Do You Feel Lawnsite Hurts Your Income

[f350]

do you feel lawnsite hurts your income? does sharing ideas make you nervous? please post no replies only vote...

[Lawn-Scapes]

No :D

[plow kid]

T T T

~NaTe

[KirbysLawn]

You do realize that if no one post your thread it will quickly move to page 2...3...4..and not be seen?

[MuskTurfKing]

Not at all.

Hank

[richard coffman]

:D

gosh,

I believe lawnsite to actually help others out than to hurt them. It's wonderful to chat with other guy's like yourself and have different ideas pop up. I just wish the other guy's in my region would join up to lawn site. I spread the word whenever I'm at a trade show about this site.hopefully all the word of mouth is paying off.

Richard Coffman/owner
Special Needs Lawn Services
Lehi, Utah:D

[tpl]

no

[awm]

lot o info available here,long as one remembers its
a lot of peoples opinions.i dont see how a fellow could help
saving money and becoming a better lco ,if he read the archives.
my guess would be not over 10-15 percent of lcos in this country look at lawnsite.

[stslawncare]

i think its a great help and actually increases my income greatly.

[Runner]

Well, again, as it was explained before, the main idea of LS is not to share inrormation for the sake of knowing what everyone is charging and everyone else is doing so we are able to know how to charge less, or squeeze a little more work out in any unethical sense. The main reason for this site (and other sites like it) is to RAISE the standards of quality in this industry and maintain higher standards than we've all seen around us in this business. By further educating ourselves, on the many aspects of this industry, we are able to do just that. Raise our standards completely.

[David Haggerty]

Originally posted by f350




do you feel lawnsite hurts your income?

**Nope, it's only helped.

does sharing ideas make you nervous?

**Yep, Afraid I won't have anything worthwhile to contribute.

please post no replies only vote...

**It's an open forum. Most of these people won't do what you tell them anyway.



Dave

[MOW ED]

For me it is the total opposite. If Lawnsite did not exist, my income would be much less.

There is no training academy or union stewardship that we go through to make us proficient. This is THE electronic book on the Lawn industry.

[southside]

No.

[LawnLad]

The only way LS hurts my income is because I spend too much time at it and not enough time with my business.

I justify it because I'm learning so much - so it's a gain.

[Russo]

Made more $$ and had less headaches since joining.

[BAMARED]

Alot of helpful and valuable information here - especially if really studied closely. If you avoid using your real name and/or location and be curteous to one another in a helpful manner - I can only see benefits from it.

Thanks,

BAMARED

[65hoss]

Maybe its just me, but I think this is about the dumbest threads I've seen in a long time. :angry:

[2Sam2233]

I'll say NO, NO, NO all the way to the bank.

Lawnsite has been a tremendous help to me. I use the info from this site as a measurement tool to guage my business. Of course, some things are different due to geographical locations, but if you think things through and if there is differences ask yourself why, and can I improve my own situation using these ideas. Sometimes you see where you can improve -- other times you see how good you are.

Thanks bunches Lawnsite.com.

[samk]

this is the dumbest question ive seen

[TLS]

F350,

Do you feel this way? What was the reason for asking. I'm curious, as I bet a few others are as well.

[Big G]

Since I have alot to learn, Lawnsite is an asset to me. As I become more experienced and knowledgeable, I look forward to being able to help others.
If we conduct ourselves as a group of paranoid, cut throat businessmen, we only reinforce the negative stereotype that I think some people have of our industry.
I am proud to be a part of what I believe is, on the whole, an industry of professional people who are willing to work together in a forumn like this to improve standards in our industry. This can only help all of us.
:)

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

The only way LS hurts my income is that getting on this site is a sure way of procastinating, when I should be out making dough!!!

LAWNS AND MOWER

[bobbygedd]

it has helped me personally make more money. it has also helped teach my competition how do do good work and price accordingly, this, down the road may affect my income. lets use our common sense: if there are 10 lawn companies in a 10 sq mile area, all with the same capabilities, there will be x amount of work, to be shared in that area. now, educate your competition, and have 50 lawn companies, with the same capabilities, in that same 10 sq mile area, and what do u think will happen?

[Harvestman]

Instead of lawnsite it should be called Lawnschool. I've gotten more info here in a year then anywhere else.

[MJ]

I'm wondering - why would you continue doing something that hurts your income?

Maybe you're being facetious?

