How much do you make a year?

[Ramster2000]

This might be a little personal but, if you would like to, please report how much money you make in a year. I want to know if it is worth it to make a career out of this.

[AndrewLawn]

this'll give you an idea,I have 6 lawns,do them all with my 21" self propelled craftsman mower and $89 craftsman weed-eater(please,hold the comments)they usually take me about(give or take)an hour.granted,i'm biting my lip,but i don't pay taxes or have insurance(hey,im 15 and have 6 lawns,give me a break).The good thing about my craftsman setup(again,hold comments,lol)is that overhead costs are low.To give you an idea though,of how much one could possibly make,i've made approximately $2000...maybe more or less,but that sounds about right.I keep notes of how much i make,but i dont check them religiously or record everything so....anyway,ive managed to save about 1200-1400 of it(in the bank)......and part of the time i've been working at subway and been in school(but started subway AFTER school was over,otherwise,i'd be dead....dont overstress yourself).I'm 15,had no money to start this up,and have saved quite a bit..if i can do it you can.I know,i should invest in a walk behind or something,but thinking about next year.Oh yeah,ive only been mowing these 6 lawns since about mid march and its now mid june.....so about three months,and theres still 5 or 6 good months left of mowing this year.Also,since im just a neighborhood lawnboy I do in fact probably low ball a little(yikes,should i have even written this)...otherwise,id have no customers,im simply not professional enough..but I'm not gonna be stupid...a lawn you might charge $35 i might charge $30.....but most of my lawns i charge $25(professionals may charge $30..maybe more,but wont be getting too many customers).anyway,hope this helps.

[grassyfras]

gross=around 10,000
net= 8,000
14 lawns at around $20-$25 each.
5 fert. accounts.
cleanups
trimming bushes
snow removal
I'm not sure how I should put in my mower cost that I bought last year and only used it in the fall.

[vipermanz]

are you licensed to apply fertilizer though?
I wouldn't think some people as young as us would be able to obtain such a permit.
Please Correct Me If I Am Wrong

[danby405]

Lawn mowing is what i would call the best buissness in the world it's like car insurance everybody needs it's. Anyone with the will to exceed and the ability to push a mower can make a living on this buissness. The customers are easy to get and the work isn't rocket science. 3 keys to be sucssesful

1. Don't take every job that comes your way ( sometimes you have to say no)

2. Do a good job !!!!! This is the best way to get good referalls and referalls uselly help you to get tighter routes.

3. Get at least 40 jobs this will provide you the income to live and allow you to save for the harsh winter months.

a small extra thing -- never let anyone else do one of your customers lawns until they've trained with you for a season this way they know what you expect!!!!!!!!!!


Dan
Sucssesfully Green

[awm]

not many going to tell you the truth on that one. i will tell
you ,working solo you can make a living.

[bubble boy]

i asked myself that question all through university-and that was
5 1/2 years of asking.started in Feb 2000 on our own, and tried to do it right. Full corporation, top of the line equipment (21") mowers, and tons of advertising. just over one year later have a 2000 silverado and a 2001 ram on the road. my costs are a large percent of revenue, but get lower as time goes by and we grow. have'nt looked at the numbers in great detail for this year yet. Put it this way, i know guys that gross $70-80 thou Cdn. per truck. that's probably 50 thousand US. But, as i said,costs are high and i have a business partner, and obviously the bum takes half. Still far from rich. to be honest, could be making more at a desk pushin paper. I'm hoping and expect that in a few years will be making more money than i otherwise would in the workforce. And my degree makes a lovely paperweight

Andrewlawn all i can say for sure to you is finish high school, that can NEVER be a mistake.

[Getmow]

Two man crew per year average is 125K from talking with other lco's. This average is just that, you can do 5k or 200 k depending on your market, area and personal work ethics.

[bubble boy]

getmow- 125K thats an awesome figure. how does it break down? How do seasons set up where you are? In toronto we cut 6 mos May to Oct then plow in the winter. Cleanups April/Nov. I know hours per day and days per week factor in, but that figure seems out of reach for one truck in my market.

