jennifer lemcke

Weed Man’s Business Plan

Weed Man Lawn Care Leave a comment

Weed Man franchisees come from several different backgrounds. Whether you currently own an independent landscape or pest control company or work in a completely unrelated industry, Weed Man offers entrepreneurs an opportunity that many franchise organizations do not. Not only do franchisees get the chance to experience recurring revenues and economic stability – they also receive one-on-one mentoring with their highly experienced Weed Man consultant.

Each and every year, franchisees sit down with their franchisor to create a road map to success, or in Weed Man’s terms, the business plan. But this isn’t just any business plan. The time spent with your franchisor will be used to go over everything from the number of employees required, to the amount of printer ink you’ll use – an ideology that began decades ago when Roger Mongeon, C.E.O., Weed Man USA, decided to get involved in the lawn care company as a franchisee.

He created a 10-year business plan – a practice he perfected while working in his decade-long career at Union Carbide. Today, Weed Man’s systems make up a large part of the company’s ‘secret sauce.’

“If you start off with great people and you stick with your commitment to taking care of your customers…and then you instill this cultural way of looking at your business through a business plan, that’s the heart of the franchise system we brought to the U.S.,” Mongeon says. “Through that we use people and systems to make sure once you develop the business plan, you can execute the plan.”

The business plan incorporates many factors of running a successful business. Over the two-and-a-half-day long meeting, franchisees and franchisor discuss the budget for the coming year, marketing tactics and hiring, equipment-buying and so much more. “Many people make a business plan, but they don’t make it alive throughout the year [like Weed Man does],” C.O.O. of Weed Man USA, Jennifer Lemcke states.

To learn more about franchise opportunities in your area, visit us online at www.weedmanfranchise.com or call 1-888-321-9333.

 

10 Reasons to Love Entrepreneurship with Weed Man

Weed Man Lawn Care Leave a comment

10-reasons-to-love-entrepreneurship-with-weed-man.jpg

Being your own boss is something many people across the country dream about, but at Weed Man Lawn Care, we help those dreams come true. With proven systems, premium products and decades of industry experience, we take pride in offering entrepreneurs an opportunity to create financial stability for themselves and their families. Here are 10 Reasons to Love Entrepreneurship with Weed Man.

“Franchisee’s success is the most important thing to me. That is why the relationships between the corporate team and franchisees across the country are so trusting and personal. We are here to help owners succeed.” – Jennifer Lemcke, C.O.O., Weed Man USA

“I truly believe that the backbone of this country is the small business we are providing people within the community, with an opportunity to give back to the communities in which they live. It’s amazing to think that we’ve been able to serve 16,000 customers in the past year and hire nearly 300 employees to help take our business to the next level.” – Andy Kurth, Weed Man Madison, WI; Milwaukee, WI; Green Bay, WI; Elgin, IL; Denver, CO; Austin, TX

“What attracted me to Weed Man initially was the quality of people in the organization. The lawn care industry had just gone through numerous mergers and acquisitions with many industry leaders that I had come to respect over the years aligning themselves with Weed Man.” – Jim McClure, Weed Man Roswell, GA

“I’ve always had a love for the green industry and my partners and I owned the landscaping business for 20 years before we purchased Weed Man as on add-on business. Once I saw the depth of support from Weed Man and the experience of the people driving the franchise, I sold my share of the landscaping business to focus solely on the growth of my Weed Man territories.” – Tom Mauer, Weed Man Springfield-Hartford, MA

“Business-wise, Weed Man just made a lot of sense to me. We already had a lawn care business at that time, but we really had no idea what we were doing… What really interested me about Weed Man when I read the article was their intent focus on the business side of operations: the processes and the systems. That was my cue to pursue the franchise.” – Stephen Hillenmeyer, Weed Man Lexington, KY; Nashville, TN

“We chose Weed Man because we wanted to invest in and grow a business that would achieve a larger return-on-investment than our independent landscaping and maintenance company in the long-term…[Weed Man] builds equity every year as it grows and will be much more valuable in the end.” – Sam Morgan, Weed Man Lake Norman, NC

