This is our story of green garden gates, the most successful group of 746 garden centers in the United States. Follow our adventure building our first store which starts at entry #1, A little Zen, some Zip Ties and a lot of Zinnias! We welcome your questions and comments by posting to this blog or by contacting nickhudson@earthlink.net
(copyright: nick hudson 2008)
The seven deadliest words in all of human endeavor are:
“We have always done it this way”
Those words set the battle line, the classic fight to change and to improve.
Those words pit worker against worker, manager against manager, owner against owner. Those words will stop dead the reach of exploration from the ordinary to the extraordinary. They are truly seven deadly words.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein
At green garden gates, we are committed to flexibility, the ability adapt quickly as the winds of change move across our little stores and through our company. The next innovation for garden stores will be today and we must be ready to take advantage of the shift.
In our store construction, we design to expand or contract with little effort accommodating change, invention and innovation. We construct to simplify all maintenance issues. We are prepared for a quick and seamless response to emergency situations.
We can re-define the entire model of the company with the least possible effort. We avoid permanence in inventory, in unnecessary long term employee commitments and in daily operating processes.
We know that the river always moves and we will not be caught sitting endlessly in an quiet, safe eddy.
Do you react quickly to the changing marketplace or are you unable to move?
Stories about making it happen
Lee Iacocca, the rising young father of the Ford Mustang and the new president of Ford Motor Company, was faced with a severe challenge.
“After the oil embargo of 1973, sales of Ford cars plummeted by a staggering half a million units. Iacocca and his top product planner, Hal Sperlick, saw small cars as the wave of the future and scoured the company for a way to create one quickly and inexpensively. Their idea, code for this car, code named “Wolf” would use an enlarged version of Ford’s European Fiesta as its base and outfit it with a Honda engine.”
Honda, at that time, was only producing motorcycles, However, they had also developed this efficient vehicle engine. They were moving rapidly into the planning stages of producing small Honda cars for the world market. Iaccoca met with Honda executives in Japan, proposed this idea and made the deal. Honda engines would be produced to be fitted into the Wolf and perhaps later, other Ford cars. Everybody was happy. Honda would abandon their plans for full auto production. Ford would benefit from this new engine and move rapidly into the small car business.
Everyone was happy except the Ford family. They not only said no, they said Hell no.
One member of the family was to remark angrily, "There would never be a foreign engine in a Ford car".
The idea fell flat. Honda embarked on full automobile production and became wildly successful. Lee Iacocca, a legend in the auto business, had stayed open and flexible to all ideas. He watched the horizon and grabbed at the shooting stars.
The Ford family remained stiff, unbending, unable to react to the needs of the market, to adapt their actions to meet the changing times
Here’s one close to the garden store world.
“My name is Matt Willis and I own a small garden store in the suburbs of Milwaukee Wisconsin. I always try to keep my eyes open to the newest products on the market for my gardeners. On the news one morning in 1972, there was the story of George Ballas, from Houston Texas. He had invented this crazy device to mow down weeds with a roll of nylon string. He called it a “Weed Eater”.
It just hit me that this was going to be big. I ran to the phone and called Mr. Ballas and asked him to ship me a pallet of these “Weed Eaters”. Twenty four hours after I got those gadgets, I was sold out. I ordered three pallets and the same thing happened. By the end of the summer, I had sold twenty pallets of those things. Nobody had them except me in the entire state of Wisconsin. All the hardware store guys thought I was stupid and that this “weed eater” idea would never fly.
I rode that horse until it fell. I sold pallet after pallet for the next two seasons until everyone else woke up and starting selling them. Man, I made a killing while they were standing there wringing their hands.”
Wait, Matt turned around and did it again!
“Miracle-Gro Company was making a fortune selling their Miracle-Gro liquid fertilizer. It became a household name for gardeners and we were selling boat loads of the stuff. But, they needed to invent a new special sprayer because the fertilizer was too thick for other sprayers. It worked but it was messy and took time.
Several years ago, they invented the “LiquaFeeder”, using pre-mixed liquid fertilizer instead of their old granular stuff that had to be mixed with water. You just open the bottle and screw in their premixed Miracle-Gro liquid fertilizer into this gun looking device, turn on the attached hose and feed your flowers. There was no mess. It was simple to use. The company launched the thing, spending millions of dollars to get it going. My garden center buddy in the same town refused to sell it. He said that it was dumb idea, it was going to fall flat; that it would never replace their “old fashion” sprayer and granular fertilizer.