[AB Lawn Care]

Bubble Boy-He live in the U.S........that's how they can make that much $$$$$$

:p

[turfguy33]

I do this part time also, and most of the time I go solo, but I do have some help on 3 of my properties. For the last 2 years, I have basically worked for free. All the money that I made went back into the business so it can grow. I have a full time job also that pays well, so I'm not strapped for cash. Allot of lco's say that a profit must be made at all times.. All the money I make goes to paying business bills, and buying more stuff. Once I am fully established to where I want to be, I will factor in my profits......Now don't get me wrong, I pocket some of the money, but I bet 80% to 90% goes back to the biz. I don't have many accounts, but the accounts that I do have are large, as a matter of fact, there down right huge. 2 of my commercial customers bring in roughly $30000 by themselves, and the remaining jobs I have which are 2 more small commercials and a couple small residentials which only bring in a total of maybe $10000 or just a little less. One of my big accounts is a property management company that has 5 apartments that I do, Big money.....

[CSRA Landscaping]

Turfguy, have you ofund that the prop. management companies want you to have help? Or do they not care, so long as it gets done?

[turfguy33]

The property management corporation does not care whether 1 man is on the property doing the service or a hundred men as long as the price is the same and the job gets done in a timely manner with the quality of work they expect from me. The one good thing about them is I placed a bid on each individual property, and I actually only "Out bidded" the other LCO's on 2 of them, So basically I recieved a 5 year contract by being only about $25 cheaper per month, which over time adds up to be alot, but I'm not complaining, it's still a large sum of money each month for me and my business

[MATTHEW]

Smart wat to start, turfguy!!! I did the same thing.
I would suggest to anyone thinking about starting a
LCO that they do it part time. Do your 9-5, then go
out and make enough to pay off your stuff. Then, if
you like it, go for it. If not, sell your stuff and
forget about it. It is a risky thing to do when you
quit your job, go into debt without getting your feet
wet first.;)

[hobbes]

Bubbleboy,
"We cut six months May to October then plow in the winter"
I'm from Toronto as well and we cut cut from 2nd or 3rd week of April to 2nd week of Nov.. Spring cleanups start first week of April and fall cleanups end last week of Nov. or first week of Dec.
Then we plow.
That makes 8 months full time 4 months plowing.

[jjfehr]

I will tell you how much I make! I make $60,000,000 yearly, however I have $59,999,999 in expenses! Who cares how much "I" make, the question that you shoukld be asking yourself is " How much can I make as an LCO?" There are several factors that go into determining this, but the most important is, "what is the going rate?" followed by "what will my expenses be per hour?" Now figure how many customers it will take you to make the kind of money that you would like, and can you get and maintain that many clients by yourself?
This is a great business, ffanon't worry about lowballers, you don't want their clients anyway ((( The last statment was supposed to read" Don't worry about lowballers, you don't want their clients anyway.))) LOWBALLERS SERVICE LOW PAYERS

[CSRA Landscaping]

Sounds like jjfehr feels about like a do after figuring up my expenses! :rolleyes:

[KirbysLawn]

Originally posted by vipermanz
are you licensed to apply fertilizer though?
I wouldn't think some people as young as us would be able to obtain such a permit.
Please Correct Me If I Am Wrong

Fertilizer alone in most states requires no license, herbicides, fungicides, and such require a license.

[bobbygedd]

ive got no problem laying it on the line. i do about thirty residentials that average about $25 ea. this brings in about 29000 on a 38 week cutting season. add a few extra bucks for leaf cleanup. subtrct gas, dumping fees, insurance, advertising costs, fuel, permits and general maint. on the equipment. this leaves me about a wopping 19000 a season. this is only for grass cutting, and i do this part time. add extras like trimming, etc. also do some planting , stone, mulch etc. it will add up. if it is worth your while pursuing a carrer in this is up to you, i dont know how much money u would like to earn. as for me this is not nearly enough money to raise a family and have the lifestyle i want. as a part time business though it is not bad. just my opinion, and i do love this business. one thing to keep in mind is "the unexpected" last year i needed emergency surgery that put me out for 10 weeks, if u r a solo operator this can be a disaster. BOB

[Chip]

If you read the previous posts you will realize there are a lot of weekend warriors in this business. They think that making $20 - $30 per hour is good money. Maybe for them but this is who you will be bidding against. They never calculate overhead costs ie. health insurance, business insurance, truck/equipment, fuel and maintenance. Also office expenses computer and time spent invoicing. I don't mean to discourage anyone, just educate, you need to get paid for the behind the scene work. For all you young guys that don't understand this talk to business owners about costs don't be a lawn laborer be a business man. People will take advantage of your lack business of knowledge and willingness to work so cheap.

