Take a Look at my Business Plan...

[britsteroni]

I am looking for some advice on my business plan that I am preparing for this upcoming season (it will be my first full year in business running a solo operation).

First off, I will tell you a little bit of my background.

I have over seven years experience in the lawn care and landscaping industry. I take pride in my work, and love working outside. Even with a passion for the lawn care industry, it is not my overall goal.

I am a Finance major with two minors (Entrpreneurship and Business Law) at Missouri State University. I plan on pursuing an MBA at Missouri State and then going to Law school at the University of Missouri or UMKC to pursue a degree in Entrepreneurial Law. I want to eventually open my own investment firm or something along those lines...

Therefore, I only plan on mowing and doing light landscaping until I am done with my MBA (approximately 3 years away). Then it is off to law school!

So here is my plan:

Equipment:
-Small Utility Truck with a fold down gate to put my equipment in.
-36" or 32" Walk Behind Mower (trying to currently purchase)
-Shindaiwa T231 Trimmer (already have)
-Backpack blower (about to purchase)
-Hand tools and such (already have)

Plan:
-Get 30 valued customers for weekly lawn maintenance and light landscaping.
-Small, residential lawns only
-Advertise through: A-frame sign outside my house, add in the newspaper, flyers, word of mouth, company shirts, and company logo on the truck.
-Service all equipment myself to keep costs low.

I plan on being a solo operation (too many bad experiences with lazy, worhtless employees!!!). I do not want my business to grow past 30 customers because I have to study a lot as well and keep my GPA above a 3.5 for Law school.

I currently own a 60" zero turn ExMark that I am trading for the W/B. I have a Ford Explorer that I am selling and will try to buy a truck for what I get from the Explorer. Meaning, I will have no money of my own invested into the business except for a blower, business liscence, insurance and other miscellaneous purchases. I am thinking this will be no more than $2,000 which I already have.

My goal is to have saved enough money in 3 seasons to pay for my first year of law school and living expenses which will probably be close to $30,000.

PLEASE post any thoughts or ideas on my plan! I apologize for the post being so long!!

[echeandia]

Are you getting an MBA or a J.D.?

[carcrz]

$30K shouldn't be any problem, but you're going to be putting in a lot of hours w/ a 32" mower. I would probably keep the 60" (depending on its current condition) & push for some larger commercial properties. They are generally wide open & you can market yourself while you are working. Other than that, your plan sounds reasonabe.

[britsteroni]

echeandia,
Well, I would like to end up with both degrees. Both UMKC and Mizzou have a dual program that only takes an extra year, but here at Missouri State they have an accelerated masters program that takes one year instead of two (you can take courses that credit your undergrad. and graduate degrees). So I would like to stay here as long as possible before leaving... Plus I know some people that work at an investment firm and I might get a job following graduation to show some professional experience on the law school resume.

carcrz,
The neighborhoods that I am talking about are post stamp lawns. I can mow, trim, and blow them in 30 minutes with a push mower right now. You still don't think a 36" would be big enough for that kind of work?

Thanks for the comments, keep them coming.

[GreenN'Clean]

You sound like your in the right direction and your plan will def work as long as you dedicate yourself. You should make 30k a year as long as your out there working and moving toward your goal

[britsteroni]

What do you guys think regarding the 36" WB? Won't that be enough for small residentials?

[lawn guy1350]

yeh that will be enough in my opinion. you may get tired of it eventually but it will be ok, as long as your yards dont get much bigger!

[britsteroni]

Lawn Guy 1350

That is along the lines of what I was thinking... Yeah walking every single yard will get old, but I am ok with that. Exercise never hurt anyone! Thanks for your comments.

[LindblomRJ]

When you get tired of walking throw the sulky on and hitch a ride.

[britsteroni]

Yeah, that is something I thought about!

Does anyone have any ideas/comments on the business plan? Anything I can do to improve it, etc...

Thanks

[TXNSLighting]

thats true, i even have a sulky! ha! well i had to take it off cuz the engine on mine isnt quite big enough i guess...its ok on level terrain but slight hills slow it down, and its hard to get it off the trailer. i think your on the right track on the business plan. door hangers help alot!

[LindblomRJ]

The plan seems prudent.

[daveintoledo]

you sound like an intelligent young man, you will do well at what ever you choose..but this is more of a strategy then a business plan..... lots of good info on this, just google business plan, lots of free templates and what not...:)

[echeandia]

Does anyone have any ideas/comments on the business plan? Anything I can do to improve it, etc...

It depends on what your objective for the plan is. It really isn't a business plan you would take to a bank or investor. They will want three years projections, P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, a marketing plan, sales plan, etc. If its just for you and you understand it then it might be enough. My recommendation would be to write the complete business plan just you you are forced to think of everything.

[T'S lawncare]

What about records, invoices, and all that good stuff?

[britsteroni]

echeandia
I am not planning on taking anything to a bank or an investor, but I do agree on righting everything out for myself in order to take everything into consideration.

T's lawncare
My father is involved in accounting and will handle that side of the business for me. I will bill each account weekly as far as the mowing goes. If I do side jobs with landscaping that will be arranged for payment after completion... Is there anything that I am missing that you can think of T's Lawncare?

