Archive for category customers

What can your Lawn Care Business learn from Cinco de Mayo?

May 5

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, competition, customers, lawn business strategies | 3 Comments

Your lawn care business can learn a lesson from today’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican defeat of a larger French army on May 5, 1862 at the Battle of Puebla.

New lawn care businesses are often intimidated by larger, well-established landscaping companies. Relegated to small and low-profit customers, new lawn care business owners feel that without the proper equipment and experience they are unable to target large and highly profitable clients. Being pragmatic about equipment capacity and personal ability is a good for a new lawn care business owner. However, abandoning hope of getting the best lawn care customers in town at the very start of a new lawn care & landscaping business is a big mistake.

Being unable (or unwilling) to bid on the best accounts will trap you into forever cutting grass for those lousy customers who pay the minimum amount for their lawn care work.

We believe in knowledgeably and aggressively marketing a lawn care business. Acquiring the best lawn care customers in town is the only way you will make the money you deserve in this business. If you are tired of spending all your time mowing those low paying customers while other lawn care companies are making great money mowing mowing highly profitable clients, just remember Cinco de Mayo and the small Mexican Army’s ability to defeat a much larger competitor.

Do you want to learn how to be competitive on the best lawn care jobs in town. Take a look at our Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Estimating package http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: cinco de mayo, competition, lawn care, money, starting

What to do for your Lawn Care Business in April, 2010

Apr 1

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, environment, lawn business strategies, Lawn Care Advertising, Lawn Care Business Taxes, start a lawn care business, taxes | 1 Comment

This video was made on April 1, 2010.

Right now is a great time to get started with your lawn care business if you haven’t gotten started already. If you have already started and you are not getting the customers you need or making the money you want to make then right now is a great time to ramp up your business. April is not too late to get started. There are still lots and lots of customers who haven’t signed up for lawn care service this year. Likewise, there are many business contracts that still haven’t been bid. So, you still have time to get brand new customers on you roster.

Spring is already getting hot. Our temperatures are forecast to be over 80 degrees this coming weekend. Some of the northern states are still cool but Spring is here and the weather is really going to warm up over the next several weeks. Summer is right around the corner.

April 4, 2010 is Easter. You can pound the pavement this weekend to drum up customers who want their lawns tidied up so they will look nice for family Easter celebrations. Since it is a 3-day weekend, many of your potential customers will be working in their lawns. They will need help and if you can visit them at the right time they may hire you to perform general spring cleanup jobs and grass cutting services.

Clover is an issue this time of year. For lawn care companies with applicator’s licenses you might not be too late to apply post-emergent selective herbicide. A better alternative is to select a taller cutting height for your lawn mower blades. A taller, thicker stand of grass will shade out clover reducing the need for chemical application.

April 15, 2010 is tax day. If you haven’t done your taxes yet, get started early. Organize last years receipts and get your tax forms completed early. Like it or not we are obligated to pay our fair share of taxes. If you have doubts about doing your own taxes, consider hiring a CPA. A qualified CPA who understands small business needs can be invaluable to you.

Wild Garlic or Wild Onion are sprouting in yards this month. Take a few minutes to call your customers to mention about the wild garlic that is sprouting in their lawn. Cutting it down will make their grass look so much better.

April 22, 2010 is Earth Day Your customers are becoming increasingly conscious about taking care of their environment. I believe the lawn care industry should be sensitive to the fact that we should not pollute our planet. There are ways to operate an environmentally conscious lawn care company. Many of our readers and viewers of our blog run their lawn care companies with an environmental slant to their businesses. Propane lawn equipment is becoming increasingly popular. Human powered reel mowers are also becoming the norm again in many communities with very small lawns. Operate an environmentally company and let your customers know how you are being aware in 2010.

Spring Stick Cleanup. April is a month when many pine cones and pine twigs have fallen in lawns across the country. Even if your customers don’t need their grass cut yet, they still need their lawns picked up. On an environmental note, you don’t have to haul all these sticks away or burn them or leave them for the garbage men. Offer your customers the opportunity to have a “natural area” in their lawns. Piling the brush in an unused area give habitat to the birds and other wildlife. It is great fun to watch Cardinals and Robins playing in the twigs. Also, many birds use this material to build their nests. A natural area is a great way to save your customers money while helping their environment.

