Start A Lawn Care Business

Make money with a lawn care and landscaping business.

Posts Tagged money

Lawn Care Estimates – Get Your Pricing Right

Sep 30

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

Mowing Grass for Minimum Wage - Make More Money

Mowing Grass for Minimum Wage? Make More Money.

Do you own a lawn care business? Are you undercharging for your lawn care services?

I am continually surprised at the number of new business owners who start doing lawn care and have absolutely no idea how much money to charge for the services they provide. Pricing is a tricky subject and if you are operating a lawn care business without a proper understanding of the estimating process, you are likely going to lose thousands of dollars. We received a comment recently in response to one of our free videos that we have on YouTube.

The commentor wrote:

I get paid $25 for a house with a huge hill that takes me 2 hours to mow. It takes me 30 minutes to get there and I have to mow around a bunch of stuff and trim alot and use my own gas.

I must point out that I do not know anything about this person’s business or why he is charging this price. However, on the surface, it seems to me that he is VASTLY undercharging for his lawn care services. According to his comment he is working for 2 hours and driving for 1 hour round trip. Additionally, he is providing his own gasoline and, I assume, using his own lawn mowing equipment. For his time, he is only getting paid $8.33 per hour. Subtract his gasoline and equipment expense and he is probably making less than minimum wage for this lawn care job.

YIKES!!!!

If you own a lawn care business you MUST get your pricing right. There is very little point in setting prices so low that you are working for close to minimum wage when, with a quick lesson in proper price estimation, you can learn how to make great money in your lawn care business.

Our lawn care business program is dedicated to teaching you proper strategies in lawn care estimation. If you are tired of mowing grass for less money than you should, visit our main website and consider purchasing our lawn care business strategy guidebook and estimating sofware.





Visit the link below:

Lawn Care Estimating Software
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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The Last Few Lawn Mowing Cycles Of The Year

Sep 19

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

Lawn Mowing End of Season

Lawn Mowing End of Season Mowing Cycles

The first half of September has passed us by and we are now into the last days of summer.  September 23, 2011 marks the official end of summer and the beginning of Fall.

For much of the country, there are still a few more mowing cycles to perform for your customers.  Of course, our friends in Florida will be mowing and mowing long after our friends in Minnesota (and our readers in Canada) are covered in snow.  Still, if you want to make money in lawn care (no matter where you are located in the country) you still have a few months to get rolling with your own lawn care business.

For the rest of you in the more temperate sections of the country, make the most of these last few mowing cycles.  Take extra time to mow well and trim to perfection.  Your customers will truly remember & appreciate your extra attention to their lawns right now.  They will be more likely to call you back in the springtime if you leave them with great looking lawns as the mowing season winds down.

Of course, if you want to run your business year-round and make money all 12 months, we have included a GREAT “guide to running your business through the winter months” in our lawn care business training guidebook.  You will be surprised how easy it is to sell customers add-on services through the colder months.  Providing lawn care and non-lawn care services during the winter months is very important.  Not only does it allow you to make additional money during the slower months but it also means you will keep your customers active and they will be raring to go once springtime rolls around again.

For more information about our business package, check out our main website.  The Lawn Care Business Training Package is on sale right now through the website:

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

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The Last Day of August – Prepare for leaf raking season.

Aug 31

Posted by Lawn Care Business in leaf raking, money, start a lawn care business | No Comments

In a few more hours we will bid farewell to August 2011.

While it has been a great summer for the lawn mowing industry, I am not sad to say goodbye to those long, hot, dusty August days.  The temperatures are still high but I can feel a break in the intensity of  the hot days.  This lowered intensity tells me Autumn is right around the corner and fall leaf raking is not far behind.

We are in the Southeast section of the United States.  Those of you in the northern states are already seeing the beginnings of fall foliage. Money might not GROW on trees but it sure will be FALLING from trees during the next three months.

Don’t miss out on the leaf raking season.  Even if you haven’t started your lawn care business yet, there is still plenty of time to get your business started (or ramp up your existing business) and make a ton of money performing leaf cleanup jobs.

Learn leaf raking strategies and estimating procedures in our lawn care business program available through our main website:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

 

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Leaf Raking & Landscaping Gloves – Protect your hands.

Aug 26

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

Landscaping Gloves

Landscaping Gloves

As August days draw shorter and my shadow across the landscape grows longer, I am reminded that leaf raking season is upon us once again.

Ah, the crisp crunch of dried leaves underfoot.

Ah, the sight of a growing bank account as grateful customers pay great money to have their yards raked and mulched week after week.

Ouch, the pain of the blisters from leaf rakes.

Believe me, I know the pain.  No matter how rough and strong and callused your hands become during the mowing season, a leaf rake always has a way of finding that one tender spot.  After a few hours of raking, even the roughest hands succumb to painful blisters caused by heavy leaf work.  In addition to leaf rakes, hands are vulnerable to sharp sticks and biting insects that lurk in piles of leaves.

