Go to a new address to get back to Paul's site

I might have to shut down one of the forwarding addresses for Ole's website. www.Landscape.Pro. I used it because it was easy to remember, but it's causing confusion with some potential customers. I will keep this site up for as long as I can, but will probably change in November. The site should still be accessible at this address:

http://pauloleolson.blogspot.com

I talked to Matt Dreier yesterday, he said that Paul's wife and kids are doing well. They sold their home and have moved to a new place.

Take Care,

Steve Hoogenakker
Teri Hoogenakker

The Ole Open

The first annual Ole Open is being held by Nicole Buzzel on Saturday Feb
16th. Her dad owns a bar in Mora and will sponsor the event. She needs a
head count by Friday this week for people that are interested. T-shirts
are 25$ and sweat shirts are 45$. I believe there will be a bus to
shuttle people from the bar to the golf site. There is a hotel in close
area to the event.

Nicole's number #612-282-2807 Thank You

Matt Drier
Project Manager
Village Green Landscapes
www.villagegreenlandscapes.com <http://www.villagegreenlandscapes.com/>
Office 651-645-1594
Fax 651-642-9865
Cell 612-369-0166

Steve Hoogenakker Showcase Landscape Minnesota

Resolution to the great benefit weekend

Ryan - Thank you for talking with me and for taking the time to better clarify the information that is circulating. What we all did last weekend was a great thing. Hopefully this puts any questions to rest and the intent of the day is what is remembered going forward.

April Kinney

Clarification on the benefit.

Benefit Money.
To all who may be wondering, but no one in particular, The original intent of the CR’s benefit money was based on the idea that the life insurance policy would be signed over directly to Jill to handle expenses, etc… ;It was decided and agreed upon at this point, that the funds generated from the benefit would be split. 75% would go into a growth fund for Lincoln & Matthew for college, or a first home –since they no longer have twwo parents. 25% would be for Paul’s entire family. This 25% was to be used at Jill’s discretion, for a cushion in addition to the life insurance money which now, at this point, is not being signed over directly to Jill. Jill was and is completely behind us on the intent of these funds. She also has complete and sole access to all the money raised from the CR’s benefit –roughly $8500.00. Terry “Louieâ” Semo, Paul’s friend of 25 years, also receives statements and on-line access to this account to monitor funds still coming in, or sending out thank you cards, etc… Louie and Jill went to the bank and set it uup this way together. NO ONE BUT JILL HAS THE ABILITY TO WITHDRAWL FUNDS FROM THIS ACCOUNT. Only the T-shirt money (cost) will come out of this fund. T-shirt sales generated between $250-300 in profit for this benefit. I think we’d all agree that it is important to get a large amount in a long-term growth fund for the kids’ future. We should also agree that funds are needed to cover Paul’s family’s expenses while they adjust to their new life. I have known the entire Olson Family for over 25 years. I have nothing but respect for them as good and caring people and I the fact is; Paul did not know his time would be up and he trusted his mother as the beneficiary when he set-up the life insurance policy. Neither you nor I should or could determine what Paul intended to due with this policy. We need to trust Kay Olson -Paul did. This is a tough subject when we are all still grieving. I know that the financial uncertainty must be really hard for Jill, and she needs to make some hard decisions based on what her resources are, or are not. We do not know exactly what will be decided with regards for the Life Insurance money. For this reason, we have not moved 75% of the C.R.s benefit money into a separate account. Jill has told us that she is going to try to hold onto the benefit money, so that we can open the new account for the boys. However, if the financial crunch puts her in need of this money, it is hers -and rightfully. Either way, it benefits Paul’s Family. Isn’t that what everyone intended when they made their donations? Anyone suggesting that they are going to “request their donations be returned I trust that Jill will make good decisions for her family and I know that Paul’s Mom, brothers, and sisters want a bright future for his family. Let’s all step back and have some faith. Things will work out. Wilkepedia’s Definition of “Gossip” The word gossip may refer to:* the act of spreading news from person to person, especially rumors or private information: see chat* the news spread through the act of gossiping. While gossip forms one of the oldest and (still) the most common means of spreading and sharing information, it also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information thus transmitted. That last part about the “introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted” has been happening here. Please pass this on to anyone who may still be wondering. Thank you Ryan Kampff Customer Service Manager HIGH PROFILE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

