1 man crews

[mblackburn]

Is it possible on a 1 man crew to mow enough lawns to eventually be able to upgrade to a ztr without taking a loan? Keeping in mind I work a telecommute job that gives me most the day off but still pays close to 2k month so I have all the time in the world and a back up pay.

I try to avg 25 an hour with my honda 21 inch, but cant always do that...since I am using very good, but small equipment I market to smaller yards that you couldnt fit a ztr into anyway that levels the playing field out some

any comments by other guys still going solo?

Obviously if the business gets that big I dont mind hiring help just only if I cant possibly do it all myself

[ALarsh]

Yes... thats how many of us started out and grew. I bought my Z (no loan) working solo and working my way up from a JD tractor.

[Lumberjack]

Lets see...


Assuming 100 day season and 20 yards per day for a $10,000.00 Z mower

@ 1 dollar per cut
10,000 cuts / 20 per day = 500 days or about 5 years depending on the area


@ 5 dollars per cut about 1 year.

Hope that helps

[mblackburn]

yeah but how the hell do you do 20 lawns a day with a push mower...lol honestly id probably by the 3k club cadet ztr from tractor supply first then upgrade

i know a ztr will pay for itself but if you dont have it you cant put it to work. If you dont have the ability to finance it you have to sling that honda around the yard

catch 22

[ALarsh]

Lets see...


Assuming 100 day season and 20 yards per day for a $10,000.00 Z mower

@ 1 dollar per cut
10,000 cuts / 20 per day = 500 days or about 5 years depending on the area


@ 5 dollars per cut about 1 year.

Hope that helps
So that means charge more and you won't have to wait as long?

[Lumberjack]

So that means charge more and you won't have to wait as long?

Its always a consideration....


A better plan as suggested by mblackburn is to get a smaller less expensive z and use it as a stepping stone to the bigger ones. a gravely 1534 can be had for <3000.00 and would certainly last more then a year. there are plenty of choices but what it comes down to is you have to make a plan in the first place that is realistic.

[Lumberjack]

sorry, interrupted.

One plan might be to save a dollar per cut and purchase a used commercial wb with a velky at about 1000.00 in the spring. After that you might be able to save 2 dollars per cut and do more cuts per day so at the end of year 3 you could easily afford a medium sized z mower...

Only you really can know what your costs are and how much you can do so sit down with a calculator and work the numbers untill you come up with a plan to suit your needs.

[DoetschOutdoor]

Why do you need a ztr if your only looking at doing somwhere in the 20 yard range? Get a used 48 WB for less than 2000 and put the money saved from a ztr towards other stuff

[Diablo]

I think its absolutely crazy to consider a Z rider yet. I like the idea put out about the used walk behind. Wait until business demands a better mower. Ive cut grass for years and never owned a Z. Dont get me wrong, they are cool but you will be amazed at the difference even a 36" WB will make with your productivity. Im sure alot of people here will disagree with me but I dont think there is any reason in the world to buy a rider unless you are dealing with alot of grass. Or you're old. j/k. :usflag:

[mblackburn]

i spent 750 on my honda :(

I want a ztr because right now i target the neighborhoods with the 25 - 35dollar lawns because thats what my equipment allows. There is a lot of much larger lawns around here that pay much more and those also have more extras but you need a ztr to be cost competitive with them

Im going to put more fliers and try to add two lawns per day to my schedule then use the entire proceeds of one and place into a fund for upgrades. Buy fuel with the other j /k

[lawnspecialties]

I started out mowing in the evenings after finishing my Pepsi route back in '99. I had a Scott's 25/54, Ryobi trimmer/edger split-shaft, and Echo BP-460 blower. Man, what I wouldn't give to get that Scott's back for old sentiments sake.

Let me get back to the point. About six months after starting up, I landed an office bldg. contract at $220/month. I went and bought a Cub Tank M60. My payments took about the whole $220. BUT, I was able to mow three times the business I had been! If you really want to grow, you gotta' spend the dough. :)

[RedWingsDet]

Get two 21's and one guy to help you, when I first started 3 years ago I have about 40 lawns and we cut those in a matter of 2 days.

Now I have a 60' Lazer, a f350 dump truck and 20ft enclosed....

