Lawn Care Business Blog « Start A Lawn Care Business

Lawn Care in the Southwest doesn’t require green grass.

May 31

Posted by Lawn Care Business in natural lawn care, start a lawn care business, xeriscaping | No Comments

Lawn Care in the Southwest: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada

I was lucky enough to take a trip to the southwest during a recent week of downtime to study lawns in the southwest region of the United States.

Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas are beautiful areas of our country. Many parts of these states have enough rainfall to justify green lawns. However, within the large portions of the southwest deserts that receive very little rainfall green lawns are impossible or very difficult to start and maintain. During my recent trip through these areas, I was able to learn about Xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is the art of performing lawn care and landscaping, without the use of supplemental water, in very dry climates.

I have often wondered about the viability of starting a lawn care business in these areas. After my recent trip, I am more convinced than ever that starting a lawn care business in the American Southwest is a great idea. Homeowners and business owners in the southwest absolutely need the services of lawn care professionals.

I learned a few simple facts during my trip:

1) Even in the harshest desert climates in Arizona, West Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada, MANY homeowners and business owners invest time and money in irrigation so that they can have green grass in their lawns. Green lawns are especially common in larger communities where water is easy to come by.

2) Homes and businesses that do not have green lawns STILL need lawn care work performed. Desert areas are still full of plant life. Scrub brush grows in many desert areas. Scrub brush can be maintained and kept under control by raking the ground every few weeks. Raking can be performed with a hand rake over small areas or with a tractor (or a lawn mower, quad, or other vehicle) and a pull-behind rake or a simple “chain carpet.” Raking is very beneficial to homeowners and business owners because scrub brush makes a great hiding place for rattlesnakes. A well maintained yard reduces the chance that rattlesnakes will go unnoticed.

3) Properly maintained Xeriscaping dramatically enhances the beauty of a desert lawn. Homeowners and business owners are VERY willing to pay great money to lawn care professionals that can properly maintain a yard in a desert environment.

Using a quad to rake a southwest desert lawn.

If you live in any of the southwestern states and you have ever thought about starting your own lawn care business, I encourage you to take the steps necessary to start your business and begin building your lawn care customer list. Also, I am more convinced than ever that our lawn care business program will greatly help you. From starting your business, purchasing equipment, acquiring customers, and pricing your services correctly, our lawn care business program will give you the business tools and information needed to help you on your way. The estimating software will also be an enormous help to you when determining how much money to charge your customers for the lawn care services you provide.

To learn more about the “Start A Lawn Care Business” program, please visit our main home page:

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

View Larger Map

Tags: arizona, lawn care, nevada, new mexico, texas, xeriscaping

Southeast Storm Damage – Lawn Care Business Pricing

Apr 27

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

Storm damage cleanup means big money in the lawn care industry.

If you are anywhere within the Southeast portion of the United States this week, I am sure you have either experienced severe weather or seen it on television. The past several days have been intense with thunderstorms and very heavy winds (if not tornadoes). In fact, tornado sirens were sounding all over our area last night as storm after storm rolled through. If you or those you love have been affected by this severe weather, we hope you pulled through without property (or personal) damage.

It seems like we’ve written many times about severe weather in just the past few weeks.

Once again, as terrible as it is that many people have down trees and property damage, the potential for lawn care companies to make money right now seems to be greater than ever. Storm cleanup work is plentiful in storm damaged areas. If you have necessary tools, hauling capacity, man power, and a lawn care business already established in an area affected by the storms, you should consider adding storm cleanup services to your existing lawn care business services.

Do you know how to price your storm cleanup services?

One of the biggest problems new lawn care business owners face is the ability and confidence to price their lawn care services correctly. We fully understand how difficult it is to price your lawn care services when you are a new company owner. You don’t want to overbid your jobs and lose your customers. You also don’t want to underbid your services and risk losing money.

We faced this same problem when we started our lawn care company but we quickly developed pricing strategies so we could make the most money possible from all of our lawn care customers and still keep them happy with great services and terrific looking lawns.

If you want to learn how to properly price your lawn care services (including storm cleanup) we encourage you to visit our main webpage and learn about our Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Estimating Software Business Package. This program is a huge resource for new (and existing) lawn care business owners. It includes bidding tutorials and estimating software to help you start and operate a successful lawn care business.

Visit our homepage:

Make Money With Your Lawn Care Business
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: cleanup, landscaping, lawn care business, money, storm damage

Build A Lawn Care Client List for Free

Apr 22

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

Tall grass and trash in the weeds drive away customers.

Are you looking for new lawn care customers? An assertive disposition will help you add many new customers to your lawn care client list for free.

