Youtube commercial

jeffm1 · #1 12-15-2009, 01:53 AM

Hey everybody, sorry I haven't been on the forums since February, but I made alot of money this Cash Season, and have just now slowed down enough to hang out.
During the summer, my nephew who studied media in collage, suggested shooting a commercial for my lawn service, put it on youtube, and then write the link on flyers and business cards. Since he was working for me during the summer, we just shot some film with his little cam-recorder, and he used his software, and uploaded the final video:

http://www.youtube.com/jmenterprisesinc1

I'm going to have the link on the flyers in 2010 and in the paper ad, so anyone can check me out and get yet more advertising.

I thought I would mention this Idea on the forum to help any of you needing to liven up your advertising. We plan to shoot more and better commercials.
Good luck to any who try this.

#2 12-15-2009, 11:30 AM

Lawn care business tips

That's a good start. I would keep that around so when your company grows you can look back and say "WOW"

jeffm1 · #3 12-15-2009, 05:41 PM

Thanks, It was pretty hard to grow the lawn service to the size it is now.
It has two Urban tractors for getting through the back gates, self propelled push, ect, but I started with a used mower in a trunk of my car, so I feel like "wow" now.

The area I live in has alot of potential to grow, and I am certainly going to try.

Steve · #4 12-16-2009, 02:43 AM

Nice work on the video. It's good to always be experimenting with different marketing ideas.

Quote:

Hey everybody, sorry I haven't been on the forums since February, but I made alot of money this Cash Season, and have just now slowed down enough to hang out.

What do you think helped push your business to a higher level this year? Were there any things you felt you learned or advice you could offer others just starting out?

jeffm1 · #5 12-16-2009, 04:04 AM

Well, what I did to help me make more money was to stop lowballing and get my rates up. So I have my rates now higher, Today I advertise a single cut as $30, and Monthly contracts starting at $80. I get less customers, but You have to charge what you need or your business is BS. The first year I charged 20 a cut and 70 for a monthly contract. Needless to say, I didn't have tax money at the end of the year, so I made the determination that though you want to be easy on the people you have to pass on tax expenses ect to them and charge the higher rates or your business will get into trouble with the IRS ect.
Another thing I did this year was to use a worker more, and to make sure the worker wasn't some "rent a bum" type charactor, but was a quality worker
who could do alot. You can't be sypathetic to the bum who wants to work
a couple days a month and sleep in the rest, but you have to hire real workers who can perform.
These are the two biggest things I did to Increase my earnings about 30%
since I started the first year.

Steve · #6 12-16-2009, 12:24 PM

Those are very good points. As you look ahead now with all you have learned this past year, are there other ideas you are looking to change or implement into your business next year to improve even further?

jeffm1 · #7 12-19-2009, 12:02 AM

God willing, I'll continue to get more higher paying customers and contracts.
This is key-never to under charge, and get as many contracts as possible to keep income in the winter. The first winter I had one contract that paid 70.
This winter I have 8 that pay around 600. That extra income will keep me from using credit cards in the winter. So my business takes on less intrest.

So I will hopefully continue to get my customer list more Ideal in 2010.

Steve · #8 12-19-2009, 02:46 AM

Do you provide any services to your customers in the winter? Do you stop by their property at all, or do you simply bill them the same amount each month all year to lower their monthly fees because they are spread out over 12 months instead of say 7 or 8 months?

jeffm1 · #9 12-20-2009, 02:03 AM

Because I live in central Florida, it doesn't snow here, so we still mow in the winter. I normally go by once a month and mow, and just check on the property one other time in the month. Thats the extent of service in the winter. But I advertise for additional work, such as tree work.

Steve · #10 12-20-2009, 03:23 AM

Quote:

This is key-never to under charge, and get as many contracts as possible to keep income in the winter. The first winter I had one contract that paid 70.
This winter I have 8 that pay around 600.

What do you feel is the best way to go about getting customers to agree to an annual lawn care contract versus simply paying each month as their yard needs servicing?

What do you feel you offer your customers to entice them to sign up for the contract service?

Also, how do you deal with price increases? Do you try and increase your price each year or no?

Youtube commercial

Introduce Yourself