Sarah Martinez is the talented managing editor of Garden Center Magazine and the happiest garden retailing writer you've ever met! Check out the Garden Center Magazine blog for more from Sarah.

On Monday, I had the pleasant job of tossing almost 40 names in the proverbial hat and selecting one retailer to win a scholarship to Garden Center University. Quite frankly, I was surprised that my random selection turned out to be a start-up garden center: the Garden Market in Wake Forest, N.C.

Yep. You heard me right. The economy isn't stopping owners Mark Hildebrandt and Rita Davis from pursuing their dream. Over the past few days, I've had several e-mail exchanges with them where they've shared details of their business plan. It's obvious they're invigorated and excited to be a part of the green industry. I'd like to bottle up their enthusiasm and share it with all the garden retailers reading this.

But, since I can't, I'm going to suggest the next best thing: Start the New Year off right by writing a business plan. It doesn't matter if you're not looking for capital or planning an expansion. Do it anyway. It'll be a great exercise. I'm sure you'll come away with a better idea of what your business is really about, and what you'd like to accomplish in the coming years.

How many times have you thought to yourself, "If I could start all over again, I would (fill in the blank)"? Well, here you go! 2010 is around the corner--what's stopping you from running the place like it's new? Who cares if the economy has hit the bottom? There's nowhere to go but up!

Today's guest poster, Tim Hodson, is the editorial director of Lawn & Garden Retailer, GPN and Big Grower magazines.

In November I wrote an editorial about how long-suffering Chicago Cub fans have adopted the battle cry of "Wait until next year!"

The unfortunate reason for that battle cry is that it has now been more than 100 years since Cubs won a World Series. It's been more than 60 years since they even played in the World Series.

I am a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and I have learned to live with the phrase. I am not happy about it, but I am not the owner of the Chicago Cubs so I am not in a position to make the necessary decisions for the Cubs to emerge victorious in the coming season.

After a challenging 2009, you are in a position to make those decisions that will allow your company to emerge victorious in 2010.

You're a year older and hopefully a year wiser. Those challenges you faced throughout the year, as well as in previous years, should be your learning opportunities for 2010.

Even though 2009 is not officially over, you should be well on your way to formulating your business plan for this spring. So what did you learn is 2009 that you can apply to 2010? Have you developed a winning strategy based on your experiences?

Next year is already here. Are you ready? Will you emerge victorious?

Paige Worthy is the Managing Editor of Lawn and Garden Retailer, and my go to networking contact for talking about the fast moving world of social media. Seriously, next time you see her, pick her brain about Facebook, Twitter and blogging. It will be well worth your time! Can't wait to talk to Paige? You can reach her at pworthy@sgcmail.com. PS She'll be at the Clinic.

I'm not an economist. Far from it, actually.

I've written about the consequences this downturn has had on businesses for the past year and change, but I'm really just another consumer looking out for my bank account. I've cut back quite a bit on my spending. I'm...part of the problem.

But enough about me. Let's talk about you. The retailers, the suppliers, the growers. How are you feeling now, as we head into 2010?

You've got a lot riding on this supposed economic recovery. The lives of your businesses hang in the balance. So how can you emerge victorious from this recession?

Like I said, I'm not an economist...but I know of one pretty famous one who happened to pass away last week. His name was Paul Samuelson. NPR gave him a lot of air the day after he died. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economics and wrote a successful textbook on economics, based largely on the thinking of John Maynard Keynes. Who was a pretty smart guy himself, if you ask me. One of his biggest ideas was that, at the first sign of an economic downturn, governments should nip it in the bud by employing people themselves and running a deficit for the greater good -- private sector businesses are afraid to invest, so the government makes up for it.

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Dr. Marvin Miller serves as the market research manager for Ball Horticultural Company. Marvin is also the dedicated president of America In Bloom, a six year-old program, funded largely by industry donations, that has successfully increased the spending on horticultural products in many communities across the country. Through municipalities, local garden and volunteer groups, and local governments, America In Bloom creates visibility for the importance of plants and institutionalizes ongoing expenditures with growers, garden centers and landscape firms.

A year ago this month, we learned the economy was in recession and had been so for a full year. Today, we still question where exactly in the growth cycle our economy may be. The recession has truly had an impact on our industry. Sales are off for many, if not most, and some are no longer with us.

What should a horticultural business do?

Have you considered partnering with your fellow horticultural businesses to get your city involved with America in Bloom? Do the cities in your market area already landscape their Main Streets, their business districts, their entrances, and other public spaces? Do the businesses and citizens also appreciate their environs? What impact might it have on your business if folks suddenly began landscaping like never before?

