WORKING SOLO

[ron]

HOW MANY YARDS CAN YOU CUT SOLO IN A DAY?

[stslawncare]

hi, imagining u are new in the field? if so welcome? if not sorry lol. this all depends on what equipment u have, what size yards, for example a person with a 22'' mower will take three times longer then a person with a 44'' ztr on a piece of property, must count for size equip speed they mow at etc etc etc

[joshua]

i cut solo, from 1 till about 4 until the kid that helps me gets out of school and by the time i pick him up and i can knock out 5 about a half acea each if not bigger. but thats a double cut on all the yards.

[Eric ELM]

I did a search on SOLO and came up with a good thread that has a great post in it by Jim Lewis. I think all SOLO operators should read it and I bet you learn something since it is a huge post and very informative. It is a great post Jim, as usual. :)

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=7890

[Ground Pounder]

I can do 10 a day. I go solo with my 52" doing most of the work.

[eggy]

Thats a wide question..kinda like going to a bar and asking for a beer...the bartender is probably going to need that to be little bit clearer......with so many choices in beer.....however check the post Eric has..also check your equipment guides, most have production charts...good luck

[Evan528]

I ussually do about 15 a day by my self.... 20 if I really bust my a**! I use a toro z master 62 inch deck and a 36 walkbehind and do 1/2-1 acre lawns.

[Fine Lines Lawn]

Jim writes a good post doesn't he?

To you guys going solo... I have a lot of respect for you. I wish I could do it, but I don't really want to work that hard. Plus, at 300 accounts, it's not possible. I run 2 crews currently with 3 per crew. The average lawn takes about 10 minutes with the manpower I have. I believe it is worthwhile to have help so you can get more done, but help comes with a lot of headaches. The more help you have, the less time mowing and the more time babysitting. This is my sixth season, and this is the first year that I feel like I have a stable and reliable crew. I know we have all had problems with the labor force so I wish you all the best. Once again, good luck to you soloists.

[Paradise Yard Service]

I do lots of tweeking on my accounts. If I had 'just mowin' accounts, I could easily mow bout 7-10 lawns from 8am-4pm w. 21 wb. Most lawns in Hawaii no more than 2500 sq. ft.

Tweeking is edging, shrub care, ground cover trim, weed control, growth reg, foliar, pest, sprink repair, blowing, sucking, bagging, tying dead branches, and more but I can't remember. So the numbers can change considerably. When you know how to tweek good, then you do less volume but charge more, depending on degree of difficulty, type of service required, etc.

BTW its harder to tweek with a crew cause most of the labor out there today are not qualified or not interested in getting superior, consistant results. Therefore,much time wasted bird dogging a crew when you could be getting results by yourself.

If you have a crew that is not what I have just described,then you have a good thing going and you better reward accordingly (not just on the back, they want $$$)

Solo is best for me.

Hope this helps.

Aloha, P.Y.S.

[David Gretzmier]

I've done 42 w/ 2 helpers in a day, but only 12-14 by myself. it would be easy to do ALOT of small lawns in one neighborhood by ones self, but the drive time in normal routing kills ya. I'd like to know the record acreage per man in a day, or max lawns per crew member people can come up with. dave

[65hoss]

I can do between 10-15 depending on many factors. The best way to look at it as a solo operator would be forget the number of lawns cut, and concentrate on profitablility per day.

[Roger]

Boy, do I feel inadequate!!! IF these posts, as well as others I've read in many previous threads are true, I'm really dirt. In a previous thread, there were many statements regarding number of lawns/day. I made a post that the number was interesting, but the sizes of each lawn would help put the statement into context. No further posts on that thread, which led me to believe that many previous statements in the thread were hogwash.

I work solo, and on the BEST day, I cover seven lawns. My average yard probably is 18-20K sq ft each. They range from 8K to 95K (cut the 95K last evening - 3 hour job). I figure 1.5 hours per job. The best I do is 0:35 per lawn on the small one. Every lawn is trimmed each time, walks/driveway blown down afterwards. I know that for some of my larger jobs a faster, wider mower would be a great help. I typically work 10-12 hours per day.

