Critique my start up

[mikosiko]

Originally Posted by LawnBoy0311 It sounds like you have a good game plan going. Write your goals down and follow them. PLEASE make sure they are realistic! If not, you'll get frustrated and stop....I'm sure you already know that though. Since you already know your 99.99999999999% unlikely to make 80K your first year, your already way ahead of the game. If your starting out, don't get too picky with customers. My advice is take what you can get, then your 2nd year lose the ones you didn't like and pick/chose from there. You'll find quite a few people actually don't give a crap about their lawn....as long as it gets cut. Or at least for me thats the case. Just remember, your the rookie and your competing against guys like DPLD who've been around many years. Get your feet wet first. I think you mentioned something about mulching and bagging? Maybe I misunderstood it, but mulch as much as you can. Around me we have to pay to dump yard waste....it can get costly. Side jobs are the key to cash. Always allot yourself time to do other jobs...mulching, sod, even small landscape design. Aeration is a great fall service to bring in a lot of extra. Good luck and stick with your plan! Thanks buddy, been following your posts also, your input along with many others is incredibly valuable, I appreciate it. Yes you never know how valuable a notebook of blank paper and a pen can be. This has been a huge part of my organization process. Writing down my first year goals is the very first items written on their own then I continued on the following pages writing collected information from various sources to support those goals in the order they need to happen in. The information contained on this site, in books, and many other places tells many many stories that I can understand and feel. These stories have tales between the words that keeps me grounded. $80,000 is a long ways away...lol Eventually I want to appeal to and gain only those customers that want the care put back into Lawn care. They will have at least $150.00 per month in their budgets for lawncare, depending on the lawn sizes, and I will respond with quality focused work. I have a shoe in to access many of the super high earners in our community but I want to gain the experience first. What I intend to provide and what results may be very different to begin with and I expect that to be based on past experience. When I gain the business from my ideal customers, I want them and I to know they are getting a good deal. Value is one of the key points to my business. Researching ideas for clippings disposal but I understand mulching is beneficial to the lawn growth and so selling that to the customer should not be hard In the end the customer gets what they want as long as they pay for it.

[Billy Goat]

Lawn care business tips

mikosiko, good luck this season, hope you post your adventure as you go. I will do the same as Iam in the same boat as you. Doing all this research is very time consuming if you want to be legit from the start. Sometimes I over think the whole idea, instead of just doing it and see what happens. If you watch Steve's (administrator) videos he always says "If you don't start your business this year, you will be at least one year older when you do." I have a full-time job also but Iam lucky for now to work three 12-hour days on Fri-Sat-Sun (Paid for 40 hours). Gives me Mon-Thurs to build my lawn business. Here is my 2-cents which isnt worth much since Iam new to all this also. Since Iam a over thinker and do alot of what ifs. You stated you will want to do lawns (less than 1/4 acre) full days on Saturdays and Mondays, I would gather to say half days on Tues-Fridays. I did a little sub work last summer for a guy that needed a little extra help. Most of his customers (residential) perferred to have their lawns cut towards the end of the week so they were nice for the weekend. For me the heavy days were Wed-Thurs and Fridays were the catchup days for the other guy. You also stated the lawns would be 5,000 to 7,000 square feet due to your equipment (Push mowing I would gather) starting out. $20-$40 per lawn so your in the ball park as you estimated if you looking at $150 per customer per month. The #1 thing that I learned from this forum is never low ball so keep that in mind as you build your business. Being legit means paying taxes on profits. My first year I want to set aside at least 50% for taxes (Self-Employment, Sales Tax, Federal, State Tax and who knows what another tax and fees) because every state is different when it comes to paying Uncle Sam. With that said, looks like the $150 per lawn turns into $75 if you are lucky. This is my brain overthinking, I keep going back and forth is it really worth it. You have to start somewhere and Iam ready to make the plunge because I do not want to be another year older, if I wait.

[mikosiko]

Indeed I want to be full legit and so that means I dont get to make much for a little while but the gaol here is to grow my business the way I want, which is slow but solid and steady. Those numbers I throw out as rough figures and meaning that is the lowest I'll go in any circumstance. That being said, I am committed to making my customer base be small but distiquished and can afford me to take full control of their lawn and cleanup needs. They will also have to be the type that buys into and commits to me being the overall authority on what the lawn needs and when. These type customers will value that enough to pay a small fortune for someone who cares and knows enough to run the show on their lawn care.....

Before I get there come bustin my rump on the small low paying jobs but giving them same quality for gaining "Word of Mouth" type advertising for growth...

I will post as steps and jobs are achieved, I have 2 jobs lined up already when the season begins...

[Michaelslandscape]

Sounds alot like my story. I am leaving my job of 28 years earning 70K this summer. I have a pension but it only makes up about 1/3 of my salary. Health insurance......... thats the killer for me. I dont what Im going to do about that yet as Im in my mid 50s and dont qualify for any gov. insurance. My wife is a cosmotologist and wont have health care either.
I know the new O-Care plan says by jan 1 2015 everyone will have to have health insurance. How are any other members handling this one?

