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Nye on back in the 80’s, that’s the 1880’s, times were tough! The weather was unpredictable; life was hard eeking out a living. When a drought situation would occur, towns would sometimes call on a “snake oil salesman” known as the “Rainmaker.” As the name implied, this person came to town and would guarantee to make the rains come to end “this terrible drought”!

One of the books on my book shelf is; How to become a RAINMAKER by Jeffery J. Fox, published in 2000.

Although 85% of this country is employed, we as independent business people have a product that is something that everyone should have. Those that do sometimes don’t have the discretionary cash and those that want a water feature don’t know if that is a “good investment.”

In today’s economy, chapter VIII of “How to become a RAINMAKER”, entitled “Earthquakes Don’t Count” is relevant.

“You either made the sale or you didn’t”.

No one wants to hear why you didn’t bring in the business. No one cares that “the peso was devalued” or “the customer went bankrupt,” or the economy is lousy,” or “a huge competitor opened next door.” The hunter either comes home with the game or he doesn’t. His family eats or goes hungry. No one cares that “the rain washed away the deer tracks.”

A young brand manager captured the attention of his company’s sales force by offering terrific prizes for hitting defined sales quotas. The contest rules were easy: reach your quota, you win; fall short, you lose. Three weeks before the contest deadline an earthquake hit Los Angeles . The California sales office was badly damaged and business was interrupted. The California sales team did not reach its quota.

California was the largest market in the brand manager’s company. The California sales team had great influence in the company. The California team wanted the prizes, but the brand manager said no. The California sales team used all its muscle, and the powerful vice president of sales insisted the brand manager award California the prizes. The vice president argued that the California team missed it’s quota by “only a few percentage points” and “be reasonable…there was an earthquake.”

The brand manager stood his ground, and replied, “Earthquakes don’t count.”

The next year there were record blizzards in Chicago, floods along the Mississippi, a brownout in New York City, a natural gas shortage and political crisis in Washington. The next year every region in the country hit its quota – California came in first – and everyone won a prize.

Rain makers don’t make excuses.

We have all seen the commercial where the “chain” hair cutters moves in across the street from the small barber shop, advertising $6.00 hair cuts. So the little guy goes to Office Max / Office Depot and gets a sign made that says, “We fix $6.00 haircuts”.

This barber is a rainmaker. How will you make it rain?

Rocke Huntington
Owner Pond Dragon Waterscapes
Lincoln , NE
Aka Rainmaker

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New IPPCA Members

Supporting the only Association that supports the Pond & Waterscape Industry

Our Mission:

To Promote, Protect and Advance the Pond and Waterscape Industry

Pondview Landscaping is a design/build Firm. Specializing in custom ponds & water features.
Intimate garden spaces, Beautiful plantings and Old world stonework.
Hardscaping - interlocking paver's, retaining walls-outdoor kitchens-raised patios.

• Recipient of the 2007 IPPCA'S 5 Star Contractor Award
  
• Firestone Pond Guard Liner Certified residential and commercial installer
  
• ICPI Certified Installer (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute)
  
• NCMA Certified segmental retaining wall Installer (National Concrete Masonry Association)
  
• Techni-seal Certified applicator
  
• N.J. division of Consumer Affairs, Home Improvement Contractors License #13VH00082600

Fielding Pump Company is the exclusive distributor for ShinMaywa, serving all of the United States. ShinMaywa has over 50 years experience as a pump manufacturer, producing over 50,000 Norus series pumps a year, with an outstanding reputation for high quality. As a company, they are noted for their commitment to the customer, working hard to satisfy their needs, providing a product that is reliable and affordable. Fielding has the knowledge and ability to offer assistance to customers, both at wholesale and retail levels. Fielding Pump, we guarantee our products and our service, customer satisfaction is our primary goal.

We are located on River Street in Oneonta, New York. We may be reached by taking Exit 13 off I-88. Turn right at the first traffic signal onto River Street Service Road. Continue to River Street. Turn left. Follow River Street to the entrance to Asbury Gardens on the right. (Look for the sign at the left of this page. It will welcome you to the Gardens.) We look forward to seeing you and helping you.

Mission Statement: Be a positive force in the enhancement of the quality of life in our community. Learn, enlighten and share with others our horticultural expertise. Be a resource for creative outdoor living. Treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves. Live and work daily by high standards and values. Appreciate the beauty and mystery in nature. Accept and respect all those things that are different between us. Make someone's day!