[lee b]

Chip, I'm a weekend warrior, and I know exactly what my expenses are. Just because I'm not a full-time LCO, does that make me any less of a business man than you? I only average $45.00 a hour, my expenses are averaged out { with the contracts that I'm presently doing} at $12.75 a hour. Wages in my neck of the world are pretty low, $8.50 a hour is about average, $10.00 a hour is considered good pay. Making over 3 times average wages per hour after expenses ain't too bad. :blob3:

[David Gretzmier]

It seems to me that most people make what thier lifestyle is... Most folks running the newer equipment should be generating in excess of 50 bucks per hour on mowing and 35 on trimming/blowing, and 35 per man on maintenance and install. older slower equipment will yield less. large open properties tend to yield more. good luck. dave g

[charlesw]

I see that a lot of people are charging $25 - $35 per yard. My question is, how big is the yard? In my area the average lot size is 75'x125', what would you charge?
What about edging, is that extra?

In North Dallas, I charge $25 to cut, $10 edge (corner lots extra)using a 21" push mower, takes about 1 1/2 hours for complete job.

Things I don't currently do (but checked on):
Fertilizer runs about $45,
Weed contron (MSMA) $17.5 per application which usually takes two.

:angel:

[bobbygedd]

our properties here in jersey average $25-30 per cut, it takes us about 15-25 min per property, some as low as 12 min per cut. thats with me and one excelent helper. the lawn is cut , wacked and blown at each visit, it is edged every other visit. we use 32/36/48" walkbehinds. i was just talking to my helper the other day about this, we cut one of our lawns, and in the same time, another company pulled up and cut two of the nieghbors. my guy was impressed, i was not. they had easily $30, 000 worth of cutting equipment, 2 dump trucks, and 4 american guys in their early 30s. point being its not what u make, its what u net. im probably pulling more of a profit doing half the work as they r.

[charlesw]

Bigger is not always better.

$25-$30 for 15-20 minutes, not bad. That's more money than I make at my desk job, but I don't have the expense.

I considered purchasing a larger cutting mower (36" walk behind) to get the job done faster, but the homes in my area have fences around the back yards with 36" gates. I think it will be a little hard to get the equipment in the back yard. :confused:

I'll stick with a push mower until I can really put something bigger to use.

My son (13) and his friend (12) cut the neighbors yard last night. Cut & edge took them almost 3 hours, they made $30, used my equipment, and had no expenses. :D

[13yearoldcutter]

I make only $100 a week. I cut 5 yards and charge about 20 for each one. I only put in about $300 including everything plus gas. It takes me an hour for each yard, I'm pretty fast for a 21' walkbehind. I will make about 2000 this year, probaly alot more because every day I get more acounts. I will save up for a better mower and next year make 3 or 4 times that. Hopefully.

[13yearoldcutter]

A few days ago I saw a LCO due nice size yard in about 5 minutes. It was about 5 of them, I guessin they charged 25 to 35. They dont get alot of proffit due they. 5 to 7 dollars. Why do they do that? I wouldn't.

[leeslawncare]

I've been getting 35 to 40 for a 10-12k lawn 16k 55.00 hope this helps
I'am running solo w/a 36"deere.

[13yearoldcutter]

Leeslawncare, if you don't mind me asking how much was the 36' john deere. I'm in the market of finding a used 36' walkbehind.

[hobbes]

Max 6 $20 lawns per hour. 25-$20-$25 lawns per day. 2 man crew-$18 per hr. per man. About $590 per day less $200 labour per crew. Solo or with 1 helper & myself, $400 per day. Six days - Sundays less about $100 unless hedging. All with 21's and 36 WB's. Could do it without the 36's but getting lazy.

[LJ lawn]

lets not forget that the big lawn co's who have 4 guys and the new trucks and the big machines can blow out 3 jobs to a solo ops one is usually run buy someone who's either not really working too hard or sitting at home.so even if he's only making $100 -$200 a day for himself after expenses (netting)(paying crew etc.)he did that by not lifting one finger.which is really not that bad for not doing anything except maybe supervising.that's why they charge less and get done in 1/2 the time because they can and they make it up in volume.not that i'm sticking up for anybody,this is just the way it is.

[hobbes]

Actually, I find it the opposite. The big LCO's have so much overhead & unproductive, unskilled workers, that they can't keep up in either speed or price to many of the smaller LCO's.

