Starting a Lawn Service

[CJIII]

Hey guys and gals I am new here. Welcome me to the board.
Hey I got a question I am looking at starting me a lawn service I wont to know how do I get started?

[stslawncare]

hi welcome to lawnsite! you have come to the best place to learn. let me answer ur question with a few questions, do you have any experience in the field? before starting it helps to work for someone else to learn, or maybe u already know alot about the field? do you have any equip yet?

and most of all, have you tried to do a lawnsite search? click on the button "search" on the top of the page or in other places also and type in whatever question you have, even "getting started" will give you tons of answers, this question has been asked many of times and you will get great info through the search.

[CJIII]

I cut my own yard and keep my flower bed up. Nope I dont have any equip only a lawn mover. My dad says he get a loan to buy the equip but we just pay on the truck. The reason I wont start a lawn service is that I need money to go to college. Note I am only 18 be 19 in sept.

[65hoss]

oh $@%!^, not again. $^&#%^$% $#$%#$% #$%^&^&*@ %^**&$@# $%%^@!% $^$%^&#$@# *&^%##@! !~!@#$$# $%##$%&% &^#$% @#$%$^&&# $%@#$! %#$%^%


I've got a headache now. Think I go sniff some dirt while I figure out were that SEARCH button is and do a little homework for myself.

[rodfather]

Hey hoss...can ya decipher all of that for us. Looks (Greek, maybe even Chinesse) to me! LOL

[65hoss]

Originally posted by rodfather
Hey hoss...can ya decipher all of that for us. Looks (Greek, maybe even Chinesse) to me! LOL



:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p
:blob4: :blob4: :blob4: :blob4: :blob4: :blob4: :blob4: :blob4:
:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

[MuskTurfKing]

LOL, it seems us teenagers are too lazy to search, I sure am...;)

Hank

[bubble boy]

while your at it can someone tell me how to split an atom?

oh yeah, and bend light.:mad:

[karl klein]

the first place to start is in english class

lol:p

[Twotoros]

:rolleyes:

[Twotoros]

Just get a real job. Being a lawnboy isn't as glamorous as it looks. It is seasonal and you need money all year. Equiptment prices are high and gas is expected to go up again. Prices for jobs are at an all time low. Get your degree and then hire one of us sorry SOBs to mow your lawn while you sip a cool brew and watch us sweat!:cry: I am as poor as a church mouse and have done this for 17 years. Look for a part-time job in the field which you are going graduate. It will be good experience for you.

[bubble boy]

rereading this a few days later i guess we are all quite fed up with the question...but we were harsh...

so if youre still here... visit a local business centre, search LS, browse industry websites, and perhaps work for another company, even if its short term...you'll be surprised what we all don't know at first.

and the splitting an atom answer came to me during a clean up today, so i'm only looking at the light prob:D

[eggy]

No really the best advice here was to do something else. get a degree, and do something else.

[Soupy]

I'm not trying to be rude. The other guys have that covered. But It sounds like your not really wanting to start a business. You just want to go out there and cut some grass for money.

my suggestion is to have your dad take out a loan for college, not Equipment. Then take some business classes. Knowing how to push a lawnmower isn't going to help you run a business. I have a friend that is one hell of a bartenter, but he wouldn't last 1 month owning his own bar.

Soupy

[CJIII]

I am not going to take out a loan for college they cost to much to pay back. I am going to work and pay for school.

[foxslawncare]

:blob4: Go for it CJ. It sounds like you still live at home and don't have to many bills. Lawncare will help put you through school. Just never quit at what you want and make sure its something you like doing. If it is the knowledge will come. As others have said do a search all the answer are there for the finding. Good Luck.

[CJIII]

I do live at home.

[Toroguy]

College or a business?

You need to choose, both have possible great rewards. Living at home is a great way to keep costs down for both ventures.

SEARCH your heart out on this site, you WILL find what you need.