THE FOUNDATIONS OF PROFESSIONALISM

The definition of professionalism is built into the fiber of trade organizations such as the IPPCA. How can we closely identify ourselves with professionalism when we can’t identify it? We must understand that professionalism springs from a clear set of guidelines, on which the IPPCA hangs high.
In part, the mission of the IPPCA is to “promote professionalism in the water feature industry”. The paradox facing the IPPCA is that legally, there is no way to “enforce” professional behavior amongst our membership. The only enforceable criteria is whether a member is licensed, insured and carries workers compensation insurance (BBB report is checked, when applicable). Some non members of IPPCA use this as an excuse to withhold support from the only trade association in the world which is run by and supports pond contractors on an international scale.
The dictionary defines professionalism as

• “Of or engaged in a profession.”

(The above definition seems to make everyone a professional, just because they exist!)
· “Engaged in a specific occupation for pay”
(This would include everyone who has every gotten paid for building a pond!)

Clearly, we must expect more from our concept of “Professionalism”. Let’s look at it from another angle, what we’ll call the traditional approach. We’ll list the traits that we believe characterize a professional.

• Has a current contractors license (in good standing)
  
• Carries all required insurance
  
• Conducts regular crew meeting regarding safety
  
• Maintains proper equipment
  
• Conforms to local codes and regulations
  
• Maintains a logo and appropriate stationary
  
• Crew wears company uniforms
  
• Pays bills in a timely manner
  
• Maintains a high percentage of customer satisfaction
  
• Maintains tools needed to get the job done
  
• Answers calls and emails promptly
  
• Arrives for appointments on time
  
• Promotes professional growth among the crew
  
• Produces a quality product
  
• Runs a clean jobsite
  
• Turns a profit on most jobs
  

Meeting how many of the items on the list above make one a professional? Is there a minimum? Is a nice logo worth more than arriving on time for appointments? Does a nice company uniform override installing a wrong sized pump? Can a professional really service EVERY potential client who calls? There are many questions, but, somehow, Professionalism is still eluding us!

Some items are essential to carry the designation of “Professional”. Others may not be required. Understanding which traits are essential will help IPPCA members to achieve PROFESSIONALISM in the real world. Why is professionalism so desired, yet so elusive to those of us in the world of water feature contracting? Why is the term automatically applied to doctors, lawyers and CPAs, while we contractors seemingly grovel at the feet of prospective clients to establish the worth of our expertise and products?

Each contractor operates under some find of self imposed code of conduct. However, pond contractors have not really had a universally accepted definition of professionalism, except for the code of conduct established by the IPPCA. When a definition of professionalism is agreed upon, it will provide a goal structure to which aspiring professionals can grow.

In order to define Professionalism, we need to understand its foundation. Like a pyramid, Professionalism has a very wide foundational base. This base can be identified as the following cornerstone tenets of professionalism:

• Legality
  
• Marketing
  
• Performance
  
• Profit
  

A professional operates within the reasonable legal requirements of society. Reasonable laws do not operate to exploit the consumer. These laws include: complying with all contractor licensing laws, carrying workers compensation insurance, pulling all required permits and adhering to all building codes, complying with all labor codes and carrying liability insurance.

Not all consumers want or can afford a very high end water feature. Some want a simple statue with a simple pump from the big box stores. Do we define a professional contactor as one who ONLY does high end work? No. There is infinity of variations found in pond and water feature products. The same is true regarding contractors and consumers. Degree of excellence is what constitutes quality. Because ponds are created by unique individuals, each pond is unique. Clients do not buy a pond. They buy a one-of-a-kind pond contractor. All contractors have varying strengths and weaknesses in their abilities. This doesn’t make one a “good or a bad” contractor. A pond is not a predefined and shopable entity. Neither is a contractor. Each contractor tends to gravitate to a comfort zone which will fall into a higher end or a lower end range. If you want to move your company up the product ladder, you will need a point of industry reference from which to begin. The best way to increase ones degree of excellence is to network with other pond contractors at trade events, such as the IPPCA’s yearly Infotanza. It is a mistake to conclude a contractor is not professional solely on the level of quality he or she delivers. Being a professional contractor is different from being a contractor who provides a high quality level of product (although the two can be the same, they are not synonymous). Each pond built is a different product meant for a different consumer. The consumer buys the product because it represents a value for money exchanged.