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Read this thread:

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25962

It will give you some insight of why others are willing to help.

[bobbygedd]

i guess im just a nice guy. but that is not the point. the point is, it will, sooner or later effect us. anyway, u guys r from all over the place, and im no expert(yet). i share what i want to share, and if that can help someone, thats great

[Guardian]

I don't have a clue why it would hurt my income...

Why would several thousand members be interested in anything that could even potentially hurt their income?

[toby]

It helps my income. All this talk about high prices & raising the bar will lead to more customers looking for reasonable rates for a basic service.

[OBRYANMAINT]

I have never had anyone in my area even on lawn site until the last 8 or 9 months....so before I was pretty uninhibited.......no it seems a lot more people are finding out, on one hand its good to share info and tips to help us all out in this business......on the other hand it is frustrating to have to share this great goldmine of info.........I almost felt like it was a secret weapon of knowledge

[robert payer]

No.

Lawnsite has helped in avoiding efficiency and bidding mistakes.
I would have to say that it has only increased profits. I think when you ask about losing money you mean losing clients by sharing our marketing, service delivery and procedure policy. What was meant by "losing money"? Please advise.

Just a thought!
The importance of money essentially flows from its being a link between the present and the future.

Prosperity to all in the new season!

Thank You Lawnsite!

[Pro-Lawn]

No. Opens up doors for me to what else i could or should be doing. Keep up the good work out there.

Eric Goodwin
Pro-LawnCare.com

[toby]

You're baffled Kris? You have over 2000 posts.

[johnhenry]

I'm with Hoss on this one. This thread is stupid and cant believe it is being discussed.

[JimLewis]

You all could move in right next door to me and start using all of the secrets I've ever shared here on the locals here and it wouldn't hurt my income.

[Flex-Deck]

How can lawnsite hurt your income? - If you are looking for hints as to how to bid, mow efficiently, and do whatever else it takes to be profitable, this is the place to be. If you think that all your competition is looking at this site, we may have to lower the ego standards of those running the site. As far as I am concerned, the only people involved here on this site are those dedicated to doing good work for a fair price, and that means the LCO must make enough to live on or he will be broke. If he goes broke, the owner must buy that craftsman and mow the yard himself. WHoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa they do not want to do that.

Thanks, Brad

[turfquip]

OK my turn to chime in...

Kutnkru hit the nail dead on.

Overwhelmingly there are positive affirmations 'cause these are the folks who are starting up generally and have no or little knowledge (experience) to draw from. In other words, they have the most to gain.

Of course they enthusiastically support free lawn sites because it shortens the learning curve, puts them miles ahead of where they would be without it.

On a macro scale though three things are happening.

1) Free sites cause more people to be better equipped, more efficient with pricing and operations while at the same time DOES NOT affect the number of folks who seek the service. Think about this and tell me where this will lead in the long term.

2) Free Sites give marginal and lazy thinkers more confidence to move forward into an industry that is already way too easy to get into...knowing there is a knowledge base to tap into 24/7.

3) The idea that free sites help standardize the industry is a myth we tell ourselves 'cause we are bored and lonely and importantly, need to justify the time we spend here. What it actually does is make life tougher for us as a group.

Its important to note that all of us can say that in one way or another this site and so many other free sites have helped us....saved us money....helped with an equipment decision....whatever. What we simply DO NOT want to acknowledge is how something this good; which has benefited us as individuals, could be detrimental to us as a group.

It is a case really of not posessing critical thinking skills but more importantly the 'discernment' to see the outcome of this thing which we enjoy so much.

Hmmm...lack of critical thinking skills; discernment. Doesnt that in itself support one or more of my three major points?

Mathematically then, my statements must be true. Why don't or won't we acknowledge? Hard headedness and desperation.

Need I say more?

[JimLewis]

I am sure there are some here who could hurt themselves by sharing what they know in this forum.

But for me, a lot of the reasons listed above (by Bobby) just don't apply. For one thing, there is way more demand in our area for lawn care and landscaping than there are companies to fufiil it. This is evidenced by the fact that I can land new accounts every time we lay some flyers, even in the dead of winter.

Secondly, most people aren't very teachable. I've tried to help guys even in my own city by throwing them a few tips here and there. And 80% of the time, they just go on doing things their own way, regardless of what I tried to teach them. So even though the information is available doesn't mean everyone is going to use it. In fact, my experience is most people who ask for advice will NOT use the advice you give them.