Anyone else's imput is greatly appreciated.

[TMlawncare]

With only 30 residential accounts you will not make 30k per year. You won't even gross 30k per year. 30 accounts @ let go a little high $35 = $1050 times 24 mowings = $25200. Thats if you can avg. $35 per yard. With small yards that might be a little hard. If you gross $25200 your net will be around $14-16000 before taxes.

[echeandia]

With only 30 residential accounts you will not make 30k per year. You won't even gross 30k per year. 30 accounts @ let go a little high $35 = $1050 times 24 mowings = $25200. Thats if you can avg. $35 per yard. With small yards that might be a little hard. If you gross $25200 your net will be around $14-16000 before taxes.

Take your numbers times 3 years and I believe he reaches the 30K$. Read his post for comprehension one more time.

[britsteroni]

TMlawncare,
First of all, echeandia is exactly right... I am wanting to save $30,000 in three years (seasons), not $30,000 a year.

Second, around here we get atleast 30 mowings a season... and $35 is my goal per lawn (all my areas are very nice areas with people having the money to pay for a good job). So, $1,050 a week is my goal x 30 mowings is $31,500 a year in mowing alone (not counting other odd landscaping jobs).

With saying all this, I think saving $30,000 in 3 seasons is a very reasonable plan.

Please any constructive criticism is helpful and welcomed!

[britsteroni]

bump bump bump

[TMlawncare]

Yes, I did read the first post. The point is that you will have only around 15k per year after expenses and less after taxes. You plan on saving for three seasons. What are you going to live on? 2-4k per year. Just trying to be honest. By the way there is a lot of lawn companies in the Springfield area. Chances are you may have to take the less then desirables to get started. These are usually the crap yards where the complain about $25.

[britsteroni]

TMlawncare,

I still think you math is off. 30 lawns x 35 lawn = $1050 x 30 cuts = $31,500 plus all the miscellaneous landscaping jobs (one landscaping job a week is my goal)... Minus taxes won't be in the $15k ballpark (no payments or employees, just taxes and insuarance, gas, fix-ups etc.)

I guess I also forgot to post that I have a current job that I can live on and am planning on doing this part time until/unless the business takes off.

I have considered the idea that Springfield is overpopulated with lawn companies, and I agree with you. Great service will hopefully weed out some of my competition.

If I only end up with 5 good yards, so be it! I will not work for people that are a pain in the butt! Just too much of a hastle.

Thank you TMlawncare for you input and ideas.

All comments are appreciated!!

[TMlawncare]

I agree if you provide excellent service you already seperated yourself from a lot of the competition. Springfield is a excellent market. You will probably start mowing in about 3-4 weeks. This is the time to start targeting your custormer base. For you a door knocker ad might work best stating only a certain # of openings. That way if the response is overwhelming you can decline and refer them to another company. Also you may want to find another high quality company to share overflow customers with. This really helps with growth.
Sorry if the my above post sounded a little harsh. I don't sugar coat extremely well. Just trying to be truthful and offer a few suggestions that have worked for us over the years.

[britsteroni]

TM,
Where at in NW missouri are you located? I was born in Liberty, MO so I was curious if you were around those parts...

Can you go in to more detail about the high quality company to share overflow with... I am not familiar with that to be quite honest. What else might you suggest for advertising? I have considered going door to door with the nighborhoods that I especially want to target for advertising. I figure nothing can beat a firm hand shake, looking them in the eyes, and introducing yourself to someone!

I wasn't offended by your post or anyone else's. I appreciate all of the advice I can get and don't care if it sounds harsh.

Any more help with advertising would be great!
Thanks guys

[TMlawncare]

TM,
Where at in NW missouri are you located? I was born in Liberty, MO so I was curious if you were around those parts...

Can you go in to more detail about the high quality company to share overflow with... I am not familiar with that to be quite honest. What else might you suggest for advertising? I have considered going door to door with the nighborhoods that I especially want to target for advertising. I figure nothing can beat a firm hand shake, looking them in the eyes, and introducing yourself to someone!

I wasn't offended by your post or anyone else's. I appreciate all of the advice I can get and don't care if it sounds harsh.

Any more help with advertising would be great!
Thanks guys

We are an hour North of Liberty. Door to door greeting are nice but extremely time consuming. A door knocker ad is a small advertisement that you place over the door handle of the home you would like to target. Many times you find a whole neighbor hood want to work in and stick one one everybody's door. Just remember to add that certain # of opening clause. That can save your backside. Example if you put out 500 door knocker ads and received over 100 call backs you would be hurting. A lot of times we tend to make a few friends who are also in this industry. If there is a company that shares a lot of your traits you can refer some customers to them and they will do the same for you. Its a excellent way to grow. Once you get your 30 accounts, if you start getting several calls many times they will ask for someone to refer them to. They will be appreciative and it help you and the other company.

[britsteroni]

TM

Are you familiar with Just Mow It's business approach? I am thinking about implementing some of his ideas... Not an exact replica, but similar. Let me know what you think

As to your comments, I think those are good ideas you have. I already have friends or have worked for numerous companies in the area so they would be good for the referrals if I get too many yards.

Any ideas on a cheap place for door hangers?

Thanks for all your help!