Once again, if you are trying to Start A Lawn Care Business this year or if you currently own a lawn care business that just isn’t bringing in the money it should, visit our website. We have developed a great lawn care business package that will help you with your lawn care business.

www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: 2010, april, earthday, easter, how to make money with lawn care, lawn care, lawn mowing, lawn mowing business, make money, springtime, taxes

I didn't get anything done today in my Lawn Care Business.

Mar 27

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, equipment, lawn business strategies, start a lawn care business, Uncategorized | No Comments

Have you ever felt that way?

I think every lawn care business owner has the occasional day when you put the equipment away at the end of the day only to realize that you basically accomplished nothing. It’s disheartening when you feel like you’re wasting time and losing money. Spinning your wheels is especially difficult for newer lawn care business owners. Keep your head up though. The main point to remember early in the game is that you are gaining experience each day you work on your business.

What has kept you from getting work done today?

If we put our minds to it, we could possibly list 100 different things that keep you from getting work done. Instead of making a list so long, we’re going to hone it down to 3 main reasons for a new lawn care business owner not accomplishing anything during a work day.

1) No Lawn Care Customers – Most new lawn care business owners have days where there are no customers lined up. Don’t equate having no customers with having nothing to do. Stop sitting around moping in front of the computer waiting for your phone to ring. The next time you have no customers scheduled, get up early, load your equipment in your vehicle, and set out with the same frame of mind as you would if you had 10 customers. Go to the coffee shop early. Make sure people know you’re the owner of the equipment. If you don’t get bites by the time you’re finished with your coffee, let everyone know that you can’t hang around because you have a busy day (leave a few business cards). Head over to Lowe’s or Home Depot (or the nearest hardware store) and look at weedeater. When the guy comes over to ask if you need help, ask some questions about the best commercial weedeater they sell. Tell him you need it for your lawn care business and that you would love him to refer some new customers his way (hand him a business card). As the day wears on, think of other places you can stop where people congregate who might need your services. Hand out your business card and make contacts all day long. When you get home, even if you didn’t unload your equipment one single time, don’t be discouraged that you didn’t get anything done. You made great contact and pretty soon those contacts will turn into customers.

2) Lawn Care Equipment Failure – This is probably more disheartening than having no customers. Losing money is worse, to many people, than not making money. When all the people at the coffee shop (see above) are ringing your phone off the hook wanting their lawns done, it will madden you if your lawn care equipment is in the shop. Equipment failures happen. This is just a fact of life. There are a couple keys to reducing your downtime due to equipment failure: buy good commercial equipment and maintain that equipment properly. Change oil regularly, lubricate according to schedule, change filters, keep your outer stage air filter clean, sharpen your blades, and keep your belts in check.

3) Time Management of your Lawn Care Work Habits – Strategic planning is vital to increasing your efficiency as a lawn care business owner. Proper route planning is one of the biggest drains on a lawn care business owner’s time. After route planning, improper equipment selection and use of that equipment causes many lawn care businesses to lose the time value in their business. Knowing how reduce these time sappers will allow you work more efficiently an feel like you’ve actually accomplished something during your day.

If you have recently started your own lawn care business and you frequently feel that your just not accomplishing much in your business, we invite you to take a look at our main website. We have developed a great business package specifically designed for new lawn care business owners. Within the business guidebooks there is a tremendous amount of information that will help you attract new customers, select and maintain the proper equipment, and manage your time to work more efficiently and make more money per hour worked.

You can read more about us and check out the program at:

Start A Lawn Care Business www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: customers, efficiency, equipment, lawn care business, money, startup, time management

Today is the first day of spring.

Mar 20

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, lawn business strategies, Lawn Care Advertising, start a lawn care business | No Comments

Start A Lawn Care Business

Today is the first day of spring. For astronomers, the vernal equinox is the day in the earth’s orbit around the sun when the sun appears to creep back over the equator into the northern hemisphere. For lawn care companies, the first day of spring means warmer weather, vigorous grass growth, and new lawn care customers.

