Start A Lawn Care Business

Lawn Care Business Tips and Advice

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Lawn Care Work Gloves

May 29

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn care work gloves | No Comments

Work glove technology has come a long way.

Do you remember no more than 10 years ago when your choices for work gloves were very limited?  It seemed like you had two choices.  The first choice was a pair of rawhide leather workgloves that took forever to break in or a pair of 99 cent thin canvas work gloves with those little rubberized dots all over the surface.

Old work gloves

The problem I always had with work gloves is that they never seemed to fit really well.  The thumbs were always too long.  On several occasions I have had the thumb become trapped under the pistol grip controls of my commercial walkbehind lawn mower.  Getting glove material trapped in the controls is dangerous because it compromises your ability to turn and stop your machine.  Being trapped also impedes your ability to move away from the machine.   While I operate my commercial lawn mowers, I want to feel connected to the machine.  Having a loose fitting glove disallows me from feeling the movement of the mower as it traverses undulating and bumpy ground.

Great selection of work gloves today

I was at a big box hardware store last week and the choice of work gloves available today is astounding.  I am particularly impressed with the tight fitting work gloves made by Mechanix.  Their material is durable yet light enough for me to feel connected to my lawn mower and other commercial lawn care equipment as I am working.

Purchase work gloves here

To purchase my favorite work gloves, click on the product links below where you can find some of the best prices available through Amazon.com The gloves at the bottom of the list is a pair of anti-vibration work gloves. These are perfect for anyone in the lawn care business.

Start A Lawn Care Business

If you are interested in starting your own lawn care business, visit our website homepage at:  www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com


These are anti-vibration gloves and my favorite when operating lawn care equipment.

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How to hire lawn care and landscaping employees.

May 13

Posted by Lawn Care Business in employees, landscaping, lawn business strategies, unemployment | 2 Comments

As your lawn care and landscaping business continues to grow you may eventually decide to hire an employee to help with your business.

A common tendency of new-ish business owners hiring first employees is to try to make their business appear to be a smooth running organization where nothing ever goes wrong.  If you have been in the lawn care / landscaping business any number of years you know that most days are not exactly smooth running.  Employees coming aboard your business need to know what they are getting themselves into.  Likewise, you need to know a prospective employee is the right fit for your business model.
 
Before establishing your interview process take stock of your daily business proceedings.  Mimicking your daily atmosphere will weed out incompatible prospects. 
 
If you run a low-stress, laid-back, detail-oriented business, conduct your interviews with a similar energy level.  A good example of this type business is a landscape design business where careful and detailed measurements are integral to a project’s success.  Slow, thought provoking questions that require detailed and contemplative answers will make high energy A-type personalities jump out of their chairs during the calm, methodical interview.
 
Conversely, if your lawn care business is a hustle and bustle, go-go-go type atmosphere a prospective employee should be able to adapt to an unorthodox interview.  Making sure you follow all procedures for the safety of your interviewee, conduct an interview in your workshop while you are changing lawn mower blades.  Does your prospect understand your questions despite noise and distraction?  Without being prompted by you, does he or she hand you a can of penetrating lubricant or a cheat sleeve when the spindle nut is hard to loosen?  If your prospect can handle interview questions in a high pressure atmosphere you may have found your next employee.
 
If you properly mimic your daily business atmosphere during your interview process you will gain a better understanding of how an employee will react when faced with everyday job pressures.

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Tips for Starting a Lawn Care Business

Apr 29

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, how much to charge, lawn business strategies | No Comments

by: Start A Lawn Care Business

The lawn care business program available from our website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com is packed with information about how to operate a lawn care business.  Sometimes we are asked: “What is your number one piece of advice for someone brand new to the lawn care business?”

No individual tip can sum up all you need to know about running your own business, knowing how to price your services is a tremendously important lesson to learn about running your business.

Pricing is subjective in the lawn care industry.  No one can tell you exactly how much to price each job.  Therefore, it is very important for you to develop a strong pricing strategy. Know your costs, know how much your time is worth, and know what price the market will bear. If the market won’t bear the amount you need to cover your costs then don’t do the job. You can’t make money by losing money. DUH…right? You’d be surprised how many people don’t know that basic concept.  Companies go out-of-business everyday because they can’t cover costs.

Additionally, don’t let customers talk you down in price or intimidate you because you’re new to the business…they’ll do that, trust me. If a lawn care or landscaping job is worth $30 hold firm to that price. If the customer won’t pay, walk away and find someone who will. Don’t sacrifice your rightful profit just to get a lawn care customer.

Our lawn care business package has a huge section on how to bid and estimate lawn care and landscaping jobs.  Estimating calculator software is also included with the package.  The lawn care estimator will help you estimate your lawn care jobs.

You can purchase the lawn care business package, on sale right now, from:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Advertising your lawn care company.

