How to quote a job

Hi! I live in Victoria,B.C and just started up my landscaping business full time(I have no other employees, just ME. I am really having a problem trying to find the perfect formula to use when bidding for a job whether it be residential or commercial. I am meeting with a person this Friday,Aug.3rd/07 to discuss a potential commericial property(apartment block)for regular landscaping/gardening maintenance. The "STRATA" would be paying me $250/Month for a 11 months contract. Also they want me to come 3x(5th,15th and 25th) of each month. I don't want to be too expensive but also want a profit so does anyone have any suggestions or tips on what I should say to this guy when I meet with him this Friday? HELP ME PLEASE!!! Danny

[Little's]

Lawn care business tips

Read this recent thread. It should shed a little light on how I do it. http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum....t=5357;

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Northern California

[Steve]

Hi Danny,

Download the Be a Law Care Business Rebel Book There is a section in there that discusses how to bid on commercial properties.

Let me know if it helps.

[pinkbaglady]

[b] Hi, I'm Loretta and I started my lawn care business this summer. Business has been slow but I have made a few bucks here and there. I put more effort into my marketing strategies and am finally starting to see business pick up. I have been asked to provide a commercial bid for a person who has 5 city properties. All five properties are relatively small lots ranging from 0.06 acres to 0.13 acres. I don't want to overcharge this customer or undercharge for this job. I came up with $140.00 per month to service these houses bi-weekly with mowing, edging, trimming, spring clean up (for some of them). Can anyone give me some advice as to whether my pricing formula is way off the chart or if it does sound reasonable? I have to meet this person on Saturday so somebody please help I'm really nervous. Thanks

[Little's]

Did you read the link to the thread I posted above?
I usually charge $1 per minute for my time. You would need to have a close idea of how much time you will be spending at these places. This charge covers mowing weed eating, edging, trimming bushes. I charge a little extra for extra services. Sometimes properties need a clean up before you can maintain. I charge extra for this also. This is how I do it, maybe some of the other members here can share how they do their charging. This works best for me. Good luck

Also, I tried servicing lawns on a bi-weekly basis, and it didn't work for me, so I stopped doing them. I tell any potential costomers that I only do weekly services. Most are fine with that. A lot can change in 2 weeks. Too much time in between visits can cause your work to look shabby. Plus if the watering system quits (broken sprinkler etc.) two weeks will allow the lawn plenty of time to die before you find out. Then the property owners will come to you for answers. Just my two pennies!

[pinkbaglady]

THANKS FOR WRITING TO ME. YES, I DID INDEED USE THE $1 PER MINUTE FORMULA. EACH LOT WOULD TAKE ME ABOUT 20 MINUTES OR SO NOT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY BUT BECAUSE THEY WILL ALL NEED A CLEAN UP FOR THE FRONT AND BACK. I ADDED A SMALL FEE FOR WITHIN THE PRICE TO COVER THIS. OH AND YES I DID READ THE LINK YOU POSTED. ANY OTHER ADVISE?

[Steve]

I think many new businesses tend to get into trouble when bidding on commercial properties. What happens is when you are new, you see any commercial job as a win, but if it is underbid, you can actually lose money and then be stuck in a contract to perform those services.

Residential properties are great to start with because if you underbid, you limit your exposure of risk to a single property that can easily be dropped or you can increase your fee.

So my view is make sure you check out each property and know how long it will take to service them. Also, I think many lawn care operators would only do the service if it was weekly.

Keep us posted on how everything goes! And congratulations!

[Little's]

Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. Good luck, I'm sure you will get the jobs. Try to talk the customer in to a weekly service for a little more money. Sounds like a lot more work, but it really isn't. Much easier to care for a yard every 7 days.

[pinkbaglady]

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR ADVISE. I GOT THE CONTRACT!!!! NOW I NEED YOUR HELP AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY A GAS STATION OWNER FOR A SNOW PLOW CONTRACT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT PRICING A COMMERCIAL SNOW PLOW CONTRACT. I'M VERY EXCITED BUT A LITTLE NERVOUS ON THIS ONE.

[Steve]

I think a lot of the pricing will be regionally based, but I am guessing Troy would have an idea. Let's see if he can jump in here.