Start A Lawn Care Business

Make money with a lawn care and landscaping business.

Posts Tagged lawn mowers

Spring Time Lawn Care Equipment Maintenance

Jan 22

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, maintenance | No Comments

Sunny skies and 50 degree temperatures.

I love days like these.  The sun is bright enough to warm your skin but the weather hasn’t turned enough to make the grass start growing.   These January days are perfect for doing pre-Spring lawn care equipment maintenance.  Let’s be honest here; at the end of last season we all had good intentions of performing proper winter maintenance on our equipment.  Sharpened blades, changed oil, fresh fuel filter, greased lubrication nibs, etc….it just didn’t happen, did it?  Instead, you threw a tarp over your lawn mower (without cleaning off the old decaying grass from under the deck lid) and forgot about it.

Now that most of last week’s snow has melted, it is a great time to pull the lawn mowers out from under the tarps and perform a few pre-spring maintenance procedures.  I read an article recently of a St. Louis lawn care company.  In the article they pointed out that quality lawn care equipment maintenance is one of the most important keys to running a successful lawn care company.  I believe that without proper equipment maintenance your company will eventually experience significant equipment downtime.  Significant equipment downtime can kill even the most successful lawn care business.

So, this winter, when you get the occasional warm sunny day, take advantage of the slow season to properly maintain your lawn care equipment.  Once spring rolls around, you won’t have the burden of getting your equipment ready while customers are lining up.

Side Note:  Are you trying to determine what equipment to buy for your lawn care business?  Our Lawn Care Business Equipment Buyers Guide that is included with our Lawn Care Business training course is a huge and beneficial resource for any lawn care business owner.  Guide teaches you how-to buy equipment based on your company’s needs.

This guide helps you purchase the right equipment and avoid buying mistakes that many lawn care business owners make.

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On our way home from GIE-Expo

Oct 30

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers | No Comments

by: Start A Lawn Care Business

If you read yesterday’s blog post you know that the staff of Start A Lawn Care Business took the weekend to drive to Louisville, KY to attend the annual Lawn Care Equipment expo.

We just want to give a huge thanks to the GIE-Expo staff, organizers, vendors, and participants.  We met lots of great people and learned a tremendous amount about the new lines of lawn care equipment product that will be on the market in 2011. 

If we did not get a chance to make it by your booth, please take a minute to drop us a line to make contact with us.  We are always interested in learning about the newest lawn care equipment products and passing the information onto the new (and old) lawn care business owners that visit our site daily.

If you are a vendor with new and interesting lawn care equipment products, we would love to demo your products for the coming lawn care season. 

Thanks again and we will see you next year:

Sincerely:

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

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Hauling Lawn Mowers Requires Special Caution

Apr 26

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

Hauling lawn mowers, either on a landscaping trailer, in the back of your truck, or in an enclosed van, requires special attention from the driver.

This spring, much of the country is getting some wet weather after several warm days. Once hot weather arrives, rain causes oils on the roadway to dispurse and become treacherous. Although always dangerous, lawn care vehicles can be particularly affected by slippery roads. The added weight of the equipment, or the chance of your load shifting, coupled with slick road conditions makes for an even more dangerous job transporting lawn mowers from one job to the next.

Hauling lawn mowers is dangerous on slick streets.

I was driving in the rain today and I wanted to take a couple minutes to remind you to use the upmost caution when driving with your lawn care equipment and be extra cautious when driving in the rain.

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Ferris Evolution Commercial Lawn Mower

Apr 25

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

Start A Lawn Care Business

The Ferris Industries Evolution Commercial Lawn Mower has been on the market for several months. I dropped by a Ferris dealer last week to get some updates on the mower and hear how the commercial guys like the mower for their mowing businesses.