I took a drive through a few local neighborhoods at the crack of dawn this morning. The sunrise was magnificient. Once the weather warms, I like to get an early start. It makes me feel like I have a jump on the rest of the world. Already, I saw several homeowners working their yards and tending their gardens. As early as it was, they had a jump on me.

If you are starting your own lawn care company this year or if you are hoping to expand a lawn care business you owned last year, you can still get an early start in acquiring new customers and lawn care contracts. Right now is the PRIME time of year to go after new customers. Homeowners and business owners want their yards to look great for sping. By self-promoting your business this week, you should be able to fill a few holes in your schedule. Customers are motivated to hire competent lawn care people this time of year.

Getting customers early means you will have them all year long and you will be able to upsell them on many services. Spring cleanup is one of the first add on services you can sell to your customers. Even if your customers’ lawns are in decent shape from last year, you can sell them on a “Spring Cleanup Special.” Spend extra time raking leaves out of their flowerbeds, pickup fallen twigs and limbs, and offer to remulch flower and shrub beds.

If you’re like most lawn care companies, the extra income is needed in the spring after such a long winter. Spring cleanup is only one of the many add ons you can offer.

Tags: business, customers, grass, lawn care, money, spring, vernal equinox

Lawn Care Business Scheduling Verification with Foursquare

Mar 18

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, gutter cleaning, lawn business strategies | 1 Comment

Whether you are a small one-man (or woman) lawn care operation or a large multi-crew lawn care company, you already know the importance of setting a schedule and staying to that schedule. Ordinarily, a lawn care company verified their schedule by keeping a day planner and checking off their lawn care customers as the service was completed.

In 2005, we began advocating the use of GPS technology. Quite simply, the tracks from a GPS serve as proof that you were at a client’s property. The track data from a GPS also tells you the time period you were at each property. By analyzing the track data you can make your lawn care company run more efficiently. You can also make some interesting discoveries such as customers that warrant a price increases based on the time it takes to finish.

I am still a believer in tracking your progress through your work day with the use of GPS technology. However, in recent weeks the use of GPS enabled phones has taken a HUGE leap forward. There is a new service called Foursquare.com. Foursquare is an app that you download to your GPS enabled phone. They have apps for Iphone, Droid, Blackberry, and a host of other mobile devices. Though I have just signed up for their service a few days ago, I am so excited about this new GPS-related service that I am going to tell you about it before I’ve even had a chance to review it fully.

Foursquare allows users to “Check In” when they have reached a destination. The user checks in on his phone using the app. Once the user checks in, a notification is sent to the user’s Facebook account or Twitter feed.

Here’s how I envision Foursquare working for lawn care companies. Let’s say you have 10 yards to do on Monday. When leaving first think in the morning you can send a message saying “leaving.” Later, when you arrive at your first client’s yard, you can check in and type in “arrived at Mrs. Smiths.” When your through with Mrs. Smith’s yard you can type in “leaving Smith’s.” When you arrive at your second yard, type in “arrived at Mr. Lewis (wants gutters cleaned, also).”

Now, there are two great things about this service.

1) When you get home, you have a visual reference of your timeline through out the day. You know when you arrived at each clients house and how long it their work took you to perform.

2) If you run lawn care crews, you can check your crews Twitter feed and know exactly where they are in their scheduling. If Ms. Smith calls and wants to know what time your crew will be at her house, you can tell her that she is next on the list and the crew started the last yard 15 minutes ago and should be at her house within the next 30 minutes.

The possibilities are tremendous for this technology.

As good as Foursquare is, they are not proclaiming to be a business application. They have a gaming scheme built into their app where you can win points visiting resturaunts. Irrespective of their initial motives, I belive the business community will quickly latch onto this app.

I’ve not put this into practical application yet so I am sure you need to read the disclaimers from the Foursquare company regarding such things as privacy issues and other concerns. Also, I know Foursquare has some competitors.