[CSRA Landscaping]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here by going off-topic once more and say that I would assume it's all in the management. L/S Management had an article that featured a company that advocated running 'lean and mean' which suggests to me that they would be very quick and efficient.

[bobbygedd]

and even if they r "blowing out" 3 lawns to my one, they also have $80, 000 worth of equipment, plus the insurance to cover it, plus the interest on the loans to buy it, plus the 4 guys that must be making at least $10 each per hour, etc, etc. and all this investment for $100-200 a day, its gonna take him 3-4 years of sitting on his ass at home just to break even.

[kris]

What's with all the knocking of big companys??? You actually think they are sitting at home doing nothing??? Why don't you go spend some time with a owner of bussines doing 5 million gross a year... Bet you would have a differant opinion then... True big doesn't mean better, or a higher profit margin... I say, do whatever you can at a good profit.

[dmk395]

Hey lets all be realists here. The big companies are the ones that have been around for awhile, and have a system set up. This system allows the owner to manage the whole entity. Thus he is a true "business man". The "business man" can fiscally afford to step away from his operation for a weekend in the Bahamas, while also affording to allow his foreman to run the operation when he is gone. (or simply spend his off time trying to start another business, because the end result for his work is his financial freedom) Before knocking another persons operation, make sure you look at both sides of the coin. Whose life would you rather have? I think its an easy question, nonetheless everyone is different.

[hobbes]

Alot of those big companies owned by "true business men" who don't want to get their fingers dirty go belly up. I see many more successful smaller LCO'S than larger. And I'm not sure the owner's of the bigger LCO's are making more $$$, probably just more debt.

[Grasshog]

The money is here, just go get it. Most new lmo"s that start up make the big mistake of trying to do to good of a job. They might make two trips a week to a lawn, spend extra time doing extra stuff they dont get paid for. Do what you contracted out add do it right. You can profit big time. Dont try and do to much

I fell just short of 6 figs last year.

[kris]

Alot of those big companies owned by "true business men" who don't want to get their fingers dirty go belly up. I see many more successful smaller LCO'S than larger. And I'm not sure the owner's of the bigger LCO's are making more $$$, probably just more debt.
hobbes... why don't you keep your opinion's on your own business..every business is differant... you have no idea how much debt or how much money other company is making.PS.explain more on charging $18.00 per hr. in Toronto??? Is this a part-time gig for you?

[grassyfras]

It seems as you guys are talking about stuff that you dont realy know about. You have no idea how much these companies make or how much there equipment cost. If you do thats great. We have a large company (Top Care) do are neighborhood and some other condos by us. They work all day and have about 5 men and do an excellent job. Occasionaly you will see a supervisor but he doesn't hang around much. So if you think about it the owner is proabbly paying these guys 8-10 dollars and hour for about 7 hours at this job so that would proably be around $250 he pays his employes. He probbly makes over 1k eash time he comes out here if he does somthing besides mowing to. They also come more then once a week it seems. So, really these guys could make a fortune doing nothing besides setting up the company and supervising(anything besides labor). I really dont know about these figures but i am just guessing. I would rather be doing not much besides high labor.

Also you have to rember that these big LCO's got that big in the first place so they seem to know what there doing.

[charlesw]

Keep in mind the more people you have working the more your expenses are. More equipment, pay more in taxes & insurance, it's not all profit.
Don't get me wrong, I'd rather earn 60% from 10 people than 75% from 2 people. ;)

I personally like working out in the yard, but I believe that most of us will agree that we'd rather work when we want to and not when we have to.

Just my 2 cents.

[hobbes]

Kris,
This is not my opinion. I know of three large LCO's that service our area that have gone out of business in the past two years while many new smaller LCO's are thriving. This is in a purely residential market & large companies that try to compete fail. As far as charging $18 per hour, that is not what I charge that is what I pay my employees.

[dmk395]

Plenty of hard workers, few businessmen here.

[ronslawncare]

i charge alot i do small size propertys at big prices because i dont care if i can get 10 20.00 houses that dont want any other maintenance .so my prices stick i have about 6 lawns that are 25.oo them about 60 feet in front and a patch in the back .but they get full service .my biggest problem is were i live people are so cheap how much is it just to cut the grass .dont edge or nothing i had at least two people ask me that.so for me charge high for everything....