Officially Official!

[FirstClassLandscaping]

After having a hard time with my county getting the correct license to operate a Landscaping Business, i finally got it. That was the last piece i needed to complete the puzzle and finally be able to call myself a licensed contractor. I have 25 properties as of this afternoon that i added to my list of 3 i had last summer and more are knocking at my door. Cant wait to finally relax and just cut grass without any stress of the paperwork and all the other BS i had to go through. Happy Cutting Dan

[Hedgemaster]

Lawn care business tips

Hey. I'm a recently "legitimized" business owner myself, so I know what you are talking about. Folks, how about a little love for another guy who isn't out to lowball everyone out of work? Your hard work and effort to do it the right way is to be applauded.

[elrascal]

Originally Posted by FirstClassLandscaping

After having a hard time with my county getting the correct license to operate a Landscaping Business, i finally got it. That was the last piece i needed to complete the puzzle and finally be able to call myself a licensed contractor. I have 25 properties as of this afternoon that i added to my list of 3 i had last summer and more are knocking at my door. Cant wait to finally relax and just cut grass without any stress of the paperwork and all the other BS i had to go through. Happy Cutting

Dan

Great Stuff Dan. Do you mind sharing with usas to how you got your 25 clients?

[FirstClassLandscaping]

Hedgemaster- Thanks i have a big problem in my town with illegals lowballing and not having a legit business and it gets really annoying when a customer says no to my bid and yes to theirs bc its cheaper.

elrascal- Basically its mostly word of mouth and talking to people that i know...i did get maybe 3 or 4 on advertisment but the other 20 were from word of mouth which works very well for me bc if you do a good job on someones property then they will refer you to everyone that they know and so on.

[Steve]

What do you think caused the big problem with the county as far as finding what license you needed?

[FirstClassLandscaping]

Originally Posted by Steve

What do you think caused the big problem with the county as far as finding what license you needed?

It not as much of finding out what lisense i needed rather than the rules and regs that are in place to have one. In my county you cant cut your neighbors lawn even if your doing it for free. You need to own the property that you maintain to not get in any kind of trouble. The big thing inmy county is Consumer Protection, which i agree with 100% and have no problem with. But i didnt have my license yet and advertised to see what i would get before i started and got a summons because i was soliciting work without a license which in my county is illegal, to advertise, work, or estimate any property without a license. So i got caught and had to show up to a formal hearing and the first offense is $1000. But a statute in the laws for the county state that a full time student under the age of 22 doesnt need a license which i dont agree with at all...even though it saved me $1000 dollars and my summons got dismissed. But my point here is if the county is all about Consumer Protection then why let a student joe blow who just wants to try and make cash for the summer not have to pay for the license which is $300 every 2 years and just let them go out uninsured and uneducated in the business at all. The rules are rediculous and need to be changed in my opionion.

[cruzgardening]

Originally Posted by FirstClassLandscaping

But a statute in the laws for the county state that a full time student under the age of 22 doesnt need a license which i dont agree with at all...even though it saved me $1000 dollars and my summons got dismissed. But my point here is if the county is all about Consumer Protection then why let a student joe blow who just wants to try and make cash for the summer not have to pay for the license which is $300 every 2 years and just let them go out uninsured and uneducated in the business at all. The rules are rediculous and need to be changed in my opionion.

I really have to disagree with you here, a student that has the time to cut the lawn around your neighborhood for the summer is actually doing more for his community then us...
Yes we might know the business, know more about the type of grasses and their needs, we know how to improve a landscape but how do you think a 20 year old student that lives on his own can make a living with nothing but loans? they either ask for free money from the Gov or have the Gov reduce the penalties for him to be able to live or survive and yet he is being productive without saturating the system. He is also probably charging his neighbors less to do something they would pay 20-30% more for this helps the community since there is more money to do other things with. You and I can survive with all the advertising, the student only helps out his community, you and I can spread out throughout the city, the student is community based.

Glad to hear you went through the whole process the way we all have done it, hope this season is good for you and hope that there are no more illegals taking your bids

Good mowing

[FirstClassLandscaping]

Originally Posted by cruzgardening

I really have to disagree with you here, a student that has the time to cut the lawn around your neighborhood for the summer is actually doing more for his community then us...
Yes we might know the business, know more about the type of grasses and their needs, we know how to improve a landscape but how do you think a 20 year old student that lives on his own can make a living with nothing but loans? they either ask for free money from the Gov or have the Gov reduce the penalties for him to be able to live or survive and yet he is being productive without saturating the system. He is also probably charging his neighbors less to do something they would pay 20-30% more for this helps the community since there is more money to do other things with. You and I can survive with all the advertising, the student only helps out his community, you and I can spread out throughout the city, the student is community based.

Glad to hear you went through the whole process the way we all have done it, hope this season is good for you and hope that there are no more illegals taking your bids

Good mowing

Im not saying that they wont help the community...im a full time college student as well and is a good thing to not make a college student with lots of loans to pay...But if my county praises all about consumer protection and think that is the most important thing when operating a company, then why let the kid with no license and consumer protection of any type by not having any insurance go cut lawns for people in his community and risk not helping it. My feeling is why go out their to try and help if you risk making a big problem by not being Protected, which is why they should need the license.

[cruzgardening]

Originally Posted by FirstClassLandscaping

Im not saying that they wont help the community...im a full time college student as well and is a good thing to not make a college student with lots of loans to pay...But if my county praises all about consumer protection and think that is the most important thing when operating a company, then why let the kid with no license and consumer protection of any type by not having any insurance go cut lawns for people in his community and risk not helping it. My feeling is why go out their to try and help if you risk making a big problem by not being Protected, which is why they should need the license.

ahh now i understand your point. Would it be easier to have some type of permit for the college students since they wont make it a career instead of having them get a full on license?

[FirstClassLandscaping]

Originally Posted by cruzgardening

ahh now i understand your point. Would it be easier to have some type of permit for the college students since they wont make it a career instead of having them get a full on license?

Oh yes that would help lots due to the fact that everytime you get caught you need to goto the county office of consumer protection to get it dismissed. So proof of not needing a license and saying your a college student wuould make it way easier.