Slow and steady we go

[nitalouise]

Hi Everyone, Slowly getting the business up and running, with a lot of education from this forum and many others. Our business is that of 2 people, husband and wife team, I being the wife and the business end of it. He has had 4 steady customers and many one time jobs for the past 2 years, all neighbors in our area, and word of mouth has brought quite a few 1 time handyman jobs. Him being a Carpenter by trade has really helped in that area also, but as you may know the Carpentry trade can get slow to almost nothing which has happend to him in the past year. So we decided if he can keep 4 fulltime customers for 2 years, why can't we get and keep more. That's when we decided to start calling this a business. We are slowly gathering information on things we need to learn, deciding a name and logo and so on. He does snow blowing so that's what the plan is for this winter, then in the Spring start a full-blown marketing campaigne after we aquire all the equiptment needed, a truck being one of them in order to break out of the surrounding area. Anyone out there have any suggestions for someone who has been dabbling in it and has decided to take it a few steps farther? Also, do you think people will be put off by a husband and wife team, I will be dealing a lot with the customers on the business end of it. Are they going to have an issue with that from your experience? Also, I can't seem to find any info as to weather Pennsylvania requires a Business Liscence to Operate in the state, some say yes some say no. Im not talking about a state tax number or federal tax number either. Many questions, also, or if you can think of anything else we many need in the state of PA. Thanks in advance.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Welcome to our forum! Anyone out there have any suggestions for someone who has been dabbling in it and has decided to take it a few steps farther? Can you scale up your marketing? Go through your social network and talk to people you know. Ask around and see if anyone needs any property care of maintenance. Hand out business cards to them and ask them to give an extra to someone they know. Also, do you think people will be put off by a husband and wife team, I will be dealing a lot with the customers on the business end of it. Are they going to have an issue with that from your experience? There are many husband and wive teams on here and they tend to be successful. Their are many great points about doing it that way. One can play good guy while the other can play bad guy. It helps with collections and when bidding on work you are unsure of. Plus someone can answer the phones and respond quickly to small fires that tend to grow into big fires. Also, I can't seem to find any info as to weather Pennsylvania requires a Business Liscence to Operate in the state, some say yes some say no. Im not talking about a state tax number or federal tax number either. We have many members on here from PA. Depending on the services you offer, there may be a license requirement. I'd check online to find out for sure. Each township can differ on this issue so there is no way for knowing for sure unless you do a little digging.

__________________
- Subscribe to my Lawn Care Marketing Blog Feed and get daily tips sent to you. Free!
Download your Free trial of Gopher Lawn Care Software.

[dougcaskey]

Originally Posted by nitalouise

Hi Everyone,

Slowly getting the business up and running, with a lot of education from this forum and many others. Our business is that of 2 people, husband and wife team, I being the wife and the business end of it. He has had 4 steady customers and many one time jobs for the past 2 years, all neighbors in our area, and word of mouth has brought quite a few 1 time handyman jobs. Him being a Carpenter by trade has really helped in that area also, but as you may know the Carpentry trade can get slow to almost nothing which has happend to him in the past year. So we decided if he can keep 4 fulltime customers for 2 years, why can't we get and keep more. That's when we decided to start calling this a business. We are slowly gathering information on things we need to learn, deciding a name and logo and so on. He does snow blowing so that's what the plan is for this winter, then in the Spring start a full-blown marketing campaigne after we aquire all the equiptment needed, a truck being one of them in order to break out of the surrounding area. Anyone out there have any suggestions for someone who has been dabbling in it and has decided to take it a few steps farther? Also, do you think people will be put off by a husband and wife team, I will be dealing a lot with the customers on the business end of it. Are they going to have an issue with that from your experience? Also, I can't seem to find any info as to weather Pennsylvania requires a Business Liscence to Operate in the state, some say yes some say no. Im not talking about a state tax number or federal tax number either. Many questions, also, or if you can think of anything else we many need in the state of PA. Thanks in advance.

Go to the PA open for business site it will tell yu all you need to know for PA..