I took this picture a couple weeks ago and want to share a marketing strategy with you that I have used many times in the past.

Image is important in the retail world. Retail stores spend lots of money on signs and window displays all in an effort to lure customers into their stores. A bright banner or a well placed sign can be the difference in a car pulling into their parking lot versus driving by and shopping at another retail outlet.

Since image is important, can you imagine the customers that continue driving when they see tall grass and trash outside a store front? Though an untidy appearance will not deter all shoppers, each missed customer is a loss for the retail store.

These three stores are in a strip mall that appears to be on the decline. The grass is often long and there is often trash amongst the weeds. The property owner should be taking care of general upkeep but, for some reason, regular maintenance such as grass cutting is not being taken care of regularly. I have written before about assertive marketing for your lawn care business and here is how to do it when you see that a retail property owner is not taking care of his responsibilities.

You must realize that the retail store managers likely do not have the responsibility of grass maintenance. Grass cutting is normally the property owners responsibility. Still, if the grass is not cut, the retail stores’ sales suffer and the managers might be very willing to pay to have the grass cut. Most retail managers have small discretionary funds at their disposal.

After you have identified a property such as what is in the picture, go into the store with the smallest store in the shopping plaza (in this case H&R Block). Explain to the manager that you have your grass cutting equipment with you and you can mow the grass immediately. Tell him that you are aware that the property manager should be taking care of this but you are willing to do a one-time job so it looks nice for their customers. The manager of the first store (the smallest store) will probably tell you “no, let the bigger store pay for the grass cutting, they have more money.” If you are met with this rejection ask the manager if he is willing to pay $40 if the bigger stores agrees to pay the rest. After all, one extra tax return (H&R Block) will pay for the work.

After the first store agrees, go to the second smallest store (Family Dollar) and tell the manager that the other store has agreed to pay 1/3 of the fee. That manager will likely agree to pay since the first store has already agreed. The final and largest store (Food Lion) will easily be brought on board after you explain that there are a few grocery carts in the high weeds that you will pull out and bring back to the store.

Peer pressure (among the retail managers) and the retail managers’ fear of losing customers are great bargaining tools to get this retail plaza on your client list. After you perform the work and visit each manager to collect your pay, ask him or her to call the property manager and recommend your lawn care service. With a little luck and additional assertive marketing, you will be able to add this shopping center to your list of weekly clients.

Do you want to learn more assertive marketing techniques for your lawn care company?

Assertive Marketing is a very important tool to help you make great money with your lawn care business. Are you struggling finding lawn care clients? Are you struggling learning how to price your lawn care services effectively? You will benefit from our lawn care business guidebook, software, and estimating business package.

This Lawn Care Business package teaches you practically everything you need to know to operate a successful and profitable lawn care business. The program is on sale right now. Please visit our lawn care homepage for complete details and ordering information.

Get More Lawn Care Customers
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: lawn care clients, lawn care marketing

2011 Hurricane Weather Forecast – Preparing your lawn care company.

Apr 18

Posted by Lawn Care Business in environment, storm cleanup | No Comments

Storm Cleanup Services - Good money for your lawn care business.

Lawn care company owners in states affected by Hurricanes have reason to check out the latest Hurricane forecast for 2011. Although nobody wants to see other people’s property damaged by severe weather, property owners will be thankful that your company is able to provide storm cleanup services after a severe weather event.

The hurricane forecast calls for increased weather activity this year. Keeping with tradition, the World Meteorological Organization has released a list of names that will be used for upcoming Hurricanes.

Arlene (unused)
Bret (unused)
Cindy (unused)
Don (unused)
Emily (unused)
Franklin (unused)
Gert (unused)
Harvey (unused)
Irene (unused)
Jose (unused)
Katia (unused)
Lee (unused)
Maria (unused)
Nate (unused)
Ophelia (unused)
Philippe (unused)
Rina (unused)
Sean (unused)
Tammy (unused)
Vince (unused)
Whitney (unused)

Our Lawn Care Business guidebook is a great resource to help you learn how to price your storm cleanup services. For more information, visit our lawn care website home page:

Learn how to price your storm cleanup lawn care services:
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: hurricanes, lawn care, pricing, storm cleanup

Landscaping Runoff Barrier & Proper Erosion Control

Apr 16

Posted by Lawn Care Business in environment, landscaping, lawn care pollution | No Comments

Possible Landscaping Stormwater Runoff Violation

Your lawn care and landscaping company can be fined for improper barrier control of your landscaping jobs.

We received many inches of rain last week and I came across this improperly performed landscaping job. As you can see from the pictures, rain water is cascading down a hillside and mud is being washed into the street and into a stormwater drain.