[wandfsmall]

Originally Posted by Michaelslandscape

Sounds alot like my story. I am leaving my job of 28 years earning 70K this summer. I have a pension but it only makes up about 1/3 of my salary. Health insurance......... thats the killer for me. I dont what Im going to do about that yet as Im in my mid 50s and dont qualify for any gov. insurance. My wife is a cosmotologist and wont have health care either.
I know the new O-Care plan says by jan 1 2015 everyone will have to have health insurance. How are any other members handling this one?

Obama care is based on either your personal salary or the amount of employees a business has. Therefor fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it. You are likely not going to fall under most of the provisions of Obama care. For the most part the law will not do as much as the news tells you, this includes what Democrats say the law will do to help you and what Republicans say the law will do to hurt you. It will however limit the profits an insurance company can make.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by LawnBoy0311

It sounds like you have a good game plan going. Write your goals down and follow them. PLEASE make sure they are realistic! If not, you'll get frustrated and stop....I'm sure you already know that though. Since you already know your 99.99999999999% unlikely to make 80K your first year, your already way ahead of the game.


If your starting out, don't get too picky with customers. My advice is take what you can get, then your 2nd year lose the ones you didn't like and pick/chose from there. You'll find quite a few people actually don't give a crap about their lawn....as long as it gets cut. Or at least for me thats the case. Just remember, your the rookie and your competing against guys like DPLD who've been around many years. Get your feet wet first. I think you mentioned something about mulching and bagging? Maybe I misunderstood it, but mulch as much as you can. Around me we have to pay to dump yard waste....it can get costly.

Side jobs are the key to cash. Always allot yourself time to do other jobs...mulching, sod, even small landscape design. Aeration is a great fall service to bring in a lot of extra.


Good luck and stick with your plan!

wow, you make it sound as if i am out there squashing the competition like a ruthless dictator.
i am the friendliest competitor out there and have helped several other business get started that used to be former employees.

guys like me are the least of a new businesses worries because the type of work i do a new guy starting out can not do as well as the type of job a small guy does i can not do because my costs are higher.

with that said there is plenty of work for everyone and every business and market is entirely different.
any new businesses biggest worry is pricing jobs properly so they make money and lowballers are the biggest threat to any business big or small.

other than that i completely agree with you that you have to take every job that comes your way and not focus on one aspect of the industry.

the only guy that says there is money in just cutting grass is someone who will bust their tail for the rest of their lives for minimal gain or someone who will not be around in a few years because cutting the grass is just a means to get on someones property to open the door for other work.

[LawnBoy0311]

Originally Posted by dpld

wow, you make it sound as if i am out there squashing the competition like a ruthless dictator.
i am the friendliest competitor out there and have helped several other business get started that used to be former employees.

guys like me are the least of a new businesses worries because the type of work i do a new guy starting out can not do as well as the type of job a small guy does i can not do because my costs are higher.

with that said there is plenty of work for everyone and every business and market is entirely different.
any new businesses biggest worry is pricing jobs properly so they make money and lowballers are the biggest threat to any business big or small.

other than that i completely agree with you that you have to take every job that comes your way and not focus on one aspect of the industry.

the only guy that says there is money in just cutting grass is someone who will bust their tail for the rest of their lives for minimal gain or someone who will not be around in a few years because cutting the grass is just a means to get on someones property to open the door for other work.

Not saying your a ruthless dictator at all. Zero years experience vs. 20+ years experience. One has the knowledge and experience to get jobs done and quoted within reason, while the other doesn't.

And there IS money in just mowing. IF you do it right and find your niche. A good example is TJ Justice and just-mowing.com He found a way to make a killing. He also used to do full service accounts and gave it up to "just mow". Many tried the same idea, and they failed for various reasons. It's finding out what works best for your and doing a lot of it.

You often hear of employees venturing off and starting their own business. Most of us did it!!!!! But what they don't understand is....anyone can push a mower, not everyone can run a business. The business part is where people fail. If you can find a mentor or work under someone who is willing to teach you, your way ahead of the game. Many business owners won't do that for fear of competition.

The OP sounds like he has his head in the game. Reality is he won't hit $1 million his first year and he knows that. With a little fine tuning and reading up on these threads, I know he will go far.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by LawnBoy0311

Not saying your a ruthless dictator at all. Zero years experience vs. 20+ years experience. One has the knowledge and experience to get jobs done and quoted within reason, while the other doesn't.

And there IS money in just mowing. IF you do it right and find your niche. A good example is TJ Justice and just-mowing.com He found a way to make a killing. He also used to do full service accounts and gave it up to "just mow". Many tried the same idea, and they failed for various reasons. It's finding out what works best for your and doing a lot of it.

You often hear of employees venturing off and starting their own business. Most of us did it!!!!! But what they don't understand is....anyone can push a mower, not everyone can run a business. The business part is where people fail. If you can find a mentor or work under someone who is willing to teach you, your way ahead of the game. Many business owners won't do that for fear of competition.

