Todd’s Ponderings: Thriving in a Slowdown

People I meet in the street often say, “Looks like business is going well for you.” I usually reply, “Yeah, we’re busy.” But it always makes me pause – looking like you’re doing well and actually doing well are two very different things.

For example, you’re much less likely to make a song and dance on social media about a small garden clean-up than about implementing a full high-end landscape design.

After some reflection, I can honestly say we are doing well. We’ve grown to a baseline team of 20+ amazing staff, and all the key business metrics are heading in the right direction. But this doesn’t come easy.

Not long ago, I played the positivity game around the construction slowdown – mainly because I hadn’t felt it yet. I didn’t want to acknowledge it was real, thinking that if I did, it might somehow become my reality. While that mindset has some merit, the truth is we’ve noticed the slowdown.

What I’ve realised is that our growth during this period is thanks to taking nothing for granted. There’s a common attitude in the trades where many companies feel entitled to be busy, rather than earning it. I feel fortunate that before the slowdown hit, I had support in the business to fully address any lingering attitudes like that. This put us in a strong position to shift from the challenge of having too much work to the challenge of keeping work flowing with a bigger team in a much more competitive environment.

I’m proud to say we’ve felt the slowdown, but instead of being victims of it, we’ve chosen to thrive. This is now our new normal – treating every job as gold and giving it the same care and professionalism, no matter the size.

In many ways, the slowdown has been a blessing. It’s taught us resilience and humility, and it’s pushed us to keep raising the bar in redefining what landscaping can be. The reality is clear: companies that can’t adapt in this way simply won’t survive, whereas those that do will continue to thrive in this new norm.

Seeing similar changes in your industry? We would love to hear what’s working for you at admin@rochfordlandscapes.co.nz

Cheers,

Todd