Trust me, its easy to cut 20 yards a day with a 21". You can cut about 38 a day with a 60' but I dont even have 40 accounts. (we focus more on landscape work now)

[mblackburn]

another hockey fan...love it and even though Im in texas Im a redwings fan my self...except I would prefer dallas win, but will route for detroit otherwise

[RedWingsDet]

Haha, I'll be suprised to see how they do next year without Stevie Yzerman

[me1223]

If you're set on a Z, you could see about getting a higher end home owner model, use it while you make enough money for a commercial one, but still be able to take on larger jobs. I know that's how most of the LCOs in my area did it, two years ago one had just a 21" and a JD garden tractor, now they run three crews with Kabota riders.

[ALarsh]

Trust me, its easy to cut 20 yards a day with a 21". You can cut about 38 a day with a 60'
What size lots?

[dKoester]

I wouldn't spend 10,000 on a z. I'd buy another Wright stander.

[hackitdown]

I'm solo, and I made the transition to a Z last year. The math is easy.

How much money in advertising will it cost to get the 3 accounts? How much is the payment on a small $5K ZTR? Let's say it costs $400/month...You need only 3 additional customers at $35 per week to gross $420/month additional revenue. The 3 new accounts will be your break-even point to justify the expense. Anything more is represents additional gross profit. With the new mower, you will be able to do the old lawns faster, they will look better, and you won't be tired. You will have the equipment required for a future helper. You will take on more and more accounts.

It is a no-brainer. Buy it. You will wonder how you worked without it.

[Lawnwarrior]

The prodution difference from a commercial ztr is worth the risk. I started with a 21 push mower and then a 32 toro walk behind,which I still use, and then a 44 toro ztr. I was able to service my accounts in half the time without being beat up from pushing or walking behind a mower. Then I started to look for more work and started to bid on accounts that I would have never even considered with a push mower or walk behind. Soon I had enough customers to justify the purchase of a second ztr. I run two trucks with one man ,me being one of them, and we average 10 mows per truck a day. It doesnt sound like much,but at $35.00 a mow,on average I will be able to pay off the first ztr this season,12 months early on the loan, and start throwing money at the second one. I will say this, make sure that you set money aside to make those payments in the winter months,around here thats about 4 to 5 months or around a $1000.00 per machine.

[topsites]

They all want Zees, omg gotta have a Zee ohhhh yeah the Zee, everybody has one, I gotta have one, too.
And later they wonder, why did I go broke?

I have never in 5 years owned a Z, all my mowers have always been large-deck walk-behinds, my smallest is a 48" and I wish they still made the 60" decks. These babies cost a grand used or 3.2 thousand new with a velke and they outrun Z's on 1/4 - 1 acre lots all day.

I am able to put a LOT of money aside using Wb's, I had my winter money saved by May this year and now I got more on top of that, and money in a money market account and money in CD's and then more money in savings bonds. Still it will be several more years before I buy a Zee, because it is a luxury!

It's like you're going to go racing professionally so the first thing you think is getting a brand-new McLaren v12 FI...? Gimme a break, you won't last the first 15 laps, it's the same thing, you need to learn how to walk before you run.

The commercial Wb cuts 4-6 times more grass than any 21", why do they ALL feel the need to spend twice the money on a Zee, something which is NOT twice as good as the Wb.

[EMWEB]

You need to come and walk awhile in Louisiana . . . Don't waste your time telling me all about the similar weather statistics in every state in the country. When the U.S. military needs a miserable s#@t hole to train it's troops to be deployed in some other s%#t hole, they always end up sending them to Fort Polk Louisiana for Special High Intensity Training.

Because it is the most miserable place they have . . . .

[K&A Lawncare]

wait till tax season and hope you get a nice return.

[twj721]

i spent 750 on my honda :(

I want a ztr because right now i target the neighborhoods with the 25 - 35dollar lawns because thats what my equipment allows. There is a lot of much larger lawns around here that pay much more and those also have more extras but you need a ztr to be cost competitive with them

Im going to put more fliers and try to add two lawns per day to my schedule then use the entire proceeds of one and place into a fund for upgrades. Buy fuel with the other j /k

You mean that central Texas has green grass ?:confused:
Here in The North East Texas area we are about to burn up dry brown grass is all that is left to cut we had a 101 heat index today and no rain in forecast where are you at in central Texas Good luck and stay cool . twj