starting new division in '04

[greenworldh20]

hey! we will begin our chem division in the spring of '04. we have a few accounts that we have been servicing for the past 2 seasons and i feel confident to dive into the pest apps business. from what i see there is great $$$ to be made. i was just looking to pick the brains of others in this side of the biz to see what i should be doing or what i should be looking out for.

as for now, i own a very nice irrigation/snow removal company in southeast ny. we are located about 20 miles north of nyc. we are fully licensed and insured. i am a licensed general contractor, ny certified pesticide applicator (took the test while i was scraping for another company) and a nj licensed irrigation contractor. i am also a certified irrigation contractor through the ia. while i am at it, i have a college degree and plan on getting my cdl this winter. i have the permit, now i have to take the road test.

the reason why i am branching out into chems is b/c i want to grow the businsess. i have the license, i have the experience (5 years making another chem contractor rich). i have an existing client base ( 1000 irrigation accounts) to market this new business to. it fits well with what i am doing now, and there is a high profit margin with chem apps.

i am rambling a little bit b/c i want to go home and see my son, matt. he's 4 months old.


so, fire away at me...i am looking forward to the constructive criticism or fine advice you have for me.

thanks,

brian

[GeorgiaGrassMan]

With 5 years of chemical experience and with your other business being so successful, it sounds like you could tell us a thing or two.

[greenworldh20]

not bragging...just being honest.

i came here for knowledge...you guys have been doing this ALOT longer than i have. i am looking for advice.

brian

[Runner]

Between your college degree, (if it's related to agriculture, and a four year degree), and your 5 years experience, the main point is, your biggest, no make that your SECOND biggest obstacle is conquered. That is the ability to get your license for the ap business. Even without your degree, with the 5 years experience, and the cert. should do it. You open your insurance up to cover this, and apply, I think you'll be able to recieve it without much trouble. Now, the FIRST largest obstacle? Knowledge. With your experience, you are well on your way. Mix that with the info here, and you have a serious recipe for success. I wish you all the best, and I believe that you will be a great asset to this community, as well. There is probably MUCH you can share with us regarding irrigation. Welcome to Lawnsite, and the best of luck to you. Incidentally, are you a Hunter man? Our philosophy is, that we like to install them and leave them alone. Of course, if we didn't do that many of them, we would have to be reliant on service calls, so then I guess we probably WOULD switch brands. :)

[greenworldh20]

thank you for the kind words...yes, we do install hunter systems...i used to be a toro man, but, adjusting the super 600 heads became a pain in the azz. but i feel hunter is a superior product...just my .02.

as for chem apps, i feel i can make this into a great new division for my company....we already have spoken to our ins.company regarding the chem rider needed on our insurance policy.

on a side note, what do you all think about the ride on spreaders...saw a local using one yesterday...looks like they are servicing 3x the amount of accounts that i could do with walk behind spreaders?

[Runner]

The PermaGreen is the way to go. It's all calibrated, and ready to go. You will cover SO much more area faster. It's almost effortless. The beauty of it (among many) is that you don't have to lug a big tank around with you everywhere. A smaller shuttle is all you would need for straight water. Another thing that I really love, is that unlike pulling hose, where you are walking through chemical all day, with this, you never get your feet wet. There is also much less drift, because you are not switching and waving a hose. Believe me, there is NOTHING worse than to be spraying along side a building or structure with low or no wind or gusts, and round a corner and be hit with a gust that puts your product all over you including in your face - NOT GOOD! Anyway, these things are so fast and versatile, they are well worth every penny of the cost. Also, service and support are second to none. Atleast you are at an advantage, of knowing this and having the availability right from the start. There are ALOT of lawn care co.'s out there right now with 300 gal. spray units that virtually get no use, now that they have their PG's.