The OP sounds like he has his head in the game. Reality is he won't hit $1 million his first year and he knows that. With a little fine tuning and reading up on these threads, I know he will go far.

i was only joking about the ruthless dictator part.

there are some who have made a decent living just mowing but the odds are against most who only do that and TJ Justice is not the rule, he is the exception.
there are only so many lawns you can do in a day and no matter who you are there will be a point in time where another crew will be needed and the profit margin is low enough to the point that if you were to make a boatload of money it would be by huge volume.

there are exceptions depending on what region you are in and in some states the mowing season is long and there is no snow and usually no big clean ups like we have here in the north east for example and if you are in a condensed area with little cookie cutter properties i could see that as a viable business model.

i make good money mowing but we do that four days a week and in the fall that is all we do but we also make double that doing mulching, tree & shrub pruning and plantings and so forth and we only do that 2 days a week weather permitting as well as for only about half the season.

pound for pound the most profitable end of the business is the extra work.
i have a big crew and when we mulch we can do 40 to 60 yards of mulch in a day at $70.00 per yard and outside of running the truck back and forth picking up loads of mulch at the depot the only real cost is paying the help and providing a few wheel barrows and rakes.
where as the mowing end of the business we have the same exact costs in labor as well as many thousands of dollars in equipment, fuel, etc, etc.

i love what i do but i live for the extra work because the grass pays the bills and gives me a decent profit but the extras are all profit.
i have it structured where the grass pays all the costs for help, equipment, taxes and so forth and when it is time to go do some mulching or planting or whatever, outside of material costs that money goes right in the pocket.

as i said i would not rule out mowing only entirely but that all depends on where you are and going by my state and how it works here as a business you would be cutting yourself short because most of the market here is looking for a one call does it all company and people do not want to be bothered with hiring a guy to do the lawn and a guy to do the mulching and planting and a guy to apply the chemicals.

new jersey is a good place to have a business in regards to there is a lot of money here but the demands of the market here are high and the typical customer here wants what they want and they want it now.

and they just would not get that from a mow only operation.

plus it is nice to have a variety and even if you have your help do all the work it is nice for them and helps them out by not being on a mower 6 days a week and my guys look forward to fridays and saturdays because it gives them a break from the grind of cutting grass and i love it because those are the days i get to make real money.

[fieroboi]

Originally Posted by mikosiko

Any questions comments criticisms all is wanted here, and thanks in advance to all of you...

I don't profess to be an expert, but I can share some of my thoughts. I think your on the right track Where I live the website is not of great value to me, so many clients in the demographics here don't even have a computer, really small city.

But what I hear you saying is very realistic. You won't get rich but if you want to make a living, you can do it.

Rent equipment to start, that way you can test the profitablility before investing dollars. I've been in business for 5 years and heading into my sixth, I still rent some special pieces as I don't get a huge call for the specific service, but still offer it as it give us profile and I can turn a profit with that service. I've built my business from the ground up with no debt, something I believe everyone should do. Not having to make payments on equipment means if it is not being used enough, your not losing money on it.

Secondly, your planning will take you a long way. I have a long term plan (5 years) a middle of the road plan (2-3 years) as well as a yearly plan. All three are interconnnected and each needs to be revised as time goes on. Just cause your one year plan didn't hit your mark doesn't mean that it didn't work. What it means is that you need to review and adjust your plans to fit.

Upgrade equipment as you go, re-investing profits works very well.

Your goal of building service based on reputation, service and value ... I applaud you, I've held that belief from day one. My customer retention is very high. I lose a customer only because they leave town, move to a seniors home or die. In five years I can only think of less than ten customers that have dropped their service, and those are for reasons above. Otherwise I have only lost two customers for other reasons.

Use your customers to build new customers. Every year I offer a customer referral program to exisiting customers. They get me new customers and I reward them with a small gift (example, I give seasons tickets to local university hockey - plus its a tax write off for me). It makes perfect sense to me to let your existing customers send you new clients. The new clients are already presold on your service.

There is so much more, but I want to make one last comment. Take the time to go the extra mile for your customers. For example, I tell all my guys, if a customer comes home from grocery shopping, stop the mower and help them carry the groceries in. It shows repect for the customer as well as ellieviates the possibility of rocks hitting someone. I also tell them to "flirt" so to speak with them. A younger man telling an older woman she looks good today just puts things over the edge.

Much success to you!

Lloyd
Blue's Yard FX
Camrose, AB

[grass guru]

The expenses to be a legit, and professional looking company are much higher than you would think, or figure. I work 70hrs a week solo maintining 60 lawns/week and am able to show a loss on my books(albeit a very small one). I charge what is normal going rate, provide the best quality sevice, and only lose a customer if they move out of my service area. I cant imagine a customer wanting to pay double what im charging (ive done the math, and if I were going to gross 80k, and only expenses were taxes, then Iwould have to double rates).
Just talk to some professional companies a couple towns over, and see what the market will bear, see how many lawns they maintain, and what % of their gross is their biggest expenses. For me, gas alone is almost 10%. Granted, gas prices were at an all time high, and i tried to absorb as much of it as possible.
Good luck,
Just be reasonable, and realistic, otherwise one is sure to fail.