New to site Turf Builders Lawn Care

Hello everyone, Steve thanks for the cool site. I have been involved in lawn care and landscaping part time for over 20 years. I am a full time Tool & Die Maker and I also run a part time lawn care business with 20 accounts in Green Bay Packer country. Full time job is slowing down gonna have to ramp up lawn care. turfbuilder

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Last edited by turfbuilder; 03-06-2009 at 12:33 AM.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi Turfbuilder, Welcome to our forum! I bet you have a lot of advice you could share with us when it comes to equipment maintenance and repair! Because you work in the tool and die industry, does it help you with things like knowing how to sharpen mower blades or fix your equipment when it is broken?

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Steve,

Yes being in the metal working trades does have its advantages for fixing the mowers and trailers and stuff. I don't get to involved with major engine repairs anymore because of the time factor of working 2 jobs. Having access to a complete machine and weld shop sure does help though.

turfbuilder

2003 Toro ZMaster 62 inch cut
2007 Great Dane Surfer 52 inch cut
1998 John Deere 42 inch mulcher
lawn Boy 21 inch mulcher
Tannaka weed wackers
Redmax Blower

[Steve]

Have you ever toyed around with the idea of manufacturing a product you could use in your lawn care business that you could also sell to others?

Actually I have designed and built things like open landscaping trailers, toolboxes and weed wacker racks etc. Mainly for myself and a few friends that I have in the business. Before I got into lawn care I used to design and build weight lifting equipment. The tool shop that I worked for at that time allowed me to use all their machines and welders to fabricate my equipment in the evening. Not enough money in that bizz for all the hassle . Then in 1989 my uncle broke his leg in a accident and couldnt maintain the lawns of his 4family properties that summer. I took over and been in lawn care ever since.

I bet if you learned how to make turf stripers and little things like that you could make a fortune selling em. Those stripers sell for over $150. If you could make them and sell them for say $100-$125 and they worked well enough you could sell them by the truck loads. Or if you could make racks for trailers for the weedeaters, blowers and shovels and stuff that would be very prosperous also...I would guess anyway!

Good luck out there this season.

[Steve]

Actually I have designed and built things like open landscaping trailers, toolboxes and weed wacker racks etc.

Any pictures you could show us? I'd love to see!

Turf stripers would be simple to make. The problem I have now is that the company that I work for does not allow "government work" as we call it to be done on their premises. There definetly were advantages to working in the smaller non-union shops as far as that goes.

Good Luck This Season !