January/February 2009 Issue

With today’s economic challenges, Water Garden News asked pond professionals what they are doing to cut expenses this year. Here are their responses.

“We are having more sales. It doesn’t help the business, but it does help our customers. It also brings in more customers, which helps move inventory faster.

We also are dispersing our employees to other stores. Instead of cutting hours and then hiring more people later, we’re just moving them around.

Also, we’re going green. We are getting rid of plastic bags, and our customers can purchase a reusable green bag. When they bring it back to the store and fill it with their purchases, they get a discount.”
Diane McClain, Zamzows, Eagle, Idaho 

“We’re still staying busy, and we’ve increased our marketing to get more jobs. We’re involved in more rainwater harvesting projects, and we’ve been steady in our water gardening business.”
James Ruprecht Jr., owner, Bay State Aquatics, Kingston, Mass.

“We remain realistic and optimistic. We took a look at our business and asked: How can we increase sales with the lowest amount of cost? One idea for businesses is an online presence — minimal cost for increased exposure.”
Joe Mejia, marketing, Airmax Eco-Systems, Marine City, Mich.

“The biggest thing we’re doing is limiting inventory. We’ve done that since the first part of May 2008, when we saw the trend with the gas prices going up.”
Dave McPhail, owner, Aquatic Creations, Chapman, Kan.

“We’re being more conscious about supply runs and eliminating unnecessary trips to maximize efficiency.  I’m putting more time into promo-ting sales and networking so we can maximize sales potential and customer relations.”
Lawrence Cook, owner, Cook Landscape Services, Chandler, Ariz.

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January/February 2009 Issue

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