[RoyaleRcr]

Allright Guys! I have been quiet long enough. I thought that one of the reasons for this forum was to inform and inspire eachother. Maybe that's two reasons. (Oh Well). As far as doing both business and college, take a look at the new issue of L&L. This kid did it and so can CJ. All it takes is a desire to learn and not give up.
Toroguy, I am really sorry that you are so bitter about your choice of career. If you have been doing this for 17 years, I honestly can't see how a well managed business could be
"poor as a church mouse". In order to succeed in any business an owner must plan for the future, budget, inovate and addapt. I know that there are a lotta as you call them "Scrubs". But I also know that with a little bit of salesmanship I can almost always convert someone away from them.
Otherwise I suggest you get a RJ. I know that when I get discouraged all I have to do is look at the want ads and this thing of ours doesn't look so bad. Realistic advice is fine but lately the tone of many posts here are negative. Yeh, there is competition, but thats a good thing. It challenges us to grow. While you are sitting there feeling sorry, somebody is out making $$$$:mad:

[RoyaleRcr]

Sorry Toroguy, I meant Twotoros.

[Twotoros]

If you were to read between the lines of my post I was trying to say " Please no more cheap competition" or something like that.
By all means pay your way through college. But if you choose to have a lawn biz pay taxes and charge the going rates. If the big boys in town have a 35$ min then yours should be almost as high. I am not going to encourage lowballers on this forum. If you want to RoyaleRcr that's your business.
As for how poor I am , that is a lie. I do just fine. I was trying to emphasize the down side I think there are more than enough LCO's out there for the time being. The fewer new ones the better. My area is 2/1 illeagal operators over legal ones and prices range from 12$ to 35$ for 5k properties. So until someone kicks me off this forum I will say whatever I please and hope I upset you again in the future RR.:D

[John Allin]

While it is a free form discussion format.... I must say that I'm a bit embarrassed by some of the responses here from fellows that I have some measure of respect for. This guy is just trying to gain some information from us. We all started out small too, at one point. I sure wish I had a forum to go to learn things when I was starting out.... sure would have saved me (and probably some of my competition) some grief.

[65hoss]

The amount of info and help on this forum is amazing. I for one love to help people get started. Its just people need to put forth some effort and not expect to show up and say "I thinking about starting, so now what should I do?". People should put forth some effort. It is free info here, people should take the time to read some of it. I answer tons of stuff on the open forum and an unbelievable amount of emails. I wouldn't do it if I didn't care. But, I expect people to have enough respect to have an educated question, not something so vague. Anyone that wants to be around in business long term must be able to do some research.

If people want others to have respect for them shouldn't they consider people's time valuable. Thousands of people have devoted time to this forum. Shouldn't someone have enough respect to read the info? There is tons of "basic 101" info for free.

This isn't just CJIII, so I apologize for making you think its an attack on you. It isn't. Its just this happens all the time. I hope you can make the business work and we can help you get it growing. Just read, read, read. There is enough info to keep you busy for your 1st year of college. :)

[Twotoros]

Well after some thought I have decided to make this my last post on Lawnsite. Every time I look at Lawnsite I see more and more people defending the lowballer mentality. It is driving me nuts.

There is good info here and also alot of wasted typing including most of mine. Goodbye and good luck everyone. Let's hope that in ten years we are still mowing and making good money and not just working for lunch money and gas for the equiptment.

My last words are"KEEP YOUR PRICES HIGH AND DON'T HIT YOUR HEAD ON THAT LIMB!"

:angel:

[bubble boy]

royal, you know that is so true. look at the want ads. pick a job you think you are suited to.

then imagine your interview is in the morning. what will you say, do, wear, etc.

then imagine your boss on the first day giving you the low down on the job.

then imagine screwing up the first time.

then be THANKFUL you run a biz. cause everytime i do the above i just smile and think that must really SUCK.

