But for anybody who maybe doesn't know Frank Bork, give me the 50,000-foot overview, would you?

Yeah.

So I've started in the industry.

Way back, I was 16 years old, and so it's 30 plus years now.

Started as a young kid, went to university, studied psychology, never thought about business, but I liked doing my own thing on weekends, started a business, and Within six years of working for the federal government as a group therapist, business on the side, we grew a business.

Yeah.

So we started with an old truck or actually a car.

I know you mostly like from the hardscape side forward, but do you feel like your, your glory days were the first, you know, 20 years or do you more passionate about the coaching side of things? Like what, what's, um, what's your cup of tea these days?

But Frank, what are your thoughts as you coach companies around the country and, you know, Canada and in the U.S.? Like, what do you see as far as meetings or their usefulness and the most effective ones? What do they have in them?

Well, I think...

There's different types of meetings.

There's different frequency.

And then the trick is...

Well, if I say it's a trick, it's really the secret behind being effective is having those meetings on a regular basis.

It's predictable.

Now we can finally start running a business, not an expensive hobby.

... that's gonna help them thrive and not just survive the springtime?

Yeah, it, you're right.

It, it almost feels like it's all at the same time.

Oftentimes for landscapers, uh, the springtime is, it's busy and sometimes it's busy being busy, so we gotta be careful that we don't let the busyness around us take control.

And so the first thing that I usually...

And I kinda put this into a framework to help my own clients is, is it's like the spring survival framework is what's the first thing that we all need to do when we get really busy? Make sure you're in control, right? So it's about planning the week.

So the first three things I would look at is do you know your top three priorities? I'll give you an example.

That's right.

So would that be a good strategy for someone just starting out looking to find their way in the landscape trades?

I always take clients through a process of reflection at first [chuckles] and we look at, well, first, let's look backwards before we look forward.

So what are some of the jobs that, you know, makes you the most money or the type of work that your team l- loves? What kinda clients brag about what you do or about you and for what? And then maybe there's a niche that is usually already present by just looking at your data on what's already existing within what you already do.

And then I'll take them throughAsking them about what are your favorite types of clients? So let's look through the client list, and let's look at who you consider to be the best clients.

Is it the jobs that are the most profitable, with the least headaches, maybe the ones that give you the most referrals? What do they have in common? What's that client that really feels rewarding to have? Because that's the one I wanna attract more of and serve.

And then if you stay on purpose, you can do it in many ways if y- you don't need to add more to what you do.

And some people tend to think, "I have to serve everyone," but there's always subcontractors available, good partners that we can partner up with.

What can companies do when they're looking for these specialists to improve their company culture, to attract people who are specialists in whatever it is that they do, and find them in the first place?