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Brian Worfolk is U.S. Sales Manager in the Midwest U.S. & Michigan for Sheridan Nurseries Ltd.. Brian is also the wonderfully dedicated past chairman of ANLA's Wholesale Plant Sales Committee. He continues to help organize meetings bringing together sales people at trade shows through out the season in order to network and learn from the speakers he schedules. The next meeting will be during the Mid-Am show January in Chicago.

My perspective is that of a wholesale nursery sales representative in so far as trying to maintain customers who are retailers, other nurserymen and rewholesalers.

In my 25 years in this business, I have experienced a range of situations with customers and customer service. I have attended a number of seminars and learned a lot from fellow sales representatives. It has been stressed that it is very important to maintain constant contact with customers. If you do not then someone else will. There are many ways to keep in touch ranging from in person sales visits, mail, texting, pinning, emailing and phone calls.

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Rich Gallagher, of the Point of Contact Group, is a 2010 Management Clinic speaker who is the author of the #1 customer service bestseller What to Say to a Porcupine as well as his latest book How to Tell Anyone Anything. To learn more about Rich, visit him online at www.pointofcontactgroup.com.

Last week I visited Grossman's Garden and Home near Rochester, NY - an award-winning store that has been recognized as the best garden center in the Northeast - and you could feel something special in the air the minute you walk in. Not just from their great merchandise, their appealing layout, or the smell of free Jamaican coffee, but from the warmth of their staff.

Talking with Frances and Larry Grossman about what "felt" so nice about their store, they didn't hesitate: they have a core of highly talented employees who have been there for years and years, who have learned to be really good at what they do. Which got me to thinking about my own career experiences dramatically turning around the performance of customer contact employees. What made this magic happen are some basic principles that are powerful, rarely used, and free:

1. Train culture first, skills second. Why do you visit Disney World, fly on Southwest Airlines, or stay at Marriott hotels? These organizations teach their employees a sense of "who we are" as well as just job skills, and make everyone a part of something bigger than themselves.

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Ellen Wells is the Editor-at-large of Green Profit Magazine. In addition to writing the eminently readable "Buzz" enewsletter, she is from Boston. So you know she's good people. Plus, she'll be at Clinic this year, so you'll have the chance to hear her great perspectives on national retail trends.

Operating a "lean and mean" business is as important in a recovery as during an economic downturn. You've ducked the opponent's early-round knockout punches and you're still dancing around the jabs. With dukes up and elbows in, you're protecting your core to fight another round and another day.

That's not to say your business hasn't taken some hits. With a shaky economy and an uncertain sales season, staffing was likely one expense where the savings opportunities were obvious. Cut staff hours or entire positions and save those expenditures. Easy decision.

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Sid Raisch is a business consulting expert through his business Horticultural Advantage. This past Clinic speaker has taken his 28 years experience and has created strategies and systems for improving every aspect of garden center operations, and helps industry suppliers improve their service to garden centers.

Are you going to spend the recovery rebuilding or getting ahead? If you need a good excuse to make changes in your business, the economic crisis will do. Someone who is now famous not long ago said "Don't waste a crisis", while referring to the opportunity to make sweeping political changes during a bad economy. Whether you agree with the politics of that individual the time to make changes to rebuild or get ahead is now. Rebuilding is always in fashion but getting ahead during a recession is reserved for those who have managed AND rebuilt their company while others are locked down or troubled. So if you're not in the position to get ahead now then get in a position to get ahead after the recovery and during the next economic downturn, which should be along in another 8-12 years as they generally occur.

How do you run lean and mean without eroding your brand? To stop brand erosion you must know what yours stands for to your customer in the first place. If your brand is not a highly differentiated best choice to them now (meaning competition is of little consequence to your business) then be concerned more with building a stronger brand than with preventing erosion of the one you have. If you are in the rare but enviable position of having a brand to defend this is your time to raise your flag all the way to the top of the flagpole with aggressive marketing. But while you do that also consider how the expectations of your customer might be changing and how your brand will stack up to those new expectations. In either case, get close to your customer and get to know them better than you know yourself.

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Bob Dolibois is the Executive Vice-President of the American Nursery and Landscape Association. Bob's 30 years of experience in association management - 18 at the helm of ANLA's staff - offer a unique national perspective on association management and business to the association. (Disclaimer: In the interest of disclosure, Bob is my boss. BUT I would still say all these nice things. He's a pretty impressive and interesting guy to be around on a daily basis!)

When the industry rejoices, ANLA rejoices. When the industry bleeds, ANLA bleeds. Guess how ANLA is doing right now. Right along with our member businesses, ANLA is striving to preserve our core. Doing so means having a proven conviction about what your "core" really is. ANLA periodically determines that core based on a strategic assessment of what is working well and what we think is happening in the near future that would affect what is working well today.

During our last such review several years ago, ANLA concluded that our core remains representing the industry's interests before government and providing access to unique knowledge to our member owners and senior management that will increase their bottom-line and personal fulfillment in their businesses.

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