Ferris Industries Evolution Commercial Lawn Mower

The seat reminds me of a crotch rocket motorcycle. Though I think the lawn mower would be fun to ride and the seat position give the operator a great over-deck view of his cutting area, I wonder about the comfort of riding such a mower for 6 hours per day. Operator fatigue is a huge issue in commercial lawn equipment selection. The Evolution’s operator compartment looks confining. Without the ability to shift body positions, is the evolution more fatiguing than other commercial mowing machines.

With the capability to mow 5.1 acres per hour, the Evolution is a formidable grass cutting machine. That mowing rate is impressive for most any landscaping company with serious grass to cut. I like the deck design and the operator’s positioning for a great view of the cutting deck and grass area.

If you have demoed this mower or if you own a Ferris Industries Evolution commercial lawn mower, I would like to hear your thought on the machine.

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Buy Clearance Commercial Lawn Mowers

Nov 23

Posted by Lawn Care Business in equipment, financing, lawn equipment, lawn mowers, winter | 2 Comments

2009 is dragging to a close and 2010 is barely a month away. 

Wait!!!  WHAT??? 

2010 is just a month away, I can’t believe we’re already at 2010.

Anyway, this year is no different than any other year in that lawn mower dealers are trying to blow out their old models in preparation for next years crop of commercial lawn mowers.

I see this every year.  If you have the storage capacity and can afford to let a new lawn mower sit idle until next mowing season, right now is a great time to get a good deal on a brand new lawn mower.  If you can’t afford to buy a lawn mower and let it sit all winter, dealers will often give you great deals on financing and start payments in the spring of next year.

2009 Lawn Mower Clearance

You can often save 10% to 20% on old model lawn mower.

As the grass growth is slowing down, take some time to visit your local commercial lawn mower dealers.  You may be able to make a deal on a perfectly new (though slightly outdated) commercial lawn mower.

If you find a lawn mower you want to buy, ask the deal to service it before the sale is complete.  Though oil and other fluids haven’t been used much, get the deal to replace all fluids, check all bolts and fasteners, lubricate all lubrication points, and replace the battery with a fresh one.  If your new lawn mower will be sitting for the rest of this winter, have your dealer add a recommended fuel stabilizer.

If you want to learn more about purchasing commercial lawn equipment for your lawn care business, our guidebook has an entire chapter dedicated to buying new and used equipment.

Check our website for complete information: 

Start A Lawn Care Business

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Lawn care mowing equipment. The importance of buying the right mower.

Mar 28

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn equipment, lawn mowers | No Comments

by: Lawn Care Business

Commercial lawn mower selection.

Getting a “good deal” on a lawn mower isn’t a good deal if you buy the wrong mower.

We consult with thousands of lawn care business owners. Every year, we see the same problem over and over. Many LCO’s purchase equipment based on price alone and they wind up buying the wrong equipment.

1) Know your lawns:

Are your lawns large or small, flat or hilly, rough or smooth? Knowing the types of lawns you will be mowing will help you with your lawn mower selection. There is no need to purchase a 72″ ZTR if the majority of your lawns are 1/4 acre lots with fenced back yards.

2) Know your budget:

If your company is starting small and you are only going to service 5 or 10 customers per week, it makes little sense to spend $12,000 on the latest 24hp, propane powered, floating deck finishing mower. A good rule of thumb is to spend 1 month’s projected revenue on your lawn mower. If you expect to service ten $30 lawns per week, you should budget $1200 for your lawn mower. For $1200, you can get a quality used commercial walkbehind that should allow you to mow for the entire season and save enough money to purchase better equipment next season as your business continues to grow.

3) Know your abilities:

We all have different physical abilities. You must feel comfortable with your lawn mower. If you have reduced hand strength, pick a mower with easy to use controls. If you are not physically able to walk for hours on end during the heat of the summer, choose a riding style mower such as a ZTR or a walkbehind mower with a sulky or velky.

Choosing the correct lawn care equipment will help your lawn care company be more efficient and profitable.

There is a large guidebook on equipment selection in our Lawn Care Business program available through our website: www.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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