I just want to give you a quick reminder that if you are raking leaves this year as part of your lawn care business, spend the time (and a few extra dollars) to purchase a quality pair of work gloves.  I know you will be tempted to buy the cheapo $1.00 gardening gloves but, trust me, those gloves will barely last through one day of heavy leaf work.  Spend the extra money and get a quality pair of gloves.

Below is a list (from Amazon.com) of quality work gloves that should last you an entire season of leaf raking:

 

 

 

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6 months down 6 months to go – Lawn Care Business in the Second Half of the Year

Jul 1

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

Mid Summer Lawn Care Business Strategies

Mid Summer Lawn Care Business Strategies

July is here??? Wait, I just blinked and 1/2 the year is already gone!!!!

Well, whether you like it or not, July IS here. If you own a lawn care business, I hope you are really mowing strong right now. Mid-summer is prime money making time for your lawn mowing company. If you are not making a lot of money mowing grass right now then you really need to re-evaluate your business strategy.

I have always used the first week of July to do a mid-year business audit and I ask myself such questions as:

How is my year going? Is my customer list where it needs to be? Are there customers that need to be replaced? Are my prices where they need to be? Am I on track to make my yearly goal? What can I do right now to ramp up my business going into the second half of the year?

Normally, I have always been able to come up with a few business strategies to gain new lawn care customers and entice current customers to spend more money. Mid-year customer evaluation is also done in July…not their evaluation of my lawn care company but my evaluation of them as customers.

Do they need a price increase? Do they need their service day rescheduled to better fit with other customers in the same area? Do one or two “complaining customers” need to be dropped and replaced with better customers?

Finally, I have always used July to really push non-mowing related services. Bed maintenance (mulching, barrier installation additional summer color plantings), shrub trimming, repair of drought affected areas, detailed edging, ornamentation and design work, etc. Customers REALLY want their yards looking nice during July. There are summer parties, cookouts, picnics, family reunions, volleyball & Frisbee in the yard. Assuring your customers of beautiful and functional yards during these summer months can bring you a tremendous amount of additional income from your lawn care business.

If you didn’t make as much money as you know you should have during the first 6 months of 2011, I encourage you to take a look at our lawn care business program. The book and software package is packed with business ideas that will help make your lawn care business a success. Even if you haven’t started your lawn care business yet, the year is only 1/2 over and there is PLENTY of opportunity for your to get started quickly and make great money for the rest of the summer.

For more information on the Lawn Care Business Book, Lawn Care Software, and Lawn Care Estimating Calculators, please visit our main website:

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

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Awesome News…I lost my job.

Jun 28

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

I got fired from my job and started a lawn care business.Many of the people who purchase our lawn care business program are just trying to make extra money to supplement their weekly paychecks. Then again, many other people are looking to immediately start doing lawn care as a full time business.

A couple weeks ago, we received a telephone call from a guy who had recently been fired from his job. He had not been laid off. He had been flat out FIRED with no possibility of collecting unemployment benefits!!! This guy sounded really distraught. He was panicing and calling us for help starting his lawn care business before he had to tell his wife the horrible news about losing his job.

“How quickly can I start my business?” “How much money will it cost for lawn care equipment?” “How much money can I make in my first month doing lawn care?”

I tried to answer his questions as succinctly as I could but many questions, such as those dealing with monthly income, are difficult to answer because that answer depends on many individual variables. I let him know that the Estimating Calculators that are included with the lawn care software are a GREAT help in determining the amount of money to charge customers and they will help him determine his monthly income. Our program goes into great detail about how to start a lawn care business, what types of lawn care equipment to purchase, how to build a customer list very quickly, how much money to charge your customers, how to perform the work and make it look professional, how to bid on large lawn care contracts, etc. etc.

After almost 10 minutes on the telephone answering his questions about the value of our lawn care business program, he decided to order the package over the telephone with his credit card. As soon as I took his information and received an approval from his Credit Card company, I could hear a sigh of relief on his end of the phone. “WHEWWW!!!”

I asked if he was okay. He just said that he was still worried about telling his wife about getting fired but he felt he was taking steps in the right direction. He was very excited about getting his business started. I told him that getting fired might be the best thing that ever happened to him and that he should tell his wife about the AWESOME (not bad) news that he has to tell her.

In a quick 10 minute phone call, he went from being an unemployed loser with no job and no income to being a self-motivated entrepreneur starting his own lawn care business.

If you are in a bad financial situation and want to start your own lawn care business, take a serious look at our Lawn Care Business program. We have packed it full of almost 20 years of business experience. It will take you from your first days of starting your business to growing to the point where you need to hire employees.

For more information, please visit our main webpage:

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

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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

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

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Make more money offering environmentally correct lawn care techniques.

Mar 19

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

A healthy lawn and green grass

Proper mowing leads to a healthier lawn.

Mow it low and go.

Arghhh…how many customers do you have that want you to show up to their property every two weeks, mow their grass as low as your blades will allow, and go away for another two weeks until the grass is, once again, two feet high? 

While the money is often good with these types of basic lawn care customers, there is something unfulfilling about performing the lowest form of lawn care services demanded by some customers…mow it low, and go.

