Beginner Mistakes

[Steve]

Beginner Mistakes from our friend Jim of promower.net Here are some things beginners often get wrong: Working by the Hour: Working by the hour kills any chance to make serious money. Always work by the job: $20 for this lawn, $40 for that one. **- Do you find yourself working by the hour or by the job?

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I agree 100%. Doing this also tunes your quoting skills. If you quote a cut @ $45.00 and your charge out rate is $45.00 per hr, get it done in 45 mins. Also, if you have staff when quoting jobs, make sure you quote the job on how fast your staff can do it not you. Just becasue I can mow a lawn in 45 mins does not mean 'Joe' (who just started this year) can do it.

i agree,i talk to people who charge by the hour,and they dont make any money.
i dont know about othe plces, but there is'nt a yard in new orleans that takes an hour to do unless you try.and then your moveing around so slow it makes you look lazy.

[Steve]

I think this is great because if you can get a job done in less than an hour or whatever time you are thinking of when you estimate, then you could be covering your travel time in there as well.

I do think many lcos fall into the charge by the hour trap.

[JimAdams]

I found that it pays big dividends to run a very, very tight ship. *Mazimize efficiency. *Then you can price compete ** you can charge less than others for the same jobs ** and still make very good money. *

A major part of our work goes to paying overhead expenses and labor. *The trick is to cut those costs to the bone and still keep your speed. *There are lots of sneaky little ways to do it.

I agree with Richard that inexperienced help is a serious drain on profits. *Years ago, employee turnover was the #1 problem in the mowing business. *Probably it still is.

Jim