Lawn Care Acquisitions

I can help, I've done acquisitions for lawn care/landscaping. If you want a BUSINESS VALUATION, below is a very real formula. If you want a REAL LIFE VALUATION, a lot of times it's two guys over coffee, going over customers and employees, then they agree on a percentage of revenue (20-100%) plus maybe buying out some equipment. [B]Short Answer:[/B][B]I'd start out with a number of mows per client, so I'd offer to pay the previous owner the payments received for the first 2-3 mows. You can do it the week after you mow them, or if you wanna be a nice guy, you could pay them for 2-3 mows once they sign your contract. [/B]If that isn't good enough, below is very valuable information on larger business acquisitions:[B]Answer that imparts wisdom for this and future transactions:[/B]A REAL VALUATION, which you should run at least once per year so you know what your business is worth goes like this:Technically, it's based on EBITDA, which is Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. If you would like to know more about that, just reply and I'll give you a better explanation that should be useful. It's basically a "cash flow" formlula. You take your profits, depreciation, interest expense, and any of your pay that is "excessive" to what you do. So, if you're running a crew and making $80,000, you could put $40,000 back towards cash flow because a new owner would have to hire on a new foreman to run that crew:Formula works like thisProfit $20,000Depreciation $30,000 Interest Expense $8,000Excessive Owners Income $40,000 Total: $98,000. Then you use a multiplier on this EBIT or EBITDA formula. Something like 2.5 to 3.5, so the business would be valued at $250,000 to $350,000. In this sort of equation, the value of the equipment is negotiated. IT can be rolled into the price, or the net value can be added, or the buyer may ask that the equipment be paid off from the $350,000 and be free and clear. The way to keep this clear is to think from the buyers view is:I'm going to buy a business for $300,000. I expect to earn $98,000 per year or get 33% for my money which is a lot better than Wall Street!Other factors, it's based on:1. Size of company. I would rather buy companies over $750,000 because there has to be some management or systems in place, but a business broker friend of mine says he finds many many more buyers of businesses of around $200,000-$400,000. We think it's because it's easier for another contractor to add that much service to his present line. 2. Type of billing. Since we're in the Lawn Maintenance forum, I'll assume that we're talking about mowing. "recurring billing" is what brings in a bigger amount. When you have solid monthly billing, this is something that buyers can count on more than one time landscape sales. Commercial usually worth more than Single Family Residential. 3. Spread out customer base. A Customer base that doesn't consist of 3 clients that make up half of the billing is going to scare some people away. A base with 50 clients with no one client making up more than 25% is pretty solid. This is also something that banks financing your company, or financing a sale4. Growth. Most buyers prefer some decent, but not excessive growth. A 10 year company growing 15% every year sounds pretty solid to me with probably a solid customer base. 5. Gross Profit margins. Anyway, if you have other questions, let me know, Best of Luck!Steve Hoogenakker
Steve Hoogenakker, Showcase Landscape, Taylor Made, Delano Minnesota, CIC, MHA, CAI-MN, MNLA, Gerrit Hoogenakker is awesome, Kirsten Hoogenakker is great, Paul Hoogenakker is Super, Teri Hoogenakker is a saint.

Paul makes the big time!

Type in "PaulOleOlson" in Google and Paul comes up number 1 and 2 in an international search. Like Steve Martin in "the Jerk" "I'm SOMEBODY! Everyone reads Google!"

The Olson benefit

Teri and I were unable to make the benefit on Sunday. We hope that it was a good turnout. Teri and I would like to contribute the $20 door fee but we don't know where to send it. If you know, please email Steve@landscape.pro.
Thank You
Steve and Teri

Thanks to April for sending in even more pictures

I'd like to thank April for continuing to send in pics for Paul's site.
Spending time remembering Paul and for his family, or spending time for someone else when you can't receive anything in return shows her commitment and good heart for Paul's family and her values overall!

Silent Auction for Paul

As most of you know, my old Operations Manager and good friend Paul Olson (from TruGreen) had a heart attack and passed away last week. He was 34 years old. He leaves behind a wife, a step son and 2 sons under the age of 4. Paul did not have any life insurance. There is a benefit for Paul's family this Sunday in Coon Rapids and one of the fund raising activities they are doing is a Silent Auction. I know it is short notice and I know you get a ton of requests to help out various organizations through out the year, BUT if you happen to have anything you could donate for the Silent Auction, it would be much appreciated by Jill and the boys. Because it is such short notice I will need to gather the items in the next two days. I will to and from the Cities, Zimmerman and Big Lake over the next two days, so if you are able too please contact me on my cell (612.363.5046) and I will make arrangements to get whatever items you may have. THANK YOU!
April Kinney

Benefit for Paul Olson's family in Coon Rapids

There is a benefit for Jill and the boys on Sunday, 4/15/07 at CR Billiards in Coon Rapids. (8525 Cottonwood St. NW, 55433 763-780-1585)12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. $10 per person at the door for free tap beer & Hylander is playing. There is also a silent auction. There is also an informal gathering Friday for Paul's birthday at Scoop's Bar in Coon Rapids.

I have no idea who is attending this night. I think most of you have heard, but if not Paul had no life insurance so any support you can give would be much appreciated. My home e-mail is wacko right now, so please pass the info on to anyone who knew Paul as I do not have most of my e-mail addresses at this time.

April Kinney

Just checking on the site. It's great to see the pictures of Paul and his friends. I was wondering if all the guys in the last picture were drinking Gary's famous punch. I seem to remember that was pretty good stuff. Great to see memories of Paul continue.
Teri Hoogenakker

Stories and comments

Sorry it's been a few days since I last posted। My computer was writing "Hindi", so unless you were Abu from the Simpson's, you couldn't understand this:पॉल वास रेअल्ल्य कूल
It took me 3 days to figure out what I did!

