Intro from South Carolina

Hello my fellow entrepreneurs, I am Stephen Wright, and I am looking foward to starting my very own Lawn Maintenence business. I have an educational background from the University of South Carolina. I earned a B.S. degree in Technology Support and Training Management. I have worked in my field of knowledge for about 3-4 years, and it's really never been that fulfiling. Matter of fact, when I graduated I felt as if I really had done nothing. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not knock any form of education, because it is the key that unlocks doors to success. It's just that I didn't feel as if my educational route was right for my personality. I am pretty outgoing, and I have a good work ethic, and I've always had an entreprenurial spirit. Well, i won't make this intro to long, and I'll just some it up that I want to start my own Lawn Maintenence Business, and would appreciate any help I could get, and I will in return also provide any help I can provide to this forum. I don't know the first thing about lawn maintenence besides cutting my parents lawn as a kid. I really need some guidance, and it would really be appreciated. To Your Success, Stephen Wright

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi Stephen, Welcome to our forum! There are a ton of lawn mowing training programs out there. I have heard of that one but don't know anything about it. Did you consider any other business ideas in your past? How did you decide to focus on lawn care? What's some of your plans now to expand out this year?

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Yeah Steve, I have considered many other business ideas, in fact, I'm involved with internet marketing as well I promote a business through my website. I thought about the the lawn care industry and business, because I remember as a kid I liked being outdoors and cutting the grass. My father plants a garden every year, and I'm also interested in that as well. I just want to do my own thing, you know, run my own business. I also just like the outdoors, I enjoy fishing, running, and playing basketball and flag football. I was in the Army National Guard for 7 years, so I'm kind of used to being on the outside. I think I can deal with the "heat" of this business. I have a friend who is a lawyer, and he says that he will do all of my paper work for me as far as forming an LLC. Do you think this is the route to go. I know you suggest just getting out there and cutting, but I want to be covered while I'm cutting. Also, would you suggest I try working for a landscaping company for a while, and also taking a landscaping design course online. Thanks in advance for your help.

Stephen Wright

[jessechaveriat]

Check out the lawn business school on this site, before you order anything.
Print up some business cards, and give them to family and friends. Have a nice magnetic sign made up for your vehicle. Whenever you cut someones lawn, go to two or three of the neighbors houses and let them know that you are in the area and can cut their grass at a slight discount because there is no travel time involved. If they say no, leave them your card. Get some adhesive magnets for the back of your cards too. People love magnets. It will always be on their fridge.

My opinion would be not to purchase anything about lawn care. Just about everything you need to get started and be successful is on here.

Jesse

[Steve]

Jesse made a good point.

Try the lawn care business school. It's free.

involved with internet marketing as well I promote a business through my website

If you could take concept and redo it for a lawn care business, that would be fantastic.

Make a 30 second intro video with you outside next to your mower. That would be outstanding!

I was in the Army National Guard for 7 years, so I'm kind of used to being on the outside. I think I can deal with the "heat" of this business.

Promote this on your website too, maybe include a picture of you in uniform. It helps to tell your story and build trust with the potential customer.

I have a friend who is a lawyer, and he says that he will do all of my paper work for me as far as forming an LLC. Do you think this is the route to go. I know you suggest just getting out there and cutting, but I want to be covered while I'm cutting. Also, would you suggest I try working for a landscaping company for a while, and also taking a landscaping design course online.

You will learn quite a bit if you work with someone for even a short time. I think many people on here though never go that route and instead just go out on their own and learn as they go. The adventure of it can be a lot of fun.

Should you get an LLC? If you want. I think you could do just as well registering a business name and getting some insurance. Later on if you are still in it, you can scale up and incorporate.

If you see an online design course you like, sure why not learn more.

The big focus initially is finding re-occuring lawn care customers. From there, you can upsell them landscape projects.

Keep us posted on how it all goes.

Thanks for all the replies, and I will keep you guys updated on my situation.

I just wanna say that to do this kind of work, in my opinion, you have to LOVE it. I know you have talked about how you like to be outdoors and do that sort of thing, but I really do think you need to absolutely love it. But, when I say that, it probably goes for any job, and you and I both know that 99.9% of people hate there job.

Just by reading your previous posts, it seems like your very interested in the business side of things. I can relate. I love business. Just remember to start small, and don't get carried away with buying expensive equipment right off. If you decide it's not for you, your gunna have a lot of equipment to get rid of that you will lose money on.

Good luck to you, and everyone else on here starting or running a lawn care company.

[Steve]

If you decide it's not for you, your gunna have a lot of equipment to get rid of that you will lose money on.

Have you met or seen many people who fall into this category around you? Can you often tell even before they get into it that it is going to be a disaster?

I just wanna say that to do this kind of work, in my opinion, you have to LOVE it. I know you have talked about how you like to be outdoors and do that sort of thing, but I really do think you need to absolutely love it. But, when I say that, it probably goes for any job, and you and I both know that 99.9% of people hate there job.

This brings up an excellent point and I do think this is ideal. My question is, how many people that you know LOVE something? I know so many people and it seems very few of them are REALLY into anything. Do you find this to be the case or not?

That's an interesting point Steve! If I had to ask myself If I loved just about any job, i don't know if I would say yes. I had a job working at the hospital as a Technical Analyst, and I loved the fact that I was playing an integral role in the hospital. I just loved the fact that I was helping people in need. However, even though I loved this aspect of the job, I still hated the drive to work everymorning, getting up at certain time, etc. I know this will still be the case with lawn mowering, but at least I'll be working for myself, so I can't be mad with anyone else but me if I find out I don't like it. I am a type of person that has a high failure quotient. I just go for no! which is a great book by the way, I suggest everyone in business read "Go for No" by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz. I'll be doing a book review on it soon on my blog.

I'm considering buying a John Deere Walk-behind 7H17 -17HP/48-in. 7-iron II deck. and I aslo need some hand helds, what hand helds would you recommend. As far as the walk-behinds, what do you think about them in comparison to a ride-own. I probably could use my fathers mtd rl 742 to start out with, and my partner only has a 21 inch riding mower, I don't know what kind. I guess I just need to know what the basics are to get started. What kind of weed-eater, do I need a blower? etc, etc,.