How many customers do you have?

[Green Acres]

I have about 30 customers in all. Going to try and ad another 15-20 hopefully next year. Would like to get more into the landscaping part of this business. This is really my first full year since getting out of school, so it's not to bad I quess. How many customers do you have? What is your ideal number? I would like to have around 100 I think someday. Thanks

[dmk395]

I have about 35 weekly accounts, but its tough as you well know when you also go to college fulltime. I cant wait till I can attack this business fulltime without the obligation of a 10am college class

[landscaper3]

We should peak close to 100 with all services next year! Make up some flyers or have Nebs make you up some door hangers, around 3 to 5% return will be no problem. We will distribute 2000 door hangers in spring at 5% return alone thats 100 new customers alone. Its good advertising. If we get a 5% return we will be up to 150plus. Thats all we can handle due to alot of the large landscape companys are losing accounts due to no pay and lack of help. We pay our people in season $10hr to start which is $2.00 over most other companys up here.

[Green Acres]

Landscaper3- When do you put your flyers out? Also what do you put on them? Just name and number or a list of services etc.

[landscaper3]

We do door hangers know we had nebs make up. We do full services all year round including alot of plowing so we wait till the grass starts showing and then we distribute the door hangers (around last week of March)here is there web site http://www.nebs.com they have all your business forms and software one stop shop. Call for a catalouge.

[MLI]

We have 112 accounts at present, and im looking
to take on about 50 more. Id say at that point id
have to make some major changes to company. My
goal is to generate around 250k a year and keep
the profit margin between 15% and 20%. The more
a company grosses, the profit margin shrinks. Id
say the 80 to 100 mark for clients is a comfortable
living for most. I guess what your expenses are, will
dictate how many more clients you need to have.

[cleancut]

I have about 110 regular customers that I service yearround..I also usually provide one-time services to an addition 100-150 customers throughout the year(landscaping, aerating, other misc. jobs)..Clean-Cut

[Turf Cutters]

We have sixty accounts for mowing and thirty accounts for chemical application. This is a mixture of residents and comerical. We are trying to get another ten comerical accounts for full service next year.

[JML]

this is my second year and i only have 80 accounts, but they are all $35 to $115 lawns. there is a guy in my area that has 1600 lawns, and a good 200 of them are huge condos and developments, his business is sick..

[ronslawncare]

1600 lawns i thought the guy that i placed my yellow book ad was lying he told me he deals wih a guy that has about 2000 lawns i was like yea right thats good to hear i guess anything is possible how many crews would you need for that ....

[KirbysLawn]

32 at this time, impleminiting company change and expansion now, we'll see.

[Runner]

These would HAVE to be spraying contracts, or atleast a great portion of them, anyway. I know a friend of mine services around 6000 with 12 tank trucks and a few pickups. MAJOR book keeping! He has GPS and the whole shot though. It's kind of neat seeing his big tankers all striped and chromed out- including wheels. Talk about a novelty!:)

[JML]

he has like 16 or 17 crews and about 60 trucks varying from hydro seedings, to spray trucks, to backhoes and tri axle dumps. his operation is amazing, in the morning when his trucks pull out of the yard it takes about a half hour for all of them to get out, i will i could have his biz. also gross sales of 10 millions dollars...

[ronslawncare]

10 million god bless him...i figured somewere around 20 crews that must be a site to see 17 crews pileing out of a yard.lol

[MOW ED]

25 weekly, pick up additional vacation mows. 12 fert increasing in 01.
Spring clean dethatchings= 70 customers.
Fall cleans =20.
Misc jobs = mulching, edging, trimming bushes, gutter jobs.
Part time. Weekly average mowing hours 12 to 16.

[bdemir]

Weekly around 80. After my corrupt employee steals half of them probably 60. Biweekly 3 big commercial accounts. Its my first year full time in lawn care i hope to get more this spring with flyers and maybe try to bid on a few commercial propetries this winter.

[Greenkeepers]

We had 33 weekly maintenances this past season. For year round customers who we have in our database are around 50 and then you always have a bunch of one timers.

We must always remember that bigger isn't always better. I would rather cut 10 lawns in a day and make $350gross, $175 (NET) than cutting (which is realizable for smaller orgs). Than cutting 50 for $1750 gross and $175 net.....

