BIG QUESTION!

[RyanCanMow]

Guys, I have reached a "fork in the road" so to speak. I live in central Mississippi and am finishing my sophomore year of college. I currently own and operate a lawn service that services around 45-50 regular residential accounts, and 1 commercial. My brother is my partner, and only worker for now. I am driving home every weekend from college to mow,about two hours. Right now I am majoring in construction management. I have invested around 12K in equipment so far, and I don't know what to do as far as expanding. I AM CONFUSED!! I plan to finish school, and get my degree, for sure. I just don't know if I should expand, like purchasing more equipment and trying to find some good help, and increasing services we offer. Let me know what you guys think. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to mow grass!! I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life, but I need some advice. I am planning on purchasing another Lazer, and consequently will have to upgrade to a larger trailer. The 16' is too small, to carry all we need. I am thinking about a 20' gooseneck with sides, is this a good idea or not? I also need to use some kind of scheduling software that has the capability to grow as the business hopefully grows. Any suggestion? I have read a lot of old posts, but I just can't make my mind up on which one. Naturally, I would prefer the cheapest, but I want some kind of system that crew members can use for their routes and daily checklists for the clients.(If I ever am able to hire a crew). I am just in a position where I don't know what to do. If you guys could let me know what you think, I would GREATLY appreciate it!
Thanks a lot, sorry so lengthy, lots of things on my mind!

RyanCanMow

[dmk395]

I am in a similiar situation. Nevertheless I graduate from college in December. A degree is something nobody can take away from you, if I were you I would transfer to somewhere closer to home, then work and go to school full-time, its tough going but to be successfull you must make sacrifices.

[awm]

get as much education as possible.you are young and can do lawncare anytime. but its hard to get an education if you got a couple kids an mortgage payments to make.good luck

[parkwest]

Welcome to the world of business owners. Making these decisions is what makes or breaks a business and you, as the owner, have to make them. Seek competent council but then you will have to decide. No one else can do it for you. Those are the risks and rewards of being an owner.

[mike]

I SUGGEST NOT GETTING ANY LARGER UNTIL YOU CAN BE AVAILABLE
FULL TIME WITH YOUR COMPANY. I AM A SMALL COMPANY & WOULD LIKE TO GET BIGGER, BUT I HAVE FOUND THAT KEEPING A GOOD SERVICE LEVEL IS A LOT HARDER WHEN YOUR NOT AVAILABLE
ALL THE TIME. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. GOOD LUCK & HAVE A GOOOOOOOOOOD DAY!!!!!!!

[jcoat]

I got my degree, got married entered the corporate world and started making the big bucks and now have come to a crossroads. I absolutely LOVE to cut grass. Not for the simplicity, but for the pure fact I love it! Now, here's the crossroads... I have a good paying job that pays the bills and then some, however, I have no passion for it. Recently I incorporated my lawn biz, filed tax papers, legal mumbo jumbo, etc... and even though I haven't locked in customers yet, I feel rejuvenated because I've taken the first few steps (ten years too late and I want to grow slowly)...
Now, look @ your situation (hind-sight speaking here...). It sounds like you have a solid business, you're REAL close to graduating and you love to cut grass. Here's the advice: Maintain your book of business; graduate w/ the CS degree(btw, the construction science will help you a lot in bidding and scheduling, so it probably will be smart to continue on that track) and if you still love to maintain turf, the sky's the limit!!
Btw, have you done a CS internship yet? Too many hours for too little pay once it's all said and done. I'd rather work for myself.

[RyanCanMow]

Thanks for the replies! JCoat, I have not done my internship yet, but I figured I would have to next summer or something. I really don't want to, I would rather cut grass. What should I do? Bypass the internship and hope to land a job later and cut grass, or take the internship in hopes of getting a job out of the deal? Thanks for the help!
Ryan

[jcoat]

Well, here's the deal. I was in a construction science degree here in OK, did the internship and, after talking to foremen, superintendents and PMs came to find they're salaried for $40k+/year, but work somewhere in the range of 60-80 hours/week. Last I checked, that doesn't amount to much UNLESS you're making salaried + overtime @ 1.5 or higher or you own that company. I made the decision to chance vocations and have been corporate for the past 4 years and just now am making the move to lawn maintenance. Again, I haven't established any customers, BUT am prepared for them thanks to Lawnsite. My move to turf is going to be slow and controlled since I have a 40+ hour/week salaried + OT job and am pretty comfortable. Once I come to the crossroads of breaking even, I'll make the decision to be a full-blown, full-time LCO or continue in the a/c of corporate life (which I'll probably ditch).
Bottom line: If you love it, do it and be the best you can at it. If you hate it, ditch it. The sooner the better. Btw, just because we cut grass doesn't mean it's a job everyone can do. After a lot of research, I've come to find this is an exacting science. If you continue, learn as much as you can.

[65hoss]

Only you can answer this question. I would bet money that you are already leaning in one direction, you just wanting reassurance.

Do what you love and the money will come. Do what you hate, and you'll have a heart attack at 40. You only have one chance, do it your way!
Eric

[Charles]

Mow grass for 10 years like some of us have and sooner or later you will be sick of it. Anything(beside sex of course) gets old after awhile. Mentally challenging grass cutting is not. Maybe some of you just need to find another field to go into that will challenge you mentally and physically and not waste all that college education. Now landscaping challenges you creatively but you live from job to job always bidding for your next paycheck. I do a little bit of everything when it comes to this biz but i dream of something that would take more thinking and problem solving while you in this post dream of the opposite. I guess its true that the grass is always greener on the other side.

