Posts Tagged lawn care business

Asynchronous Risk vs. Reward Ratio

Feb 21

Posted by Lawn Care Business in equipment, how much to charge, lawn business strategies, start a lawn care business | No Comments

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.

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.

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

Tags: lawn care business, risk management, risk vs. reward, rock climbing

60 degrees in February.

Feb 20

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, lawn care business, start a lawn care business | 3 Comments

2010 has been one of the coldest winters in recent memory in the Southeast. We have experienced about 4 snowfalls and temperatures deep into the teens. Our friends in the northern states probably don’t think that’s too bad a winter but, for us, it’s harsher than normal.

Though it’s far from over, winter’s grip is loosening this weekend. With the temperature above 50 for three days straight and brilliant sunshine beating down today, I’ve observed wild garlic (commonly mistaken for wild onion) sprouts springing up in lawns all over our area. Lowes and Home Depot are selling out of mulch bags and homeowners, working out in their lawns, are experiencing spring fever in unprecedented numbers.

If you are a new lawn care business owner you must feel compelled to pound the pavement and drive the roads in your area this season. Right now is one of the very best times of the year to get new lawn care customer contracts for the upcoming mowing season.

I have a goal for you this week. Do remember my 100 Door Knocks challenge I posed for your lawn care business as an advertising campaign last year? How would you feel about revisiting that challenge this week by attempting to make contact with no less than 49 new customers.

If you start tomorrow by making contact with a minimum of 7 new potential customers each day, you will deepen your reach by 49 new contacts by this time next week.

7 per day? You should be able to speak with seven new people in just a couple hours each day. A couple hours per day in February will reap HUGE rewards once the mowing season actually gets started.

Take advantage of winter’s break by getting out while the sun is shining. Though colder weather is forecast again soon, it will make you feel warm that you have already increased this year’s customer list.

Once you get those customers, what do you do with them??? If you’re having trouble making the most of your existing customers and you want to know how to raise prices and make more money in 2010 than you made in 2009, pick up our Lawn Care Business package. It is jam-packed with information to turn your lawn care business into a success.

To learn more, check out our website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: 60 degrees, customers, february, lawn care business, money

Lawn Care Business in 2010

Dec 12

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn business strategies, lawn care business | 1 Comment

After a sluggish couple years due to the bad economy, many lawn care opertors (LCOs) are feeling the pinch and thinking about getting out of the business altogether. They might be giving up the fight just when the fight is getting good.

With foreclosures at an all-time high, consumer confidence at record lows, and homeowners reeling in their pocketbooks, lawn care and landscaping has been a tough industry lately. As with any industry the last two years, there have been pockets of strength. LCO’s approaching their businesses from a stance of strength have weathered this financial storm. The victims, though, are lawn care companies that burdened themselves with too much debt coupled with dependence on low paying, low yield clients.

We speak often in our Lawn Care Business strategy guidebook about the benefits of starting a business debt-free and approaching the business from a stance of strength. Starting intelligently helps keep you from backing yourself into a corner with unnecessarily expensive lawn care equipment forcing you to accept low paying customers.

As the economy begins to turn and consumer confidence begins to rise, now is a perfect time to start a lawn care business or expand an existing business. 2010 promises to be a banner year for any lawn care business still standing. With many lawn care companies going out of business in 2008 and 2009 there is prime opportunity to acquire the clients that now need a new LCO to take care of their grass.

If you have ever thought about making money with a lawn care business, there is no better a time than right now to get started.

For more information about how to start a lawn care business, visit our website: Start A Lawn Care Business (http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com)

Tags: 2010, lawn care business, money, start

How to Proceed? Take the Lead!

Aug 2

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, estimate, lawn business strategies | No Comments

I’ve said many times; the estimating process is one of the more tricky aspects of runing your own lawn care business. This article helps you put your customers at ease when they request free lawn care estimates.

Unsure Customers

Customers who have never hired a lawn care company before may find it a bit frighening to call a stranger on the phone and request that person come to their homes and look at their lawns.

Likewise, new lawn care business owners may find it intimidating to mosey around a strangers lawn looking for imperfections. As a business owner, you must realize customers look for you to be the professional and take the lead in the estimating process.