Mar 26

Posted by Lawn Care Business in Lawn Care Advertising | 1 Comment

by: Start A Lawn Care Business

When is the right time to start advertising a lawn care business?

There is an easy answer to this question: If you own your own business, you should ALWAYS be advertising.

When landscaping companies think about starting to advertise their lawn care businesses, they are often referring to the first advertising campaign of the season which begins in February, March, or April depending on where you live in the country.

Companies that don’t start advertising until Spring do not realize that there is more to running a grounds maintenance company than just cutting grass.

From picking up fallen branches, leaf raking, snow removal, and gutter cleaning wintertime is full of business opportunities. We recommend advertising your lawn and landscape business 12 months out of the year.

If you keep your business name in front of your customer all year round, they will find jobs they need you to work all winter. One easy example of a customer that answered a wintertime advertisement of our is a lady who hired us to intall a mailbox and post on her property one December When February rolled around we called back to see if she had a lawn maintenance company for the coming summer. She asked for an estimate and hired us on the spot. It is never too early to start advertising.

Advertising should be an ongoing concern for all business owners. Our Lawn Care Business Package contains a complete Marketing Guidebook. To order the package (on sale right now) visit our website at:

www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Unemployment rate at 10%. Lawn care businesses to the rescue.

Mar 13

Posted by Lawn Care Business in Lawn Care Advertising, Real Estate Clients, unemployment | No Comments

By: Start A Lawn Care Business

If you are unemployed or underemployed, a lawn care business might help you get back on your feet.

The latest job estimates are in and the federal government tells us that the unemployment rate is over 10% in serveral states according to Bloomberg.

So, how do unemployment numbers affect the lawn care industry?

In addition to our other business duties, we consult new and existing lawn care business owners. Our lawn care business office receives calls everyday from people, just like you, who want to start their own lawn care companies.

We are often asked if the global recession is affecting lawn care businesses. The recession is affecting lawn care companies but not in the way you might think.

The preliminary attitude is since people don’t have jobs, they are not paying money to have their grass cut. From speaking with hundreds of lawn care businesses around the country, this is not our experience. There are challenges with this economy but with great challenge comes great opportunity. Quite simply, you just have to know where to look for customers.

We have identified many market segments that are being underserved by the lawn care industry. I want to share one of those market segments with you right now.

Everyone knows that the housing market is in a slump right now. The real estate market’s loss is your gain. Real estate agents are scrambling to move houses and their primary concern in attracting buyers is “curb appeal.”

Real estate companies will pay you good money and ongoing income to your landscaping company if you only know how to approach them the right way. They, as well as home owners, are interested in protecting their investments and moving properties out of their inventory.

Our lawn care business program shows you how to give real estate agents what they are willing to pay for by increasing curb appeal of their properties. The lawn care package also gives a great deal of information concerning pricing guidance and how much to charge for the work you do.

If you are unemployed or if you are just looking for extra income, a lawn care / landscaping business might be the perfect business to start to get you back on your feet.

You can learn more information on what we offer at: StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Commercial lawn mower selection for lawn care business owners.

Mar 5

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment | No Comments

As developers of the Start A Lawn Care Business we receive many questions this time of year concerning the purchase of commercial lawn equipment.

It amazes us how many landscaping companies purchase mowing equipment because they think they are getting a “good deal” only to find that a particular mower is the wrong fit for their company.

Retail Lawn Mowers vs Commercial Grass Cutting Equipment:
We understand the need to save money especially when you are starting a lawn care company. However, purchasing consumer lawn equipment as your primary mowing machine is a disservice to you and your customers. Commercial mowers offer far greater quality in deck strength, welds, and transmission.

The right style:
Zero Turn Mowers are the latest “must have” in the lawn care industry. We agree that ZTR’s and other zero radius mower are efficient for a wide range of lawn applications. However (and this is just one example) if you live in a hilly part of the country where your yards are not reasonably flat, there may be a better choice than a zero turn mower your lawn company.

The right size:
It happens every year; a purchase decision is made over a new commercial lawn mower, financing is finalized, paperwork is signed, then when the LCO comes to pick up the mower, he finds his trailer is too small. Or, even worse, he realizes many of his customers have fenced back yards and the new “36 inch” mower’s grass guard adds too much width and the mower won’t fit in the back gate.

Lawn mower equipment purchasing decisions can be easy if you know the proper questions to ask and what to examine on a new mower.

The Start A Lawn Care Business package has a large detailed section showing you how to choose the right lawn mower for your grass cutting business.

Find us on the web at: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Free local advertising through door knocking and bare knuckle marketing.

Feb 26

Posted by Lawn Care Business in Lawn Care Advertising | 2 Comments

Economic times are hard and sooner or later you are going to realize that Knuckle Marketing is your way out of the economic downturn.  Now, before you rush out and start punching people, Knuckle Marketing is not what it sounds like.