Third, I don't share even 10% of what I know about this business on this forum. Add up all of the tips I've ever posted here and it's just a small percentage of what there is to know about landing jobs, working with people, advertising, handling paperwork, scheduling jobs, efficiency, etc................. A lot of what I do and what I know is very hard to explain.

It's easy to say, "Go hand out flyers." to someone asking for advice about how to land more customers. But the truth is there is a lot more to it than that. It makes a big difference where you hand them out, how they look, what kind of paper you use, which neighborhoods you target, which day of the week you hand them out, what time of day, what info. your flyer has on it, etc...... A friend of mine in my same city puts out flyers all the time. But he wastes his time because he's doing it all wrong - in several ways. So he always wonders why flyers don't work for him.
Fourth, a lot of this business is reputation, relationships, and referrals. In the first 4 years, we got 95% of our calls from advertising. Nowadays, we barely even do advertising. This year alone, about 50% of our calls have come from referrals. And not just from our clients. We get referrals from our suppliers, from our designer, from my friends, from contractors in other trades, and some just from people who've seen us around and remembered our name. No matter how much information a new guy tries to steal from me, we're always going to have a more established reputation and have more connections than they will.

Five, no matter how well my competition were to market themselves or steal my methods I bet I could still win most bids if we were going head to head. A lot of that is just experience. I have become very good at what customers want to see and hear when bidding jobs. We come prepared with picture catalogs, samples, referrences, and I can usually tell intuitively what a customer wants before they even say it. All that just comes from experience. And it shows when you are out giving bids. Customers like that. They test you all the time. Whoever passes their tests the best will win.

Six, I haven't seen a whole lot of guys even from my state around here. Much less, my city.

There are a lot of other reasons. But the above covers most of the reasons I am not really afraid of anyone in my area stealing my ideas. Now, this is not to say that I relish the idea of my direct competition finding this site and reading my stuff. But I am not all that worried if they were to do it.

[garydale]

NO!

[wxmn6]

No, the LawnSite and Plowsite has been a great asset to me!

[klite]

Are you kidding? This is one of the most helpful sights on the internet.
Ive been helped so many times by other LCO's I lost count

[GreenQuest Lawn]

what baffles me is how some of you guys (400-600-2000+ posts) are saying such bad things against these free forums. Since I have been a member I have read alot of usefull info from alot of you and now you are saying how bad it is for business. So if you are so against it and feel it hurts your income why participate?

[MOW ED]

Jim, great post but I think that put you into sharing 11%.

:p

[sheppard]

This site primarily prevents me from making bad $$$ decisions. It also helps me 'think through' situations that I'm stumped on. Reading other guys thoughts, experiences, successes, failures keeps me ahead of the game.

This site is invaluable.

Cordially,
Sheppard

[shadow]

new here but so far from the looks just entertainment, I wouldnt make any crucial biz decisions based from people miles away from me! no offense to anyone

[LawnLad]

As a corollary to this poll/question, I wonder how many people belong to professional trade associations.

To answer some of the questions and good points brought up by Jim Lewis and Turfquip... do people just come to Lawnsite for free information? Are the people on this site truly dedicated to growing their businesses or do they just simply want to leech on information?

If someone knows how to make the threads with posts: how about asking who belongs to:

PLCAA
ALCA
PGMS
SIMA
State or local trade association
None

If the answer to the above question is less than the resounding affirmative that people have for Lawnsite, I wonder why people wouldn't then join a professional trade association?

[walker-talker]

Originally posted by 65hoss
Maybe its just me, but I think this is about the dumbest threads I've seen in a long time. :angry:

I scanned through and was reading only the short post and this one caught my eye. I agree 100% and will read no more post on this tread. The only vote selection I can understand is NO!

MATT

[DaveK]

If someone knows how to make the threads with posts: I do, I do..... I know how to make a thread with posts. :D

And threads with polls are easy too. Right above the button that says "Submit New Thread" after creating a new thread, there is an option to post a poll.

How in the world could Lawnsite hurt your income??
OH, I know.... if you sit in front of the computer all day every day reading tens of thousands of posts filled with great information, you are not getting any work done.

And I thought there was only 1 lawnsiteaddict here. :)

[f350]

if it is so dumb why is there so many replies???

i belong to plcca, i have been since my days with the big green