I am not an expert on stormwater laws, but the company who performed this job is possibly in violation of a number of ordinances which address stormwater runoff, landscaping debris (including mud and gravel) deposited onto a city street, and muddy runoff into a stormwater drain.

A number of easy modifications to this landscaping job would have prevented this problem.

1) Heavy rain was forecast for the same day this 1-day job was to be completed. The company could have rescheduled this work until after the heavy rains.
2) A runoff barrier at the top of the landscaped area would have prevented water from gushing through the recently disturbed soil.
3) Though some straw was scattered above the ground, a heavier straw layer would have reduced the runoff problem.
4) A runoff barrier at the bottom of the landscaping area would have prevented mud from entering the roadway.
5) Bales of straw placed around the storm water drain would have prevented mud from entering the storm water system.

Landscaping runoff enters a stormwater drain.

Not only did this company’s workers cause a big mess on the roadway, they also left their customer with improper landscaping. There are gullies in the ground where storm water washed through, the plants have bare roots exposed, and grass seed has been washed away.

Improper landscaping erosion control.

A little bit of planning on this landscaping company’s part would have prevented a big and costly headache of possible storm water runoff violations. Stormwater violations are becoming increasingly scrutinized and fines are often very large.

Do you want to learn how to properly operate a lawn care and landscaping business?

We have developed a lawn care business toolkit including lawn care business manuals, an excellent software toolkit, and lawn care estimating calculators. To learn more about the program, visit our main lawn care business website:

How to start and operate a successful lawn care and landscaping business.
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: erosion control, landscaping, storm water violations

Commercial Lawn Mowers

Apr 15

Posted by Lawn Care Business in commercial lawn mowers | No Comments

New Commercial Lawn Mower at a trade show we visited last year.

Should I buy a Commercial Lawn Mower for my Lawn Care Business?

We are often asked about the quality difference of Commercial Lawn Mowers vs. Residential Quality Lawn Mowers. As a new lawn care business owner you are likely very price conscious when it comes to large equipment purchases. If you are just starting with your lawn care business this year, you probably don’t have $10,000 under your mattress just waiting to be spent on a new lawn mower. Even if you do have the financial ability to purchase a commercial quality lawn mower, you might not yet have enough lawn care customers to justify such a purchase.

If you have read the opening page to our Lawn Care Business Training Course, you have read that we started our lawn care business with a 22″ push lawn mower purchased from Kmart. With our very humble beginnings, we understand the benefits of starting small and not spending thousands of dollars on lawn mowers before you have the financial base and customer roster to justify the purchase.

If you are just starting your lawn care business you probably need guidance with the purchase of your lawn equipment. Our lawn care business guidebook and software program have an excellent section that teaches you what equipment to buy, whether you should buy commercial or residential quality, and how to purchase used lawn care equipment for very little money.

To learn more about the business program, please visit our main lawn care homepage:

How to buy commercial lawn mowers
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: commercial lawn mowers

Start A Lawn Care Business – April, 2011

Apr 8

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

Start A Lawn Care Business - April, 2011

Start Your Own Lawn Care and Landscaping Business

Though springtime is already underway, right now is a perfect time to get started with your own lawn care business. If you have ever thought about making money during the summertime mowing grass and doing small landscaping work for your lawn care customers, you should not delay starting your business.

April is the time that many homeowners and business owners hire a lawn care person for the upcoming mowing season. The grass is already growing and if you don’t get customers during the next several weeks, you will miss out on the rush of customers looking for lawn care professionals.

Proper price estimation is one of the main problems you will encounter when you are acquiring lawn care customers. Many new guys do not know how much money to charge when they are giving estimates. Lots of lawn care people think the only way to attract customers is to underbid (lowball) the other guys cutting grass. Lowballing is a quick way to lose money.

Instead of lowballing, we teach you how to attract high quality lawn care customers and charge fees that will help you make the best money possible doing lawn care and cutting yards.

If you are starting your lawn care business this year, or if you are hoping to expand your existing lawn care business, proper pricing is an obstacle you need to overcome. By getting good quality customers right now and charging the money you should be making you can dramatically increase your profit potential for the rest of the year.

Don’t lowball. Learn how to charge the right amount of money with our bidding tutorial and lawn care business estimating software. We have it on sale for the rest of the month for a price low enough that it should pay for itself in 1 or 2 lawns.

For more information, visit our main website homepage:

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

Tags: estimating, landscaping, lawn care business, making money cutting grass

Lawn Care Estimating – The Driveway Moment.

Apr 5

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, lawn mowers, Uncategorized | No Comments

Lawn Care Estimating - The Driveway Moment

What do you think is the most important part of estimating lawn care jobs?

