Mattcrump
08-10-2011, 01:18 PM
Hey guys, I am new the industry and have owned my company for 8-9 months now. I started with a push mower and an edger and weedeater and small blower that I bought from craigslist. I am now at around 60 customers and am about to be to the point where I hire a crew.
I have paid cash for everything I have except my toro 36inch walk behind. I financed it for just under $5,000 and will probably have it paid off in the next two months. I also have a 6x12 brand new landscape trailer, a commercial honda 21inch, Stihl weed eaters, edgers and hedge trimmers and two BR600 bp blowers.
My partner and I are both great networkers so we are always meeting new people and bringing in more business. However, it was tough at first and has been tough to get into the commercial properties. Recently I paid a buddy of ours who is good with computers to build us a cheap website. I don't care how great your website is or how much money you put into building it, it doesnt matter if the public can't find it. The website builders will never tell you that even though they are charging thousands to build it that less than 1% of people looking will ever come across it.
My buddy Jason did something called SEO coding which apparently has something to do with keywords in your website that Google recognizes more than others. Apparently there is some way to make your website much more searchable. Anyways, obviously the closer your site is to the first page on Google, means the more people will view your site.
To put it bluntly, I have been trying for 6 months to get my foot in the door with commercial properties. Jason finished out crappy little website last week that has our contact information very easily accessible. Nobody cares what all you have on your website as long as they can get ahold of you. Well in the last week I have had 4 different commercial companies email me asking for bids. To give you an idea of what type of commercial companies... I just put the first two under contract and am having to go out and hire two full time employees as well as spend about $20,000 in more equipment. I will have it paid off in the next six months with these two contracts alone. I am still waiting to hear back from one of the others that is double the size of the first two I signed. Plus if they accept my bid, they have 4 more local properties they want bids on as well.
I spent a couple hundred dollars and in a week, I had 4 commercial companies come and ask me to place a bid rather than me asking them if I could. One wasn't worth the money, three definitely were and I have already signed two of them.
If anybody wants my buddies contact info to help with their websites send me an email at Matt@fireandlawnrescue.com he is very affordable and has already made me thousands.
Matt
I have paid cash for everything I have except my toro 36inch walk behind. I financed it for just under $5,000 and will probably have it paid off in the next two months. I also have a 6x12 brand new landscape trailer, a commercial honda 21inch, Stihl weed eaters, edgers and hedge trimmers and two BR600 bp blowers.
My partner and I are both great networkers so we are always meeting new people and bringing in more business. However, it was tough at first and has been tough to get into the commercial properties. Recently I paid a buddy of ours who is good with computers to build us a cheap website. I don't care how great your website is or how much money you put into building it, it doesnt matter if the public can't find it. The website builders will never tell you that even though they are charging thousands to build it that less than 1% of people looking will ever come across it.
My buddy Jason did something called SEO coding which apparently has something to do with keywords in your website that Google recognizes more than others. Apparently there is some way to make your website much more searchable. Anyways, obviously the closer your site is to the first page on Google, means the more people will view your site.
To put it bluntly, I have been trying for 6 months to get my foot in the door with commercial properties. Jason finished out crappy little website last week that has our contact information very easily accessible. Nobody cares what all you have on your website as long as they can get ahold of you. Well in the last week I have had 4 different commercial companies email me asking for bids. To give you an idea of what type of commercial companies... I just put the first two under contract and am having to go out and hire two full time employees as well as spend about $20,000 in more equipment. I will have it paid off in the next six months with these two contracts alone. I am still waiting to hear back from one of the others that is double the size of the first two I signed. Plus if they accept my bid, they have 4 more local properties they want bids on as well.
I spent a couple hundred dollars and in a week, I had 4 commercial companies come and ask me to place a bid rather than me asking them if I could. One wasn't worth the money, three definitely were and I have already signed two of them.
If anybody wants my buddies contact info to help with their websites send me an email at Matt@fireandlawnrescue.com he is very affordable and has already made me thousands.
Matt