Happy New Year! You're likely familiar with the phrase, "new year, new you," and some of you might be sick of hearing it, but I want to know, is there any truth to it?
I've read a lot of articles lately about New Year's resolutions and how they so often fail, but one article I read in the New York Times suggested sticking to and doubling down on the good habits we already have, rather than creating lofty goals that may be altogether unattainable.
For example, maybe your company excels at recruitment or has a really strong employee education program. Maybe your social media team does a stellar job of creating a mix of educational content posts and before and after project shots that have brought in a lot of new business. And maybe your operations team is well organized and shines in making sure the day-to-day tasks run smoothly. Whatever area you excel in, how can you as a business owner make it stronger?
Personally, I've done away with the resolutions and opted instead to lean on a "word of the year," which likely comes as no surprise with my job as an editor. This year, I have chosen the word "attentive." I like to think that I offer readers and sources alike the chance to tell their story to someone who is fully listening, fully present, but I'd like to double down on those efforts.
This year, I will pay even closer attention to what's happening in the landscape industry, especially as we see a new presidential administration come in. This year, I will keep an even better eye out for the new equipment that may make our readers' lives easier. This year, I will have my ear closer to the ground to determine what trends may be impacting the industry. This year, I will sniff out the best stories that you, our audience, want to read. This year, I will tell those stories in a way that's engaging, educational and entertaining to you, our readers, in the hopes that you will be touched by them in some way.
In the spirit of my word of the year, we at Green Industry Pros have certainly been attentive to the heartbeat of the landscape industry. This year, we had about 500 landscape professionals take our State of the Industry survey, and there's a lot to unpack. We also talked with landscape professionals and manufacturers to understand their take as well. You can take a look at the full story here.
In addition to the State of the Industry report, you will also find articles on using technology to boost your recruitment and retention game, best practices for maintaining spreader-sprayers ahead of the season, how to properly mulch, the top design-build trends of 2025 and much more.
What about you? Is there a habit you'd like to double down on? What's something you and your company are really good at? Is there a word you'd like to embody in 2025? I’d love to hear your thoughts—and I’m sure your fellow readers would, too. Email your ideas to swebb@iron.markets or connect with me on LinkedIn by following the link below.
Looking ahead, make sure you check out next month’s issue, where we will cover all things mowers as we head into the new spring season.
Until next time!
