Lawn Care Business
Starting and Expanding Correclty
Starting or Expanding a lawn care business can be an easy task. However, if you want to do it correctly there are strategies you can use to help you make the most money possible. Sometimes people think that all it takes is buying any lawn mower, a string trimmer, and a back pack blower. Then all you have to do is put up some flyers and all of a sudden customers will flock to you. There is much more to it than this if you truly want to be successful.
We have been in the lawn care business for over 12 years. In addition to this, we have consulted small lawn care companies for the past several years. If there is one ability that we find most useful in the lawn care business, it is that you need to be able to estimate your jobs correctly. We have seen too many people under estimate so many jobs just because they want to get as many customers as possible during the mowing season. Often, these lawn care companies will under estimate jobs by $5 to $10 each. This can easily mean an extra $80 to $100 each and every day that they leave on the table.
There are three easy strategies to look at when giving estimates. 1) Cover your expenses and make your required hourly rate. Set a realistic hourly goal for yourself. $30 per hour plus expenses is very realistic if you are just starting and if you don't yet have a full range of commercial equipment. Once you become established and you have better equipment, making $50 or more per hour is very attainable.
2) Learn what the competition is charging. It is very important to know what the competition is charging. This does not mean that you have to beat their price. If there is someone in your area doing 1 hour yards for $15 each, your customers might think you are charging too much. Resist the urge to immediately drop your prices. Instead, sell your customers on the quality of work that you do and that you will always show up as scheduled. Your customers will know a quality job when they see it and they will be happy to pay you the extra money for your professionalism. Also, someone who comes in and undercuts everyone's price will often find himself going out of business because he just simply is not making any money.
3) Know what the market will bear. Sometimes customers are willing to pay more than what you normally charge. If you have many customers who demand high quality service, they are often willing to pay more than your normal rate. A good example is striping a yard. If you have a striping kit on your lawn mower, you can often charge 25% over your normal price for the same amount of time involved.
Learning how to price a job is vitally important.
There are many more concepts to learn. You have to learn the basics of licensing and insuring your business. Buying the correct equipment is also important. Also, knowing the exact services that people want and are willing to pay the most for will increase your overall profitability.
Properly operating a lawn care business can be very rewarding both financially and in the freedom of time and control you will have in your life.
If you would like to contact us anytime concerning your questions about the lawn care industry, please email us at: LawnCareBusiness@aol.com
Best luck to you.
About the Author
www.Summer101.com is a team of lawn care professionals dedicated to helping small and medium sized lawn care businesses. In business for over 12 years, they know the lawn care business inside and out. If you wish to contact the authors of this article, visit their website at http://www.Summer101.com or send them an email anytime at: LawnCareBusiness@aol.com
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