“When we came across Weed Man, we believed that it was a match made in heaven. Weed Man lives by its ‘Promises Kept’ and hones in on being an honest company that takes great pride in their work. These values were important to us when seeking a franchise opportunity.” – Kim and Mark Kosberg, Midland, MI

“Weed Man USA has the necessary systems in place to help its franchise owners succeed. From business planning meetings to top-tier talent at the corporate level, every aspect of the franchise is very well-planned and executed…It has been extremely helpful to have an entire franchise system available to support and assist in [our] growth.” – Jon and Vicky Cundiff, Weed Man Kansas City, MO; Des Moines, IA; Springfield, MO; Fort Worth, TX

“Since 2009, I’ve seen consistent growth and have quadrupled the size of my business. The first year I opened my business I hit $300,000 in sales, and now our business is pulling in over $2 million in sales.” – Steve Sartorius, Weed Man Minneapolis, MI

“Pest control and lawn care services are a like science. They have similar governing bodies and licensing procedures. Since we were already familiar with the management side of the business, we knew it was a great opportunity to immediately leverage our client base and expand our service offerings to them.” – Steve and Chuck Russell, Weed Man Novi, MI

If you are interested in learning more about franchise opportunities in your area, visit us online at www.weedmanfranchise.com or call 1-888-321-9333.

Franchise Today & Weed Man USA COO Jennifer Lemcke

Weed Man Lawn Care Leave a comment

Recently, Weed Man C.O.O. Jennifer Lemcke was invited to participate in a discussion with Franchise Today, an online radio show discussing what’s going on in the franchising world, serving up discussions with weekly guests and touching on best practices for building and growing sustainable franchise brands.

Host Stan Friedman and Lemcke touch on the tremendous growth Weed Man USA has experienced in the past decade and Weed Man’s title as the fastest growing franchise in lawn care. For the second consecutive year, Weed Man has been named One of the Best Franchises to Buy by Forbes magazine and with an initial investment of under $150,000, it’s no wonder the lawn care franchise has seen so much success.

“Our strategy in the U.S. has never been to differ from quality. We do have some good competitors at a national level…but between us and [them], I would boil it down to [the quality of] our fertilizer…and that’s been a staple [for us],” says Lemcke when asked about Weed Man’s strategy.

You can learn more about Weed Man’s exclusively-blended, golf course quality fertilizer HERE.

There are several things that set Weed Man apart from other lawn care franchises. For instance, during our off-time,“[In November, we do budgeting and] our business planning, which is unreal – top of class, not only in our industry, but top of class in probably most industries. We do zero-based budgeting with our franchisees and a business plan with each and every one of our franchisees – the crutch to all of our systems,” Lemcke states.

franchise-today

To listen to the entire podcast and learn more about the Weed Man opportunity, click HERE.

For more information on opportunities in your area, visit us online at www.weedmanfranchise.com or call 1-888-321-9333.

Leadership: An Interview with Weed Man’s C.O.O.

Weed Man Lawn Care Leave a comment

Leadership.jpg

“True leadership lies in guiding others to success – in ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.”
–Bill Owens

Weed Man USA C.O.O Jennifer Lemcke believes that “positive thought leadership is so important – not focusing on just the problem, but bringing up solutions.” Being the C.O.O. of the largest franchised lawn care company across North America, Lemcke has a lot on her plate, but she does it well. Not only does she exude several character traits of a true born leader, she also puts the work in to better herself, the company and the success of Weed Man franchisees.

What is the most important question leaders should ask themselves to gauge their effectiveness, and why?

 It is the role of a good leader to always be asking themselves, “What is my end goal?” Whether it is a long-tern or short-term goal or project, it’s important to have that in mind to help prioritize what is important on any given day. Business leaders tend to get pushed and pulled in so many directions over the course of a day that they may start to equate the amount of work – no matter what it is – as progress. When in fact, a lot of that work is busy work and isn’t helping them to reach that end goal. The best way to stay on track is to make sure metrics are implemented. At Weed Man, we use metrics for everything and it’s what keeps me focused on where my time needs to be spent. When the metrics are telling our team that something is not working right on a big project, I know that I need focus my efforts on figuring out what the metrics are communicating to our team and where we need to adjust – but always with the goal in mind.

