"One man shows"

[Joel B.]

How many one person owner/operators are out there? Can a guy make any money this way or do you just work yourself to death?

Thanks for all the advice?

Joel B.

[KenH]

Based on my experience, a one man show is tough. Throughout the years, I have made the most money (and least headache) with a 3 man crew.

[Bob Minney]

10 years as solo and wouldnt change it. Wife was able to leave her job 7 years ago. Every day is one closer to death so I guess I'll head that way working for myself instead of at a job.

[KenH]

Bob...I have to admit, I loved working solo also.......Practicality kicked in and I brought 2 guys aboard. What happens if you twist your ankle??

I guess the key is finding the right people.

[Bob Minney]

Thats a worry-but how many have a job that will pay if you arent there? A little insurance and a contingency plan to get over the small humps. If the hump is too big then like anybody, I have trouble.

[MOW ED]

Was a one man show until this year, now I am a one man one wife show.

[Toroguy]

I supplement my income by donating blood and plasma. I also scrounge for aluminum cans in dumpsters;)

Seriously, It takes time to get where you can support yourself, but worth it. Most folks probably took a season or two with another job before dropping the other job.

Good luck

[BigJim]

Me + A Walker = Happiness:)

[TJLC]

I have had to hire help a couple of times, that is why I'm still solo.LOL. Down here it's next to impossible to find and keep good help. I've talked to other businesses and heard their stories also.

[MATTHEW]

Well, Joel B, how do you define "money"? A guy with a craftsman 21"and a Ryobi trimmer won't get rich, but you will find solo op's who visit L.S. who make $25K-$50K-and a couple who top $100K.

It depends on your equipment, your market, your business savvy, and a little capitol to get there.

I am solo and have seen 25 & 50, I'm going for 100.

Keep researching and growing and you can succeed.

Good luck.

[longviewlawncare]

I am basically solo right now. I have a buddy of mine that helps me from time to time when i am behind or just need help. It is good if you have someone you know that you can trust.

[trimmer]

I think when running a solo lawn care you really need to focus less on big properties and focus more on getting groups of homes in nieghborhoods. Since you are alone you are limited in the number of accounts that you can do, filling up slots with large properties will break you if the leave. By getting numerous small acounts you will not have to worry about it if someone drops you. With real good planning and thought it is possible to make a good living.

[ce2000]

I started solo in the year 2000. I work this business part time, I have a regular job building airplanes from 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM. I enjoyed working solo, but could not keep up with all of my accounts. I did not run an ad in the newspaper this year, but still picked up a few accounts by word of mouth. I had to hire some help. I have found that a two man crew can do the job in half the time. I now make more money per hour, and work fewer hours per week. The key is finding the right person. All of my lawns are between 5,000 and 15,000 Sq. Ft.

Good Luck,
Terry

1998 Dodge Dakota
44 Inch Toro with 17 HP Kawasaki
33 Inch Troybilt Wide Cut
21 Inch Honda
Echo 2601 String Trimmer

[lasher66]

I work solo too. To the guys out there that run 2 to 3 man crews, What are you paying them? I was just wondering if I should go that route. I am worried that I am going to hire 2 guys to work with me and then in August when the lawns slow down I wont need them and have to let them go until the leaves start falling. Is this what you guys do? Is 3 man crews the most profitable, or is 2 man crews? Sorry so many questions , just trying to get ahead of the ball game here. Thanks

Lasher

[proline32]

I had crews then went solo, My wife is the real breadwinner in this house, I'll earn about $30,000 this year in 8 months and that is fine with me, I do this just because I got real tired of working for someone else and I like the ideas of taking winters off. My money goes into our retirement fund.

[staceyfb]

started out with a partner, he decided he wanted to not work and get paid, on top of not investing in the business. dropped him like a bad habit, now i am doing ok or myself and it just keeps getting better. the only way i would hire is when my kids get old enough for a summer job or if my wife decided she wanted to help.

[Miller Mowing]

I am a 1 man system, and so far it has worked good for me.

[JR LeGer]

We run crews. We do so many large accounts and installations--it would be impossible for one man to do. Not only that--I prefer to make money and work less so I hire as much as possible and do as little field work as I possibly can. A one man show could make a lot here if they just stuck to mowing residential lawns, but I prefer to constantly expand and market and not step into the 115 degree heat any more than necessary. It is 100 degrees at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning here in the summer.

