Flower Bed Rescue

[Shark1611]

I have a bed that we round up all the weeds. Came back week later then pulled. After that week we planted our plants and mulch the bed. Now I continue to have to pull weeds and round up where I can. Does preem work or is there something else I can use to help cut down on have to work on these beds all the time? The other issue is the deer keep coming in and I have to work the mulch all the time. I have seen stuff that can keep deer out but not sure if it works. So......what is the trick to help cut down on the labor time to keep beds looking nice and weed free?

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

So......what is the trick to help cut down on the labor time to keep beds looking nice and weed free? How about using landscape fabric? Would that help you? I am chalking this one up to lack of experience in this kind of job and will not make that same mistake again. Do you think next time you will estimate the job and then double that figure you have in your mind? Would that help you come up with a price that would be more workable?

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[Ducke]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you think next time you will estimate the job and then double that figure you have in your mind? Would that help you come up with a price that would be more workable?

No the problem with that figure is I would never get any jobs,
I just have to allow more time or more manpower. I might have a few $$ to play with but there is a fine line that people are willing to pay for such jobs.

[Shark1611]

Originally Posted by Steve

How about using landscape fabric? Would that help you?





Do you think next time you will estimate the job and then double that figure you have in your mind? Would that help you come up with a price that would be more workable?

I was going to do just that but was told by the last guy who had this bid that the dear cut through it. Should of just did it. Thanks!

[Steve]

No the problem with that figure is I would never get any jobs,
I just have to allow more time or more manpower. I might have a few $$ to play with but there is a fine line that people are willing to pay for such jobs.

How do you feel such jobs compare with mowing jobs? Are they more profitable or less per hour?

Sometimes it seems certain types of jobs will perform better than others.

[ExpoAware]

Originally Posted by Steve

How do you feel such jobs compare with mowing jobs? Are they more profitable or less per hour?

Sometimes it seems certain types of jobs will perform better than others.

Not my question, but I can weigh in with one point of view.... a bit long winded....

As a small outfit, I find that mowing is always more profitable in the long run. I usually only provide this kind of work for existing customers or commercial accounts or where lawn work will follow.

For instance I manage the lawns for one of the McDonalds franchises. One store was in terrible shape bed wise as the landscape contractor let the property go. I parlayed that into a nice bedding reinstall and maintenance contract with my customer for ALL the properties. It worked out like this: he paid separate rates to get the beds back into maintainable shape and now pays a monthly maintenance fee to keep them that way.

The formula that works best for me is to hire (experienced) help for larger bedding jobs so that I can finish quickly and still make a decent profit without breaking my back. I bid probably more than than average outfit because I don't typically want these types of jobs. So when it works out, I am not left wishing I had not taken the job or underbidding myself which is easy to do as we all know. The trick is not spending too much time on the estimates so that my time is wasted. Thankfully, this does not happen very often.

[Ducke]

Originally Posted by Steve

How do you feel such jobs compare with mowing jobs? Are they more profitable or less per hour?

Sometimes it seems certain types of jobs will perform better than others.

Mowing is a higher profit work but the flower bed jobs was more rewarding and also gives you a break from pushing a mower for 10 hours a day.
all in all work is work and you do what you have to in order to pay the bills

[Steve]

The formula that works best for me is to hire (experienced) help for larger bedding jobs

What do you look for in an employee that can perform better? How does one with more experience work on beds compared to a less experienced employee?

Do you train them at all to improve their speed?

[Altmanlandscaping]

Nice job.. thats a lot of work hand picking beds like that.