Steve
09-06-2006, 11:54 AM
Troy here is a great article that potentially deals with topics similar to those you are facing. Maybe you can compare and contrast what you are doing with what Dan is.
Grows lawncare business the natural way (http://www.fairfieldcbj.com/archive/090406/0904060003.php) - When Dan Hageney decided it was time to leave the corporate world, he recalled his high school days when he worked during the summer for a lawn-care company in his hometown of Thornwood, N.Y.
But by 2002 he wanted out. While still living in New York City, he acquired lawn-care equipment and storage space in Greenwich to start his business ** Connecticut Green L.L.C. ** and commuted to the suburbs. It was a slow process, as getting a series of pesticide licenses alone took 14 months. “There was a lot of pressure in the sense that I was married and I had to rely on my wife for three years to get (the business) started. Two years after that I started making serious money.”
Hageney moved to Fairfield County in 2003 and bought a house in Darien last year.
Building a client base is a hurdle for any new business, but Hageney said being an owner-operator made things easier. “It’s not as tough as you think when the guy who owns the company does the work himself.”
In its first year in business Connecticut Green had 35 clients and four years later that number grew to 400. Hageney declined to reveal revenues but said the sales volume has doubled every year.
Hageney said he has established relationships with landscapers who are not licensed to work with pesticides, but who can recommend Connecticut Green to their clients.
“We have relationships with 10 or 12 landscapers in Fairfield County,” Hageney said. “In a general sense, our service is broken up into three components, lawn care, shrub care and tick sprays.”
The majority of Connecticut Green’s work is done in Fairfield County by Hageney and his two employees ** former high school buddies.
Connecticut Green is equipped to perform environmentally friendly lawn care using organic fertilizers and ingredients, Hageney said.
http://www.fairfieldcbj.com/archive/090406/images/CTGreen1.jpg
Grows lawncare business the natural way (http://www.fairfieldcbj.com/archive/090406/0904060003.php) - When Dan Hageney decided it was time to leave the corporate world, he recalled his high school days when he worked during the summer for a lawn-care company in his hometown of Thornwood, N.Y.
But by 2002 he wanted out. While still living in New York City, he acquired lawn-care equipment and storage space in Greenwich to start his business ** Connecticut Green L.L.C. ** and commuted to the suburbs. It was a slow process, as getting a series of pesticide licenses alone took 14 months. “There was a lot of pressure in the sense that I was married and I had to rely on my wife for three years to get (the business) started. Two years after that I started making serious money.”
Hageney moved to Fairfield County in 2003 and bought a house in Darien last year.
Building a client base is a hurdle for any new business, but Hageney said being an owner-operator made things easier. “It’s not as tough as you think when the guy who owns the company does the work himself.”
In its first year in business Connecticut Green had 35 clients and four years later that number grew to 400. Hageney declined to reveal revenues but said the sales volume has doubled every year.
Hageney said he has established relationships with landscapers who are not licensed to work with pesticides, but who can recommend Connecticut Green to their clients.
“We have relationships with 10 or 12 landscapers in Fairfield County,” Hageney said. “In a general sense, our service is broken up into three components, lawn care, shrub care and tick sprays.”
The majority of Connecticut Green’s work is done in Fairfield County by Hageney and his two employees ** former high school buddies.
Connecticut Green is equipped to perform environmentally friendly lawn care using organic fertilizers and ingredients, Hageney said.
http://www.fairfieldcbj.com/archive/090406/images/CTGreen1.jpg