Solo Cleanups

[BigMike450]

I'm working solo and most of my cleanup's are 2 hours.Most jobs I'll cut the front when I'm done.A few have been 3 hours and one was 4 1/2 with a lot of ground cover that needed to be blown,elevation changes and a cut.Woman left a message saying what a wonderful job I did and when I told her how many hours and how much(35.00 an hour which is cheap where I'm at) she changed her tune also she wasn't a regular.Now I'm pretty new and working solo takes longer so I dropped the rate and do a very thorough job.I just can't believe how people complain when others I know are charging twice as much as me.I just had to complain I'm already loosing my shirt just trying to keep up and they want to haggle after the fact.

[hackitdown]

It may be wise to discuss the money prior to starting the work.

[punt66]

I'm working solo and most of my cleanup's are 2 hours.Most jobs I'll cut the front when I'm done.A few have been 3 hours and one was 4 1/2 with a lot of ground cover that needed to be blown,elevation changes and a cut.Woman left a message saying what a wonderful job I did and when I told her how many hours and how much(35.00 an hour which is cheap where I'm at) she changed her tune also she wasn't a regular.Now I'm pretty new and working solo takes longer so I dropped the rate and do a very thorough job.I just can't believe how people complain when others I know are charging twice as much as me.I just had to complain I'm already loosing my shirt just trying to keep up and they want to haggle after the fact.


The best advice i can give you is never charge by the hour. Always charge by the job. I average $125 hr on fall cleanups as a solo. If i told that to a customer they would freak. But most people here agree $300 for a cleanup is acceptable and yet it takes me 2.5 hours. Go figure. never charge using an hourly rate.

[2low4NH]

i gotta agree bid on the clean up i bid one last year at 200 dolars this year i got him back it was 3 hours of work. got a couple at an hourly rate where i charge a 3hour min! they took 3 hours or just under i made 120! alot of customers see the 40 an hour and run which is very cheap for my area. but you tell them 2-300 they are fine. some are just looking for a highschool kid to come in and rake.

[QuadRacer041]

The best advice i can give you is never charge by the hour. Always charge by the job. I average $125 hr on fall cleanups as a solo. If i told that to a customer they would freak. But most people here agree $300 for a cleanup is acceptable and yet it takes me 2.5 hours. Go figure. never charge using an hourly rate.



Mike, I agree with Punt for sure. I know its hard being new at this but try to estimate how long it will take you abd price by the job. As a solo you want to be competitive with other companires and clients dont want to hear your charging $65 + per hour. Usually, not always but usually close to double your cutting charge is pretty close.

[2low4NH]

double my cut price would kill me i would lose alot of money. i have one lawn i charge 25 a week to cut trim and blow and i make a profit of that but when it comes to a clean up for them i charge 175. thats 7 mows for them! gotta be careful saying double the mow price. atleast in NH doing that you would lose alot of cash

[punt66]

double my cut price would kill me i would lose alot of money. i have one lawn i charge 25 a week to cut trim and blow and i make a profit of that but when it comes to a clean up for them i charge 175. thats 7 mows for them! gotta be careful saying double the mow price. atleast in NH doing that you would lose alot of cash


Thats not what he means. If your averaging $60 hr mowing then you should average $120hr for fall.

[peahlybros.]

I agree with punt, i always charge by the job, but i take into consideration how many hours it will take and figure my quote from there. By charging by the hour you are penelizing yourself for having the right equipment.

[Keegan]

The best advice i can give you is never charge by the hour. Always charge by the job. I average $125 hr on fall cleanups as a solo. If i told that to a customer they would freak. But most people here agree $300 for a cleanup is acceptable and yet it takes me 2.5 hours. Go figure. never charge using an hourly rate.


Do you do that for ging to a customers house multiple times? I have a few customers that I got on a weekly basis. I charge those by the hour. Sometimes I'm there 1 hr. another could be 2-3 hrs.

[punt66]

Do you do that for ging to a customers house multiple times? I have a few customers that I got on a weekly basis. I charge those by the hour. Sometimes I'm there 1 hr. another could be 2-3 hrs.

what i do is i mow untill the lawn is no longer growing. While i am mowing i now have the bagger on. I may spend a few extra minutes but they just get charged for mowing. Then i do my final cleanup when its ready and bill them. I have a few properties that are heavily wooded and i do them 3 times. But the price is built in for that. One is a $775 cleanup. If i didnt do that one until the end it would bury me.

[QuadRacer041]

Once again I agree with Punt you have to get to your jobs a few times through out the fall clean up season. Once the second week of October rolls along and the leaves really start coming down it usually takes me about 2 weeks to get all my accounts done, so that mean I hit everyone about 5 times for leaf clean ups.

[Lawn Freak]

I would just give a set price to the customer BEFORE the job is started. I get the crap all the time, well my neighbor is getting it done for $35 a week. I'm like yeah I could do it for that if there were six or eight leaves to pick up. But just handle it professionally. Sometimes setting a price instead of doing it by the hour you will take a hit, and sometimes you will come out pretty good. People are pretty cheap here when it comes to cleanups. Or something else that may work is give them a maximum you would charge, and they will be really happy if you come in under that price too. Just my 02:)

[BigMike450]

Definitely changing my ways.Funny how the one larger number is easier for most to swallow.Thanks for the education fellas I appreciate the good advise,Mike.

[DFLS]

I find that most of the time, the total hours spent at each yard is different from year to year. The gusty winds on the right days can make a difference in the amount of leaves on each lawn. Some of my accounts have very little trees but they get covered by the trees across the street to the west. But not every year. So each year I keep a spreadsheet and log all of my man hours for each account. Then add the hours up and multiply by 9. Then compare to last year's charge for each account. If the new total is higher then I charge the new amount. If the current year's total is less than the previous year's total then they get charged what they were charged last year, maybe add a little for "inflation". This way the price doesn't go down if it was an easier cleanup - it stays the same and I call it profit. Keep an hourly log book in the truck (the weekly planners with appointment slots every 15 minutes are great) and record after every job. Even split the travel time between customers so you get paid from start to finish.

On new estimates I now have learned to go high and leave a $50 spread. You may arrive to do the cleanup and the wind is going the wrong way and it takes longer than you thought or some of the leaves may be frozen to the ground. Plan for the worst and be happy if it works out easier.

[STIHL GUY]

i usually do 2 cleanups. one when about 1/2 to 3/4 of the leaves are down and one when they are all on the ground

[jquag115]

Here in North Jersey I do my regular customers weekly mows until the grass stops growing, then leaf clean up every 10-14 days, charging $75 per hour. There's 2 of us working, so although it's a little low, we still do ok. We dont have to worry about removal, just put leaves at curb and the town picks them up. We only have 15 accounts so it's not our primary income, but we have been doung most of our customers for 10+ years without a problem.