Unfortunately, Jim Huston passed away on 2 April 2025 in his sleep and we are no longer accepting consultations. Jim's products are still for sale on his website and Amazon.com. We apologize for the inconvenience.   Josh Huston … [Read more...]

Beau Hartman doesn’t want to think about what his hourly wage would be on the salary he pays himself as owner of Hartman Land Care, a Zanesville, Ohio-based business that does about $1 million a year. Hartman is the primary salesperson, manager and so much more – like most small business owners in the green industry. For years, he paid himself $25,000 to $35,000 annually. “Finally, my accountant said to me, ‘Maybe you should start paying … [Read more...]

Travels with Jim follows Jim Huston around the country as he visits with landscapers and helps them understand their numbers to make smarter decisions. Ike was an entrepreneur and in his eighth or ninth year as a landscape contractor. I met and worked with him on a recent trip to the Northwestern U.S. His story is typical: He was making money and thought that he was doing OK. However, he didn’t understand the numbers and the financial side of … [Read more...]

During college, I’d often work construction jobs in the summer. Occasionally, I’d work on a dairy farm in Maine owned by an old-timer named Lincoln Partridge. We called him “Link.” Link had euphemisms for most facets of life. “Three things are impossible,” he’d say. “First is climbing a fence that’s leaning toward ya. Second is kissing a girl that’s leaning away from ya. Third is making someone else successful.” Often he’d add, “It’s like trying … [Read more...]

My 450-mile January drive to Jackson, Wyoming, for our annual brainstorming meeting was uneventful. Uneventful, that is, until 10 miles from my final destination. As I rounded a curve on U..S. Hwy. 191 something seemed out of place on the road ahead. Through the evening darkness, I saw the lights of cars and pickup trucks catawampus to the road. Many were making U-turns. I had just missed an avalanche that covered the entire highway. … [Read more...]