Editorial Note: This article is provided by our friends at Envisor Consulting, and reprinted here with their permission. While Envisor focuses on landscaping businesses, the following article applies to businesses of all shapes and sizes – and at various points along their business journey.  

What is the difference between leadership and management? Are they different?

It’s all about labor and time savings with these landscaping attachments.

When talking about attachments, we often start with the fact that the machine — whether it’s a skid steer, a compact track loader (CTL), a backhoe or a wheel loader — is the base platform that allows the owner/operator to do a job. The base purchase of that machine comes with a standard bucket, which is great for many applications.

Tracks and pneumatic tires represent a significant percentage of total cost of ownership (TCO) for any piece of landscaping equipment. Proper maintenance and operating practices can go a long way to ensure that equipment owners are getting the most out of their investment, as well as working towards a safe and productive job schedule.

This article serves to identify some initial purchase considerations that will ultimately affect TCO over the course of a machine’s service life, as well as maintenance and operational factors that will extend the life of each asset and ultimately lower its TCO.

The rent vs. purchase equation is discussed at length in the landscaping industry—but the conversation is most often geared towards the primary equipment platform: the skid steer, the mini ex, etc. The decision to rent or purchase attachments and other ancillary equipment shares many of the same financial considerations, and there are several factors that help a business owner determine whether it makes more sense to rent or purchase attachments.

There is no right answer that will work for every business owner. Each individual should look at factors such as cash flow, taxes, estimated utilization rates, as well as associated costs like maintenance, depreciation and resale values. Additional factors include the size of the operation and the types of jobs and applications in which the attachment will be used.

Robert Velazquez —founder of Semper Fi Land Services in Aurora, Ill.—is not your average business owner. He started his landscaping business in 2004 when he was still a teenager, fresh out of Marine Corp. training. Like many, his first landscaping jobs involved doing most, if not all, of the work himself while rounding up borrowed trucks and equipment, but today he runs a flourishing business with a large fleet of equipment and 35 employees.

Starting a business like Semper Fi wasn’t without its challenges. After building his customer base throughout 2004 and 2005, Velazquez got news that he was being deployed. “I was in the Marine Corps reserves, and we got notified that we were being deployed to Iraq,” Velazquez explains. “So all the customers I had built up from 2004 and 2005, I just sent them a letter saying, ‘Hey, I have an obligation. I’m going to Iraq, I’ll be back in a year.’ Didn’t really close the business, but put it on hold. Came back, sent them a letter and said, ‘Hey, I’m back, and I’m going to start my business again.’ Many of those customers I have still today.”