When I am consulting with new lawn care business owners I spend lots of time discussing the basics of giving proper lawn care business bids. Understanding the total costs of each particular job is paramount to knowing how much money to bid. Basic knowledge of your overhead is important as is knowing local pricing (what the market will bear). Our Lawn Care Business Guidebook contains an excellent bidding tutorial which teaches you the basic principles (as well as the finer points) of lawn care estimating.

All of this information is helpful to you in determining a basic price and the Lawn Care Estimating Calculator Software is a very handy business tool. However, all these “textbook estimating examples and calculators” don’t do you any good if you can’t actually SELL your services to your customers.

Let’s face it, presentation is highly important when you are giving lawn care estimates. If customers don’t believe you will do a good job, they will pass over your estimates and choose other lawn care companies. If you are not confident in your bids, customers will sense your weakness and will get you to lower your prices. If you are not prepared to offer additional services to your customers, you will miss crucial upsell opportunities. All of these things cost you money.

When giving lawn care estimates, I have always taken a couple of moments to sit in the driveway before exiting my truck. These “Driveway Moments” allow me time to prepare myself for each sales call. During this time I scan the house & the yard (and even the cars in the driveway) looking for clues that give me an indication of the price I can get for each job. I also look for additional services to offer the customer. No matter what the customer requests, I try to have 3 or 4 addtional services that the customer might need. Great presentation, understanding of your customers’ needs, and proper upselling can make your lawn care business thousands of dollars of additional income during the course of a year.

The driveway moment also gives me an opportunity to put myself in a proper frame of mind (psych myself up). It allows me to forget about that guy who cut me off in traffic as I was leaving my last lawn care job. It allows me to convince myself that I will not be talked down on my price. It allows me to approach the estimate with enthusiasm, confidence, and a positive attitude.

If you are new to the lawn care business and you feel that you don’t do a good enough job in presenting your lawn care estimates, give yourself a Driveway Moment before knocking on the door of your next potential customer. I have given thousands of estimates over the years and I still believe that the Driveway Moment is one of the most important parts of estimating lawn care jobs.

If you are a new lawn care business owner and you need help in your estimating process, our Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Software package is what you need to help you give better estimates. To learn more about this HUGE lawn care business guidebook, business toolkit, and estimating software, please visit our main webpage:

How To Estimate A Lawn Mowing Job
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: lawn care estimating

No-Mow Zones Create Bird Habitats

Mar 31

Posted by Lawn Care Business in natural lawn care | No Comments

During March and April much of the country is in the middle of bird mating season. After birds lay their eggs, they go through an incubation period of several weeks after which parents need several weeks to feed and raise their fledglings. Mid-March through August is prime bird mating (and fledgling raising) months.

Setting aside “no-mow” areas in your customers’ lawns encourages native birds to thrive in your area. No-Mow areas do not have to be large and they needent detract from the aesthetic value of the lawns you mow. The size of a no-mow zone will depend on the size of the lawn and the extent to which your customer is willing to dedicated as a natural area.

Within a typical subdivision style residential lawn, a simple strip 5 feet to 10 feet wide at the back of a customer’s property allows a minimal amount of space for Killdeer and other ground nesting birds to prepare their nests and raise their young. Bigger lawns allow for larger no-mow zones.

Though no-mow zones require a minimal amount of care, they are not necessarily completely unkempt. These area can be naturally landscaped with items such as birdbaths and bird feeders.

For more information on the addition of natural “no-mow” zones to your lawn care customers yards, see the document:

Helping Birds At Home
Backyard Habitat for Birds

Tags: backyard birds, lawn care customers, natural areas, no-mow zones

Stolen Lawn Care Equipment Trailer

Mar 25

Posted by Lawn Care Business in enclosed trailer, lawn care safety, lawn equipment, start a lawn care business | No Comments

Lawn Care Trailer Wheel Locks

There was an article this morning of a lawn care business owner whose equipment trailer was stolen from his property. The thieves hack-sawed a lock away from the hitch, attached the trailer to their own vehicle, and drove away in the middle of the night. Luckily, this lawn care business owner had unloaded his equipment earlier in the evening. He lost his trailer but his lawn mowers and weedeaters are safe.

Unfortunately, thieves target lawn care business owners during the spring time.

In addition to hitch locks (like the guy mentioned above had) other deterent-locks can be used on your trailer. The picture shows you two forms of wheel locks that can deter people trying to steal your trailer and your lawn care equipment when it is stored overnight or during a lengthy lawn care or landscaping job.

Be cautious out there and be ever vigilant in securing your trailer and lawn care equipment.

Start A Lawn Care Business

Make money with a lawn care and landscaping business.