Coming back...AGAIN!!!

[XtreemGreen]

I left the lawn business last summer to persue what I thought was a promising carrer in the family business...Well as of Christmas, Im about $1000 short of imcome a month now..We just got a killer deal on buying a house.. Now we have to struggle making the payments...uuuuggghhhh!!!!! So anyways, Im going to start my lawn business again... I guess the only way to get my business out is to do lots of fliers and craigslist... Hopefully work will come in...I have ZERO overhead which helps alot..I dont have the funds so paying for advertising is not in my budget..Fliers wont cost anything as I make my own... I have 10,000 sheets of paper, I refil my own ink and have plenty of supplies I use to distribute them.. Other than that, I wish there was a quick way to start working.. Chad

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In Memory of My Dad..1943-2008..Gary "Snuffy" Smith

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

I thought was a promising carrer in the family business...Well as of Christmas, Im about $1000 short of imcome a month now..We just got a killer deal on buying a house.. Now we have to struggle making the payments...uuuuggghhhh!!!!! What kind of business is it? Buying, fixing up and then selling houses? What have you thought of the business so far?

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[XtreemGreen]

There business is installing propane tanks and gas lines..
The business? Sucks on my end, but my dad makes 100k plus a year easily..

[Steve]

Was there anything you learned about the way he ran his business or attracted his customers that you could utilize and apply to your business?

[wdcutter]

Welcome back, there is alot you can do for free, check out online business directories for your state or area, on some you can post ads for free and some require a link back to there website (simply add a links page to your site.)

Also you can try:
Merchant Circle, maybe a facebook fan page, google maps, yahoo yellow pages and many more.

The biggest thing for me this past year was networking with other local contractors, realtors and other small businesses.

Make up some business cards and drop them off a local realtor offices, post them on the cork boards at mom & pop stores (flyers as well) if they have them, you never know when someone will ask if you have a card.

Best Wishes and keep spreading the word that your back in business to everyone you meet.

[Steve]

Merchant Circle, maybe a facebook fan page, google maps, yahoo yellow pages and many more.

The biggest thing for me this past year was networking with other local contractors, realtors and other small businesses.

Ain't it something how we always come back to the point of social networking?

It seems social networking trumps all other forms of marketing.

[picframer]

Originally Posted by Steve

Ain't it something how we always come back to the point of social networking?

It seems social networking trumps all other forms of marketing.

And it always will because you either know the person or they are a friend of a friend, you simply can't beat that marketing and you will close more sales because of the relationship.

I was thinking while having supper, I amaze myself sometimes cooking and I learned how to really cook when my daughter was 14, she taught me.....she learned from an Italian girlfriend, anyhow I made Atlantic pan fried Salmon with a pasta dish, had it ready for when my daughter, now almost 17 came home from work, even she was impressed.....anyhow.....

I know many of us are working during our downtime on many projects and ideas which is great.

If your social network is small may I suggest something like Bingo, those places are packed with the age group we want to hit for lawn care as they have nothing to do so this is how they meet each other, might be worth a try for lawn care and you might have some fun doing it, if one is finding themselves sitting at home and glued to a game or TV, I think something like this would be a start.

If you have kids, they will have friends, have you talked to their parents? I do and they all know what I am doing and yes it brings in business.

Do you perhaps have a dog that you take for a walk, dogs love meeting dogs, do you keep cards in your pocket??? I started doing this as I wanted a few more snow removal jobs very close to home, did it work, sure did, some said they had a blower or whatever but Joe down the street needs someone, Great may I ask for his address and may I mention that you and I talked? We all carry some type of cell phone, after you part stop and put the info in.

How about community events, do you wear a company jacket or hat or something, is your vehicle parked where it will get lots of attention?

How about the local barber you go to, good lord he knows everyone and everything about them, ever mention to him you were looking to either expand your business or looking at adding a service, ask him what people complain about and then sit back as they generally have lots to say.

Those were supper thoughts...LOL

[Steve]

If you have kids, they will have friends, have you talked to their parents?

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where someone you know through someone else wants you to perform some service but because they know you through someone, they ask you for some kind of discount or break on the price?

How do you deal with such situations?

[picframer]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where someone you know through someone else wants you to perform some service but because they know you through someone, they ask you for some kind of discount or break on the price?

How do you deal with such situations?

I am in a situation where I can simply say my price is my price, some people try a tactic I use all the time, start to walk away, difference is I don't stop them but when I am the buyer, they almost always do, it happened yesterday, I picked my son up from University and we were buying a new laptop, I told the guy he was $200.00 too high even though I had no idea and my son was upset, I could tell by the look on his face as this was the replacement laptop he wanted and he already said the price was good, the sales guy stopped us and said I will split the difference, I said OK but I want this mouse included which was $99.00, he rolled his eyes and we closed the sale.

I bought my daughter a car for Christmas mainly for work however prior to this she always had friends over and their parents would quite often pick them up, I probably received 20 jobs either from the kids parents or a referral, one we start in May which is a very big job, clear a lot for a house, install a driveway, dig the foundation, build the septic field and Landscape, their budget for my part is $40,000 so we will stop if we hit that which will effect the landscape however they can't get a mortgage if it isn't landscaped, new rules from the banks here three years ago I didn't ask if they were aware of this and I probably should as this the septic alone will run twenty grand.

[Steve]

I am in a situation where I can simply say my price is my price

I would think most people would understand this, however I think at times, people when they know you, feel they are entitled to some kind of discount. I just wondered if there was a way to smooth it over where they feel they are getting a good price and you are getting the price you need.

Or maybe it's better to simply not go down that road because if they are going to want a 'friend' discount they will probably want more perks during the job as well.