Page 17 - OPE March 2020

going to fall out, but you just have to be in a position to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes your way.
“And then, whatever falls out of the tree, you gear your business to the most profitable avenue.”
“Diversity is definitely key,” says Graham Watson, adding by way of example that only 50% of his recent Hawke’s Bay franchisee’s income is from lawns, much of the balance being big grounds maintenance contracts.
ONE IN 60-YEAR SEASONAL SLUMP
Referring probably as much to homeowners with dusty lawns as gardening professionals losing work, Pimp My Lawn’s Kate Bromley agrees: “This season’s probably made lots of people come unstuck.”
Kate says her market is “A little bit quiet at the moment. I mean, obviously, this season has had a huge impact on us, and I’m sure lots of industries, along with the Coronavirus as well. Without rain, there’s not many outdoor things that grow.”
Is Kate’s “weed & feed” business really at the mercy of the weather?
“Obviously there are things we do like, apply products for soil health to obviously
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MARCH 2020 NZ OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT 017
to try and mitigate lawns through the dry, hot periods.
“But the point is this year is a one-in-60- year event – well, we’re hoping so anyway.
“And it’s just been one of those incredibly difficult seasons where, even the best of lawns or the best lawn conditions have started to come apart through lack of rain and also water restrictions.”
choosing franchisees and particularly regionals.
As a result, says Graham: “All our guys
are doing pretty damn well. Our goals and their goals are the same – for them to have
a really good, solid, sustainable business. So we don’t lead them at the beginning, we give them as much support as we can for them to work their way up.”
The franchisees who look after their clients and do many more things than just the lawn are far more sustainable than those who only ever mow lawns
ABOUT FRANCHISING
GrahamWatson and Express Lawn Mowing have 26 franchisees, up five from last time we talked. But it’s not just about numbers, says Graham. Instead Express has focused on success rates and has stuck to its guns and remained “really selective” about
This time last year, Graham and I were talking about Express wanting A graders and not D graders as franchisees. Is this outlook holding?
“Absolutely. And to be quite honest, we’ve actually found that it’s been a self-selection process, because the ones that aren’t for us
INSIGHT
Lawn & Garden Contractors
are often looking for something that we don’t offer anyway.”
As a result, says plain-speaking Graham: “Our franchisees are happy – as long as our franchisees are happy and successful, we’re all good with that.”
And a happy franchisee can benefit
the others. “Our national contracts often start with a good operator,” says Graham. “The advantage and the disadvantage of franchising is that if you have somebody out there who’s doing amazing work, it can really benefit everybody.
“Likewise, if somebody lets the team down on one of these contracts, then obviously these things can be taken away from us and affect the whole group.
“So, yeah, it’s a double-edged sword, but it’s one that can work in your favour if you stay a little bit smaller and really stay on top of things and make sure that with big contracts the client is being looked after.”
FRANCHISING’S MID-LIFE CRISIS
Recently I’ve been hearing a lot about a swathe of “privateers”, including some literally disenfranchised but experienced and successful garden care operators who have switched to operating independently.