My New Lawn Signs - Bartering 101

[Hedgemaster]

Several weeks ago I went to give an estimate to mow a lawn. Long story short, the homeowner owns a local promotional company that does silk screen shirts and other such items, and when I mentioned that I was looking to have some shirts and signs made, he asked if I'd be interested in bartering - some cuts for some merchandise? Hecks yeah! I quoted him $40-$45 to cut his lawn and he offered me two (2), two-sided, 18x24, full color, coroplast lawn signs with upgraded heavy-duty stakes. Here they are. He suggested doing a vertical design, as it will stand out from the millions of "standard" 24"x18" horizontal signs that litter the landscape. This made sense to me and I used the same layout for both, but used different text for the "headers". As a designer, I was torn between going with a stark, "generic" design using "text only" that could be easily viewed from a distance, or a more "colorful" design that has more visual appeal. Since most of the places I'll be placing these are either at intersections (where cars stop for a moment - long enough to view the sign), or along sidewalks where there is pedestrian traffic, I went the more "colorful" route. I designed them, emailed PDF files to him, and in a few days, he had them ready for me. for these pics I threw them back by my flowerbed to show scale... Viewed from the back... I cut his lawn again today. We spoke of having some t-shirts printed in trade. It's a win/win for both of us.

Attached Images

	lawnsign1.jpg (304.6 KB, 13 views)
	lawnsign2.jpg (320.6 KB, 5 views)
	lawnsign3.jpg (321.4 KB, 4 views)
	lawnsign4.jpg (307.7 KB, 5 views)
	lawnsign5.jpg (233.4 KB, 8 views)

[bruces]

Lawn care business tips

your signs really look great [like everything else you have done ] .

[ToastedToad]

Really nice Hedge!

[cleancutlawncare5382]

Very nice signs.

I ran into bartering my serices for goods also. Last year a guy asked if I would continue mowing for a set of saddlebags. Heck yeah!

[Hedgemaster]

Thanks guys!

Time will tell if they generate any business.
If nothing else, I'm hoping to get some "name recognition" from my promotional pieces.

[Ducke]

Very Nice Hedge
Very professional they are bound to get you at least a couple of new customers and that will make it all worth while.
Very Nice man very nice.

[Steve]

Those have got to be the nicest lawn signs I have ever seen.

How many do you plan on putting out?

When will you start with this? It will be really interesting to see what kind of responses you get.

With your design, you could experiment with different offers printed at the top in that bright yellow text. Then see if certain headlines pull better than others.

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Ducke

Very Nice Hedge
Very professional they are bound to get you at least a couple of new customers and that will make it all worth while.
Very Nice man very nice.

I'm not sure, but I think there's a compliment hidden in there somewhere...




Thanks man.

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

Those have got to be the nicest lawn signs I have ever seen.

How many do you plan on putting out?

When will you start with this? It will be really interesting to see what kind of responses you get.

With your design, you could experiment with different offers printed at the top in that bright yellow text. Then see if certain headlines pull better than others.

LOL! Thank you, sir.

I just have the two signs for now. I intend to place them in the lawns as I work - not leave them in any one spot.

I considered headlines that were either "offers", or just something brutally simple like "Lawn Mowing", but decided against it for this round - maybe I'll do another set of signs that way. As mentioned before, I wanted more of a "wow factor" in these signs.

I placed them out while cutting two lawns yesterday. I noted that people were looking at them as they drove by. Well, that or they were checking out my a$$ - it's hard to say.

When I did the layout, I tried to balance readability with "eye catchy" design.
I could have made them more easily readable from a distance by using text on a plain background, but I kept thinking of all the places I work where people (mainly women) WALK by. The "pretty colors" should "draw them in" and they will be able to read what the sign is "about". (If they aren't too busy checking out my butt )

I'll let you know how it pans out.

[cruzgardening]

Very nice i made some with vista print but they were way smaller, they were free, lol it has attracted lots of looking a few calls i hope this and the shirts will land you lots of new clients but dont forget to keep posting on craigslist