[Skippy]

Get your degree and go for the biz. I am in construction and just starting the lawn biz. I'd like to go full time but time won't allow me to. Your young like me and if something ever happens you can do the construction thing. They hire all the time except winters in Maine. Stay small for now and concentrate on school. Just my thoughts.

[Grateful11]

Definitely get the degree. I'm 38 and have a one year certificate in Machine Shop and one in Tool & Die Making. I've been doing this type for 19 years and it's getting old. I'm trying to grow my LCO slowly and trying to learn as I go. I work full-time as a Computer Numerical Control Programmer on a large milling machine. It's beginning too get boring. I would love to mow and do the light landscaping that I do part-time all the time but I can't see doing so in the near future. At least not until the kids are grown anyway. Luckily I make about 40K a year and only have to work a 40 hour week on my full-time job.
I say do what you enjoy. I know a guy not far from here that quit a good tie job to go into LC full-time and he says it's the best thing he's ever done.

[crew]

I am of the opinion that sooner or later every job sucks.
I am 26 months into ditching my "job" to do this full time. I cant say that I love it but I was loosing my motivation and soul working for the man. What I miss is leaving work behind. This becomes a very difficult proposition at the level I am at. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to coach tball, squeeze in a couple family trips this summer and servicing the accounts that cant be done by an existing crew(they are maxed) and selling more accounts to justify another crew and registering for a class to renew my pest cert and deciding between a dump truck or trailer and finding some reel frames for an ancient Olathe sweeper and...............
Never a dull moment but I hope you see my point. If your going to do it, do it when your young and are not loaded down with responsibilties. Build the beast and when your older it will take care of you.
Also, you have to get the degree. I have a teaching degree and even though Ive never taught a day,graduating was a very fulfilling experience. Good luck!

[Roger]

Get the college degree now, when you can. Take a long range view, not getting too focused on what you wish to do right now. At your age, I have a hard time seeing mowing lawns for an extended period of time. Actually, I have a hard time seeing anybody mowing lawns for a very long time!

Get your degree, look for work in the field of your degree. You may find that after a bit more maturity and experience, the field of interest that caused you to enter into the college program is interesting and challenging afterall. The likelihood of building a career around your education is far greater than building a career around mowing grass.

You have much living ahead. If, after a few years in the field of your college education, he still wish to get out, there is plenty of time to tinker in mowing grass. There seems to be no age limit on when to get started mowing grass, but there is much more interest on the part of employers hiring younger folks.

As said elsewhere in this thread, doing what you want to do is important. However, there is also a need of trying to build a career. Sometimes the early parts of that building process is difficult, but it pays dividends in the long run.

I disagree about "sooner or later every job sucks." If you are doing what you like, the interest and the challenge remains.

The primary issue in the employment market these days is volatility of the workforce. Just because the employee wishes to work, likes the job, finds it interesting and challenging, DOES NOT mean the employment will be there for a long time. Employment paths in the last few years are intimidating. My point in this discussion is that you may choose a path, set goals, but have a very difficult time keeping the course, because of decisions made by others.

[Edited by Roger on 04-24-2001 at 10:20 PM]

[GrassWorx]

Hey just keep your options open you are young and you will have a lot of chances to succeed. I am in the same situation. I will intern next spring but i am doing so well with lawn service i don't know if i will have time to intern.I just transfered schools so i could be closer to home and cut in the afternoons. you said that u and your brother were partners can he take a helper and the bulk of the work while your at school. good luck let me know how it turns out.
remember college isn't for everybody i just wish someone would have told me sooner. i am pretty much done to late to quit now.
Good luck

[lawnboy82]

dmk- where do you go to school? buy anyways. i have cut grass now, i am almost 19 and have been behind a machine or on it for i would say a good 10 years now. it sux. i enjoy doing it every now and again. i major in turf. however i do a lot of tree work. you dont wanna be doing just cutting grass. as far as i can see you cant really make good money doing just grass. my friends and i who all own our own businesses just keep grass around for other work. like cutting trees, landscaping, excavation, etc. i would say to maybe try some things besides cutting lawns. cause i can cut an 800 dollar tree with me and one other guy a lot faster than two people can cut 800 dollars of lawns. so i mean you gotta see where you can make some good money, maybe not 24/7 but if you can do that work maybe one or two days a week and find another form of work for another day then you got it made. so dont put all your eggs in one basket so to say. you gotta network. try doing some easy jobs in certain areas and then work your way into harder ones. if you do want to only cut grass then you gotta start bidding the big places that pay $$$ then get guys and have them cut for you. because when you get past i would say 30 - 35 gettin behind a lawn mower every day gets tiring fast.

[Charles]

College boy--"Hey mommy I no you spint 30000 grand on mey egukation but I alway had dis dreem. U no whut that dreem is mummy? "What is it son love of my life" "Ialway wonted to be sumones yard boy" mommy--- Whay you little mfing brat bam boom bop !@$%^&*())__ i kick your burger flipping azz !@#%*(( now what is that again son?