I got a sample of the thing before it came out, tried it and I was hooked. I built a big display of these feeders and watched them walk right out the door. Now, when I drive down the street, all I see is these yuppie ladies pointing at their flowers and shooting with the “LiquaFeeder. And you know what; my buddy still refuses to carry it no matter how many of his customers ask for it. He tries to sell the “old fashion” and they head for the exit!
One more story…..
QwikTrip is a large fueling and convenience store chain located in nine of the plains states. It has about 10,000 employees and it is open every day, 24 hours a day
Just before Christmas of 2007, a severe ice storm hit a major city where sixty of their stores were located. Nearly all the power was knocked out and would eventually stay out for seven to ten days. The people of this city just sat in the dark or left their houses to find relatives or friends that had wood burning fireplaces. Stores were closed and dark. Nearly all the gas stations and convenience stores were shuttered unable to do anything but hope their power would come on. Despite the thousands of power linemen from all over the United States that arrived to fix the downed lines, the power stayed off.
Not QwikTrip. They sprung into action. Within 24 hours of the crisis, huge boxcar size diesel powered generators were being dropped into the QwikTrip parking lots. All sixty stores were up and running, fueling the long lines of desperate motorists and filling their shelves with food for the next meal. There is no doubt that QwikTrip made a fortune in those days.
Qwiktrip did not hesitate. They did not wring their hands. They did not sit there hoping it would end. They turned on a dime and made it happen.
I work at a large garden center in the Midwest. One day, the bosses decided to change around all the tables in our greenhouse. They were those standard twelve foot aluminum mesh tables. So, they had these long meetings to decide how to change them around. They came up with a plan and drew it all out carefully.
On the first day, boss #1 had us unload all the plants, move them into position and get all the plants back and displayed like before. It took us about four hours.
On the second day,boss #2 did not like them that way and directed us to move them around again.We did the same drill for another four hours.
On the third day, the owner, the big boss, came around and didn’t like them and he wanted them again. He directed his landscape architect to draw exact measurements. The landscape designer went through three sets of drawings before the owner approved it. We moved and set the tables again and the owner went around with a tape measure to be sure it was exactly on the mark. We used a plumb bob to keep the tables within a quarter of an inch of the drawing. The owner was satisfied.
On the fourth day, boss #4 did not like the tables and had us move them again. The owner came back to the tables and directed us to move them back. The owner then went to the boss #4. and directed him to never move those tables again.
On the fifth day, the big boss came back, had a new idea and directed us to move the tables once again.
It is quiet now. The staff is pissed off and tired. The plants that were on the tables are stacked up everywhere waiting for them to make up their minds. 5 days, 5 tables, 4 bosses.
Now, I hear that they want to move all the other tables around in the whole place. Oh Boy!”
“Take care of the dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves”
Great quotations from your mama
“I had a friend who was an officer at our local bank. He told me that before he approved a loan to a business, he would sneak back to their garbage dumpster to see what they were throwing away. He said that it never fails. The owners that are tossing out perfectly saleable products will be a problem paying the money back.”
John Hammond garden store owner Missouri
Be Efficient
It is difficult to be efficient and stay efficient.
Employees, service companies, suppliers, and of course the garbage man all depend on us being inefficient and wasteful. Their paychecks depend on us.
At green garden gates, we are committed to efficiency and saving. In each move, each change, each new procedure, each new addition to our staffs, we ask the question:
How will this make us more efficient? Do we already have the tools and resources on hand to make us efficient?
If the answer is unclear, we do not proceed.
A good first place to look for inefficiency is in the employee staff. If we hired 10 people, gave them a desk, a telephone, voicemail, computer, some sticky notes and told them to work at the store, nothing specific, just work at the store, they would be very busy all day and in fact, they would be just overwhelmed with work. They would be in constant meetings, papering the walls with charts, graphs, time lines, agendas, action plants and fill up little black binders all labeled, neatly proudly standing in a row. When all is said and done, nearly none of that stuff is going to put money in the pocket.
The same can be said for consultants. If you hire a consultant or any outside “expert” and tell he or she to answer the question, “How do I improve my store”, they will drain your hard earned spring money giving you pretty reports starting from the point when God was a baby. After endless hours of meetings and gallons of coffee, will all of it be shoved in a bottom drawer?
“My wife wanted a bay window in our home. I hired an architect to draw up the plans. We had meetings and musings about philosophy and lifestyle. He invoiced me 9000.00. The entire house was re-designed and my wife still did not have the bay window in the plans!” Six months later, she whispered in my ear, "All I wanted was a bay window."
