Another start up thread

[tha5150]

Thanks. I plan on having a long discussion with a close friend who is in the biz. After being on this site and others, I have a lot of knowledgeable questions to ask; equipment related. We have been speaking of accounts for a while now and how to get started. Now its onto this 2k ish all in one package deal and what the number will actually be. One good thing is, I could use my dads truck and not have to get rid of my car. That is until I quit my day job. I could use his on the weekends no problem So this cuts my cost down a bit too. by the way, i am in Lakeland, FL. So if anyone wants to look on Craigslist and check Lakeland and Tampa out and give me some ideas of what i will be looking at for cost, I would greatly appreciate it!

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Does it snow in that part of the world? I'm from Canada... wanna switch? My igloo has all the bells and whistles!

[tha5150]

oh its nice here right now. 75 degrees F!!!

but we just got over our cold weather.. high 30's lol



hey this guy just emailed me about my trade online.. here is what he has. i am asking for weed eater and blower along with trade and havent heard back yet.. whats your thoughts on this mower and i cant figure out how i would steer it. the stick? lol

https://plus.google.com/photos/11771...I6VkLy3j76hyAE

here is my ad

http://lakeland.craigslist.org/boa/2805799604.html

Thanks for looking. This is a 1993 Scout 152 Fish model. extremely well maintained, no issues. This is one of 2 boats I own and looking to trade this for a commercial lawn service setup. Mower, edger, weed eater, blower and trailer. Depending on equipment condition I may add cash to deal or visa verse; if yours is older and not in great shape, you should add cash to deal. Not looking for riding lawn mower for home use. Must be commercial grade walk behind with wheel or sit on type.

I am an honest person, looking to start a side job. I would only like to deal with honest people as well. If you are interested in trading, please send all information about all of your equipment along with pictures. We could meet at the lake behind my house for a test drive if you want. Must have cash in hand or trailer/equipment ready to drop.

I find this boat to be worth a solid, honest 3k. Galvanized trailer is in great shape, tires are good, bearings good, winch, rollers, bunks, etc etc. no issues. Boat has 50hp Evinrude and starts EVERY TIME cold or not. 2stroke so uses little gas mixed 50/50. This boat is solid, sure its a 93 but looks great. Comes with 34lb foot control trolling motor mounted. Lights work, trim works on motor all the way up and down as it should. 4 rod holders that may be moved around boat to adjust to personal preference. Bimini and hardware top is brand new, 2 months old. Plenty of storage in back under the splash hood which slides forward and backwards to get to area. has 10 gallon gas tank and 2 batteries. Bilge pump works great. Also has to stainless seat bases for drop in chairs. In pictures below, I had yet to install the rear base. Front storage under casting deck and rear storage under seat in back.

Please let me know what you have. Any and all offers are taken into consideration. I will respond almost immediately if emailed during normal hours of the day.
Thank you for looking.

[tha5150]

Just added more pictures of what he sent me. the Mower is a Dixie Chopper LT-2000-44 with a 20 Koler motor.

http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=15495

Please advise on the pics seen in the link. I am very inclined to make this trade. Keep in mind, i do not think all the edgers and weed eaters are included. maybe one of each, the blower is included though. and trailer of course.

[tha5150]

welp... did the trade. pretty excited. got 3 weed eaters, 1 edge, blower mower and trailer. ALSO, the guy wanted my fish finder, so i left it on for a pair of hedge trimmers. everything runs, pretty dirty, but runs.

blower needs straps, cable for throttle and fix a leaky gas tank.

everything else works fine, just needs a good cleaning.


question. can i spray everything down with degreaser and pressure wash all the dirt and grim out of everything? someone said i could but want to verify this. figured there is less water in a pressure washer vs the hose and i dont want to use a hose with a pressure nossle... make sense? let me know.



now its off to find accounts.


EDIT ** Here are some more pics i took. If anyone could help with model numbers i would appreciate it greatly.

RedMax Blower i think

[Steve]

Did he ever say why he was getting out of the business or offer you any business advice about getting customers in your area?

[Chaz]

that was an exceptional boat! i would have loved to have that (if i had 3k)
looks very good on the set up, (I wanna see the mower tho!) i am in the same process you are, my first season and all but i don't have a current job, i have school tho but still have tons of time to focus on the business, i have been reading books on how to start my business and everything.

I started writing my business plan Friday, I wasn't sure if it was really necessary to have one when I am just cutting people's grass.... but I am 25 pages in to it and it really is an eye opener. I am nearing completion of it and will be getting my professors to look at it over the week. Now that i have gotten in the process of writing the plan i would highly recommend you write one as well.

I would summarize a business plan as "putting your ideas on paper"

my professors really emphasize on the importance of having one, they say its a business's number one tool. if something isn't working, you go to your plan and change it to get it working the way it needs to be.

I have used this plan as a guideline, I would say its a pretty decent one (because they are still in business today) but, it is missing the financial parts which in my eyes are the most critical.
http://www.gopherforum.com/uploaded-...sinessPlan.pdf

[tha5150]

here is the mower. good idea about the biz plan write out.

as for getting business from the guy, unfortunately no. he bought out another guy and some of this equipment came with the deal. so he basically bought
some accounts and got a boat haha

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by tha5150

Chaz,

how many miles were on that truck? geez thats cheap!!!


as for the trailer, i would not need one that is enclosed because i would keep my equipment in my garage for certain. This was it is safe, no need to pay for a shop. Only thing i would imagine an issue would be is the rear gate being too tale. i am sure i could figure something out though. Just remove it every night or something.. not sure but thats a small issue right now.

forgot to reply to this...
285k on the truck, but my previous car had 405k so that doesn't scare me.

it isnt an enclosed trailer it has sides that are 24" high, this trailer is excellent for mulch! I bought it off of craigslist for 1,000 the guy had bought it like the year before for 1,700 (had receipt) and said he used it about 4 times which it looked like.

they have cheap trailers all over craigslist for like $200+ but I wanted something that i know wasn't going to break. it has full size tires and everything. I also wanted the 24" sides to haul mulch and other things in, If i do a clean up job it is very convenient to load by hand on to a tarp and then just pull the tarp off of the trailer (depending on debris weight). With such tall sides it isnt too hard to secure 4x8 boards to extend the height.

this is a picture of it on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...5316428&type=1

The mower looks great, Dixie chopper is one of the top brands around here.

[tha5150]

ive thought about getting rid of the enclosed trailer and doing one like yours. but i am in a tossup. i see most end up getting enclosed if they can afford it and obviously is better for bad weather and could be used for many things. throwing trash after clean up wouldnt happen though. would but then i have a huge cleanup when i get home. problem is the weight. but not too bad and could deal with it with the right vehicle. still need to get a hitch installed on my dads Isuzu Trooper 1998. wife's 2008 Mazda CX-9 would work but don't want to get it dirty. its the baby mobile.

once and if and when i get this off the ground, i will defiantly pick up a truck.

as for the mower, runs GREAT! i think it is a great starter for me and yes, one of the better brands. i know by means is this a top of the line mower but confident it will do ME right..