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Road To Success

Rod has coached boxing for many years and he plans to continue as long as his legs hold him up.
Aug 4, 2021

Time to say goodbye

There comes a time when each of us must call it a day, say our goodbyes and chart a new course.
May 4, 2021

Garden centre evolution

To some, a garden centre is a retail operation that has been with us forever and a day. Not true.
Feb 1, 2021

Treat triumph and disaster just the same

We have no certainties as to where and when the Covid-19 pandemic will diminish.
Dec 1, 2020

The price is right — sometimes

Like many of us, I started out as a one-man band working from my kitchen table, answering the home telephone and storing what little equipment I had in the garage.
Oct 3, 2020

Things change. But not the basics.

I wrote in this column a few years ago about how I learned many retail lessons as a high school student working at The Bay.
Sep 1, 2020

The good ones thrive

In the late ’70s and early ’80s, there was a building boom in my area.
Aug 1, 2020

May you live in interesting times

Interesting times: A blessing, that you have the excitement of an ever changing landscape, or a curse, that you no longer experience stability?
Apr 1, 2020

Employees: Our true asset

Those who treat their employees with the greatest of value are the most successful members of our trade.
Mar 2, 2020

Conferences are illuminating

Conferences find new and young entrepreneurs struggling with similar issues that when we look answers, we find we are well on the road to success.
Feb 4, 2020

Swing for the fences

Retailers become successful by adjusting to the next pitch and taking chances to offer customers what's new and exciting.
Dec 2, 2019

Collecting debts: Life is not always easy

This month's column is about collecting monies owed.
Great displays entice customers to make purchases and continue to visit during slower times.
Nov 1, 2019

Showtime

What are we, the greenhouse, garden centre and landscape companies, doing to create a showtime experience for our customers?
Oct 1, 2019

The million-dollar smile

A big smile turns us into better customers, and better customers not only spend more, they are loyal as well.
Asking basic questions allows staff at garden centres to direct customers to plants and products they need, and close the sale.
Sep 1, 2019

Close the sale

Learning to be a better closer means listening to what customers are asking, then meeting their needs.
Where quality, service and selection are emphasized, retail garden centres continue to do well.
Aug 1, 2019

Stories from the front lines

Well run, well displayed and well stocked garden centres and greenhouses are successful.
Apr 1, 2019

The time machine

Being at our best with customer service, keeps us on the road to success
Mar 1, 2019

When times get tough

It takes real talent to offer quality, selection and service in a retail garden centre.
Feb 1, 2019

Winning the game: Wow

Our garden centres, greenhouses, supply yards and shops need to be destinations. We have to give people a reason to stop into our places of business.
Jan 14, 2019

Taking care of ourselves

We take care of people, we take care of plants and more. There is no shortage to the things that we oversee, supervise, manage and take care of. It is in our nature. It is who we are.
Remembering that emotion plays a role in purchases, gains a retail garden centre customers for the future.
Nov 1, 2018

Emotionally charged business

The more we tap into emotional selling, the more successful we can be in our careers.
Oct 17, 2018

Manager of guest expectations

Managing experiences and expectations of customers keeps businesses on the road to success.
I am teaching 12-year-old Ashland how to maintain flower beds. Her parents own Cedar Creek greenhouse, where I work part time. She is an excellent worker. When she cleans the greenhouse, it is up to my standards.
Oct 4, 2018

Young people and our trade

It is our responsibility to teach and pass along our skills and knowledge to our children.
Sep 4, 2018

Sometimes we play hurt

Learning to stay positive, even when things don't seem fair, and to make the best out of what life has to offer.
Be ready for spring with lots of stock to ensure your customers can get what they come shopping for.
Jun 13, 2018

The value of time management

Smart time management increases productivity, financial success and personal serenity.
Changes in sales processes might be challenging,  but are often necessary to improve the bottom line.
May 2, 2018

Taking risks

Successful people see themselves not as risk takers but as opportunity explorers, prepared to learn from their mistakes
Mar 6, 2018

Distinguish yourself

Recognizing different approaches to successful business.
Jan 9, 2018

Protect yourself at all times

If we do not protect ourselves from incoming blows, then who will? Consumers have protection laws and The Better Business Bureau, as well as the courts.
Jan 9, 2018

Clean up your act

Cleanliness in a retail operation reduces stress, saves time and makes money for your business.
Jan 1, 2018

Cut from the same cloth

Many of us from the green trades, are cut from the same entrepreneurs’ cloth which helps us on the road to success.
Sep 28, 2017

Why we shop where we shop

Service sells product and good product creates service
Sep 27, 2017

The spring round: Change and staying the same

Customers have higher standards expectations from independent retail garden centres
Jul 31, 2017

Value is subjective

Value is determined by the willingness of a buyer to pay a certain price, and only that price.
Apr 24, 2017

Can we see the future?

