another new lawn guy.....

[newguyjoe]

Hi guys, gonna give it a shot this year, buyin a mower trailer and the works to try and make some cash on the side...i have a full time electronics job. i have lots of questions and this site is pretty good so far. questions in no particular order are- do people really care what day/time you show up? i know prob some will but what are some experiences ? i plan on for the most part coming after 5pm during the week and saturdays if allowed how heavy duty of a trailer do i NEED ? i dont have a truck, i have an Xterra that should pull a mower/trailer setup. should i stay away from the home depot/lowes trailers ? REALL RANDOM ONE- will a 48inch deck some how fit through a 36inch gate ??? hahaha cant wait to hear about this one. any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks in advance Joe

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by newguyjoe do people really care what day/time you show up? i know prob some will but what are some experiences ? i plan on for the most part coming after 5pm during the week and saturdays if allowed People would rather you show up before 5pm, as they are either just arriving home to relax, or to have dinner. The last thing they want to hear is a mower. Also, that's when the mosquitoes come out to eat you. As for sticking to a time & day of the week, it is important. Even without making a schedule, customers will arrange their lifestyle around you & you should do the same to a point. Showing up on different days every week makes you look unorganized & wont make the grass any easier to cut. how heavy duty of a trailer do i NEED ? i dont have a truck, i have an Xterra that should pull a mower/trailer setup. should i stay away from the home depot/lowes trailers ? Home depot trailers are cheap, but once you get a dent it's like everything gets worse from then on. They are not durable at all. Though with caution you could carry a good load on them, just read the description to see how much weight it could handle. I recommend you just make a ramp for your Xterra to put your mower in. If you're not going to have a lot of time to really grow, what's the point on spending $1000.00+ on a home depot trailer? REALL RANDOM ONE- will a 48inch deck some how fit through a 36inch gate ??? hahaha cant wait to hear about this one. Only if you are a Newfie, those people can manage anything. Real answer: Hell no. Some large decks can fit in smaller gates because of the maneuverability, you really gotta nudge around. With a 48' it's hard to say, can the deck lift at least? What did they put in my Hungry Man microwavable meal? I'm not only full off of nothing, but I'm exhausted & need to sleep it off!

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Last edited by CHEESE2009; 02-23-2010 at 12:01 PM.

[Steve]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to our forum!

Did those answers above help you out?

Ultimately get started with what you can. See if you like it and then scale up as needed. Don't make any of it more complicated than it needs to be.

[newguyjoe]

yeah that helped a little. i hear good things and bad about this business....more bad than good. i have two friends both in it and they said you are a slave to it. i just wanna make a few extra bucks so i will find out for myself. is there a thread on here with stuff for sale ? like a used trailer in good shape cheap? hahaha... i check cragslist every day. i cant wait for the grass to grow. another foot of snow tonight. thanks for the info again.

Joe

[B-2 Lawncare]

I will take the snow, send it my way.

[Steve]

Right now I would think your best chance of finding a trailer locally would be on craigslist. Maybe a local Home Depot has a cheap trailer you can buy to get started with?

Maybe your friends have an old trailer to sell?

i have two friends both in it and they said you are a slave to it.

What do you feel they meant by that? Do they enjoy it at all or no?

How did hearing that from them effect your view on it?

[newguyjoe]

Yeah , I will prob go with a cheapo trailer from home depot or lowes to get going. hearing from them is kinda weird.....i hear and understand what the have to say BUT still have to find out for myself what they dislike it. one guy really just doesnt like doing the cleanups. i understand that....not sure yet about those.. it that a service you have to do to keep customers ?Another question... as i sit here and the snow is pounding us , is snow removal anbother thing you need to do ? i mean it makes sense, if you have a person that wont mow their own lawn then they pro wont want to shovel this crap right ? ? ? ?

[Steve]

It seems what tends to work best especially when you initially are getting started is to see yourself as a property manager of all your customers. Offer them all the services you can and that they will pay for.

If you limit the scope of services you are offering initially, you may not make it through your first year in business due to a lack of positive cash flow and you may not see an opportunity that pops up because your focus was too limited.

Experiment with services early on and see what you like or dislike. See what your customers need or don't need and from all that knowledge make your next year better. Keep repeating this year after year.