Part Time Lawn Care Business

[inline lawn care]

Currently, I Only Have Saturdays And Some Sundays To Mow, Are There Any Part Time Lawn Businesses That Can Tell Me How Many Customers They Can Handle On The Weekends Only? Thanks

[PR Fect]

One. I think you need to re-think what lawn care is. If you start off saying your only going to do it on two of the seven days there is in a week, you may not realize what professional lawn care means. You should stay with just your own lawn if you are only willing to work weekends. PR

[All_Toro_4ME]

Two. I think this is posted in the wrong forum. Should have posted it in "Starting A Lawn Care & Landscaping Business". Read some previous posts and do some searches on here.

[Marcos]

I suggest that you do some sincere networking and find a 'mentor', or someone around town that does the same thing as you're trying to do, who is out of your 'territory' if you have one (or doesn't care), WHO DOESN'T CARRY A HUGE EGO, and takes pride in taking the 'newcomer' to the field under their wing. It starts by taking up conversations with other professionals at places where you buy commercial mowers, mower parts, and even commercial fertilizers and pesticides.

[Z Queen]

What if the grass excedes your growing expectations and it needs cutting sooner than your weekend time frame? What is your backup plan? Just curious - it happens more often than you would think. Something to consider for sure. :)

[wski4fun]

I have 14 accounts now and I work 2-3 hrs a day 2-3 days a week just for mowing. I mow anywhere between 7-12 lawns a week. The lawns are all under 8k sq feet and take on average 1/2 hr. I use a 48 inch stander. My lawns average 35$. During the spring and fall I will work some Saturdays and maybe take a day or two off from my regular job for all the extra work outside of the mowing. Lots of factors may be different for you but hope this helps.

[SlowMow]

What if the grass excedes your growing expectations and it needs cutting sooner than your weekend time frame? What is your backup plan? Just curious - it happens more often than you would think. Something to consider for sure. :)

Well I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone that drives up to each of their accounts EVERY day to see if they need mowed early or not. By the way, I'm not trying to be mouthy just curious how you know....

[PR Fect]

Well I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone that drives up to each of their accounts EVERY day to see if they need mowed early or not. By the way, I'm not trying to be mouthy just curious how you know....

Slow Mow. Once you know your accounts, you know when they need mowing. Things like what ones have irrigation, what ones are fertilized, how much sun they receive. I have some that I know that they will need it every five days if we get steady rainfall, and at the same time others in the same area (with different soil make up) that go seven. Me never mow the same jobs on the same day each week. Bad business, and not good for the lawn. And we are part time, with 14 current, active, full service accounts.

[KTO Enterprises]

Being a LCO usually entails more than just mow and go. The accounts that only want the grass chopped and driveway blown, are the pain in the arse come and go accounts. they never stay with you long and are not worth having. the good accounts are the ones that want full service. They care about their lawn, want beds mulched and maintained, lawn fertilized, and other various addons. I would venture to say 90% of weekenders last a season or 2 at the most. Then its either on to full time or you see their equipment in the paper for sale.

[steve5966]

Well I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone that drives up to each of their accounts EVERY day to see if they need mowed early or not. By the way, I'm not trying to be mouthy just curious how you know....

When you make your living in this business you pay attention to how the grass grows.

[Z Queen]

Well I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone that drives up to each of their accounts EVERY day to see if they need mowed early or not. By the way, I'm not trying to be mouthy just curious how you know....

SlowMow,
Most all of my customers are full service - not "just" mowing. I know when the grass will need mowing because: I know the properties, the soils, the different products that I use on the properties, the customer's likes and dislikes, the weather, and sometimes I HAVE been know to just "drive by" for a look see. I care about the job that I do. It is a reflection of my business and my name. Now, I have a question for you - and it's not meant to be mouthy right back either - just curious. Does your statement mean that you just "arrive" and mow - regardless of the lawns condition?

[wski4fun]

Part time can be very profitable if you don't "need" the money. I have 4 lawns that need to be done every week and the rest are when I feel like it. It's steady money that I use to pay down debt faster or to invest more. I like it this way becuase if something comes up then I'm not tied to it. Also, my customers don't expect me there the day after they call. The problem with Saturday only mowing is if the equipment breaks down. I like to get everything done during the week. One, I have the weekend off. Two, I can finish the extra work on the weekends if I want. Also if it rains or the mower breaks then I'm not screwed. I would go with the mow blow and go if I was you. Those customers are a dime a dozen and I haven't found many to be a problem. I think of it like this. A really good company will do a great job for 35 bucks. That's not what the mow blow and go is looking for. 30 bucks makes their lawn look good without doing the extra frills which take the extra time. It's not considered lowballing because it's a different service and a different market. In out and you are both happy. I make a great extra income like this with little work. Good luck with the Saturdays.

[Juan_Deere]

Currently, I Only Have Saturdays And Some Sundays To Mow, Are There Any Part Time Lawn Businesses That Can Tell Me How Many Customers They Can Handle On The Weekends Only? Thanks



Inline. I currently mow after my full time job on Friday, and try to do the rest on Saturday, although I usually wind up doing one or two on Sunday because I got up late and took my sweet time on Saturday. I do 11 lawns and can easily handle another 4 or so, if I only wanted to work Friday and Saturday. Throw Sunday into the mix, and I would say another 4 on top of that, just to keep from overloading provided we do get hit by weather. My customers understand that I will be out on the weekend, and if it rains, they can expect me on the next available day when it isn't raining. My situation may not be typical though. I only mow in my subdivision, so I don't have to waste any time driving all over town to achieve those numbers. Also, should the need arise, I usually still have the flexibility to take a full day off of my full time job and just devote a weekday to mowing should I need to catch up, although I haven't had to once. Most of the lots in my subdivision are a little less than a half acre average.

It isn't that hard at all. Just keep yourself and your gear as clean as possible, always take a few minutes to talk to your customers, thank them for their business, and ask them if you missed anything. If you take pride in your work, you won't miss anything, and all they will say is how great the lawn looks, and ask if you can do an estimate for their friend that lives up the street.