If you have tried Foursquare or any of their competitors, please tell me what your experience has been. Do you find it cumbersome to use? Does it post correctly to your Twitter feed? Is privacy a concern (keeping your Twitter feed private and not keeping your schedule and your clients private and not available to the Foursquare audience)?

As always, if you are interested in growing your lawn care business and using technology in the lawn care business to make money mowing grass and doing landscaping, we have developed a great business package that will help you Start (or Expand) your lawn care business this year.

Check us out on our main webpage: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: app, blackberry, crews, droid, foursquare, gutter cleaning, iphone, lawn care business, money, scheduling

How To Properly Name Your Lawn Care Business

Feb 23

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

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.

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

Tags: business name, customers, lawn care, professionalism, psychology

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 Flyers On Car Windshields

Feb 9

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, lawn business strategies, Lawn Care Advertising | No Comments

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.

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

Tags: advertising, business, flyers, lawn care, windshields

A Lawn Care Owner's Epiphany

Jan 4

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

As a new lawn care business owner back in 1992, I remember the day when things started to change for my lawn care business.

My partner and I had been mowing residential lawns for almost 6 months. We were continuously picking up customers and were beginning to make decent money. However, we just weren’t growing the business to the extent I knew we were capable.

An epiphany happened to me that first summer. As I mowed a customer’s lawn, I saw two Navy fighter jets fly overhead. They were practicing for an upcoming air show and were flying low and fast. Even through my hearing protection the noise of their engines made me jump. I stopped my work long enough to watch them make several passes overhead. It was an impressive sight.

For the rest of the day, two words kept going through my mind; performance and efficiency.

Jet fighters scream performance. It is thrilling to watch a jet blaze by at 600 mph 2,000 feet above the ground. This is performance at its utmost. Fighter pilots’ lives depend on their jets.

Fighter pilots also demonstrate the ultimate in efficiency. Every move must be accounted for and no move is wasted. If a pilot needs to steer 15 degrees to the right, he moves his controls only enough to make the turn…no more, no less.

I used these ideas to analyze my lawn care jobs. I quickly discovered that I was being tremendously inefficient in my business. My route planning was inefficient and my mowing patterns on customer’s lawns was inefficient. I was wasting effort at every level of my business and the reasons behind my inability to grow my business became clear to me.

Additionally, I took serious looks at my equipment. It did not scream performance the way a fighter jet screams performance. We started our lawn care business on a shoestring budget. Because of this budget, we purchased inexpensive, slow, non-powerful equipment because it was all we could afford. After taking hard looks at my budget and my equipment, I took swift action of a systematic upgrade of all equipment.

By the end of that first year, I was operating an efficient lawn care business. My routes were well planned. My mowing patterns were designed in such a way that no move was wasted. And, my lawn equipment? Yes, my lawn equipment was hard-core commercial equipment that screamed “PERFORMANCE.”

If you are struggling with your lawn care business because of similar issues that plagued my first year then you should take a look at our Lawn Care Business strategy guidebooks.

We developed this program after 17 years in the business to help newbies and those that need help getting more customers and making more money.

As indicated above, we spend considerable time in the program helping you learn how to be more efficient with your lawn care business. Route planning and mowing patterns are only two of the concepts we discuss.

We also show you which type of equipment to buy. Purchasing the wrong equipment can hobble your business and prevent you from growing as you should. With our guidance, you will be able to purchase mowers that will propel you in your business and scream performance.

The lawn care business strategy guidebook and software program is available from our main website. www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: business, efficient, equipment, lawn care, money, performance

Start A Lawn Care Business

Make money with a lawn care and landscaping business.

Archive for category customers

What can your Lawn Care Business learn from Cinco de Mayo?

What to do for your Lawn Care Business in April, 2010

I didn't get anything done today in my Lawn Care Business.

Today is the first day of spring.

Lawn Care Business Scheduling Verification with Foursquare

More lawn mower racing videos.

How To Properly Name Your Lawn Care Business

60 degrees in February.

Lawn Care Flyers On Car Windshields

A Lawn Care Owner's Epiphany

Leaf Raking Business for Money

How to Start A Lawn Care Business

Lawn Care Articles

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