need help pricing a job

Im just getting started in the lawn care business and had planned on starting with a few residential jobs but I suddenly have a request from an apartment owner who owns 3 apartment buildings and 1 of them is quiet large, Im not sure how to price it to him, do I do it on time I think it would take or what? any suggestions would help. thanks..

Lawn care business tips

You really need to know what your costs are going to be, and then what your time is worth. Once you forgive out both of those you can figure out how much you need to charge for the property

[Steve]

Hi vicman,

Another thing we have seen in the past when dealing with this was break the job down into smaller parts. Figure out how much to mow this section here then that section there, then add this up.

Also listen to "Pitfalls of Commercial Accounts." There are other mp3s to listen to as well here.

Let me know what you think.

thanks guys, I have already got a few residentials and so far have under bid some of them and I didnt want to do that with these, so thanks again

[Steve]

Vic,

If you are new and are experimenting with all this. You could always do the job once for free. See how long it takes you to do all the work. Then you will know for sure. From there you can figure out how much you need to charge per hour and you will be all set.

Also the freebie mowing might really help you stand out when presenting your bid. It could build goodwill and help you improve on your estimating skills.

Keep us posted on what happens and what you decide to do.

One thing that I do a lot is compared current properties to new ones that I am bidding on. If I already do one property for lets say $25, and this new one looks to be the some size and would take me the same time, then it should be $25 too. But be careful doing this. You can sometimes underbid or under estimate the amount of work.