Growers Talk Business

Industry Momentum or Just a Great Spring?

Abe VanWingerden

Rather than bury ourselves in endless daily COVID-19 studies or weekly vaccine progress, it’s actually time for us to bury ourselves in our own sales, regional economy, consumer and anecdotal data to make great calls on what to do next year.

Growers Talk Business

Plan, Don’t Panic

Abe VanWingerden

I think the impact of COVID-19 will remain with us for months, if not years, so it’s good we explore the subject and the impact on our business, our industry and most importantly, how we interact with each other as we move into this new decade.

Growers Talk Business

Another Decade

Abe VanWingerden

The year 2020 can be a great year and 2020-2029 can be a great decade, but what’s your plan of action to navigate through the decade?

Growers Talk Business

The Only Constant is Change

Abe VanWingerden

When a full six of the Top 10 businesses in our industry have either been acquired by another firm or gone bankrupt in the last five years (or both), and we continue to see consolidation and changes, the old adage of “the only constant in life is change” is well-suited for the live goods industry.

Growers Talk Business

It’s a “Process,” Not a “Project”

Abe VanWingerden

We get asked to wear many hats each day and too many times, we take a business problem and too quickly come to a solution.

Growers Talk Business

Rinse & Repeat—Great Instructions

Abe VanWingerden

The things that we do every year to run our businesses really form a set of guiding principles that we can use to motivate our teams.

Growers Talk Business

This is Going to be “THE YEAR” …?

Abe VanWingerden

How do you forecast for “next year” if you had a bad year (or if you had a great year, for that matter)?

Growers Talk Business

I’ve Never Seen So Much Change in the Industry

Abe VanWingerden

Change is happening fast around us in many ways and especially in three areas that are revolutionizing this industry.

Growers Talk Business

Risk-Taking in Live Goods

Abe VanWingerden

Just coming off our year-end company meetings, I feel great energy for 2018, as our team reflects on 2017 and what we can do to drive additional business in 2018.

Growers Talk Business

“I Can’t Find People”

Abe VanWingerden

Waiting for the government to change or to take action isn’t the answer; we have to own the issue and find solutions.