Selling your product to the right client sets you up for success. Delivering your product in a timely manner is expected by that client. The final arrival is just as important as the journey. Just as there will always be flakey contractors, the same can be said about potential clients. True professionals learn how to these a mile away and RUN. The true mark of a Professional is the ability to function at the intuitive level.

Many pond contractors do not see themselves as business people. Rather, they see themselves as Artists. In their minds, they have transcended the “materialistic” principles of business to the loftier heights of “artistry”. These are suffering from “the starving artist syndrome”. These artists fail to see they are running a business and that building ponds is simply the vehicle they have chosen for their business success. Profit is one of the main reasons for being in business, instead of being the employee of a business. Without PROFIT, there can be no growth. A profit must be made above all the cost of labor, materials, equipment, overhead and owners salary. The harsh reality is that your client doesn’t really care whether you make a profit, just as long as he or she receives the end product he or she was expecting.

Contractors who do not understand and achieve the goal of making a profit are not only unprofessional, they are bringing down the entire industry of those who are professionals, or are those who are striving to achieve the status of Professional.

Mike Garcia
Enviroscape

Dogwood: Beloved Tree in America and Around the World

Among a convention of landscapers, you'd be pressed to find one who does not recommend dogwood trees to his/her clients. The beloved flowering dogwood (cornus florida) is a beautiful American native tree with multiple interests, including pretty spring blossoms and colorful fall foliage. It's unusual bark pattern reminds one of an alligator's skin. The berries (actualy drupes) are a desired meal for at least 98 different songbirds.

Not only is the dogwood a winner in this country, but it's appreciated worldwide. English, Japanese and Chinese gardeners enjoyed their native dogwoods before they even learned of the flowering dogwoods of the eastern U.S. The kousa dogwood is a sought-after item for bonsai or Japanese gardening. And from your English Lit classes you might recall from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales verse 2065 referrs to the whipple-tree, which is cornus sanguinum. The pagoda dogwood, drummond dogwood, red osier dogwood, and the creeping dogwood of Canada are all American natives as well.

With so many choices, and bloom times from March to June in some part of the country, no wonder the dogwood is so popular.

Dogwoods have been honored by being state trees and flowers, in song “Legend of the Dogwood Tree”, and in many a dogwood festival such as this year's Atlanta Dogwood Festival or the 50th Dogwood Arts Festival this year in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Dogwood entered the dictionary in 1614, probably from “dag” wood, or dagger or skewer wood.

Indeed, the wood of the dogwood is a hard, tough wood, suitable for wooden weapons, loom shuttles, fruit presses, etc. I once had a slingshot, or “gum-flip” carved from a forked piece of dogwood limb.

Dogwood and persimmon are standard “woods” for golf clubs—at least before metal “woods” were invented. In Europe, it may be referred to as cornel.

Some fifty dogwood species exist around the world, and many are favorites in their own lands.

There are red and yellow stemed dogwoods, there are pink and white blossoms, even yellow blooms.

The cornus mas, Cornelian-cherry dogwood has edible fruits, as does cornus kousa.

Most dogwoods prefer slightly shaded locations with rich, moist but well-drained soils.

They seldom need pruning, unless to remove broken, dead or diseased branches. Fertilizers may kill young dogwoods. Certainly clay soils that do not drain have been the death of many a dogwood tree.

Though they may bloom fuller in the sun, dogwood trees do not like full sun locations in the yard.

Sickly slow growth may be your reward for not putting them in the conditions they prefer. Raised beds, with drip irrigation would be ideal placement, where they do not receive full afternoon sun.

The Satomi pink kousa dogwood is the last to bloom in early summer. The favorite Florida dogwood with it's four white or occasionally pink petals (actually “bracts” as they surround the true blooms inside) is about the earliest. As this lovely family of trees show off in full glory this spring, you may be enticed to plant some at your place. At the least, take time to stop and smell the flowers as they bloom in glory this spring (or not, as they don't have much scent).

The author is a landscaper. Contact Max at (606) 416-3911 or www.rockcastles.com Notice: I invite you to take a look at my website www.rockcastles.com For that lovely waterfall, stream, pond, or stonework you've been dreaming about, give me a call! Thank you! Max Phelps