It is springtime right now and many of you who are just getting started with your lawn care companies are looking for any customers you can find.  I understand that you probably don’t care if you have 100 “mow it low and go” customers…you just want to be mowing grass and making money.

However, as you are acquiring customers this spring, I want to challenge each of you to attract as many customers as you can who want to care for their lawns in a proper, environmentally responsible fashion.  We’re not talking about customers who want to apply lots of fertilizers and pesticides and expect a perfectly manicured lawn each week.  We are talking about customers who will let you raise your blade to a proper height, practice integrated pest management, install water gardens & natural areas, and build good soil by leaving well-mulched clippings on the lawn.

Attracting a few customers who are keenly interested in having healthy lawns will teach you a tremendous amount about proper lawn care and they will give you tons of ideas and healthy lawn care management practices that you can spread to your other lawn care customers.

The benefits of building beautiful lawns with environmentally correct lawn care techniques are far reaching.  Yes, you will be proud of the lawns and landscaping (and make great money from those customers) but also, great lawns generate amazing referrals.  And if you acquire the right customers and bid your jobs correctly, you should be able to build a list of top-notch customers who are willing to pay you handsomely to maintain their lawns and landscapes.

Do you want to learn how to operate a successful lawn care and landscaping business? Visit our main webpage to learn more about our “Start A Lawn Care Business” guidebook and software business package.  This is a HUGE business toolkit which is perfect for anyone just starting in the business or anyone who is looking to expand a lawn care business.

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

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Lawn Care Business and the Recent Unemployment Numbers.

Mar 4

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

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

Economists are so funny.  First, they make up forecasts based on their best guess estimates.  Then, when the numbers don’t come in as expected, they claim the unemployment numbers are disappointing.  Everyone gnashes their teeth and the stock market plummets as the television news stations make us common folk feel like the world is coming to {yet another} end.

Maybe the numbers themselves aren’t “disappointing.”  Maybe it was the economic unemployment forecast that was “disappointing” to begin with.

My formal education is in finance and economics.  I earned my degree long before I broke free of the cubicle and started my own lawn care business.  I will alway remember one professor who told me, as I was trying to analyze an economic report, “the numbers can be good or bad, it all depends on what kind of spin you put on them.”

Yuck.

Anyway, what do you guys think about the latest unemployment numbers?  Do you think that they are good or bad for the economy.  How do you think they will affect your lawn care business.  I will tell you what I think.  I think a lowering of the unemployment rate to under 9% is a huge step in the right direction.  As more people are put back to work, more people will have less time at home.  And they will have more money in their pockets to hire out their lawn care services.

One other benefit of more people going back to work is that many guys who were cutting grass as extra income while they were out of work will stop mowing grass.  Less competition in the lawn care industry is good for the guys  who are still doing it and for the guys who are starting their lawn care businesses this year.

So, if these talking heads on TV are getting you down and making you feel there is no hope for your life, turn off the TV and take your destiny into your own hands.  Someone is always going to have a bleak story to tell.  However, we (www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com) speak with LOTS of lawn care industry insiders and we feel we have a pretty good idea of what is going on within the industry.  Lawn care is going to be strong again and we think this year is going to be one of the best years in recent memory for anyone with a lawn care company.

So, wether you are wanting to grow an existing lawn care business or you are wanting to start a brand new lawn care business of your very own, we hope you will stop dreaming and start doing.  Right now is a great time to get started.

We would also like to tell you that if you don’t know where to start and you don’t know how to acquire customers and price your jobs, we have developed an EXCELLENT series of guidebooks and ESTIMATING SOFTWARE to help you start your own successful Lawn Care Business. Maybe by using our Lawn Care Business Estimating Software, you will be able to give better estimates than the economists. 🙂

For more information, read more about the business program on our main website.  Click the link below:

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

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Lawn Care Request for Bids – Contracts.

Feb 2

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

Are you a lawn care business owner that is tired of doing 100% residential jobs?

Though there is great money to be made mowing residential lawns and creating small landscapes, we suggest many lawn care companies can greatly increase their revenue by adding a few larger-scale mowing contracts into their customer mix. If you have ever wanted to take your lawn care business to the next level, February is a perfect time to bid on larger scale lawn mowing and landscaping contracts. City and county governments, government agencies, industrial plants, retail establishments, and apartment complexes are letting out bids for lawn care work during February.

Successfully bidding a large-scale grass cutting contract is not as easy as it might sound. We have seen many people fail at successfully bidding mowing contracts. Common mistakes in bidding on these contracts include: misunderstanding the scope of work, improper equipment selection, under bidding in an attempt to lowball your competitors, over bidding in an attempt to make more mone from the contracting agency, and insufficient business requirements (lack of insurance, incomplete permits, unproven ability to complete the work.)

If you would like to learn how to properly bid on lawn mowing and grass cutting contracts, our Lawn Care Business guidebook and software program can help you. The program includes estimating software and an excellent guide to bidding lawn mowing contracts.

Learn more on our homepage:

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

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