. I have been negligent in capturing photos but this tend to happen with us so busy.

One really nice job we are part way through at the moment is a really pretty cottage in East Ilsley. This property has had a load of work done to it recently and so its our turn to sort out the garden. The existing garden was not really in character for the cottage and the front garden had become a real mess of plants. We have now re-turfed and cleared the front - all the villagers who walked past gave the comments and approval!

We have started on the back garden and cleared most of the borders ready for planting and will be building a raised vegetable garden over the coming few weeks to finish off this great project.

Maintenance contracts

We have increased the number of contracts quite radically over the last few weeks. This involves basic closing down the garden in readiness for the spring - pruning fruit trees and weeding boarders etc as well as hedge cutting etc.

Where has the time gone!

Hi Readers,

I have had a few technical problems with my new PC which has prevented me from blogging for a while so sincere apologies - the fault has now been rectified so its time to try and catch up!

What a few weeks its been! In the next few postings I will run over the major highlights (and low spots too!) for your information and entertainment.

Biggest highlight was undoubtedly our trip to Las Vegas. Back in June Karen (the wife) of Irun Solutions Newbury and I attended an evening run by Brad Sugars - a self made Billionaire and founder of Action Business Coach, the largest and most successful franchise of its type. We went with the intention of picking up a few ideas for our businesses and our private life too and using them to improve - we never expected to be booking up to go to Las Vegas!

I have avoided America like the plague for many years - I once worked for a very large American corporation who couldn't make me go either and I gave away a trip to New York a few years ago such was my desire to avoid going - so to be persuaded to go by this larger than life Aussie proves how compelling and convincing he was.

Nigel and Diane Morgan of Morgan PR also signed up to go too - which also added to the overall value we expected to get from this trip. It just so happened that my birthday fell on the dates of this trip so we booked a helicopter flight through the Grand Canyon as well.

Grand Canyon Trip

I had never been in a helicopter before so really didn't know what to expect. After a safety briefing, we headed off to meet our pilot and board the helicopter. I had not realised they were so basic - it looked like it had done a flight or two and seemed to be held together with baler twine and wire....I was a little nervous to say the least especially when it was started up and shook like crazy!

The pilot was a bit too laid back from my liking and continually made wise cracks for the hour long flight as well as playing his MP3 player containing Country and Western etc rounded off with the Wagner tune from Apocalypse Now - the one they used for the helicopter attack scene on the beach before surfing......you must have seen it!



Anyway, nothing can prepare you for the views of the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon - simply stunning! My pictures don't really capture it but its a "must see".

We also landed at a private ranch, had lunch and did some horse riding before flying back to Vegas - unfortunately the lunch didn't agree with me and 10 mins before we landed I filled the "comfort bag" much to the dismay of my fellow passengers!!

Later that evening, we met up with the Morgans to go off to New York New York casino where we found the famous "Dueling Pianos" bar. What a great idea! These guys simply got the crowd to pay them money to play a song from an era or genre and then get somebody else to bid up to get the other one to play something else - a real fun evening! Could it work in the UK? I think so!

Nigel managed to stitch me up by telling them it was my birthday - very entertaining for everybody else but not so for me .... I have a long memory Nigel so watch out mate!

We also went for a steak - actually it was more like a cow - all washed down with loads of booze etc - a perfect birthday night out.

Anyway, the Brad Sugars seminar was very intensive and packed full of ideas to improve not only your business but your life, health and wealth - 3 days later we were completely exhausted but very please we went. We have made some simple changes already which have made massive differences to our businesses and our lives - these things only work if you implement them - we still have lots to do but small steps and all that.

As for Las Vegas - it sucks! Everything is plastic and designed to remove as much cash from you as possible - the food was awful, the service was second rate and despite being in one of the top hotels in Vegas nothing worked......God bless America!

I could have easily stayed out in the Nevada Desert and spent the week on the Ranch - now that's my idea of a trip!