Just lawn maintenance

For the northern guys, how hard do you think that it would be to just do lawn maintenance, and not do snow remvoal? I mean, I have been doing this for going on almost 11 years now, and you always have to do snow removal during the winter months to retain some customers and provide some income. Snow removal is between 10 to 15% of my income. But, could it be done that you could take the winter months off if you have; 1) customers that pre-pay early 2) you have enough customers on 12 month flat monthly rate plans

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Most every lco I know in the northern areas needs to plow. Most people in general have a hard time budgeting money. As soon as it's made, there is a place to spend it. So that is why I think most people prefer to work throughout the year. Originally Posted by [b Quote[/b] ]But, could it be done that you could take the winter months off if you have; 1) customers that pre-pay early 2) you have enough customers on 12 month flat monthly rate plans I think it could be done and I think if you could budget your spending, it would be a lot of fun. Sort of like teaching but instead of summers, you get winters off. I think it might be easier for lawn applicators to do this over lawn maintenance companies due to a possible lesser amount of competitors. What's your view?

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The company I run is an 8 month operation. April - November...our services include;

Lawn Maintenance
Bed and Shrub care (including new bed installation)
Weed control and Fert
Insect Evaluation and control
Lite Tree Care (nothing over 15 feet)
Spring and Fall Cleanups
Plant annuals in the spring
Plant bulbs in the fall
...and whatever else we can get in

I have no problems working non stop 8 months of the year. It gives me time to work on my equipment, resign contracts, get new contracts and re-educate myself with the industry.

You really need to plan a realistic budget and stick with it, know what you are going to put away and now what you are going to spend. BE HONEST.

[Steve]

Hi Richard,

What are you looking forwards to mostly this winter?

Posting on the Gopher Forums of course...this has been my busiest season yet and I have been really dedicated to this business. It will be nice to rattle off a website or two as well.

This winter I am mostly looking forward to the down time and rethink the business.

Every year I always play with the business direction, especially the last 1 1/2 years, but this year I think that I am 99% sure that I know my direction for the next couple of years