Archive for category lawn business strategies

How To Properly Name Your Lawn Care Business

Within the pages of the Start A Lawn Care Business guidebooks, we spend several pages discussing proper names for lawn care businesses.  More than simply telling you which names are “good” and which names are “bad”, we spend considerable time discussing business theory and customer psychology.  DON’T YAWN!!!  I know these subjects may seem boring to you but when you are naming your business you MUST consider your potential customers’ reactions to your business name.  If they don’t like your name, you may find yourself getting fewer customers than if you choose a better name. 

I recently came across an advertisement for a lawn care company.  I am perplexed by their choice of business name.  I want to show you the advertisement and I want you to let me know what you think about this business name.

how to name your lawn care business

If you’re too young to remember, a lawn dart was a children’s toy many years ago.  Children placed rings in their yards, stepped several feet away, then threw large weighted darts trying to land them in the ring.  It was great fun until the inevitable happened and kids started showing up in emergency rooms with giant weighted darts sticking out of their foreheads or lodged under their eyelids.

Unless you were the one penetrated by a lawn dart, it was a pretty fun game and made for some funny jokes talking about people with darts protruding from various body parts.  A common joke was to stick your index finger to your forehead and scream “LAWNDART.”

Okay, enough of the history. Let’s get back to the company’s name.

I think the name “LawnDart Lawn Care” is funny.  It is memorable and it made me laugh. 

However, from a business standpoint, I have to take exception with the name.  It is not a professional name and it will not instill confidence in its potential clientele.  Though the name might not deter a young homeowner (and maybe that’s who this company is targeting).  Would a homeowner with a large, expensive home really trust its finely manicured grass to someone who might not take it seriously?  Would an owner of a large industrial complex contract with someone who makes light of a serious and potentially dangerous situation where children are at risk?

Let’s not miss the point here.   The owners of this company are probably having a laugh and I fully realize that.  However, here’s a tip; sure, you can take a stab at different business names but if you are looking for long-term professional viability (and the most money possible) for your lawn care business, choose a name that speaks professionalism.

Once again, business theory and customer psychology are not the most exciting topics but if you want to learn how to choose a name that will increase your profits this year, take a look at our lawn care business guidebooks. The section on naming your business is great and you will learn how to properly name your business.   I promise, you won’t be bored. 

You can learn more about the lawn care business guidebooks and software package at our website:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Asynchronous Risk vs. Reward Ratio

I had a great conversation with a business associate today concerning the concept of risk management.  In particular, we were discussing risks that far outweigh their rewards.

Risk management is a common subject in business and since this is a lawn care business blog, you may think we were discussing concepts such as giving 100% guarantees to customers who purchase landscape plantings.  Or, we may have been analyzing the spreading of landscape mulch and charging for maintenance without first properly treating the ground or placing weedblock as an underlayment.  Or we may have been discussing the purchase of a commercial 34 horsepower, propane fueled, 72″, zero-turn, front deck, lawn mower before even acquiring a single lawn care customer.

Climbing and a discussion of asychronous risk management.

While these are all great ideas to discuss, we were not talking business.  Instead, we were talking about free climbing a rock face without the use of proper safety equipment.

In your lawn care business, us proper risk management procedures.

Whether you are bouldering a rocky outcropping or starting your own lawn care business, it makes perfect sense to think strongly about risk management procedures. 

If you want to learn how to rock climb, seek professional rock climbing instruction (and use a rope!!!) 

However, if you want to learn proper risk management procedures for your lawn care business, purchase our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software package through our website:  www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Lawn Care In California

I was very blessed in January to escape the deep freeze that gripped the American Southeast by traveling to Los Angeles, California to meet with a manufacturer of Propane Powered lawn care equipment.

During my journey, I took opportunity to learn more about the culture of the Lawn Care industry in California. Turbulent weather in Los Angeles treated me to an area of lawn care maintenance we don’t experience much in Tennessee.