Future success for garden centres will be those that offer exclusive or hard-to-find products along with a continued good service to their customers.
Feb 27, 2017

O Canada: To be Canadian

I am Canadian. I love being a Canadian. I am proud to be Canadian.
Jan 17, 2017

Heroes, everyday people, faith during slow times

When I was young, just starting out in business, I heard that business people who were active in charities and volunteer activities did so for tax reasons and to enhance their business.
Nov 10, 2016

Keep it simple

Rod MacDonald explains why in sales, like so many aspects of life, "keeping it simple" is a useful mantra.
Oct 1, 2016

Good selling: Technique and attitude

I get it. Dealing with the public is difficult.
Sep 28, 2016

Service improves sales - September 2016 Landscape Trades

You've heard of ABC (Always Be Closing); try ABB (Always Be Building) - lifelong relationships with customers.
Aug 29, 2016

Still room for us independents

The story I am about to tell has very little to do with the following column, except to remind us of our ABCs, Always Be Closing.
Jun 1, 2016

We need each other

We all have a strong need to share with others, particularly those who have a real understanding of our individual situation.
Apr 6, 2016

Potholes and pitfalls

Rod McDonald draws on his years of experience in garden centre retailing to help others avoid setbacks, and stay on the road to success.
Providing quality plants in a wide selection with great customer service will keep the independent garden centre successful.
Mar 1, 2016

Quality, service and selection

The keys to competing with box stores
Jan 1, 2016

It pays to respect intuition

Experience is the foundation of intuition.
Nov 1, 2015

The basics, once again

What you are about to read, as this column progresses, is not rocket science. I have never attempted to reinvent the wheel or claim that I once did. What I do is observe.
Sep 1, 2015

Learn from the best - Road to Success

Aug 1, 2015

Good and not-so-good news - Road to success August LT 2015

Jun 1, 2015

Road to success - Keep your eye on the prize

Apr 1, 2015

Road to success - Who and What stresses you

Mar 1, 2015

Bits and pieces on the road to success

Jan 1, 2015

Nothing stays the same - Road to success

Dec 8, 2014

Road to success - Working with others

Oct 1, 2014

How to be an entrepreneur

Tips to be successful and to help avoid becoming one of those bankruptcy statistics.
Sep 1, 2014

Are you an entrepreneur?

Running your own company is not easy but are you the right kind of person for the job?
Aug 1, 2014

What works ... and what doesn't

Some tried and true rules for success in any business.
Jun 1, 2014

Family dynamics

Family dynamics enter into our business life more often than we think.
Apr 1, 2014

The price of arrogance

Of all the sins that we can possess, arrogance is the most expensive.
Mar 1, 2014

Build a blue chip clientele

The first rule of business is: Know who you are doing business with.
Dec 23, 2013

Overcoming fear

Nov 29, 2013

Gossip and mythology

The more successful you become, the more people will gossip about you
Aug 1, 2013

Goals chart the road to success

Goals keep us focused. Goals ensure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. Goals remind us that we cannot be all things to all people.
Jun 1, 2013

Listening: On the Road to Success

Customers will tell us what they really want to buy, if we take the time to listen.
May 9, 2013

Price it right

Determine the real cost of business, then determine your price to ensure a profit.
Mar 1, 2013

Old school service, exceptional retailing

Even with changes in business of web pages and an online presence, old-school retailing still works.
Mar 1, 2013

Spring and the Road to Success

Spring is for selling, plain and simple.
Nov 30, 2012

Media Savvy on the Road to Success

How do you sell to someone who has been surfing the web and wishes to garden or landscape based on the information they found online?
Nov 1, 2012

Planning for Success

Planning is in your best interest and will keep you on the road to success.
Sep 1, 2012

No shortcuts on the road to success

Quality workmanship and products support ethical behavior for business success.
Jul 31, 2012

Where have all the young ones gone

In young landscapers minds, plants have become an afterthought.
Jun 1, 2012

Community ties and relationship building

Building your community ties, along with building your business, expands your opportunities.
May 1, 2012

Ask, and you will receive

The best way to learn to become a successful entrepreneur is to talk with successful entrepreneurs in your own community.
Apr 1, 2012

Organization is the path to success

If we are not organized, we will not be in a position to harvest the twenty-dollar bills when they are offered.
Jan 1, 2012

Math is not sexy

For those who are tempted to stop reading, you need to address this issue.
Sep 1, 2011

Your profile: No time off!

When we own our own businesses, as far as the public is concerned, we must always be responsible for our behavior.
Jul 15, 2011

Win them over with service

Garden centres, greenhouses and contractors that provide what the customer wants will be successful.
Jun 1, 2011

Managing success

A young person starting out in business does well, then flounders and disappears. What happened?
May 1, 2011

Rejection: A part of success

If we never experience rejection, it is because we never take a chance.
Mar 1, 2011

Nurture yourself this spring

For at least a few months of every year, you will abuse your body, almost to the breaking point.

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