Leaf Removal

[lawncrafter56]

i'll mow yards all day long into the night for 30.00 a pop. and I have some very high end clients also . Pro football players and bankers baby. the market is saturated with mowers coming out of the woodwork and it is that little extra effort and persona that seperates the creme. Right on Picfarmer! make a some bucks and be happy but never be satisfied with theaverage Keep up the good work ethic Scott. I'm impressed

[picframer]

Lawn care business tips

How I got into it was to advertise the service, response was amazing so I bought the equipment, then added a 2nd and 3rd unit when we were running 5 business days behind. We use Simple Green, I buy it from Home Depot or Canadian Tire, they have 5 products depending on what you are doing, works amazing. We charge by the job, there is no generic way to calculate but I average around $65 an hour. A 10 X 16 deck with say 10 stairs and a railing will generally run $225 and take the guys about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Siding is the choice and the fastest, a single story home say 34 X 26 will run $400.00, takes about 4 to 5 hours. Residential pressure washers, those that are rated 1,500 PSI are a waste of time, we pick up a lot of business from people that have spent a day trying to clean with one then calling us, we have two units that are 3,400 PSI and one that is 5,000, all are gas powered and require 4 gpm. Good luck, it's excellent money, we don't get many driveways, #1 is siding followed by decks, the 5,000psi unit will remove paint from siding using the proper attachment, we charge $125. an hour for that service, we get a few jobs.

__________________
Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

breeze,

you can charge anything you want if you do a good job. stop worrying about every one elses prices and charge what you think you are worth. do the best job you can and i promise you, the $ will come.


good luck!

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by picframer

Residential pressure washers, those that are rated 1,500 PSI are a waste of time, we pick up a lot of business from people that have spent a day trying to clean with one then calling us, we have two units that are 3,400 PSI and one that is 5,000, all are gas powered and require 4 gpm.

I have a machine that's 2,500 PSI... I noticed that it does a good job on driveways, what do u figure on sidings, etc????

should I pick up a better one or will this do?

[picframer]

Originally Posted by BREEZE2009

I have a machine that's 2,500 PSI... I noticed that it does a good job on driveways, what do u figure on sidings, etc????

should I pick up a better one or will this do?

Must be a commercial unit, it will do the job, can you swap out the tips on yours? If so, google and buy what is called a turbo tip, OMG these things will remove anything, they are a quick connect much like an airline has, we use them for really tough jobs.

2,500 will be a little slower but will do an excellent job on siding and most decks, I don't think it will remove paint, we have to use 5,000 for that and the white tip.....the paint just flies

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by picframer

Must be a commercial unit, it will do the job, can you swap out the tips on yours? If so, google and buy what is called a turbo tip, OMG these things will remove anything, they are a quick connect much like an airline has, we use them for really tough jobs.

2,500 will be a little slower but will do an excellent job on siding and most decks, I don't think it will remove paint, we have to use 5,000 for that and the white tip.....the paint just flies

LOL, id love to test it out on a few of my shirts, nothing will get these coffee stains out!!!

I'll look into a few tips, I hope I'm able to attach crap to it. !!

[dj062385]

You are running a business, and the object is to make more money then you could working somewhere else. An hourly rate is the way to go. If the customer doesn't like your hourly rate then give them a price, but then care of yourself. I usually tell customers that they will get out better if they do the hourly rate because if I give them a price then I need to make sure that I make money.
You need to figure up how much it cost you hourly to work. Then tack on what you want to make. If your really slow then you should lower your cost some, but you cant go lower then what the job cost. That is why a flat rate is a hard fix for leafs.

WowWhat a great year so far! Business has increased almost 200% since last year. My internet advertising and websites are really working. NOt just 1 website but serveral and I do multiple ads on craigs list every other mday. I personally go out and make the bids, then send a crew to complete the job after I have a LAWN & TREE CARE contract signed. I also hired a journeyman painter & the painting division is also doing real well. I now have a bi-weekly contract to mow 5 acres for Walmarts in San Antonio, plus I have had three jobs for property clean up & haul away of the debris for U.S. Government Dept. of Home Security. I work hard everyday but God has blessed me, my family, and my crew members with steady work. Your friend Trey Bernhardt.

[Steve]

Hi Trey,

That is fantastic news! Congratulations!

What advice do you have for other lawn care business owners out there struggling to find new customers?

Also how did you learn to do all this great marketing?

i think im gonna offer 5 - 10 free senior accounts and take care of them for free all year long, as long as they are easy to do, next to yards i do now.
that should raise some eyebrows,huh?
free promo if anything.