[Cut 2 Please]

I am just getting my bussiness started this year. Currently I work a primary job 8-5 that I hate and cut after work or on weekends. I have 5 accounts currently. Two of them I could definatly use help on but can not justify hiring someone at this time. Occasionally I can talk a friend into coming out and helping but usually have to do it myself. On all my accounts but one I am able to keep my labor rate at $45 per hour or above so I guess I am doing pretty good. Especially for this area. I would love to see my bussiness grow to the point that I need help full time but I am worried about being able to find good help. It seems people around here would rather sit at home with no money than try and get out and better themselves with a job. Other than being able to find good help the other thing that scares me is someone getting hurt on the job. The only way I could feel safe hiring someone is to have workman's comp. insurance and I can not justify paying those premiums at this time. I believe I will just stay solo for the time being.

[HLC]

I am a lot like ce2000 with the full time job (in aviation too) and agree with everything he said. I still do most of my accounts solo but have a guy help me from time to time. He's not too good right now but if I can get him up to speed I know it will help tremendously. As far as time goes....Last year I got in a bind and my dad went with me to help. On a yard that took me 45 minutes solo, we were in and out in 12 minutes.

[bobbygedd]

i believe being solo limits u greatly. as mentioned, if u get hurt or sick=disaster. secondly, adding higher value work (landscaping, etc) is real rough if not imposible when u r solo and trying to keep up with a lawn schedule. think big! no man has ever won a battle by himself, he built an army, and conquered

[Hawkeye5]

Dumb question # 82: What do solo operators do when the mower breaks down? If you have to wait for a part, seems you may loose customers. Do you have agreements with others to help you out? JD

[Cut 2 Please]

Any good reputable dealer will let you use a demo mower if you are down for parts and in a bind, provided you are a good loyal customer. Most dealers will do what ever it takes to get you going immediately. Before buying a mower you also need to make sure the distributer in your area for that more is also reputable. If the distributer does not stock the proper parts that creates an even greater back log. These are all things to consider when buying a mower especially if you are a one man show.

[lasher66]

The distributer in my area charges $80 a day to rent a 36" or 48" walk behind. If you buy a mower from them and it breaks down in the first year , they will let you use their rental equipment for free.

Lasher

[Quality Lawn Care]

It's an easy question for me. Hire one or two helpers depending on how big your truck. You can make a lot more money with a helper or two. This is why it works for me: I charge $ 100.00 per hour, that is for a 52" Lazor and a 48" walk-be-hind. Doing the work alone I could only charge $50.00 an hour. I pay my helper $13.00 an hour. That means I making $87.00 an hour with my helper or $50.00 by myself. I know it;s another piece of eq. but you could get into trouble with just one if it breaks down. You should always have a back-up and why not use it. I'm making tons more money this year with my helper then I did last year by myself. It also gives you someone to talk to.

[greenflag]

Answer:

Have more than one mower. I keep a 52",a 32",& one or two 21" on the trailer at all times. With 3 more 21" at home.

My wife says I have too many mowers. Go figure. :D

[Brickman]

I have been a one man show. And I can tell you hiring help isn't all that easy around here. Some of the posts say just go hire a guy. Yeah right.

Not only do you make more money with two or more guys, but they can also screw up more **** in a hurry than a solo op. will. Another thing I like is that most days you don't have to work 16 hours to keep on top. You can work 8 (a plus) or 10 hours and get the same work or even more done. But if you can find good help, then you will have it made.

I just hired a guy, I had to. I turn SO much work down it isn't funny any more. I don't know if I could have even kept up with my mowing any longer by myself.

[darryl gesner]

I'm full time solo with my wife helping out with the phone. I only mow two days a week and do side jobs such as mulching, hedges, brush clearing and clean-ups Mon-Wed. I find I can make more on side jobs than mowing. Lately, I've been cleaning up on clean-ups. Some people are just getting back to their summer homes here and will give the work to the 1st LCO to show up. I'm lucky if I can gross $250 for an 8 hour day of mowing, but I can make $300 for 5 hours of hedge trimming or spreading mulch.

[MATTHEW]

I can relate, Brickman.
I hired a guy who said he worked on the campus maintenance crew and had it all together. I let him trim on the first lawn. A relative's place. He put the string flat against the ground all along a 100' privet hedge border.

It was brown for weeks.

I was paying $10/hr.

[sheppard]

This August I will complete my first year in my business. I have also been solo for that time. My revenue goals will force me to get some help- full or part time.

Right now I'm pullin in around $4,500.00 of monthly revenue with 36 accounnts and lots of 'extra, special' work.

Being an introvert I like working alone. Sometimes when it's stinking hot down here I'd appreciate a young buck working a trimmer. However, I love sleeping well every night after a hard days work.