If you have been in the lawn care business any length of time, you’ve probably resorted to passing out flyers, putting up signs, and placing hangers on door knobs.  I believe those passive attempts at marketing will become less effective as the economy continues to slump.

Knuckle Marketing is an active form of advertising your business.  Knuckle Marketing doesn’t rely on the customer to react to a passive stimulus.  Gone are the days when a simple classified ad in the newspaper would bring a flood of customers to your door.  Gone are the days when word-of-mouth advertising would fill your roster for the summer.

Knuckle Marketing is the wave of the future. It’s the here.  It’s the now.

I’m sure you’re asking “what is Knuckle Marketing?”  I’m going to tell you.

But first, I’m going to say that Darwinian Economics is in full effect for small lawn care business entrepreneurs this year.  The weak will not survive.  The lazy will not survive.  The smart and the strong and the tenacious will survive and they will position themselves for explosive future growth.  The smart and the strong and the tenacious know the power of Knuckle Marketing.

Knuckle Marketing is simply using your knuckles to knock on peoples’ doors and speak to them face-to-face.  Knuckle Marketers spend the day knocking on doors and getting 9 out of 10 of them slammed in their face.  

When that 10th door opens and the owner agrees to let them cut the grass, Knuckle Marketers have their mowing equipment on hand ready to work immediately.  Once a price agreement is made the homeowner isn’t given a chance to backout by scheduling the work for a future date.

If you’re spending your time waiting for the phone to ring, look at your knuckles.  Are they bloody from knocking on doors? 
If they’re not, you’re not working hard enough.

Start A Lawn Care Business offers a comprehensive lawn care business program and software for new and existing lawn care business owners.
Visit the website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Lawn Care Business Opportunities for 2009

Feb 25

Posted by Lawn Care Business in Real Estate Clients | No Comments

There is no denying that 2009 will be a challenging year for lawn care business owners. However, never overlook the fact that challenges bring great opportunity.

Within the pages of the Lawn Care Business Program we point out many opportunities you can take advantage of as a LCO to make more money in your lawn care & landscaping business.  In today’s lawn care blog post, we want to focus on one particular aspect of the lawn care business even as other sectors of the economy suffer. 

A recent posting at the Intellectual Capital Report Real Estate Investing Guide emphasizes the importance of ‘curb appeal’ in the eyes of  real estate investors when attempting to sell properties. 

As their number 1 recommendation for increasing curb appeal they suggest mowing and edging the lawn every week:

“Mow the lawn – Mow and edge once a week during the summer and every other week during the winter (depending on climate). Pretend this is your own home (or better).”

Number two on their list is landscaping.  You have read this correctly. Lawn Care and Landscaping are the NUMBER 1 and NUMBER 2 most important considerations to increase curb appeal and ultimately sell houses and property.

This has really struck me as a very important concept for all lawn care professionals to understand.  Real Estate Agents, Investors, Banks, Mortgage Companies, and Individual House Flippers are all desperate to sell homes and property.  In this slumping economy, they are taking desperate and immediate measures.

All lawn care and landscaping business owners have tremendous opportunity this year.  It is time to pick up the phone and start calling banks and real estate investors.  Knock on the doors of mortgage companies and lawyers specializing in foreclosure.  Get your name on the list of your city’s public works department to let them know you are capable of tackling abandoned yards and properties.

In spite of the real estate market crash, 2009 might be the best year ever for your lawn care company.

If you are just starting in lawn care or you hope to increase your business this year, check out our Lawn Care Business program available at:

www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Lawn Care Business taxes make Springtime bittersweet.

Feb 25

Posted by Lawn Care Business in Lawn Care Business Taxes | No Comments

As April approaches, mixed emotions fill the minds of many lawn care business owners.

On one hand, the weather warms and grass sprouts in all your customer’s lawns.  Your phone rings with new customers requesting your services and old customers want spring cleanup jobs performed on their lawns.  Nurseries receive their first deliveries of the season and your world is full of color.

On the other hand, April 15 approaches and you hear rumblings from your CPA how much you will have to pay on the dreaded day.

Anyone who has read our Lawn Care Business program for start-up and newer lawn care businesses knows that we believe the services of a CPA are properly recommended for all business people.  A competent CPA will keep you on the right path with proper filing proceedures for your business.

However, we also know that that money (and time) are tight in the world of a lawn care business owner.  Time slips away and sometimes the upfront fees requested by CPAs are too much when money is tight.  Before you know it, April 15 is a few days away, all CPAs are busy with their clients, and you don’t have any money to pay for their services anyway.

If you find yourself in the above situation, Lawn Care Business Tax Software may well be the next best step for you to take in completing your tax filing in a timely, convienient, and cost effective manner.

The link below takes you to an Amazon.com page where you can download the latest tax software directly to your computer.  In many instances you can complete your taxes and electronically file your paperwork in one session at your computer.

Business Tax Software

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