Hello everyone

[I Cut Grass LLC]

We've been in business for 5 years. We joined this site a while back but our profile/page wasnt working and since we virtually never gone on here we needed to create a new profile. We're looking forward in working with the members within this online community to help share ideas, grow and to help us all become more successful as time continues to pass.. Feel free to say hello. Best wishes to everyone for a 2013 successful lawn season!

[LawnBoy0311]

Lawn care business tips

Uh, welcome back? I think? Or would it be just "welcome"? Anyway, nice to have you here. Can you tell us a little more about your operation? 5 years is pretty good! You have a lot of us beat!

[I Cut Grass LLC]

We provide basic lawn care and landscaping services: cutting, mulching, bush pruning, leaf removal and snow removal as well. We are mostly on the residential side of the industry though we do some commercial work.

[Steve]

Welcome back!

Out of those 5 years in business, which would you say was the toughest to get through and how has it changed since then?

[I Cut Grass LLC]

For us it was probably the first year. Started with a push mower and a trimmer out of a car. Nobody would take us seriously. Costs were high and we had no business. The business came with time and people seeing us consistently out in the various communities. Each year had it's own challenges but the overall goal was to increase sales each year, as well as porifitability and we were able to do just that. We stayed limited to lawn mowing the first few years so as to not grow too fast- steady growth is what we focused on rather than getting in over our head. We paid for everything we had initially. This meant we worked much harder at first b/c we used small equipment, but that taught us to pay more attention to what we were doing and also allowed us to understand our customers expectations and concerns.

[Steve]

Each year had it's own challenges

Do any other challenges stand out to you that others in their first year should be aware of as they push ahead with their business?

[I Cut Grass LLC]

I think the hardest thing really is understanding that you aren't going to be a millionaire over night. And, it's also difficult to get everyone to take you seriously. This is especially the case when you see businesses with new trucks and fancy equipment all over the place- they can be a bit intimidating.

The first thing I went out and did was had business cards, tshirts and signs for my truck made. this way I came off more legit. Insurance also helps- and discussing that you have insurance with your clients and offering to show them certificates of liability coverage as well.

My work stood for itself- I took pride in what was performed and made sure that they saw that. I was always on time and if I told someone I was going to do something I did just that.

I also did some bartering- I traded lawn mowing for a season with a friend of mine in exchange for a basic website: www.icutgrassllc.com

You have to think outside of the box.