[cheapcuts]

This is my first post but I have been looking at this website for a couple weeks. I am also looking to start a lawn business. Do you think there are to many . My area seems to have quite a few. I was wondering if it would be better to go where there aren't as many. I have a truck now and know where I can get a used snapper 300$ then all i need is a trimmer to get out mowing. Oh and a blower to. Is it hard to get going in lawns. How much can be made? By the way myuser name is not my busines name I don't have a name yet

thanks, Mike H.

[65hoss]

Cheapcuts, its hard to say if there is too many. I don't know your area. There are many around here, lots of new guys that I will not see again after July. I've never had a hard time getting customers regardless of how many trucks with crapsman's I see.

A few particular areas might be saturated, but then you can go to other areas close by to get started. Learn as much about "grass" so you can talk with confidence with potential customers. If your unsure of yourself they will sense it and look for someone else. Don't lie to them though, its better to say I don't know than to speak some bs.

Money, well that depends on your work ethic and drive. You must know your operating costs if you plan to make money though. Beer money is easy to get, a profit is another situation.

Good luck.

[Soupy]

Twotoros, Good luck to you. I understand your frustration. I have always and will continue to live by your last words. But it's funny how sometimes that tree limb likes to hide from you. Just the other day I was moweing around a tree and noticed a piece of paper laying near by, as I was thinking about stopping and picking it up. I ran right into a tree limb and it knocked my hat off and it hurt enough to stun me, So by the time I got my sences back, I had ran over my hat. Boy did I feel stupid the rest of the day. I had a bad case of hat hair :) Now I have another item to add to things to carry for backup.

Soupy

[CSRA Landscaping]

Nevermind, just put out flyers.

[wayne volz]

:cool:

If you are really serious about starting a lawn business, you can get a great amount of help on this forum.

There is always room in any industry for someone good at what they do and business minded. The main thing is to know why you are going to charge what you are going to charge. Competition is important, but you have nearly a 75% failure rate in this industry in the first three years. Why? Contractors don't know what they don't know! I got in this business in 1979 and no idea what to charge. Unfortunately, I looked at the competition and charged based on what they were charging. The problem was that they had no idea why they charged what they charged either. After 7 years and almost 89M in debt, we put together a system that worked.

If you are interested in additional help, either ask this forum or give me a call at 800-845-0499. Good luck and remember that is better to try and to fail then to fail to try!

Wayne

[cheapcuts]

Can't see how ripping off people to just mow is good for business. I can work for half of what they charge here. some of these companies must forty or fifty thousnad a year. Why charge so much just to cut lawn. I can see big bucks for sprniclers and and landscape ponds and things but not mowing. I think I can make a lot by not being greedy

[Brickman]

Cheapcuts your last statment shows that you aren't really ready to start a business, in my opinion. You obviously have no clue what kind of costs goes into QUALITY equipment, (NOT Wal Mart special stuff that maybe lasts one season, if you are lucky) insurance, day to day costs. Repair, and maintenance costs, the list goes on and on.

If you feel that you can work for half what is being charged, and make money, it is likely you will be one of those that doesn't make more than a year or two in the biz, and walks away bitter.

Other people have said it, and I believe it. Go get a job working for another contractor for a while. Learn the ropes, found out what it is like to interact with customers. Go price some quality equipment, check prices on licenses, insurance. If you plan to hire help, they WILL NOT be cheap.

Trust the guys that have been in the biz for a while. There is a reason why they charge what they do. I wish you the best of luck, but at the same time can honestly say that with your ideas of pricing, I am glad you aren't planning to start working in my area.

Don't take this last statment personally, I do not know you or your work ethic. But simply put, wanna be contractors do give the pros a bad name. We don't need any more of that.

[John Allin]

Ok... Ok...
I stand corrected.....
Cheapcuts has done it for me....
We try so hard, and reach so few.
There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Please accept my apologies for my last post.

[Nebraska]

cheapcuts....your name does imply your business....just use it for your business name!

I can see you downward spiral already just like the whirlpool created when you pull the plug in the sink or tub...you just never had the plug to begin with.

