Month: August 2022

Streamlining Services in the Landscaping Industry with Ben Souva and Jacob Krum (Ep. 10)

Streamlining Services in the Landscaping Industry with Ben Souva and Jacob Krum (Ep. 10)

The best businesses are created when you’ve identified a problem that needs solving. Our guests this week found their niche in the landscaping market as a result of their own frustrating experiences. 

In this episode, Ben Souva and Jacob Krum, the founders of Trim Landscaping, join Michael Israel to discuss the circumstances that made them start a landscaping business. They explain the usefulness of different technologies in solving the operational inefficiencies and business challenges that were getting in the way of achieving their goals. 

Ben and Jacob address: 

  • How they reinvented and modernized the way landscapers operate and manage their businesses
  • Their journey of how they started vs. where they are now 
  • What to look for in a technology partner that helps with scaling your business
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Michael Israel: 

Connect with Ben Souva and Jacob Krum:

About Ben Souva:

When it comes to growth and development strategies, Ben Souva never fails to bring his innovative approach to the table.

Ben used his extensive business development experience to develop new solutions for the back-end operations of his local landscaping business. Within one year of implementing Saas and Enterprise strategies, he saw business revenue increase by over five times its yearly average.

Today, Ben is proud to help landscapers around the country improve their operations, grow their revenues, and find success doing what they do best!

About Jacob Krum: 

Jacob Krum is a true magician in the world of business. A proven, passionate entrepreneur with an innate and unique ability to quickly assess and advise on growth strategies, Krum has demonstrated his expertise throughout his career by rapidly scaling multiple businesses from zero to over $650K MRR in as little as one year.

Combining his love for real estate with his drive to grow ventures, Krum is the owner and operator of Nvest realty. This firm identifies, targets, and purchases residential properties in the Phoenix metro area to renovate into profitable vacation rentals. Since its inception, Nvest has hosted more than 600 groups at Nvest branded assets. Forward-thinking and synergy-focused, Nvest added a burgeoning landscaping business to its portfolio in 2020 and has increased its gross revenue by more than 1,300% in its first year.



Completed Service Work and Its Value in Field Services with David Nour (Ep. 9)

Completed Service Work and Its Value in Field Services with David Nour (Ep. 9)

You’ve probably heard of a popular management principle called Completed Staff Work. Completed Service Work is an evolution of this concept of doing everything thoroughly and anticipating next steps to the world of field service management.

Did you know there is more to completed service work than simply fixing a customer’s problem? 

In this episode, Michael Israel talks to David Nour, the author of Relationship Economics® about how completed service work elevates the service professionals, their impact on the businesses, and the need for a more strategic conversation around services than taking a transactional approach.

Michael and David discuss: 

  • The concept of “Completed Service Work” and its relevance to field services 
  • How companies like Uber, Pizza Hut, Lyft have changed the expectations of consumers and businesses at large
  • How and when does a customer’s relationship begin with a business
  • The importance of being responsive and proactive in building customer relationships 
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Michael Israel: 

Connect with David Nour: 

About Our Guest: 

A senior leadership/board advisor, educator, executive coach, and bestselling author, David Nour is internationally recognized as the leading expert on applications of strategic relationships in profitable growth, sustained innovation, and lasting change. The author of eleven books, including bestsellers Relationship Economics® (Wiley) – forthcoming in its 3rd edition, Co-Create (St. Martin’s Press), and Curve Benders (Wiley, 2021), Nour serves as a trusted advisor to global clients and coaches corporate leaders. He is an adjunct professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and was named to the Global Gurus Top 30 Leadership Professionals and the Thinkers 50 Radar Class of 2021 lists. A Forbes Leadership contributor on the Future of Work and an Inc. contributor on Relationship Economics, Nour’s unique insights have been featured in various prominent publications, including The Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Huffington Post Business, Entrepreneur, and Knowledge@Wharton. He’s also the host of the popular Curve Benders podcast. 

Born in Iran, Nour immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager with $100, limited family ties, and no fluency in English. He graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management and went on to earn an Executive MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He resides in Atlanta, GA, with his family.



Achieving Successful Digital Transformation with Israël Fontaine & Melanie Maquet (Ep. 8)

Achieving Successful Digital Transformation with Israël Fontaine & Melanie Maquet (Ep. 8)

Embracing new technologies, software solutions, and automation of workflows can be daunting for many businesses. 

Lumio Intelligence is one of Zuper’s premier partners that helps small and medium enterprises integrate value-added ecosystems into business operations, allowing a faster return on investment and a better automation process.

In this episode, Michael Israel sits down with Melanie Maquet and Israël Fontaine. Melanie is the CEO and founder of Lumio Intelligence, and Israël is the solutions architect for Zoho and Zuper implementations. Together, they unpack the type of clients they help and how they distinguish themselves by meeting the challenges of digital transformation.

Israël and Melanie discuss: 

  • How they started Lumio Intelligence and the services they offer
  • Ways Lumio Intelligence specializes in integrating Zoho, QuickBooks, Google, and Zuper digital technologies
  • Their partnership experience with Zuper
  • Their process for taking on new clients
  • The importance of not rushing through the implementation of new technologies
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Michael Israel: 

Connect with Melanie Maquet: 

Connect with Israël Fontaine:

About Our Guests: 

Mélanie Maquet is the founder and CEO of Lumio Intelligence. She also deploys her expertise in process analysis and solution architecture with a solid experience in the Zoho environment, particularly in the areas of sales and data-driven marketing.

In addition, she acts as a Zoho expert and trainer for all aspects related to the optimization of sales and marketing processes and automation through Zoho applications.

Ingenious and pragmatic, Israël Fontaine and his team of developers and integrators deploy their Zoho expertise in automated management for retail merchants, e-commerce, and distributors. 

Moreover, his expertise also applies to the design of web platforms and applications related to Zoho. He is also a great asset in syncing web apps with Zoho apps for enhanced customer experience.

Finally, in 2020, he improved his expertise in task scheduling and production management for manufacturing SMEs.