To bond or not to bond?

[Steve]

Since I was the Pest Control Supervisor for 6 years I gained a lot of knowledge on how the military bidding goes and all that is required. It also helps that I am still a DOD certified applicator for pesticides and herbicides. Do you have any kind of stories that you can share with us on different things that have happened when dealing with contractors? What has helped them and what hurt them when dealing with the base? What advice do you have to others who want to go about it in the right way.

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Originally Posted by Steve Do you have any kind of stories that you can share with us on different things that have happened when dealing with contractors? What has helped them and what hurt them when dealing with the base? What advice do you have to others who want to go about it in the right way. Well stories....sure got tons of them. It seemed like a huge pain dealing with the military. As was said, they are very picky and you must have references and your business squared away. One thing for sure never be the highest or lowest bidder...EVER! You will never get it. As far as the pesticide and herbicide application you will have to be very accurate and document every chemical and A.I that is applied and submit it to the Pest Control Shop or Public Health. Integrated Pest Management is a huge deal for the Military these days and is watched very closely. It can be very good money since we all know the Government Pays very very well for services. But it can be a huge headache too.

[Steve]

Did you ever get a chance to look at the bids and see the price ranges and see how they break down their bids?

If so, did you learn anything from that you can pass on?

Also, is there anyway you could get your hands on a bid that was approved and show us how it was presented? Is this public information or no? Or could you block out any contact info? So we could learn what an accepted bid looks like?

[Little's]

Great thought Steve, that would be great to see, if possible.

[picframer]

Originally Posted by Steve

Keith,

Just starting out, do you think a new lawn care business owner should get any sort of bond or is it just too soon?

Should you get to the point where the customer is requiring a surety bond or an employee bond before you get either?

Personally I do not think bonding is necessary, it covers employee theft at a clients house or business, this is something I am not worried about.

We carry all other insurance(s) workers comp etc.