Hello

[5star]

Hello everyone, I've been working for a friend doing lawn care/maintenance for the past three years and decided to start my own lawn business in the spring. I'm pretty much starting from scratch with equipment, marketing, etc. Any advice or suggestions on how I should run this new business? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced!

[jymie]

Lawn care business tips

Make sure of the following: Have a website list it in: the search engines google places google maps bing maps yahoo maps etc get business cards give them to everyone you meet attach them to every bulletin board in towns you service Post ads on Craigslist, Backpage List the business on every online business directory you can find, yellow pages (there are several), merchant circle, insider pages, super pages, angies list, etc. Distribute flyers or post cards to people you meet walking around your neighborhood. When you get customers, very important to solicite to entire streets you already service, to try to pick up several on the street, your already there you could service them too. My local free penny saver publishes a business directory, that is a great place to buy an ad as that directory goes to every home in my town. Don't go into debt to fund a start up, If possible, pay for everything with cash so it does not eat at your bottom line. Don't low ball. You will want to at startup, but stay firm on industry averages in your area. You should already have a good idea on that as you have been working for someone for 3 years. I would also say do not try to steal his customers from him. If they approach you, OK, but do not approach them, it's just not cool. The big thing to remember is don't get discouraged. The first few years will be small but you will see slow growth and in a few years you will begin to see the business grow larger as you begin to get established. One last thing, look through the rental listings in the papers in your area. Get in touch with the ads that are listed in your area. Also look on craigslist for these as well. They may need someone to take care of their income properties. I have one customer that has 7 rental properties that I keep up for him. I cut them every two weeks. I hope this is a good starting point for you. Best of luck!

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. http://www.lunchesruslawncare.com

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Last edited by jymie; 11-29-2010 at 08:20 AM.

[Steve]

Welcome to our forum!

What kind of equipment were you previously using and what did you think about it?

Also what did you like or dislike about that experience of working with your friend?

How do you feel you will do things better than your friend did?

[5star]

Originally Posted by jymie

Make sure of the following:

1. Have a website list it in:
   • the search engines
   • google places
   • google maps
   • bing maps
   • yahoo maps etc
2. get business cards give them to everyone you meet attach them to every bulletin board in towns you service
3. Post ads on Craigslist, Backpage
4. List the business on every online business directory you can find, yellow pages (there are several), merchant circle, insider pages, super pages, angies list, etc.
5. Distribute flyers or post cards to people you meet walking around your neighborhood.
6. When you get customers, very important to solicite to entire streets you already service, to try to pick up several on the street, your already there you could service them too.
   
   My local free penny saver publishes a business directory, that is a great place to buy an ad as that directory goes to every home in my town.

Don't go into debt to fund a start up, If possible, pay for everything with cash so it does not eat at your bottom line. Don't low ball. You will want to at startup, but stay firm on industry averages in your area. You should already have a good idea on that as you have been working for someone for 3 years. I would also say do not try to steal his customers from him. If they approach you, OK, but do not approach them, it's just not cool.

The big thing to remember is don't get discouraged. The first few years will be small but you will see slow growth and in a few years you will begin to see the business grow larger as you begin to get established.

One last thing, look through the rental listings in the papers in your area. Get in touch with the ads that are listed in your area. Also look on craigslist for these as well. They may need someone to take care of their income properties. I have one customer that has 7 rental properties that I keep up for him. I cut them every two weeks.

I hope this is a good starting point for you. Best of luck!

Thanks for all your helpful tips!

[5star]

Originally Posted by Steve

Welcome to our forum!

What kind of equipment were you previously using and what did you think about it?

Also what did you like or dislike about that experience of working with your friend?

How do you feel you will do things better than your friend did?

Thanks Steve,

When I was working with him, we were using commercial honda mower's. I found those very sturdy. For weed eaters, we used various brands, but the brand I seemed happy with most was the Mitsubishi Kazaa models. They didn't last as long as the Shindaiwa's, but were very light weight and easy to handle compared to them.

Working for my friend, I learned a lot of things from power raking to pruning, to trimming. I just didn't like the fact that he would push long hours and not pay me extra (I guess nobody would).

There was also something that was troubling me as well, when ever we power rake a property, he would spread this moss control over the lawn. Would you happen to know the brand and type of moss control he spreads? Are there any brands that are better than others?

Thanks!

[arthur712]

Welcome to our forum!

Great to have you here!

[Steve]

Scotts has a moss control product, but the only way to know for sure what he used would be to ask him I guess.

How do think you will run your business differently than your friend did and how do you plan on standing out from him and other competitors in your area?