wglyons
07-29-2010, 10:12 AM
Hello...
I joined the forum a couple of months ago, but haven't really been active in any postings yet. My business is a part-time, weekend thing, but it has kind of exploded.
I started in Mid-May, and after just over 2 months in business, I have 24 regular weekly or bi-weekly accounts, and have just surpassed $8,500 in revenue. I am at a point where I need to decide if I want to continue the growth and hire a part-timer or two, or if I need to pull back on the marketing and hold what I've got.
All total, if I work by myself, I put in about 15-20 hours per week, depending on the workload and extra services. I have been having a little help the last couple of weeks (which has been nice!!!), so I think I'm getting a little spoiled. Of course, I get to sit on the zero-turn while the poor guy that helps gets stuck with the edger and line trimmer.
I think I'm at a point where I could hire someone to work those 15-20 hours per week, pay him a good rate, and still make a good bit of money to cover overhead. If I do this though, I'd probably want to up the marketing and advertising and try to get a solid 40 hour week established. I could still work 15 and then have the balance handled by a part-timer...
Steve, I know you're gonna read this - is there a forum that discusses labor, or can you point me to a link where I can read up on the pro's and con's???
Oh, and since I know you're gonna ask, CRAIGSLIST, CRAIGSLIST, CRAIGSLIST....from that comes word-of-mouth business and additional services. The bottom line is, Craigslist has gotten me to the front door to meet with people. Professional Salesmanship followed up by superior service is at the backbone of the growth. Spend time with people at the initial estimate. And when you come back to do the work, if you see them outside, turn off the mower and go spend 5 minutes with them - shoot the breeze, ask if anything needs special attention, and make them feel like they are the boss (after all, they really are)
Greg
I joined the forum a couple of months ago, but haven't really been active in any postings yet. My business is a part-time, weekend thing, but it has kind of exploded.
I started in Mid-May, and after just over 2 months in business, I have 24 regular weekly or bi-weekly accounts, and have just surpassed $8,500 in revenue. I am at a point where I need to decide if I want to continue the growth and hire a part-timer or two, or if I need to pull back on the marketing and hold what I've got.
All total, if I work by myself, I put in about 15-20 hours per week, depending on the workload and extra services. I have been having a little help the last couple of weeks (which has been nice!!!), so I think I'm getting a little spoiled. Of course, I get to sit on the zero-turn while the poor guy that helps gets stuck with the edger and line trimmer.
I think I'm at a point where I could hire someone to work those 15-20 hours per week, pay him a good rate, and still make a good bit of money to cover overhead. If I do this though, I'd probably want to up the marketing and advertising and try to get a solid 40 hour week established. I could still work 15 and then have the balance handled by a part-timer...
Steve, I know you're gonna read this - is there a forum that discusses labor, or can you point me to a link where I can read up on the pro's and con's???
Oh, and since I know you're gonna ask, CRAIGSLIST, CRAIGSLIST, CRAIGSLIST....from that comes word-of-mouth business and additional services. The bottom line is, Craigslist has gotten me to the front door to meet with people. Professional Salesmanship followed up by superior service is at the backbone of the growth. Spend time with people at the initial estimate. And when you come back to do the work, if you see them outside, turn off the mower and go spend 5 minutes with them - shoot the breeze, ask if anything needs special attention, and make them feel like they are the boss (after all, they really are)
Greg