Central FL Hello

[MAKLawnCutter]

Business Name: MAK (something catchy here, suggestions please) Areas of expert-ease: Curb Appeal and Monthly Yard Maintenance Areas: Central Florida (Orlando and suburbs) Services: Commercial/Residential *Weekly - Monthly - Yearly Services *Full lawn care *Hedges/Small Tree Trimming *Curb Appeal *Hurricane Preparedness/Clean-Up *Recycling/Compost *Small Garden set-up and maintenance I have 5 years experience in the Lawn Business. I worked for a company in Manhattan, KS while i was in school up there. Started out doing all the repairs and up keep on the equipment, got stuck doing lawns when all the college students moved. Enjoyed it. Was put into Estimates later on down the road, then put into Lawn Design. By the end of my 3yr run, i had two trucks i controlled and 90+ lawns we took care of monthly. I moved back to FL in 2008 and my buddy was running a small lawn service and i would help him... he has since then, gotten burnt out and i purchased his trailer and all equipment off of him. Max hours on any of the equipment is 300hours and it came with an enclosed trailer. Was worth the money! I currently have his 4 clients and two of my own i picked up... am waiting to expand till i can come up with a name. Matt - MAK Central FL

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi Matt, Welcome to our forum! You got a lot going on there! my buddy was running a small lawn service and i would help him... he has since then, gotten burnt out and i purchased his trailer and all equipment off of him. What do you think burnt him out about the industry? Do you think there could have been some changes made to help him last longer and enjoy it all more?

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[MAKLawnCutter]

When he got into the Lawn business, he was single... with in the first 12months of owning it he became a father and a husband... He has since come up with the conclusion he wants health insurance and a stable income. He wasnt worried about what his customers thought after a while and only has the 4 i obtained because they didnt complain at all. GO FIGURE!

I am already on a roll with this business and know how to sell myself and services.

Matt

[Steve]

Matt,

That is very interesting!

He wasnt worried about what his customers thought after a while and only has the 4 i obtained because they didnt complain at all. GO FIGURE!

When you say they didnt complain, do you mean they didnt complain about his level of quality and slowly they just dropped him to find another lawn care business?

What kind of business lesson do you feel we can all learn from this and how can we not recreate this problem in the future?

[MAKLawnCutter]

Well, yesterday was a day to remember and it has put myself in front of of all of the customers and i had to talk to ALL of them.

I had about every issue with my equipment possible yesterday.

I talked to all the customers yesterday because one blower, or the mower gave me problems all day yesterday... was wonderful!

His current clients (4 residential lots) said that he would do it quickly and move on, wouldnt spend much time putting effort into getting more business or work from them.

I talked to all 4 yesterday because i had to take my trailer and everything in it to a shop for maintenance (write off and i didnt wanna mess with it).

One lady has about 3000$ in "Special projects" she wants done IE: Muching, planting seed in brown spots, installing bushes (12x4 area against fencing), compost and start preparing for a small garden next season... Another customer wants her fence repaired (i quoted 300$ in labor for new paneling).

I talked to him about it and he just didnt care... he just isnt interested.

I went to school for Business (KSU) and im really good at talking to people so, im two up on him.

Matt

[Steve]

This sounds like it's going to be a great season!

[MAKLawnCutter]

One of his "old" clients called him today complaining about my work. She said she wanted to drop me. Thursday was the day of hell with equipment and she was already told i had issues and was compliant with the issues. I went back and finished the job mid afternoon after i took care of paper work and headed to my weekend job... She called complaining more. "I dont like his work"... blah blah blah. He brought it upto her that i had 9 bags of leaves in the back of my truck from her yard, i had two bundles of palm frowns and two 21ft branches cut into length ready for compost in my back yard... that she didnt even notice, and i did it all for free! She shut her trap extremely quickly!

Another one called me today "You didnt cut my lawn" ... i was in the middle of a dinner rush and told the other manager i had an emergency to go take care of and would be back with in an hour...

Went over and talked to the customer; this yard has over 17min of just EDGING to be completed, the lawn takes 14min to do (front and back) and there is usually debris i am picking up... He was only charging them 110$ a month... stab me in the back!
Anyways! I walked with the customer around the property pointing things out, i had spent 45min on that lawn and he even knew it, he was there at the time...

I was given 4 accounts with this deal, and i have picked up a total of 11 now of my own! I am tempted to drop his 4 because they are 12miles out of my way, and they are all whiney little b****es...

Matt

Im done venting now

[Steve]

Do you think you would feel better dealing with these original 4 customers, if you charged them more?

[MAKLawnCutter]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you think you would feel better dealing with these original 4 customers, if you charged them more?

Yes but, he had them tied in at that price and has had them at their pricing for 4+ years... As soon as i have more of my own customers, i will talk to them about price increases, incase they drop me, i have fall back accounts.

Matt

[cklandscapingorlando]

Where are you working at in Orlando. 110 is about standard. Really 100 is standard. But that dont include trees and all that. Dont take this the wrong way man... I've been doing this for about 15yr here. Most of the time doing large comercial prop's. So if you ever need help with anything let me know. I know most of our material and hot to properly maint it. I can also give tips on production down. Most of my houses are 30min or less for standard lots full service. Those are 100 month lots. Then my windermere route are 20-45min lots and those go for about 120-150 a month. But that dont include any real tree work. I will keep the oaks at 8-12ft and I'll trim any palms that I can reach from the ground. If you can keep tight routes thats over 60hr. IF