I read numbers like 10 minutes per lawn .... wow! I think my customers would really feel cheated if somebody was on their property for 10 minutes. I have a few customers that dumped another contractor because, "...those guys were here, flew threw the yard, and were gone in a flash." In most of those cases, the results looked that way too.

Much more could be said, but I'll leave it at that for now ...

[RMDoyon]

Ditto 65Hoss and Roger...

A question I am more interested in especially from solo ops is:

What are you grossing and netting per day?

I agree with what Phil Nilsson claims regarding $75K-$100K annual grosses for solo ops.

I am entering this as a solo full-time operator and have a business plan, however, I'd like to see some benchmarks from the field.

[NoDownTime]

my record with four helpers is 67 lawns in a day. this produced a profit of $1,410. We have many groups of lawn together sometimes as many as 11 in a row.

[Richard Martin]

Roger wrote:

Boy, do I feel inadequate!!! IF these posts, as well as others I've read in many previous threads are true, I'm really dirt. In a previous thread, there were many statements regarding number of lawns/day. I made a post that the number was interesting, but the sizes of each lawn would help put the statement into context.

Don't feel inadequate and you're not dirt. Productivity is relative to each and every different operators equiptment, lawn size, crew size, lawn conditions, quality of work performed etc. As long as YOU are satisfied and meet goals that YOU set then don't worry about what anybody else does.

[VLM]

I average 8-10 per day m-f. Saturday I do premium services, ie. mulch, hedges, etc. or catch up if I had weather delays. Roger what kind of equipment are you using?

[ron]

Hey these are all great.
I am only doing 6 to 9 yards a day working from 9;00am till around 2:00pm going back home take a shower eat a quick snack then go to my fulltime job at 4pm till 12 am I been doing this for two seasons and am enjoying the lawn care business even better then working as a state correctional officer. my equipment is 6 half x 16 ft trailer 1 36 in scagg w/b 1 52 in scagg super z rider 2 echo stick weed eaters one echo with the edgit attachment works very well instead of using my poulan edger ,,1 poulan b/p blower 1 echo shrubber etc.I have 30 customers..

[Roger]

VLM,

I'm using a 36" Exmark hydro and LawnBoy 21" hand mower. I started six years ago with a 21" Snapper, then bought the Exmark a season later, and then the LB.

I read some even more unbelievable numbers on this thread since the last post! I can't even drive to that many locations every day, let alone do any work at each one...

[RMDoyon]

Again, what does it matter how many lawns you're cutting per day?
Is there a difference between 10 lawns at $40 each and 20 lawns at $20 each? From a gross revenue standpoint certainly not, from a net profit standpoint, very likely.

The question should be about revenue dollars, not number of lawns cut.
Plus, it's not what you earn, it's what you keep.

[DMC300]

I did 9 today,put about 4 hrs.on my mower-40 miles on my truck.Changed blades,mowed my own lawn,checked on a few others.
Took me 9 hours-GROSSED $355.

All with 72" Lazer

[KD'sLawns]

The most lawns I have done in a day is 9 with a 21". The area I live in has tons of sandburrs so everyone wants it bagged. Then you have to dump the clippings about 3 times during the day. I want to see someone ( even with 2 crews ) do 67 lawns in a day, bag it and dispose of clippings. Don't get me wrong though, I would love to be able to accomplish that feat. But, I have a low overhead as I am solo. So normally, I try to get in between 5 and 6 lawns a day. This gives me time to talk to my customers and still get home to see my family by about 3:30.

[Premo Services]

Originally posted by Roger
Boy, do I feel inadequate!!! IF these posts, as well as others I've read in many previous threads are true, I'm really dirt.
I read numbers like 10 minutes per lawn .... wow! I think my customers would really feel cheated if somebody was on their property for 10 minutes. I have a few customers that dumped another contractor because, "...those guys were here, flew threw the yard, and were gone in a flash." In most of those cases, the results looked that way too.
...
I have decided on the total at end of day is what matters and do not care how many lawns I do to make that goal,I will be doing the larger props. because i can use the lazer.

