You could have the best products and the most helpful staff at the lowest prices, but if the sidewalk leading to your door looks like it’s never been touched in weeks, no one will ever know.
The challenge with being a business owner is that all your thoughts circulate internally and externally within your business. Your displays, your merchandise, your customer service, your pricing strategies. At the same time, the edges of your property make decisions for people without them even stepping inside.
And what many business owners fail to realize is that it’s not the expansive space but rather the edges surrounding your property that count.
The Areas No One Thinks About – And Everyone Sees
Take a moment to walk in front of your storefront from an outsider’s perspective and really observe it. Where does the grass meet the sidewalk? What happens around your sign? The edges between the parking lot and the business itself? It’s where things end and new possibilities begin that show a lack of maintenance or immense pride.
If grass is growing into the concrete walkways, it shows neglect and a business that may be out of business or very low in funds. If there are weeds sprouting next to the foundation, there’s a failure to maintain standards. If everything else is painted, cleaned, and spruced up but there are ragged edges, then that’s a first impression that won’t be forgotten.
It’s crazy because no one actively thinks about this – but they do – and it impacts their perception of your company before even stepping foot inside to talk with anyone on your team.
But why do people allow this to occur? Because it’s not dramatic. People quickly fix broken windows. People replace faded signs. But when grass begins to overtake the sidewalk, it happens slowly – but when three weeks pass and the front entrance of your business looks sad, it’s too late for someone to remedy it quickly.
Why Edges Matter More Than You Know
There’s psychology behind this. Clean edges mean order exists and if someone’s created an edge, they must have pride in ownership – and thus – maintained everything inside. It’s like judging a restaurant by its bathroom – you don’t eat from its bathroom – but if someone lets it fall apart, then chances are good they don’t care about their food either.
For a retail shop, if there are messy edges on the storefront, people wonder if things inside are cared for. For a professional office, if the edges aren’t maintained, it appears disorganized. For a restaurant, if the walkways grow beyond expectations, people question how clean it is inside. None of this is fair – but it’s how people think.
It’s not even a matter of attracting new customers – your existing ones see it, too. They might not bring anything up – but once your property starts to look tired, they internally perceive something bad or askew about your brand. They start to wonder whether things are going well instead of seeing you thriving as before.
And then Where’s The Time?
Here’s where things get complicated, though. You’ve got seventeen things to worry about besides trimming around the edge of your parking lot: payroll due tomorrow; vendor with late shipments yet again; emails you’ve been meaning to respond to for three days instead of sending out messaging to customers; grass trimming and plastic bag pick-up can wait outside.
Yet it can’t. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. Grass keeps growing until it’s knee-high; weeds don’t care if you had a rough quarter; when things get overgrown, that’s when no one has five minutes to devote to getting things back into shape because now it’s truly time-consuming.
But when grass looks at eye-level, people take notice. But it’s not even that big of a deal because once you’re armed with a good approach for cleanup and equipment options, it’s easy to maintain without eating a weekday morning whole.
Want to make sure those edges don’t become an issue? Get a battery powered weed eater so that in one swipe you can eliminate all that excess without worrying about gas operation, fumes, or pull cords that never work when you’re in a rush.
Which Edges Matter Most?
Not every edge around your property matters to the same degree; some edges receive more eyes than others.
The main entrance walkway is number one because that’s where customers go. If that edge looks ragged first thing in the morning – or even mid-day – when they enter your business through the door, it sets the tone for everything else they perceive thereafter. Thus, keep those lines between the grass and sidewalk clean and cut with intention.
Around your sign also matters because when customers decide whether or not they’re going to stop and see what you have going on based on your sign, if there’s overgrown grass or other debris at the base of it creating disheveled impressions with even the best of signs, it’s a missed opportunity.
The parking lot edge matters more than you’d think because guess where people are? In your parking lot walking toward you with their eyes on your building. Weeds growing through cracks or grass overtaking blacktop creates a depressing ambiance that won’t float anyone’s boat.
Finally, the bottom window and door frames can grow if not kept clear; at eye level approaching a highly-trafficked area is something most people don’t think about.
Everything else is secondary. But make sure these high-traffic and high-visibility edges receive attention regularly so they don’t become something you stress over down the line.
A Simple Maintenance Schedule
The key to keeping edges neat is not allowing them to get out of hand so someone needs to spend hours at a time making up for lost time every few months (and maybe seasonally). Instead, do little maintenance regularly so no one has to ever do extensive ground work.
Spend fifteen minutes once per week – even less – to make sure everything is sharp! Take care of the front walkway; clear around the sign; walk around the exterior foundation perimeter; that’s all. When you stay on top of it – it’s manageable.
If once per week seems like too much – every other week will suffice, but no longer than that during growing season! Three weeks isn’t good because now what’s three minutes each time becomes half-an-hour or more – and that’s just unnecessary frustration.
The best part? That’s it for your efforts twice per month – it takes place early in the morning or just before closing so you won’t interfere with any customer experience – and neither will you use extra time in someone else’s business day – for your benefit!
What Happens When You Stay On Top Of It?
You and your customers might not be able to put their finger on it – but everything looks neater. More professional. More like someone who’s got their act together.
And give yourself credit! Even if you have the same signs and building and everything else – the status of how clean things are makes it look more intentionalized than before.
Give yourself a chance upon first glance when people experience what your business truly means – and sometimes it starts in places that others aren’t consciously viewing – but subconsciously happy you’ve provided such opportunity! The edges get cleaned – and everything else looks good in tandem!
