plowing business for sale

[lawnboy82]

hey guys. i was cutting a lawn the other day and this guy's harley had broken down on the side of the road. so i gave him a lift back to get some tools and his car when i was done. the guy seemed really nice. we get into my car and he said to me that he wants to get rid of some plowing accounts. well actually all of them. he bought a semi tractor and wants to do that instead of plowing. he told me that he has about 50 plowing accounts. the driveways range from about 35 - 50 each. there are some commercials and roads in there too. he does it now in 5 hours he said. 1 round. with a 95 chevy 3500 with plow and small sander. you go onto one road and do one after another after another. turn back onto the main road and go up to the next road and do the same thing. go to the next road and again. if the town plows have not been there yet just drop the blade do the road and you get 400 bucks. he only wants about 4,000 for them. all in one small area. right by where cigar man (clinton) bought his house. so there is money there. lots of money. i have a place that i can go to within 20 minutes of this area if the truck breaks down and they should be able to fix anything minor within a few minutes. now the thing is: i have a friend who wants to give me all of his plowing accounts. and he has i would assume about 30 and then i have mine. so what is the longest that a plowing route should take for 1 pass on all of them? i was figuring no more than 8 hours right? 10 tops. am i off on that time frame or not? thanx. oh yeah i have some people who i can call if we get a real blizzard. so i am not really that worried. but for a regular basis it would just be one truck. maybe another one if i can get some real money together. thanx

[Lanelle]

Wait, stop and think here. Are these long-term signed contract accounts? If not, what are you buying? People may not be loyal to you, no matter how much you pay.

[John DiMartino]

Id pay him only for those that sign a written contract with you,I would only count on the 1/2 of the rest staying with you if your lucky.

[lawnboy82]

guy has been doing them for 6 years now. they are on a per push basis though. i have great recommendations in that local area. and even still 25 accounts wouldnt be that bad. i am sure that i could try to get them to sign contracts though. on a per push basis. we will see. plus also these are not the types of accounts that you can just go up to and get. they are the kind that you have to know somebody if you get where i am coming from. good money in them too. landscaping, and lawn care should be a seller no problem.

[Guido]

like lanelle said, if you don't have them sign contracts for at least 1 season with you BEFORE the sale, you don't know what your paying for. $4,000 can be made back in 2 storms IF you can keep them all, and IF it snows twice this year. (lets hope it does) but you never know.

Be careful!! And by the way, make sure if you do go through with it, make sure you get the deal written up correctly and documented with a no compete clause so he can't come back and take all "your" customers.

It might pay to just contact all of those customers with a letter if its okay with him, and maybe even endorsed by the current contractor that they will try you out for a year , even if you just want to charge per push.

Good Luck!