I can't stop laughing, I need everyones help!

[CHEESE2009]

Ok, so I have emailed a school yesterday or the day before asking if I could pretty much go in and explain the importance of staying in school & the outcome which happens for those who don't bla bla.... I got an email back from a teacher who teaches.... BUSINESS CLASS... and she is welcoming me to give the class a lesson / then I can give them my flyers to take home and whatever.... So maybe I wouldn't mind meeting some high school kids or whatever, but to my surprise, high school has a business class??? I'm slightly nervous because I only know so much, I'm like the underdog of business, heck I'm not even legit. Maybe the kids will teach me things before I give them any ideas. SO I quickly wrote down the following; The Plan (is it possible? Is it needed?) What is my plan? My plan is to offer lawn service & gutter cleaning. Is it possible? There are several reasons why people hire services; 1. They trust professionals over themselves 2. They can’t afford the tools which are needed 3. They don’t have the time 4. They are senior citizens What is needed? 1. Do I trust myself? 2. Do I have the experience? 3. Am I able to afford the tools? 4. Is now the right time to start? 5. Do I have the time? 6. Should I get help? 7. Can I target my market? Start to Finish (What steps must I take?) I have worked in lawn service for quite some time now for different companies. I have worked my way up from being, the kid down the street to crew leader, & decided it’s now time to become an owner. I am willing to lose some to get some, some being my time, money, & rest. I can’t work on anyone’s grass without a lawn mower, a whippersnipper & a blower, & I can’t just get any brand of equipment either. I will need professional equipment that will last me a long time. What about the grass that I mow, what happens to it? Professional Lawn Mower Price: $1,500.00 Warranty: Two (2) years Whippersnipper Price: $300.00 Warranty: Two (2) years Handheld Blower Price: $250.00 Warranty: Two (2) Years Grass Dump/Composting Site Price: 0.00 - $500.00 /month Total Cost: $2,550.00 How much should I charge for my service? The best way to figure out how much you should charge is to be a potential customer. Pick up your phone & dial anyone who is offering a similar service, & ask them how they charge, & how much they charge. How should I go about advertising my service? What can I afford? I want to hand out flyers door to door in the city I reside in 60 streets multiplied by the number of estimated houses per street (30) is equal to 1,800 flyers 500 sheets of blank paper, $15.00 500 sheets of colored paper, $25.00 Color Printing, $200.00/500 sheets Black Ink, $50.00/500 sheets Business cards, $25.00/250 cards Advertising is expensive, but you will find a way around it! A tip would be to combine cheap with expensive, why not colored paper with black ink? So my advertisements are made, now what? You have a few options here. You can; a) Spend a chunk of your money & have a professional service do it for you b) Hire friends to do it for cheap, or barter c) Do it yourself! I recommend doing it yourself, this way you know what is getting done & have the possibility to bump into a potential customer while passing out your flyers door to door. Your friends would probably toss your flyers in the garbage & call you 3 hours later, confirming the job was followed through properly. This is not good! You could however hand out flyers with a friend, as long as you’re watching him/her and making it fun. The job will be done hours earlier than if you were to be doing it alone. What do you say when a potential customer calls? a) Hello? b) Yo! c) Good morning/afternoon/evening! This is your name, from your service. The answer is C, also by letting the potential customer know your name, it is somewhat comforting. After the greeting, ask the potential customer if he would like to hear about your service. The answer will surely be yes, so continue the conversation with: 1. What your service provides 2. When your service starts & ends 3. The cost of your service ******** NOW I'M LOST, & I'm going to the store, be back in 10 mins!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

I am very impressed! You have a lot of great content here. You could always ask the kids if any of them wanted to start their own business and if so what would they like to start? Then you could talk about making a business plan and what you would need to do to get started. Great job! When are you going to offer this lecture? Can you video tape yourself giving the speech? You could later put this online! Take pictures of this too to include in a press release to your paper and to put on your website. You can also use this in your marketing material to show that you are active in your community.

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