Bidding a new job

Hey, I have a front lawn where the perons needs about 8 yards of mulch plus he needs 12 bushes torn out and his beds edged. How do I bid a job like this the mulch I am bidding at 100 per yard. But trying to figure out how much to charge to dig out bushes and edge is kind of hard. I have the tools chain saw and cutters to get the job done. I also have a few friends who are going to help me. I heard about 25 dollars an hour is the going rate but I don't know how many hours its going to take me? Also I have a Ford Explorer with a trailer; to buy mulch is $24.00 per yard, or I can have it delivered for $33.50 plus a delivery fee of 62.50. I know picking it up is cheaper but is gettig it delivered any faster. Any ideas which way is better? Tom

How to get lawn care customers - Vol 2

I bid all that kind of stuff hourly...I used to give them a range, since I was never 100% sure how long it would take, for example I would say that it would take 4-6 man hours at $35/man/hour, then end up somewhere in there. Now I have enough experience that I know how long stuff will take, so I quote a fixed price that works out to $35/man/hour for however many hours I think it will take. I think figuring out an hourly rate is pretty key for consistency and just figuring out how much you want to make and working up from there.

[Steve]

Tom,

How long do you think it would take you to dig out those bushes? Are you just gonna pull them out with your truck or what?

Give us a break down of how much time you think each service will take you.

I bid a job for 10 yards of mulch it needed to have 14 bushes removed 2 of which were huge. They need the beds edged and I sprayed weed killer down as well. My costs on the job were 800 dollars. I paid 3 workers 15 dollars and hour. I know I paid alot but the workers I got are really good. I charged $1600 for the job so I made 800. Let me know am I too high or is my price right?

[Steve]

I'd say you did great! Good job! How many man hours total would you say the job took?

Did you get any pictures of the job you did?

Would you have done anything differently now looking back at it?

--> Steve,

Here is a pic of the final results. This persons front yard was so bad that the city was going to fine him if he didn't clean it up in 30 days. I wish I had a before pic but it was really bad. It took a total of 8 hours. With 3 people I figured on 30 hours instead it was 24 so I was a little over on my estimate there. The only thing I did't think of was the disposal of all the branches and old bushes. I had to may a few trips to the dump but other than that it actually went smoother than I thought. My workers were really pleased getting $15 dollars and hour. The home owner seems to be happy with the results. I made $800 dollars on the job so I think all in all it worked I just hope my pricing wasn't too high.

Tom