StartALawnCareBusiness
10-31-2007, 04:04 PM
I am not beating up on anyone in particular with this message. *It is intended for everyone and it is something that needs to be said.
I've noticed something over the last couple weeks on the boards. *New lawn care business owners are really in the dark about how to bid jobs. *They are coming in here asking people with more experience how much to bid on particular jobs. *This is a recipe for disaster. *There are people here who are bidding huge jobs without an understanding of the costs at hand. *
Every job is different for every LCO. *A large LCO might be able to do a job for half the price you can do it because they already have the equipment and the employees ready to go. *That doesn't mean you should cut your price. *It just means that you should find jobs that fit into your skillset so you can compete profitably. *No one on these boards knows what your particular costs or abilities are. *We might be able to tell you what we would bid but we can never tell you what you should bid. *I have never told anyone a specific amount on any job and I never will for this very reason.
You don't need to know "how much" to bid on a job. *Instead, you need to know "how" to bid a job. *
People are asking about bid amounts without an understanding of the costs involved. *You must bid with an understanding of expenses (gas, equipment depreciation, general business expenses, advertising, oil changes, blade sharpening, travel expenses, breakdowns, etc.). *PLUS, you have business taxes (quarterly filings), employee taxes, insurance, overhead, and on and on. * If you are bidding jobs and not thinking about your total costs, I think you are in for a world of hurt. *Remind me to tell you about the guy who UNDERBID me more than $30,000 on a maintenance contract once. *Within about 6 months he had gone broke and backed out of the contract. *He had no clue what his expenses would be.
It's 30 bucks for the whole package. *The Gopher Team has seen it and I think they can attest to the worth of the materials. *In addition to a ton of other business tools, it will help teach you the HOWs and WHYs of bidding jobs. *Without full mastery of these skills you will never live up to your full potential.
It would break my heart to see someone come in here and grossly under bid a job because they didn't have an understanding of the process. *Knowledge is Power.
Thanks for listening:
Keith
I've noticed something over the last couple weeks on the boards. *New lawn care business owners are really in the dark about how to bid jobs. *They are coming in here asking people with more experience how much to bid on particular jobs. *This is a recipe for disaster. *There are people here who are bidding huge jobs without an understanding of the costs at hand. *
Every job is different for every LCO. *A large LCO might be able to do a job for half the price you can do it because they already have the equipment and the employees ready to go. *That doesn't mean you should cut your price. *It just means that you should find jobs that fit into your skillset so you can compete profitably. *No one on these boards knows what your particular costs or abilities are. *We might be able to tell you what we would bid but we can never tell you what you should bid. *I have never told anyone a specific amount on any job and I never will for this very reason.
You don't need to know "how much" to bid on a job. *Instead, you need to know "how" to bid a job. *
People are asking about bid amounts without an understanding of the costs involved. *You must bid with an understanding of expenses (gas, equipment depreciation, general business expenses, advertising, oil changes, blade sharpening, travel expenses, breakdowns, etc.). *PLUS, you have business taxes (quarterly filings), employee taxes, insurance, overhead, and on and on. * If you are bidding jobs and not thinking about your total costs, I think you are in for a world of hurt. *Remind me to tell you about the guy who UNDERBID me more than $30,000 on a maintenance contract once. *Within about 6 months he had gone broke and backed out of the contract. *He had no clue what his expenses would be.
It's 30 bucks for the whole package. *The Gopher Team has seen it and I think they can attest to the worth of the materials. *In addition to a ton of other business tools, it will help teach you the HOWs and WHYs of bidding jobs. *Without full mastery of these skills you will never live up to your full potential.
It would break my heart to see someone come in here and grossly under bid a job because they didn't have an understanding of the process. *Knowledge is Power.
Thanks for listening:
Keith