Work smarter not harder folks.

[bob]

I've got around 50 account. Doesn't sound like a lot, but 3 of them are over 10 acres each. And 2 of them are over 5 acres each. I think the real question here is how many thousand square feet do you cut a week?

[65hoss]

Bob, do you work by yourself? Just wondering, trying to decide on the direction of my buz right now.

[awm]

Have about 45 .some weekly some every
other wk.Then about 50 more that call on me
for handyman service which can be anything.
This is my only income for about 3 months
of the yr.I plan to take some high end
work next season in charlotte suburbs.
THATS A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD.

[Dennis]

I have 20 only 1 comm. also work FT in manf. plant

[dylan]

I cut 35 weekly. 8 are commercial, the rest are residential. I have over a hundred customers that call me once or twice a year for spring/fall cleanups, rototilling, topdressing, etc. I would like about 50 regulars.

[Esby]

Currently we serve 45 weekly residentail customers and a few commercials. Hoping to increase slightly next year, but only in the commercial side of the business.

[1MajorTom]

Brian,

Just curious as to what type of door hangers you use.

I got the packet from Nebs, but wasn't really impressed
with the sample door hanger they enclosed. It seemed pretty non-descript. The paper was flat (not glossy) and it didn't seem long enough. I talked to the person who is
in charge of our account, and he is going to send out a few more samples to us. Do you know if there are a lot of different choices of door hangers to choose from?

Jodi

[Ssouth]

I have 18 residential that average 1 acre. 1 commercial that has 61 differnt sites. All are year round accounts.
Approx. 30-40 install jobs this year. Hope to increase install jobs next year by 2X.

[Pauls Mowing]

I have one year round customer, and varies between 12 and 16 seperate homes. We do 4 season work on these homes. I also have numerous calls for mowing and weed/brush mowing through out the summer/fall. 1 customer for right-of-way mowing. 2 large commercial bids out for next year.

Paul

[turfsurfer]

Have 35 regular mowing customers that I service on my days off from the firehouse. Finally found a reliable employee last summer (cousin), so I will be letting him handle most of the mowing next year while I take on more mulch jobs and expand into fertilizing.

[HOMER]

I have 2000 mowing customers. I keep telling ya'll to buy a Dixie Chopper. Man what a difference that 72 made. I went from less than 100 to 2000 in a month. They were right when they said it was the fastest mower on earth!

Homer

[grassyfras]

13 right now pt just 2 days a week i work i would like to get about 20 for next year.

[Cutter1]

I have 175 customers. Some residential, some commercial. Trying to cut back on residential and stick to commercial.

[double e]

Last year 75-85 lawns, but like Bob I take care of a couple town parks that are huge, and a handful of acrage accounts.
Have about 20 lots that I bushhog once a month.
Just bid on 5 developments- still waiting to hear.
Have many-many one time jobs, cleanups, mulching, landscaping
Just brought another truck for another crew next year.

one downfall- MORE BUSINESS= MORE HEADACHES- But I still love it- and look forward for tomorrow

[lawnnut]

We service 56 and what ever comes along as time permits.
I am getting set up for water ponds this spring and will
increase irrigation services.

[Eric ELM]

Did you buy the Jet Engine Chopper to do that many? :D

[klite]

I work On Saturday Only. I have a full time job.
I have 22 Res. homes at this time.

[Evan528]

Klite, With a schedule so limited, what do you do when it rains all day saturday?

[Neals]

10 customers and 2 commercial, one large one small, my first year.

[jay]

I have 45-60 ayear regular customers plus those extra ones that want something done once or twice a year.I work mostly solo. Hope to expand to form a crew of two.

[Edited by jay on 12-17-2000 at 10:40 PM]

[TGCummings]

About 50 right now, down from 80-85 before last summer. Cut out a lot of bad baggage since discovering LawnSite, and have nearly doubled my average rate/lawn while allowing myself more time and freedom for equipment maintenance and family. Still have a ways to go before I'm happy with my setup, but I'm working on it... :)

-TGC

[Shack]

I have 15 apartment complexes, makes for long days around August when it is 90 plus dregrees.