Here’s our weekly digest of fun and interesting stuff from the world of the web. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

• Property managers have the happiest jobs in America. (via @austinoutdoor)
• Related: Surprising (to some) six-figure jobs.
• ValleyCrest channels L. Frank Baum in Los Angeles.
• Housing reports are too sunny. (via @jasoncupp)
• How to store hand-held equipment.
• How Americans are distributed around Starbucks.
• Above: Rick Brandenberg: Turf, bugs and rock and roll at NCSU.

• What’s college for if not pranking the administration with bat guano?
• “Biomechanical trebuchets.” (via: New York Botanical Garden’s Tumblr)
• 4 leading botanical gardens to create first online catalog of all plants. (via @BatesNursery)
• Why efficiency won’t solve our water problems. (via @waterguru2)
• How to: reboot a terrible voicemail. (via @jasoncupp)
• Above: Environmental Business Award winner Mark Halla explains why and how he built a wind turbine at his Minnesota headquarters.

Take five minutes and read this post at Jason’s blog about a contractor whose client started dictating terms to him.

It’s a good way to start your week.

Jason Cupp shares an (all-too-familiar) example of email marketing gone wrong.

Recently, a friend forwarded me an e-newsletter from someone in the landscape industry.  I’ll admit it – it was one of the most poorly written, borderline offensive, anti-brand, culture ripping emails I’ve read in a long time.  I was really embarrassed for this company – which is why my friend sent it to me.

Technology makes it easy to set up and blast out e-newsletters, but that low barrier to entry can backfire.

Check out Cupp’s blog to see how.

Here’s our weekly collection of stuff you should know about. Enjoy, and have a great three-day weekend.

• Homebuilders are more confident.
• Why trees matter.
• What you can do with two hours a day.
• A control freak’s guide to delegating. (via @jasoncupp)
• Listen in to my conversation with Chris Heiler on the GetSocial! Radio Show.
• Above: Our latest podcast – selling color with windowboxes.

Jason Cupp, jet-setter and long-time friend of L&L, traveled to Longwood Gardens recently to speak at the 2nd Annual Interior Symposium, hosted by PLANET and OFA.

You can read more about the event on his blog, and check out a slideshow of more of his photos here.

Here’s our weekly digest of cool and interesting stuff from the web. Enjoy!

• Seth Godin on why we lie to salespeople.
• Don’t lists from landscapers around the country. (via @EdenMaker)
• Business ratios to track.
• How many plants do you need? Try the landscape calculator. (via Austin Outdoor)
• On your competition.
• Rebuilding the forest in Forest Lawn. (via @jasoncupp)
• D.C. cherry trees turn 100 years old. (via @ISArboriculture)
• Above: Casey Trees plants 30 trees at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Here’s our weekly digest of interesting and informative stuff from the internet. Dig in, and have a great weekend!

• “A wall made of animals.” Why you need a good schedule, not just a great design.
• 30,000-year-old plants from the Russian permafrost.
• Chris Heiler on how to do SEO.
• A great discussion on gas prices at our Linkedin group.
• Good, short piece from Jason Cupp on customers.
• Abbot and Costello explain unemployment figures.
• Above: The first in a series of top landscape mistakes from Austin Outdoor.

When you’re good at what you do, and you really enjoy it, it can be difficult to step back and think about promoting yourself.

I mean, if you enjoy this work so much, how is everyone else not as excited as you all the time?

Jason Cupp recently visited with a landscaper out west having some trouble keeping her service schedule and marketing schedules in sync.

Of course, when it comes to marketing, there can be several challenges, not the least of which are what you want to promote, what medium you want to use, and exactly who to target. This client’s struggle, however, involved timing; she was always behind the power curve getting her marketing message to prospects.

So he had her make up two calendars — one for her services and one, set a few months back, that would help her schedule promotions for those services.

A simple idea, but one with a lot of power that could help a lot of landscapers. (And editors, come to think of it.)

Read the full post here for all the details.

If you’re competing against the guy who put this up, you have my sympathy.

Because he’ll do anything to get the business. Read it yourself: He’ll mow your grass, clean out your garage and move your sofa. No job too small!

I hear from readers all the time about the mythical lowballer – how he’s stealing business and driving down prices and hurting the industry. They’ve been around forever and they won’t ever go away.

The only way to compete with someone who will do anything at any price is to do the same. Otherwise, you have to ignore him.

Do you target customers who pay the lowest possible price and also ask you to haul their old washing machine to the dump? Do you get a lot of your leads from the grocery store bulletin board?

If you don’t like competing against lowballers, stop. Find new customers.

As Seth Godin explains that your customer isn’t always the person who signs your checks.

Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes.

Many manufacturers have retailers as their customer. If Wal-Mart is happy, they’re happy.

Apple had just one customer. He passed away last year.

Not everyone with a lawn or snow-covered driveway is your customer. And not every landscaper is your competition. Figure out where you want to spend your time, focus your energy and stop worrying about these guys.

(image via @jasoncupp)