Debt Free business

[Hoss4x4]

Who runs a debt free business? How many Years? Any tips?

[larryinalabama]

This is my 3rd year in business and its all been dept free. I spent 1 year searching and finding good deals on equiptment and my box truck. The only thing I bought new was my mower and I caught a great deal on it during the off season. I figure I could make money on most of my purchases so its all just as good as money in the bank. I also run my personal life debt free.
The key to being debt free is dont borrow money LOL

This business is super expensive to operate and if you borrow money it will surley fail. If your truck never leaves home you want to be as close to zero for the days expensis as you can, their is some insurance and other bs thats unavoidable.

Be pacient and make the homes you service look good, customers dont really care how shiney your truck and mowers are. If you do get a older truck fix al the oil leaks and never park in the customers driveway.

[USA Lawn Care]

debt free last 2 seasons.
only way I could manage to do it was collecting payment 'as we mow'.
cash flow is always there.
growing the biz back slow and steady but with no debt at all......helps me sleep at night

key is to watch what you spend....and only spend when you need to.
shouldn't take long at all to get enough cash to buy what you need.
if you get in a pinch and need more time to buy another mower, have someone else mow a property for you for a month or so until you can pay cash for what you need.
Put it this way......anyone in Joplin, MO that got smashed by the tornados who was running a lawn mowing company and was depending on the upcoming mowing to pay for their equipment, guess what.....banking on tomorrow doesn't always work. Payments are still due. Don't get yourself in that position. When the bottom falls out of your business due to some unforeseen reason, you will be ok if you have no debt.

[larryinalabama]

Originally Posted by USA Lawn Care

debt free last 2 seasons.
only way I could manage to do it was collecting payment 'as we mow'.
cash flow is always there.
growing the biz back slow and steady but with no debt at all......helps me sleep at night

key is to watch what you spend....and only spend when you need to.
shouldn't take long at all to get enough cash to buy what you need.
if you get in a pinch and need more time to buy another mower, have someone else mow a property for you for a month or so until you can pay cash for what you need.
Put it this way......anyone in Joplin, MO that got smashed by the tornados who was running a lawn mowing company and was depending on the upcoming mowing to pay for their equipment, guess what.....banking on tomorrow doesn't always work. Payments are still due. Don't get yourself in that position. When the bottom falls out of your business due to some unforeseen reason, you will be ok if you have no debt.

Thats a good post, I used to be accused of living under a rock for these type of comments, that was a few years back and Im not sure if those companies are still on lawnsite.

[Puddle of Oil]

Their's nothing wrong with debit, just the person using it the wrong way.

[lawnkingforever]

Debt free here also. I paid off my truck back in the spring and paid cash for my used Grandstand. It was tough spending that
Kind of coin. But without payments or debt you can build the bank accounts back up pretty fast. The only payment I have is my Americanexpress business card which I get 4% cash back on gas. I pay it off every month.
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[tlc1994]

Debt is dumb. Cash is king. Wait to buy still until you can ACTUALLY afford it. There's plenty of deals the CC companies offer (cashback, way-to-save, etc.) but only because they know they'll get back exponentially in interest. Stick to the Benjamins and you CAN'T get into debt.

[ed2hess]

Originally Posted by tlc1994

Debt is dumb. Cash is king. Wait to buy still until you can ACTUALLY afford it. There's plenty of deals the CC companies offer (cashback, way-to-save, etc.) but only because they know they'll get back exponentially in interest. Stick to the Benjamins and you CAN'T get into debt.

Using cash at this time is not very smart....interest rates are at all time lows. Not possible to grow a business without staying in debt. I never in 30 years had a goal of paying for my equipment. The end game is growing something that can be sold someday for something.

[flyingdutch16]

Originally Posted by ed2hess

Using cash at this time is not very smart....interest rates are at all time lows. Not possible to grow a business without staying in debt. I never in 30 years had a goal of paying for my equipment. The end game is growing something that can be sold someday for something.

your still paying interest.... might just be me, but id rather keep that small percentage in the bank. Then again that would be what i would do.

Cash is king like some one already stated.

Congrats to the companies out there that are debt free. Dont see that much in America debt free companies or private people.

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by flyingdutch16

your still paying interest.... might just be me, but id rather keep that small percentage in the bank. Then again that would be what i would do.

Cash is king like some one already stated.

Congrats to the companies out there that are debt free. Dont see that much in America debt free companies or private people.

You obviously don't look around for deals. I just bought a ferris wb for 3 yr. 0% interest. Payments are $95/mo. But, most of you guys would rather pay the $3k up front bc "debt is dumb" and " I pay everything in cash."
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