I have done thousands of estimates. Most customers have a general idea what needs to be done in their lawn and how much money they are willing to pay within $5 to $10 for weekly service. But, they are unsure of how to go about getting everything set up to their satisfaction. It is up to you, as a business owner, to lead the sales call.

Here are a few methods to help you take the lead during your sales calls:

1) Practice your script.

You do not want to be fumbling for words or wondering what to say to a new or prospective customer. Using our lawn care business material develop a script of what to say. You want to be friendly with your customer but you don’t want to be best friend. Keep chit chat to no more than a few minutes and get to the reasons why you’re there. Your script needs to, at least, cover the basics: What work do they need performed? How often do they want the work performed. How much are they willing to pay? It’s good to listen to your customers but you must direct the conversation.

Once you develop your script, practice it. I remember giving my first customer estimate when I started my lawn care business. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself so I developed a script. I would even close the door to my room and practice in front of a mirror. Silly, right? Maybe but it helped me build confidence and gave me the ability to speak with customers and get the jobs.

2) Know your line of work.

Most prospects know a few things.
A) The grass looks bad.
B) I want the grass to not look this bad.
C) I don’t want to pay much to have it not look this bad.

Ha Ha. Yep, that will sum up about 80% of all your free estimates. If you know your subject (grass for this purpose) you can lead the discussion to explain why they should hire you.

3) Remove their guess work.

Until you show for the estimate, new customers have little idea what your proceedures are. Once they are comfortable with the services you offer and accept your price. They may not know what comes next. If you’ve already read our lawn care guidebook you know to bring your equipment to every estimate. Take your customers guess work away.
Recommend a mowing schedule (example: Wednesday about 10:00). Recommend a payment plan (example: Leave check under the welcome mat).
Recommend additional work (example: Flower beds need more mulch)

By taking the lead you will instill confidence in your customers making they feel good about having you as their lawn care person.

If you are thinking about starting a lawn care business or if you want to make an existing business even more successful, get a copy of our Lawn Care Business guidebook. It’s on sale right now! Visit our main site: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: customers, free estimates, lawn care business, money

Lawn Care Do-It-Yourselfers

Jul 15

Posted by Lawn Care Business in fertilizer, landscaping, lawn business strategies, lawn care business, lawn chemicals | 1 Comment

As lawn care professionals we are often faced with prospective residential and commercial clients that would rather do the work themselves.

I came across a new article recently proclaiming residential customers can save money by fertilizing their own lawns. Since a spreader is only $24 and a bag of fertilizer is only $15, the cost is about $40 vs. $65 for professional fertilizing:

http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/is-landscaping-taking-a-hit-2

The news article failed to mention three key components of hiring a professional perform lawn care work.

1) Time benefit:

Visiting a garden center, choosing correct fertilizer, reading instructions, donning protective gear, readying equipment, fertilizer application, and equipment clean all take time. A home owner can easily spend 4 or 5 hours trying to save $15.

2) Knowledgeable Application

Knowledge of fertilizer types, timing of application (weather), spreader settings, and dispersal densities all increase the efforts needed for correct fertilization of a residential lawn.

3) Professional Material Handling:

Being in the lawn care business since 1992, I have received dozens of calls from homeowners who have tried to fertilize their own lawns. A typical caller asks if I can come fix their lawn because they either over applied fertilizer, accidentally broadcast lawn fertilizer into flower to shrub beds (killing their plants), or spilled a pile of fertilizer onto their lawn when they knocked their broadcast spreader over or the fertilizer bag split dumping contents into a pile on their lawn.

$15 Savings?

Is all this hassle really worth the $15 a home owner might save by doing it themselves?

Next time you are faced with a do-it-yourselfer let them know they are only saving a few dollars versus the tremendous amount of time, energy, and money they will expend attempting to get professional results.

Start Your Own Lawn Care Business

Have you ever wanted to start your lawn care business or are you hoping to expand your current business? Our Lawn Care Business program can help you achieve a more successful business.

Check out our home page by clicking the
“How To Start A Lawn Care Business”
link toward the top of this page.

Tags: fertilizer, fertilizing, lawn care, lawn care business, money

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