Before we hire an additional employee or contract with a consultant, we ask whether the job or project assigned will make our company efficient. We ask if we have already on hand the tools, the employees, and the equipment to get us more efficient. We routinely ask our employees “what is it exactly that you do for the business?” If the answer is vague or if they are collecting a paycheck the answer the question; how many fairies can dance on the head of a pin, we have some work to do! If we hire a consultant, we are extremely specific as to what task the person is to preform and set a time certain for the completion of the task. Remember, consultants get paid by the word.
Another bunch of inefficiency demons are store procedures and the flow of paperwork. Procedures that were put in place, often at the spur of the moment and without much thought, become the rule of law. Many of them are stupid, are duplicated and cause needless doubling back. The same can be said for the shuffling of paper, forms upon forms that are inefficient and costly. This shuffling takes on a life of its own. Further, someone in your office is may be just taking up space just shuffling. Keep a close eye on the paper and the procedures. Examine, question, consolidate, eliminate. Your checkbook will thank you.
We have charged our store managers to continually monitor efficiency. We also have assigned two people who work in the trenches of our stores to look and find inefficiencies in our company. They watch other stores to how they became efficient. These employees put on their eye shades and examine closely among others;
The equipment and vehicles we own and rent Store policies and procedures The flow of paperwork and record keeping The use of consultants and other professional outside services The job assignments of our employees and labor hours. The utility charges for the stores The overall maintenance procedures and maintenance charges Store meetings, seminars, trade shows, training sessions Donations and our efforts with community groups Purchases of products and inventory The use of the land and buildings Operating flow of all departments and how they interconnect
“Half of the retail space of this store was chucked full of useless junk.”
Twyla Maline
On her visit to a garden store in rural Ohio
Keep it small and compact
Your father and mother’s garden center worked for years. They bought a bunch of cheap farmland at the edge of their town. They threw up a couple of hoop houses, laid down some sprinkler pipe and probably used the old farmhouse as a store. They spread the whole thing out all over that land; stacks of old lumber, used cars, your rusted basketball hoop. If customers ventured two hundred feet from the garden store, they would trip over rolls of old plastic and faded rabbit chewed signs from the beginning of time.
Well, with some exceptions, it’s all over for those large expansive garden stores. That model is gone forever. First, land is too valuable to dump a bunch of junipers on it to bake in the sun. The customers has changed. They have no time to wander around those acres trying to find a Japanese maple. Spreading out means more of everything the just adds to the cost of operation, more employees to hoof around the place, more equipment to keep it up, more property taxes, more utility bills, more inventory to fill it up and keep it maintained.More, more, more.........
Oh, and one other thing, you might have dreams of grandeur, buy the extra land because you believe that everyone will want to flock around your little store like bees to honey. Chances are that will not happen, my friend. And don’t count on your little garden store paying for that ground until the big land rush comes. Those sugar plums dancing in your head will cost you more than you know.
We are committed to small, finding a size that keeps us close and tight, finding every available space and using that space to the maximum to sell our plants and plant care products.
If we can’t go out, we go up and rack it higher. If we can’t handle a full load, we schedule multiple loads. If we run out of parking, we lease or borrow or trade for a lot nearby and shuttle our customer’s cars. Yes, there are times in the spring when it gets dicey. But, those days are few. The money to buy up a bunch of that extra property for those few days is just foolish.
Our goal is to have a product at our customer's and employee's fingertips at any minute of the day, to avoid throwing away dollars for extra land we will not need.
We want to have a business that can be purchased if we ever decide to re-locate that will not break the bank, limiting future prospective buyers.
We plan for small. We design for small. We profit by being small.
“I own a pet shop. I know absolutely nothing about pets and the pet shop business. In fact, I do not even like pets. I am, really, a hairdresser with a small salon. But I saw that there was a need for a pet shop in my little town. My banker thought I was nuts and hid under his desk every time I came up to him with this idea!
I stole a pet manager from another town. I bought a little empty lot in a convenient location and built a small free standing store. I hired a small staff of ladies who wanted to work part time and balance their home life with work. I was not under their feet all the time calling the shots. They stayed with me for fifteen years. I made a profit the first day it was open and stayed profitable until I sold the store for a terrific price. We stayed small and flexible. We just sold pets and pet supplies every day of the week. It was nothing fancy, just clean and friendly,with these ladies who knew what they were talking about.
When the big chain pet shop was built, we hunkered down and rode out the storm of their flash and newness. Soon, our customers returned again to my small, well stocked, and convenient store. I never made a ton of money, but it made steady cash each day and was my most profitable business for me ever".
