The Top 10 Takeaways from the 2024 BTA Winter Summit

Introduction

Early this January, the IssueID team attended the annual Winter Summit put on by Breakthrough Academy. 

Breakthrough Academy is a business-changing peer and coaching group for trades companies to take their companies and life to the next level. Fun-fact: IssueID’s existence is in a large part thanks to BTA - 4 of the 5 founders met through the BTA program many years ago. BTA has helped our landscape businesses (Landscapers By Nature (LBN) and A Cut Above Landscape (ACA)) grow and develop over the years. The Winter Summit is a must attend event and strategic planning opportunity for all who are in BTA. There’s so much value that the summit provides, it’s hard to fit into this blog post, but we’ll try. 

Ten key reasons to attend the BTA Winter Summit: 

1) Annual Strategic Planning - Building a solid strategic plan for the upcoming year, utilizing peers of similar industries and sizes. 

photo credit: @btacademy

photo credit: @btacademy

This is what the Winter Summit is centered around - putting the final touches on an effective strategic plan for the year and allowing the space for others to review, ask questions, and give constructive feedback on your plans. These sessions are helpful for identifying blind spots, learning about new software or systems, and making sure the goals you’ve set are achievable. 

2) Networking and lifelong friendships - The side conversations and the in-between agenda moments, are oftentimes the most valuable parts of the summit. 

photo credit: @btacademy

photo credit: @btacademy

photo credit: @btacademy

Gaining insights and sharing knowledge with other businesses, building relationships that extend beyond the annual summit. This year we got to spend some quality time with Meaghan Likes who also runs a software company so we’ve intersected in that circle as well over the past year. We got to reconnect in person with our peer group members from Transformations Landscaping, Great Lawns and Beyond, Goodspeed Lawn, Great Canadian Landscaping Company, and more!

3) Industry Breakout Sessions - A chance to learn from industry experts, showcasing what they do especially well in their businesses that can be used by others. 

photo credit: @btacademy

The session we attended was the landscaping and home services session which had presentations from Ryan Lermitte of Umbrella Property Services and Alan McClain of Big Sky Landscaping. Ryan spoke of how implementing lean in his business has changed the company’s operations and has them at a 5-stars on google reviews over hundreds of review. Alan spoke about how he curated his strong company culture and creating a successful business that only operates 6 months of the year. 

4) Awards night - This iconic event celebrates the incredible achievements of the BTA members of the past year in an exciting, inspiring, and often emotional event.

photo credit: @btacademy

This year we had some excitement at our table as we had two nominations and one winner! Jason Hoke of ACA Landscape and IssueID was nominated for Community Builder of the Year. Cory Brewer of Great Lawns & Beyond was nominated and won the Implementer of the Year award! Cory’s acceptance speech was very in-depth - he ensured not to miss thanking a single person who had helped him, including sneaking in an unauthorized product placement for IssueID. On a more serious note, Cory had many people come up to him after his speech to thank him for his vulnerability and opening up about the struggles he had this past year and in spite of that was able to win this coveted award. 

5) The Keynote - every year they bring in a subject matter expert as the keynote speaker to hype us all up and get us in the right mindset for creating our annual strategic plans. 

photo credit: @btacademy

This year it was the energetic author and entrepreneur: Mike Michalowicz speaking about getting your strategy and direction right, the Hierarchy of Business Needs, and ended with a Q&A session that covered intimate topics such as failed businesses and bankruptcy, entrepreneurial depression, and thinking different for marketing tactics. His presentation was intentionally planned right before our Annual Strategic Planning sessions to get us all in the best mindset and focus for the rest of the day. 

6) Vendor partners - As well as taking the time to curate the best members for the BTA peer group, BTA takes as much time and care to select their vendor partners. 

photo credit: @btacademy

The vendors attend the event and get to share and help the members solve real problems in their companies with their own business’ solutions. LBN and ACA Landscape use CompanyCam, Cyber Unit, and Nice Job in their landscape businesses thanks to the connection with BTA and events like these. 

7) The Masters Circle panel - The masters circle is the pinnacle of success in the BTA management program. This panel is extra special as the group gets to ask questions of these beasts of business who have gone through similar paths that other entrepreneurs are on and will be taking. 

photo credit: @btacademy

photo credit: @btacademy

This year’s panel showcased Will Brown - Brown Boys Roofing who transformed his company's culture while growing it substantially, and couple Cooper and Janelle Leary - CLS Landscape, who have built a successful business while maintaining a strong family dynamic. Iain Kent - Eagleview Construction who has been able to triple his business in the last few years while maintaining high net profits and working 40% less than before. We also got to learn from Brady Williams - Ox Glass who runs a huge, nationally known window install company and is able to work only 4 hours a day and 9 months of the year, while successfully having a family of 30 - wowza!

8) The activities! BTA does a great job of incorporating fun, team-building activities into the event. 

photo credit: @btacademy

This year it kicked off with an Amazing Race style activity through the resort. There were also numerous half-day activities to choose from for the final day, including: ski/snowboard, snowmobiling, caving, brewery tour, snowshoeing, and more. 

9) The locations! - Not an overlooked part of the BTA events. The location and setting of them are researched over many hours to ensure they provide everything needed to aid in the outcomes and energy of the winter summit. 

photo credit: @btacademy

photo credit: @btacademy

This year the event was just outside of Bend, Oregon at the amazing Sunriver Resort. We all enjoyed the cozy rooms, delicious food, breathtaking views, and fun amenities like the aquatic center. Other years have taken us to Banff, Phoenix, Tulum, Whistler, Breckenridge to name a few. The 2025 summit will be held in the tropical Dominican Republic!

10) Kicking your year off right - the way this event is put on, there’s no way you’re not going to leave inspired and excited to crush your goals for 2024. 

photo credit: @btacademy

This is the ultimate reason to attend the winter summit. There’s no better way to start the new year than with your solid strategic plan, new and old relationships built upon, and insights gained from various different experts. 

Conclusion

photo credit: @btacademy

If it wasn’t already clear from the above, we are are avid proponents of the events that Breakthrough Academy puts on, as well as their ongoing peer and coaching groups. If you have a trades business and are not already a member, we highly encourage you to check them out! They also have their Contractor Evolution podcast which shares systems, strategies, and expertise with over 40,000 contractors weekly. If you’re a BTA member who has never been to a winter summit before - get yourself to the Dominican for 2025! See you all there.