Lawn Care Maintenance Workers Gather Palm Fronds after a California Storm

The storms were unprecedented and unanticipated as I arrived at LAX in Los Angeles. Torrential downpours did not affect the arrival of my flight other than to make it more bumpy than a traditional west coast landing. The bus ride into Santa Monica, on the other hand, was detoured countless times as the driver navigated around flooded streets and skirted intersections where traffic lights malfunctioned due to heavy winds and falling palm fronds. During the storm, I was able to observe flooded irrigation canals channeling water into the pacific ocean.

When we have a storm back east, leaves blow and branches tumble. Our storms create great opportunity for lawn care companies. After-storm cleanup is a great service to offer your customers for additional money.

In California, these palm fronds were everywhere. As I watched cleanup crews pick each 8′ to 10′ section of palm frond by hand, I could only think about the amounts of money a dedicated lawn care company could make with on-the-spot after-storm clean up contracts.

It doesn’t matter if you are in California, Tennessee, or any of the other 50 states. There is a ton of money to be made in the lawn care industry this year. It’s been a tough winter but spring is on its way. The high winds that spring often induces will, sure enough, bring lots of opportunity for after-storm cleanup jobs.

If you want to learn how to get customers and correctly price your after-storm cleanup contracts, take a look at our main website. You will learn how to acquire great customers and price your services effectively so you can make the best money possible in 2010.

We have a sale price on our lawn care business package right now. Order soon because this price won’t last long.

Our website address is: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Lawn Care Flyers On Car Windshields

When it comes to advertising a lawn care business, I’m a fan of pounding the streets and knocking on doors. I believe the way to build strong client lists is through face-to-face contact. As such, I tend to shy away from flyers on telephone poles and advertisements on doorknob hangers. These advertisements, along with business cards taped to the outside of mailboxes seem to be an intrusion into your potential customer’s private space.

lawn care business flyer under windshield wiper

I saw this flyer under a windshield wiper recently. I could only think of negative connotations about this flyer.

1) It always ticks me off when people put flyers on my vehicle.

2) I never look at flyers that have been left on my vehicle. I tear them up and throw them away immediately.

3) There are probably rules against placing solicitations on vehicles in this parking lot.

4) If a windshield wiper gets damaged, will the lawn care company have to pay the repair bill?

5) If a strong wind blows the flyer away or the car’s owner tosses the flyer to oneside, can the lawn company be charged with littering?

While I am not 100% AGAINST flyers on cars and private property, I do believe LCOs should be very restrictive in their placement of such flyers.

There are too many legitimate outlets for advertising to risk the downfalls of improperly placed flyers.

If you want to learn correct forms of advertising and advertising that REALLY WORKS, look at our business program located at our main website: StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Tenacity of a Small Business Owner. AKA: Too Stupid To Quit

As Winston Churchill said:

“Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

How many people do you know that are immediately successful in what they do?

I bet you can name a few people who seem to be successful at everything they do. However, if you were to truly speak with those people you would find a different story come to light. You will hear tales of failure after failure until one day, out of nowhere, their businesses began to see the light of day. And slowly, ever slowly, they began to make progress.

A never-ending, relentless striving is what you will find behind almost any seemingly “over-night” success story.

In addition to the smart and shrewd businessmen you know, I bet you also know a few dim-witted, bull-headed people who have made a success in spite of themselves. Do you? Yeah, I do too. Years ago, when I first started my lawn care business, I knew a man who was very successful in business. He ran a contracting business (not lawn care) but he was definitely not the brightest light bulb in the box. He was a nice guy but education and intellect just wasn’t his thing. But, MAN!, was he successful and happy. He would even joke about this sometimes and I asked him once about his success. He told me that he was just too stupid to quit and too dumb to take “no” for an answer.

Now, in reality, this man wasn’t dumb at all. But, his words (and Churchill’s) illustrate a great point in business. Tenacity wins (almost) every time. We all face obstacles. Everyday there are speed humps on the journey to our business goals. If we let speed humps arrest our progress, we fail. Pure and simple…Tenacity Wins.

We help people Start and Expand their own Lawn Care Businesses. This is what we do and we know the obstacles faced everyday by Lawn Care Business Owners.

If you’re tired of being impeded in your goals of operating a successful lawn care business, take a look at our Lawn Care Business package. There’s no need to face the speed humps alone. We can help.

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com – Start A Lawn Care Business

Never give in–never, never, never, never…

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