Sally Riswald North Dakota From the notebook of Nick Hudson
Old Joe Albertson sat in his board room chair that afternoon.
He had something to say.
He had been watching his giant grocery store chain that he once started on a small corner in Boise, Idaho. He was worried. It was not just groceries anymore, no way. The senior management had been on a buying spree, acquiring businesses with products he knew nothing about. And judging from the failures of those businesses, he was certain they also knew nothing about those businesses. The once flourishing Albertson's was bleeding and slowly sinking
Joe slowly rose from the table with the help of his grandchildren by his side. "Boys, we are going to start again and plow the fields we know, the fields that made this company great. We are a grocery store and we will be a grocery store again".
Albertson's dumped all those businesses. Again, Albertson's flourished.
"Charlie Don't Surf!!"
Charlie Don't Surf is a famous line from the film Apocalypse Now, spoken by Colonel Kilgore as justification for taking a beach at the Mekong Delta so the American Soldiers could go surfing.
We know the gardening business. We are going to take the beach. The others can fool around plants but we are the experts.
“Charlie don’t surf”. We can!
green garden gates....... We are a business for gardeners. We are not an outdoor leisure store. We are not a craft store.
We offer the finest plants and plant care products available in the marketplace. We don't have any sterling silver place mat rings, We don't sell sofa sets. We don't have any paint supplies or antique picture frames.
We turn our attention and keep our attention focused on the American gardener.
So many garden stores have failed because they got away from gardening. The logic was that if the gardeners who blasted through their doors in May for plants, they would buy lots of other stuff not even close to gardening. For some, it worked. For most garden stores who filled up their ceilings with the world’s supply of wind chimes, all that made a sound was the thud of a dust covered trinket crashing to the floor. After all, how are you going to fill up that big building and those empty shelves when the bug sprays are gone, the daffodil bulbs are planted and the gardeners go home? The buyers you hired have to buy, don't they? The cashiers have to punch those keys.
What most garden store owners fail to understand is that most gardeners forget about their stores after the planting season. They are frankly surprised that garden stores are even open after the spring and early summer.
No, our business stays focused on plants and plant care. Products are purchased and offered with the following rules;
Is the product a plant? Is the product related to plant care?
Of course, there will be exceptions at green garden gates. Some products will enhance the joy of gardening and will be considered for our offerings. However, those products will be minimal to our focus; plants and plant care.
A word about "plowing our fields that we know". We are committed to conducting our business only as far as our arms can reach, "inside our gates." We believe that there is plenty in our horizon for us to grow and prosper other than reaching out into other worlds. We do not have landscaping crews, We don't install, we don't have elaborate delivery services. First, they are businesses we know nothing about. Second, we don't want to worry about employees and services performed under our name when we can't observe the work in some far away place. We, of course, will arrange for those services by others, if a sale of our products depends on outside services.
We just want to pay attention to the life "inside our gates".
We know our products.
We will be experts with them
“If you want lumber for a deck, if you want drywall, then you go to Home Depot. But if your toilet malfunctions, your toilet breaks, your lights don’t work, you go to Frager’s. Sometimes in hardware, people ask the wrong thing. When it doesn’t ring true, you ask additional questions. What’s your project? What are you trying to do? You can solve their problem. When you walk into Frager’s, an employee will actually talk to you. We have people here who are capable of answering questions, having an intelligent conversation and getting you to where the merchandise is. You can buy it and get out without spending twenty minutes roaming cavernous aisles. That is the heart of our business. If you sit in the office and stare out the window, it doesn’t work”
John Weintraub
Discussing his business, Frager’s Hardware
From The "Mom and Pop Store"
By Robert Spector
Another part of “plowing the fields we know” is our commitment to products and services that work and have always worked in our industry. We are wary of the latest gadget, the new tool, the new procedure that heralds the final answer.
Our local McDonald’s is a brand new restaurant, bright and shiny with all the whistles and bells.In the pictures are two napkin dispensers, a traditional model, below, that has stood the test of time and a new model, on the top, alittle more sleek and slick.
The new model is always jammed. Customers are never able to get the napkins out. The employees are constantly running over there and working on the darned thing. The opening size and the narrowness of the slot is so tight, it is impossible for a clean pull. The old standby with a wide opening just keeps delivering those single sheets without a hitch.
We stay with what has worked in our garden industry, even to the smallest detail. Let someone else spend their day unclogging the napkins!