Most of the new customers that I am getting are the ones that have companies running ztrs as fast as they can and the job looks like kids did it. I use a wb and a ztr and when using a ztr I can complete the job in much less time, I am not going to spend more time on these jobs or penilize myself for having and knowing how to use the proper equiptment for the job. Right after I got the lazer all of my customers said how much sooner that I was finished with their QUALITY LAWN JOB,also they were glad to see that I was getting equiptment to do my job easier. I will spend the time to do the job right,and they know it, but if I can do it quicker with quality results then I do.I was looking at the surrounding lawns yesterday and the companies that did them flew in cut as fast as they could,and they left there was lines of uncut grass,piles of the thick grass all over the lawn. I just can`t understand how someone can leave a job like that. This year I am going to get more customers and will probally go to the houses and see if they are satisfied or would they like to have their lawn look like their neighbors( the one that I do).

[KD'sLawns]

I agree completely with you Mow Money. I would be totally embarrassed if I left a Lawn the way most other companies do. I charge a little more than most do, but I do quality work. If I happen to see a blade of grass sticking up that my mower missed, I make sure and get it with my trimmer. I have even lost a couple of accounts from old women because they find someone whho can do it for five to fifteen dollars less because they mow only. They do not edge or trim or blow off walkway and drive. This does not bother me though because I only want customers that really care about the appearance of their lawn. I will not drop the quality of my work just to keep a lawn. The others can have it.

[Russ]

Dont get all excited guys. I work beside those 10 minute lawns of Fine Line Mowing and his crews do a good job on them. Just because he is only averageing 10 min. per lawn doesnt mean he isnt doing quality work.

[Roger]

I'm unsure why I keep coming back to read this thread ....

I DO care how many I mow each day, but ONLY from the viewpoint of being sure that my customers are being serviced on the schedule that is required. I agree with the previous couple of posts, do the quality work and be proud of the jobs. Since I'm a solo, I don't have much slack in my schedule. I scheduled five today so that everybody who was required to be serviced was done. I did have an extra two hours before dark this evening, and helped an elderly friend do most of his yard, trimmed a steep bank that he has no business navigating - gratis. So, the one extra slot was well used.

I do get very hyper about not getting the work done when expected - maybe overly hyper.

BTW, for me, this was a banner week, 34 mowings! I'm doubtful that I'll be able to match. I know that sounds like peanuts for most of you, but it was all I could muster for mostly 12 hour days. For the most part, the weather was very good all week. Most of my jobs are at least 20K sq ft of mowed area, a couple 80-90K.

[HOMER]

Roger................I think your closer to earth than some! Most of my yards are rather large also so trying to comprehend 20-30 yards a day is beyond my comprehension level. The most I ever got was 15 last year and it was on the easier route with a few side by side and we were in the middle of a drought so there wasn't too much trimming! I need to average 10 a day and struggle every month to get all my cuts in. I guess I need some training from these other guys so I can get my old ars to move faster. I wish I had 11 yards in a row no bigger than a townhouse lawn.

[Fine Lines Lawn]

I applaud you guys working solo, and stop beating yourself up for getting 10 lawns mowed a day. If I was a soloist, I'd be lucky to get that many done.
As somewone else replied, the number of lawns mowed each day is relative to the help you have, the amount and type of equipment used, lawn sizes, and travel time. Sometimes you also have to factor in "kabitzing" time with your little old lady customers. You have to chat a moment after they bring out cookies and drinks for the crew. I appreciate my elderly customers, so that is always time well spent.
I run two crews of three, packed to the gills with top notch equipment and on days of residential mowings, we can get 20-25 lawns per crew. We have commercial days of mowing where the crews will work together as one crew and we get only six jobs completed but they are 10-20 acre jobs. During this time of year, everything gets double or triple cut so loss of quality is never an option.
Thanks Russ, for your comment... I'm looking forward to shaking your hand out there.
Have a great week.

[lawnnut]

As you can tell from reading these answers most don,t know.
One guy says he made $21 profit on each cut and did 67 in one day $1410.00 profit in one day.
This is what most solos can do in a week except the profit
is more like about 2 or 3 dollars per cut.
Do it your way and msake sure you make enough money to sustain your business.