It's great to see and hear from everyone, and I'm glad that this experiment has meaning to Paul's friends. A few people are planning on sending more pictures in the next week, so check back.

If you have any stories, anecdotes, quotes from or about Paul, please email them to Steve@Landscape.Pro. I'll get them into the website so others can share in some fun memories.
They don't have to be long, just a few words

I have to say I really enjoyed the last picture. I've noticed that there a lot of pictures involving alcohol and a lot of smiles. In the top picture, I can't tell if they're all leaning on each other to stay standing up, but leaning on each other was something that that group always knew they could count on and Paul was a big part of that.

High School Pic from P Malotka.

I don't have a first name yet, but P Malotka from Winona sent a high school pic for Paul. Thanks!

Thanks Margaret!

Margaret, (Margaret Evans)
thanks for sending the pics of Paul. Looking at the pictures, you can just see that funny thought rolling around in his head!
The pics are really large file sizes (2 to 6 megs)but if anybody wants them, I can forward them to their email address.

More of Paul?

We could only find this one picture of Paul. If you have a picture that you'd like to share, please email it to Steve@Landscape.Pro and I'll get it on the site.

Feel free to post any thoughts, stories or pictures of Paul

Paul "Ole Olson, in memoriam

Pictures of friends of Paul Olson.
Most of these people had a happier life because Paul was in it. They bring back memories of Paul to me and I hope one or more of these pictures bring back the fond memories of Paul for you as well....

We can honestly say that we have nothing but good memories of Paul and his jokes and smile.
We were lucky to have him as long as we did.

Teri and Steve

Preparing your landscape for Spring Part I

YOUR LANDSCAPE – WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW COULD KILL MILLIONS
That’s right. As a homeowner, you’re responsible for millions of living organisms. Grass plants, ornamentals, trees, annual flowers and shrubs. Your decisions also affect insect and biotic populations. Most importantly, you’re in control of how your landscape affects you and your family personally. The best way to make the most of your living investment is knowledge and of course, action! At the end of this article, I’ve included a link to www.Townhome.Pro, where I’ve added links for your lawn, landscape, trees and garden. This website is dedicated exclusively for MHA members at this time. Let’s get started! “Da Lawn”We’ll start with the lawn. It’s very important to have a thick, healthy lawn. Why? My daughter plays soccer and I shudder everytime she gets knocked down. (I never cheer when she knocks someone else down.) When kids play on your lawn, or when elderly residents walk in it, a thick lawn protects their skin and joints. A thick lawn also prevents weeds from coming up, reducing the need for pesticides. So, what can we do in the spring to get there? First, write down your thoughts about last years’ turf. What improvements would you like to have seen? Then “spring” into action. If you have a lawn contractor, discuss fertilization options with him/her. Are they applying 2-3 pounds of Nitrogen per year? Nitrogen has a direct relationship to the color of the lawn. If the lawn isn’t thick and green, ask them to do a soil test, or you can do one using the easy instuctions on the website. (Cost $15.00 plus postage) Do they use slow release or fast release fertilizer? Quick release fertilizers give the lawn a quick greenup and are cheaper, but they lose their color after 2-4 weeks. If you’re getting 3 applications per year, with normal release fert, you get 4 weeks of food and rapid growth followed by 4 weeks of partial starvation. Using slow release feeds gradually, and keeps the lawn growing at a more regular pace. Ask your contractor if he likes double cutting and bagging grass clippings, if he says yes, I owe you a $5.00 gift certificate to Caribou Coffee. When he says no, tell him that using slow release will cut down on rapid flush growth, and cut down the need for a lot of extra labor. Everybody wins! There is bound to be some winter salt or plow damage too. These areas need to be seeded or sodded right away. I recommend bringing black dirt in if needed and if using seed, use blends, such as kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye for sunny areas, and fine fescue, perennial rye and bluegrass for shady areas. If seeding, expect weeds. Crabgrass control can’t be applied to these areas unless you use Siduron (Tupersan), but broadleaf controls can be used after the seeded area is mowed twice. Seed or Sod, water a couple of times per day for short periods of time.

Steve Hoogenakker provides a solid, common sense approach to solving problems and answering questions relating to business management, leadership, consumer loan products and landscape and lawn problems and solutions. Steve has 20 years in the landscaping and leadership field. He can be reached by email at Steve@Landscape.Pro. Steve Hoogenakker, MHA, CAI, CIC Midwest, MNLA, PLANET, MTGF, Showcase Landscape, Minnesota, Delano Steve loves his wife Teri Hoogenakker and their kids, Paul Hoogenakker, Kirsten Hoogenakker and Gerrit Hoogenakker very much.

Publisher’s Directions: This article may be freely distributed so long as the copyright, author’s information, disclaimer, and an active link (where possible) are included. Disclaimer: Statements and opinions expressed in the articles, reviews and other materials herein are those of the authors. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur.