How to start out

[unlimted01]

HI
Im new to the lawn bussiness and have been in actual bussiness for about 3 months. I currently have 2 accounts. 1 residental and 1 commerical. Both jobs furinsh their own equipment all i have to do is show up. How should i go about increaseing my customers. i do have a lawnmower that i can use nothing fancy, 48" craftsman. I Plan on buying somestart up equipment asap what should i buy also. Also i will be working around a highschool schedule how many yards are a manageable number. :help: any help would be appreciated. http://www.lawnsite.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=58#
Help

[daveintoledo]

legally you have to have liability insurance, have your business registered with the state, and some counties and or cities, and be of legal age to sign a contract.


Pay taxes on the income and have a bank account in your business name.

Why don't you get some residential accounts you can do with the mower you have, save up and buy a commercial walkbehind and grow form there....maybe even get an adult to help you and get insurance.... something flies from your mower and blinds someone..... your parents will loose everything they have from being sued.....

[unlimted01]

i saw a 17 yo on here the other that said that had started up leaglly so y cant i do it

[LB1234]

legally you have to have liability insurance, have your business registered with the state, and some counties and or cities, and be of legal age to sign a contract.


Incorrect!!

Show me the law where it states liability insurance is mandatory. Highly recommended and foolish not to have it, yes, but you don't have to have it to be "legal".

[daveintoledo]

for commercial jobs you have to have insurance,,,,, you must not have any....and if they arent asking for proof of insurance, they are using you as a cheap fly by night outfit and keeping it off of there books.....

if the 17 year old was legal, he had to get his parents or another adult involved for the time being until you turn 18

there are 30 year old men here how have had a hard time getting insurance with a new startup business....they want a certain amount of experience before they will insure you

and not having your own equipment is not owning a business, they have hired you to be the lawnboy.....

[RyanD]

UNLIMITED01, I began when I was in high school. At one point in time I was doing 6 or 7 lawns (residential) during high school. I would do half one night after school and half the next night. I guess if you never had homework, you could take on over ten.

[unlimted01]

Thanks ryan at least u r giving me a chance and not being a ahole some others here

[topsites]

Incorrect!!

Show me the law where it states liability insurance is mandatory. Highly recommended and foolish not to have it, yes, but you don't have to have it to be "legal".

No schitt, I really don't care for the @$$hole attitudes, either.
Guy asks a simple question: How do I increase my customer base?

What's the answer?

Hey man, why not try and put out some flyers, 200 or so for every customer you wish to add.

There you go, nobody asked about licensing and insurance, big bully.

[topsites]

Incorrect!!

Show me the law where it states liability insurance is mandatory. Highly recommended and foolish not to have it, yes, but you don't have to have it to be "legal".

No schitt, guy asks a simple question: How do I increase my customer base?

What's the answer?

Hey man, why not try and put out some flyers, 200 or so for every customer you wish to add.

There you go, sir.

[unlimted01]

THank u for ure help one more question should i post few flyer in public places,I.E. resurants, gas stations or go house to house

[Az Gardener]

10 different people are going to give you 10 different answers about equipment and trucks and trailers and fertilizer you name it. You can put yourself in a big hole right off the bat by having an accident. I would suggest next summer get a job with the most professional company you can find and learn from them. You will learn fast what you like and don't like in regards to equipment and ways of doing things. Better to learn on their dime, if you pay attention you can learn much more just ask questions. You will also find people in the company doing side work that can supplement your income. Buying equipment and finding work is the most simple part of this industry.

[DistLawns]

The comments on the insurance you should have are accurate, but don't need to be presented so bully like. Untill you get out of high school, I would keep it to 10 or so residentials, and tell you customers you'll be there on the weekends, or later in the evenings. If your push mowing all these, yur not gonna want more thane 10 on a weekly basis, thats already gonna elimainate your social life, and you might get burnt out before you realy begin. Save some money, buy some real equiptment when you graduate, you'll be grossing 50-60 k by the time your 21. good luck!

[daveintoledo]

[QUOTE=
Why don't you get some residential accounts you can do with the mower you have, save up and buy a commercial walkbehind and grow form there....maybe even get an adult to help you and get insurance.... something flies from your mower and blinds someone..... your parents will loose everything they have from being sued.....[/QUOTE]

this is not being a &*^%&^%*&^$% it is solid sound friendly advise......that is the best thing the guy can do....and finish school...

quote
if the 17 year old was legal, he had to get his parents or another adult involved for the time being until you turn


there are 30 year old men here how have had a hard time getting insurance with a new startup business....they want a certain amount of experience before they will insure you


i just repeated the pretty good advise......

and its hard to get hired onto a crew until your older because in many places you cant operate certain types of power tools until a certain age

wasnt trying to be a butt head....dont you think this would work for him and get him some experience and equipment???????? :waving: :waving: :waving:

[LB1234]

If I came off as a bully, I truly apologize, that was not my intention. :waving:

I was pointing out that you do NOT require insurance to be in business. Although, in NJ you do require some minimum amount of insurance to apply pesticides, so the comment about requiring insurance is not completely false.

As far as commercial accounts, again, it isn't mandatory for all accounts. It really is dependent on that particular account. Most professional commercial accounts will require you to submit a certificate of insurance along with your proposal, but not all do.

[mister_snowplow]

THank u for ure help one more question should i post few flyer in public places,I.E. resurants, gas stations or go house to house

Those are pretty good places to begin. Unfortunately, it is a little late to get accounts for this year seeing that the mowing season will be coming to an end soon. What you can get though is leaf removal accounts. Get yourself a good reliable backpack blower (I like the RedMax 7001). If you do a good job, they may hire you to do their lawn maintenance next year. I think this time of year is a great time to do a little scouting in your neighborhood/town. Go looking for lawns you would want to work on next year and then hand out your flyers to those places. Set goals and strive for the cream-of-the-crop clients...I do and it has worked out well for me so far. I go after the people who have the money and are willing to spend it...the nice neighborhoods. Once I get a client on that street I work very hard at getting others on that street (saves time because you travel less). Always say hi to the neighbors and be very friendly. If you work hard and are reliable others on the street will take notice of you/your truck. They may talk to your client who will most likely put in a good word for you, or they just might come up to you and ask you to do work for them. Now that you have your foot in the door (so to speak) you have a good shot at doing more work for them in the future. With multiple clients on the street you have a better chance at getting others on the same street. Do a good job and your clients will help get you more work.

If you do send out flyers the general rule of thumb is you'll most likely get 10% return. Send out 200 flyers, you'll probably get around 20 in response.

Good luck and take pride in your work.

[unlimted01]

Thanks everyone is being a great help as of today i have got one more client with just one flyer and some bussiness cards. Keep the information comin in and i will greatly appreciate it. What i plan on now is doing fall cleanup and giving a discount on that if people hire me on for next year who does this sound.

[garth1967]

thats the spirit mate if this kind of work is what you want to do then go for it without any big capital behind you it can be hard just treat every client like they are important good luck mate :cool2:

[daveintoledo]

be honest, and proud of your work, and save money.... you will become an equipent junky before too long :) :) :)

just like the rest of us....

[unlimted01]

things have changed now my parents are planning on starting a bussiness and i will work for them then i will take the bussiness but i will still make most of the decisions. so now that money will not be as much of a problem ne one have ne more advise

[jim d.]

Those are pretty good places to begin. Unfortunately, it is a little late to get accounts for this year seeing that the mowing season will be coming to an end soon. What you can get though is leaf removal accounts. Get yourself a good reliable backpack blower (I like the RedMax 7001). If you do a good job, they may hire you to do their lawn maintenance next year. mister_snowplow, I notice that you refer to leaf removal "accounts", which sounds like they want regular service. I would have thought that people would only want their leaves removed once or twice a season. Also, I would appreciate very much knowing what you would suggest as to how to go about getting leaf removal accounts?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[MartinsMowing]

I do 20 a week with a snapper 21" Im 16 and going into 11th grade. Also i work with a company doing average 15 a day, 3 days a week. I work at my church wed,fri,sun..help my mom with her 6 rental homes..and have a steady girlfriend....somehow i manage to fit it all in. I also just rebuilt the eingine in my s10...350 chevy!

[PMLAWN]

I do 20 a week with a snapper 21" Im 16 and going into 11th grade. Also i work with a company doing average 15 a day, 3 days a week. I work at my church wed,fri,sun..help my mom with her 6 rental homes..and have a steady girlfriend....somehow i manage to fit it all in. I also just rebuilt the eingine in my s10...350 chevy!
1st post?
OK so you cut 20 yards-- with a 21" or about 10 hours work (3) 8 hour days cutting 15 a day with a company
Work at Church 3 days, another day on the 6 homes AND you go to school (homework????) (dare tell your GPA) and you had time to dig back amost a year for this thread
When do you have time for a girl??
My kid is in 9th grade and he does homework from 4:30 till about 7 each night. You are Superman-- Or supertroll

[MartinsMowing]

lmao..yeah it gets pretty interesting to say the least...and my mom still says im lazy...actualy shes yelling at me right now for not being out there mowin. I usualy have a 3.4 - 3.6 gpa, and i always make time for my girl...i see her just about everyday.

[MartinsMowing]

p.s. im pretty new to this site...ive been reading tons of stuff everyday for like the last month or so. Im totaly adicted...i havent got quite the hang out it though...thats prry why im into a year old thread? w/e thread means lol