Residential Snow Removal

Okay, so for this winter I am thinking of offering my future clients snow removal. First off, I can only afford to buy a snow blower. So I have been some brain storming on how to charge for this when I am able to get a snow plow. I talked to my buddy and he said that when he worked for a lawn care company they would charge a client with an average size driveway in the city $25 for snow up to 4 inches in depth and for each additional inch it would be $10 more. It sounds like a good system to me.. My other issue is that when you start offering snow removal do you want til after the snow or wait until your clients contact you?

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

My other issue is that when you start offering snow removal do you want til after the snow or wait until your clients contact you? Do you mean to plow? That might be based on the customer's preference. Some may want you to plow once when the snow is done. Others may want their property cleared more often of snow.

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You shouldn't have any issues getting clients at $25. Costs more money to run everything in the winter, I was getting $40 a time nobody blinked an eye.
You use more gas in the winter. Your going to break shear pins so be prepared to pay for that. electric start or pull. Eventually the pull will break so have that ready before hand. Then they might want you to come back after the city comes by and clears the road, here it just piles up agaisnt the driveway's. Then you have steps to deal with and paths from the back yard to the front, perhaps they want their decks cleared off as well for saftey measures. Then de iceing is another deal. Pail of salt is 18.00 for 100 pounds.
So when they slip and fall and you were their last guess who is responsible?
So your thinking maybe 20-25 customer's no problem. Now when that blower breaks down what do you have for back up? Because something will go wrong and quit working. What happens when you have 5 people that leave for work at 7 am? You will have to manage that part out. $25 you will go broke. Good luck. Not saying you can't do it because you can, Just alot more options to think about. Id buy 2 used blowers because one will quit. Service is everything so make sure before you buy a blower they have the parts there. You can't afford to be down a week. By the way its $65 an hour here for service time. Think about that now. $25 a blow x 3 plus gas pays for one hour of time to fix your machine. This year I will go up to $45 which includes salt. I use natural salt so it doesn't eat the concrete. Wait till they call you when you killed the grass and they see it in the spring. LOL. $25 my *** you will be broke before you start. And using a plow will kill the grass when your moving it across the driveway, plows are good for commercial, not resedential. Here it is illegal to put it on the boulevard after the snow falls. All your going to do is scrape their lawn and tear it up and put ruts in it.
Then everybody is pissed off. Your better off blowing with a blower. 15 times out at 40 times 18 customer's $10,800. 25 customer's is 15 grand even.
at 25 bucks it comes out to be $5,625. I'll just hire you and not do anything and make 10 grand.

You blow snow when you have to blow not when they say you blow snow. Then your not even making any money. $1800 for a toro blower, best in the market. after everything said and done you just made 2500 maybe.