Cordially,
Sheppard

[Flex-Deck]

I charge $ 100.00 per hour, that is for a 52" Lazor and a 48" walk-be-hind. Doing the work alone I could only charge $50.00 an hour. I pay my helper $13.00 an hour. That means I making $87.00 an hour with my helper or $50.00 by myself.

This comment is in a previous post
1. With the helper you also need to purchase another machine
2. With the helper you need workmans comp insurance - "costly"
3. With two machines, twice the chance of a breakdown, so you end up going to the dealer twice as often, while the less experienced help is taking care of the most important part of the business - mowing.

I am not saying a helper won't add to the bottom line, but I hesitate to say the $87 will all go into ones pocket. Anytime I have ever involved employees, there are a lot of time consuming additions to the job - Making out checks, more bookwork, more insurance, more machines, just plain more headaches.

Thanks, Brad

[ADMowing]

We have thought about hiring help, but we know good help is hard to find. It would be too expensive for us and we actually enjoy going out there and working together. We are sticklers for detail and a nice, clean and fresh look to our lawns when they are done. We would be spending a lot of time checking up on employees because we are very particular. It would ruin that part of our day -- being together -- that we like so much too!

My mother tried weedeating for us. She lasted for three small lawns. With a red face and weedeater in hand, she passed it to me and said, "This is not for me." My step dad did the same thing. If I worked for someone doing this job, I'd want to be paid very well for this kind of hard labor. Unless we could afford to do that, we also don't want to hire.

My husband is Army retired, so we have health insurance, but we don't want to have to buy it for others, pay for workman's comp, worry about salaries and all the things that go with hiring.

We might be cutting ourselves off from many opportunities by deciding on this, but we think we are saving ourselves a lot of headaches too!

For now, it's just the two of us!!! :p

[ADMowing]

Oh..... duh! I forgot to say regarding the "One man show" that I did it by myself when my husband was in the hospital. It was NOT fun! Took so long and was so lonely! Customers talked to me though and couldn't believe that I could do all that by myself -- drive the truck with trailer and do all the work. But I did it.

I meant to say this earlier 'cause this is what this thread is about. Sorry!

I don't like being out there alone. :(

[jsr2741]

I've been a cop for 10 years now. I started my lawn business last year as a solo operator. This year I have a buddy of mine who works with me part -time.

This all started because I was tired of working 8,9,10 hours in the uniform then sitting in some bank or department store for $15 or $20 an hour for another 4 to 6 hours. Plus I've gotten to the point where I hate Police work; you guys that post here from the St. louis area ought to know what I'm talking about i.e., North County.

So after shoveling **** for 8 hours or so and not seeing the pile get any smaller, it's nice to do something that when your done you can see you've accomplished something; must be the farm boy in me.

I've got 25 accounts this year and God willing I'll double it next year and hopefully get out of Police work in a couple of years. But if you can handle 50 to a 100 accounts without killing yourself, stay solo. That way your a little more cautious and you don't have to worry about explaining why you discharged a bunch of grass in Mrs. Crabass's hydranga bush'es.

Steve

First Capitol Lawn Care

[marley]

I HAVE BEEN SOLO FOR 4 SEASONS NOW AND HAVE DONE QUITE WELL. THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR OF HAVING SOMEONE HELP ME. I AM PRETTY LUCKY BECAUSE HE HAS RUN CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT BEFORE. I AM GOING TO MISS HIM WHEN HE JOINS THE CARPENTERS UNION. WORKING SOLO IS FINE BUT IF YOU CAN FIND GOOD HELP, AND THAT IS A BIG IF, THAT IS REALLY NICE TOO.

[KerryB]

Being solo is very hard at times,however, finding good help is even harder. I have found a way to compensate though. I have been buying better equipment to make up for the lack of help. The new Exmark Z cost alot but doesnt complain about how hard the work is or how hot it is. Thats my job .lol

[higherpower]

9 years ago this month I stated this business because I was laid off. I was 46 and nobody wanted to hire me. That was the best that thin that could have happed. My children have always helped in the summer. The first summer when they were going to back to school I thought I would not be able to handle all the work; but I was wrong. It all has to with having the right equipment and planning, planning, planning!!! At the end of every I plan all my work for the following month. When a new account comes in I know exactly where to plug them in. 95% of the time all I do is cut the grass, trim, and blow the debris. All other is extra but I try to avoid the other. I specialize in the 95% and have become pretty good at it so it pays off. I only do the other 5% for people who already my customers. I do believe the secret to success as a solo is hard work, good equipment, and planning, planning, planning!