[65hoss]

Originally posted by cheapcuts
Can't see how ripping off people to just mow is good for business. I can work for half of what they charge here. some of these companies must forty or fifty thousnad a year. Why charge so much just to cut lawn. I can see big bucks for sprniclers and and landscape ponds and things but not mowing. I think I can make a lot by not being greedy


You said is another post you've been here for several weeks. I guess by this statement you haven't been reading anything. If you had, you would have seen topics such as quality, COST, equipment, trucks, insurance, paperwork/office work, long hours, labor, etc...

Oh, btw, you also asked about how much money can be made. Well, for you, nothing. You don't understand yet that it doesn't all go to your bottom line. So, you'll be lucky to break even but it will be a couple of years of hard work before you realize that. Enjoy the new "business".

[cheapcuts]

I didn't really mean it when I said ripping off but prices kinda seem high. I do not want to make anyone madd. Guess I will do some more read'n.

[2Sam2233]

cheapcuts,
More read'n is the way to go. I have been in the biz part time for several years, and this year I'm going full time. It is amazing at the expenses. I continue to find hidden expenses daily. It seems when you're out on a job and something breaks, you never have what you need. That means a trip to town or to the dealer to pick it up it is stocked. Then the time to replace and repair. It's always something.
You just gotta LOVE the BIZ. It's not something you will grow into, it has to be a God given PASSION. Then it will work.

[Nebraska]

You just gotta LOVE the BIZ. It's not something you will grow into, it has to be a God given PASSION. Then it will work

Listen to what Mike is saying, he has nailed it.... now do it with the right Business knowledge (spend some times reading the posts here and find a couple mentors who you can go too) and you will never be discouraged (for too long; the peaks far outweigh the valleys if you know what is going on) and never look back...

[CSRA Landscaping]

If you price your services to where you're just getting by (enough to pay the bills, put gas in the mower & truck, and get some food, with a little for a burger here and there) you will be up the creek without a paddle when you have something break down and you have no replacement equipment to take its place, or when you have to pay taxes or insurace or you break something and have to pay to fix it, etc.

Just a thought.

[darryl gesner]

Cheapcuts - $40 or $50K a year is not a lot of money if you're trying to raise a family, pay for a mortgage and a couple of cars. Do yourself a favor and charge more if your work quality is good. Oh course, if it's not, maybe you should be charging less than what a professonal with the proper equipment would.

[gogetter]

Originally posted by cheapcuts
Can't see how ripping off people to just mow is good for business. I can work for half of what they charge here. some of these companies must forty or fifty thousnad a year. Why charge so much just to cut lawn. I can see big bucks for sprniclers and and landscape ponds and things but not mowing. I think I can make a lot by not being greedy


Oh my god! What's that TV show??? Oh yeah.........Just shoot me!

[Soupy]

Evidently Cheapcuts has not been reading the many thread topics about how Scrubs are destroying our ocupation. He has come streight out and says he thinks we are all ripping off our customers and that he can put us out of business by charging 1/2 the price.

I'm glad you (cheapcuts) don't live in my Area. Although I have plenty like you that do. I feel sorry for you, because you think so little of yourself and the ocupation that you are seeking, that you will work for nothing, just to be able to get by. If you would even call it getting by. I know I couldn't get by on what you consider decent money.

Soupy

[parkwest]

Cheapcuts is just a victim of our public education system. He thinks if 2+2+2=5 and if he does it for 3 then all he has to do is make up the difference in volume.

Used to be an old joke where a contractor would do the job below cost then claim he could make up the difference in volume. In Idaho today, with absolutely no contracting requirements at all, this old joke has been turned into the standard operating procedure for most contractors here.

During the past building boom here, we had builders filing bancruptcy on friday and starting up a new business on monday and they all believed if they could just lower their prices a little more, they would make it this time. And also, if they have the cheapest priced product they would somehow become rich. Sad but true.