Take the checkered flag with CEUs at EXPO Education

EXPO Education provides more CEUs than ever before; now attendees can earn up to 110 hours from up to SIX different credentialing organizations: TNLA, ISA, TCEQ, TTIA, HSW, and TDA.

Earn 2 hours of CEUs at Doug Saylor’s seminar, Water Conservation in the World of the Irrigator, and 4 hours at Jerry Lewis’s Pressure Regulation and Drip class. Check out the full education schedule for seminars ranging from one to four hours in Pest Management, Business Management, Irrigation, Arboriculture and Technology.

Be the first past the finish line in terms of expertise, knowledge, and credentials. It’s important to your customers and critical to your bottom line. There’s no better value than the EXPO experience for education, networking, and an inspirational marketplace. Register now.

How much is your client's water bill?

No doubt homeowners and businesses are asking you how to reduce water usage without sacrificing a beautiful landscape; it’s no secret Texas is in a severe drought. At EXPO, you can connect with fellow landscape and irrigation leaders such as Alan Richmond of Southern Botanical in Dallas.

Southern Botanical’s 33,000 gallon cistern at the “Middle Earth Home” is an exemplar of residential water catchment at its finest. They met the special aesthetic demands of the client and created a sustainable system that supplies water features on the property and irrigates ALL plant materials. Look for Alan, Jim, or Jason (either of them, there are two!) of Southern Botanical and ask, “Has your client had to pay a water bill to the city yet?” (You can read more about their project in the last issue of TNLA GREEN.)

Inspired to take on the task for your own client? Make sure to stop by the Ewing’s booth (#607) to meet Tim Little, who can supply you with all the job’s needs and brief you on the latest irrigation technology. And don’t forget to round out your visit at Pavestone (#600) to select pavers and retaining walls.

EXPO puts Landscapers and Irrigators in pole position to provide outstanding work—register today.

(Increase your odds of meeting the Southern Botanical Team when they are honored at the TNLA Awards Dinner on Friday- Register now.)

Growers: Green light ROI, red light pests

You don’t need to be a mathematician to know that disease kills plants which kill profits.  Make time for EXPO Education, where Sheila McBride will tell you how to recognize clues and detect early symptoms of plant pathogens (Saturday at 10am- Pest Management Track) so that you can minimize and even prevent product loss.  Dr. Kelly Ivors will share the latest management practices for managing boxwood blight and impatiens downy mildew (Thursday at 10am- Pest Management Track). 

But how can a business measure its return on investment? Don’t miss out on Barry Sturdivant’s session where he examines nurseries and greenhouses as though there were each a business to see if they have liquidity, solvency, profitability, and cash flow (Thursday at 10am – Business Management Track).

Register for EXPO Education now; rev your engines for EXPO Education at the most inspirational Green Industry marketplace.

New Business? On your mark, get set--

Go!

If you've been in the Texas Green Industry for five years or fewer, chances are there's still a lot of networking to be done to boost your sales and knowledge of the industry.

Meet the folks behind Landmark Nurseries, Inc. and Creekside Nursery at Nursery/Landscape EXPO. These growers are racing to Dallas in August along with suppliers, retail garden centers, and landscapers. Both have established themselves as leaders in the Texas Green Industry and can tell you what plant materials are thriving and what to look forward to. And then there's Living Earth, a supplier of mulch, compost, and soils-- they are diverting thousands of tons of green material from landfills, making a big difference for cities and communities. Living Earth supplies media to growers around the State and materials for landscape professionals; these are the kind of folks who you'll have the chance to meet. It's your race to win; don't miss out on building solid connections with other winners who can help you.

Nursery/Landscape EXPO is particularly useful in business development for irrigators, suppliers, landscapers, builders, retail garden centers, arborists and growers. In this short-term marketplace display, you'll form long-term relationships that pay off for years. And if you've been in business fewer than five years, fire up your engines and register today.

Beware of Housing Pirates

Housing Pirates – Do not be Misled: The EXPO Housing Block will only be available through the www.nurserylandscapeexpo.org website and during EXPO's online registration process starting in the beginning of April 2013. If you receive a call from anyone claiming to be associated with the Nursery/Landscape EXPO or Convention Housing Services, please use caution as this is a scam.

Don’t be misled! And remember: Unless you have initiated the communication, please do not provide anyone with your personal information, especially your credit card number. If you are contacted by someone asking if you need a room at the event, or if they represent themselves as the "EXPO's Housing Bureau" please get as much information as you can, such as the name of the company, the person calling and their telephone number – then contact: EXPO Management at (512) 579-3854.

Tip 5: Don't cut out your "Wild Thinking" by Tom Shay

Tom Shay is the feature speaker for the 2013 Business Management Workshop in San Antonio at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk, Jan 10-11, 2013. See his tips and more at Profit +Plus Solutions for Small Businesses.

Tip 5: Don't cut out your Wild Thinking:

• Challenging times require radical action. The economy caused most all business to reconsider how they operated during the holidays and will require them to continue to do so throughout the foreseeable future.
  
• Make preparations for the challenges, but also make changes in how you do business. However, do not change your thought pattern in the way you do business best.
  
• When things are rapidly changing in you business's community, customers, and industry remember that your thinking style got you this far, it is not time to abandon it.

This New Year Spend 15 Minutes A Day on Social Media

Time is of the essence, but this New Year, why not try spending just 15 minutes a day on increasing your social media footprint. Involve your staff and upper management to help identify your company's brand on a variety of social media platforms.

1.  Facebook (Spend 4  minutes)

• Scan your company's Facebook wall and answer any new posts, comments or questions then post an update, add a new product photo or link to a story about something relevant to the Nursery/Landscape industry. Try to post on your Facebook Wall at least once per day. (Be sure to tie in your Facebook feed to your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.)

2.  Tweet on Twitter (Spend 4 minutes)

• Search for trending news on your topic or business, find new stories of interest to you,  your customers or followers. Google Alerts can help you narrow down your search. Auto schedule several tweets throughout the day by using free websites like HootSuite.

3.  Blog About It (Spend 3 minutes)

• Find the latest headlines or posts on the top leading blogs in the Nursery/Landscape industry. Set up an RSS feed to see them all in one place and then post a few comments on a few attaching your twitter handle at the end to help expose your brand even further. 

4. Pin It (Spend 2 minutes)

• Upload or find 4-5 great images that relate to your brand and "pin" them to your Pinterest boards. You don't have to put much thought into this one, search for images under  "Gardening," "Customer Service" or "Landscaping."

5. Answer a Question on a LinkedIn (Spend 2 minutes)

• Spend a few minutes answering a question on LinkedIn by utilizing the Groups you are part of or in LinkedIn Answers. This helps you gain some further exposure and will put you your company in a better position to be an expert on the subject matter.

Learn tips like these and more at the 2013 Nursery/Landscape EXPO.