How can this kind of self-assessment and introspection help you become a better leader?

 Staying focused on the end goal and following the metrics designed to get me there has helped me become a leader that really takes ownership of projects. I am always thinking about work and how we can be doing things better. Instead handing something off, I really immerse myself in the project until it’s complete. Even if that means putting on a uniform to go out into the field! Sometimes that’s the only way to get a real answer for any problems and as leader that kind of attention to detail will filter through the whole organization.

As M.D. Arnold once said, “A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.”

Do you have any general advice for leaders who are trying to improve?

 Align the work you do with the goal you are trying to achieve. Ask yourself whether the work you’re doing is getting you closer to your goal or is it just busy work? Whenever I oversee a project, I want to show to my team that I have our ultimate goal in mind, whether that be driving more customers to our service or supporting our franchisees in growing their business.

What do you think sells prospective franchisees on Weed Man USA? What do you hear from existing franchisees?

The fact that we’re a family. We are a close-knit group. We know each other’s kid’s names, hobbies, what the weather’s like etc. Sometimes, I’m probably too engaged, but we have trust, which is something we take pride in, especially within the sub-franchisor group. When we say we’re going to do something, we do it and if we mess up, our franchisees know we will fix it. In addition to that, our systems are a large factor of our franchisees’ success. Prospects are encouraged to contact existing franchisees and they always open up about financials and back up their success. We really don’t have to sell it anymore.

If you are interested in learning more about franchise opportunities in your area, visit us at www.weedmanfranchise.com or call 888-321-9333.

 

#BusinessTips with Weed Man’s COO

Weed Man Lawn Care Leave a comment

Over the years Weed Man has remained the #1 Franchise in Lawn Care. The company has also been named One of the Best Franchises to Buy by Forbes magazine. Last year alone, the company secured over $83 million in system sales, a 13% increase over 2014. For 2016, the organization is on track to hit the $100 million mark, as we expect to add as many as 50 new territories throughout the United States. Weed Man COO Jennifer Lemcke has helped grow the company “from humble beginnings – one customer at a time.”  And with that said, the savvy business woman has some words of advice for business owners across the globe.

What productivity hack ensures you’re hitting your top priorities and focusing on the right tasks?

I use Outlook religiously – for to-do lists, reminders, scheduling for my personal life and business, appointments, sports games etc. But, if I’m feeling really overwhelmed, I will go ‘back to the basics’ and set up a binder, organize it, highlight things, make indexes and check tasks off as they’re completed. It brings a level of calmness to me.

How did your past work experiences impact your leadership style today?

I have been blessed to have great mentors throughout my working life. The one thing I’ve learned from them over the years is simple: be nice to people and listen. Say ‘hello’ in the morning, smile and be positive. Talk and give your opinion where needed, but also listen to what people have to say, reflect and take other people’s opinions to heart.

Weed Man is very customer-service focused and committed to informing their customers. How do you train that type of commitment?

Every single employee who could possibly be in contact with a customer has a training program, not just outlining the basics, but also explaining the appropriate attitude to have and how to act. A great definition of customer service is ‘a wave’ and with that, comes an analogy that I love to use. When you’re sitting in traffic and someone is trying to merge, if you let them in and they wave and smile, you feel satisfied and happy; but if the driver who merges doesn’t wave or acknowledge your kind act, drivers will typically become agitated and depending on their driving style, could mutter something under their breath, follow tightly behind that car or not let anyone else merge in front of them. It’s the same way in business. Smile, be positive, acknowledge your customers’ needs and desires and they’ll keep letting you in…or, in Weed Man’s case, they’ll keep letting you service their lawn. It’s that simple!

If you are interested in learning more about franchise opportunities in your area, visit us at www.weedmanfranchise.com or call us at 888-321-9333.

#BusinessTips from WM COO