First LARGE proposal - any help is appreciated!!

[ag2112]

So about 1 acre per hour? Is that per man or with a crew?
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[Dave does lawns]

Originally Posted by Duekster

It takes you 24 hours to mow 2 acs? You mean 2 AC shy of 16?

Good production rates seems to be around 40 to 60 K SF / hr

Note to self, do not post on lawnsite when drinking.

I meant 24 hours / month = 2000 / month.

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by Dave does lawns

Note to self, do not post on lawnsite when drinking.

I meant 24 hours / month = 2000 / month.

for two Acres

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by ag2112

So about 1 acre per hour? Is that per man or with a crew?
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Oddly on most jobs the line trimming mowing and blowing seems to consume about the same amount of time on smaller lots.

Obviously open field are different

[MOturkey]

First of all, congratulations on building your business to this point. Second of all, I am a small operator, and there are dozens on this site with more expertise doing larger properties. That said, I'm still going to put in my 2 cents worth.

First of all, I wouldn't consider trying to do 16 acres with a 36 WB. It is possible to mow anything with a 21, for that matter, but there is such a thing as the right tool for the job. Secondly, the price is the same no matter what your equipment, it just means that those with more efficient tools get done in less time, which equals more per man hour, but not more gross per job.

I've never bid or serviced a single property anything near that size, but I've found, at least with myself, that the larger the property, the more likely I am to underbid. After a while, you can just drive up and glance around a smaller place and know where you need to be price wise. With larger places, I tend to think I can get done more quickly than I really can. With a 50 to 60 inch Z, for practical purposes you need to figure at least a half hour per acre. Sure, I know there are those on here that will start spouting production figures, but in the real world, unless the place is wide open, and smooth, it is tough to mow over 2 acres per hour and do a decent job.

As someone else mentioned, do not make the mistake of bidding way too low on something like this. You will end up hating the job every week you roll up to it, if you get it at too low a price. A friend of mine who made his living mowing for 20 years once told me that everyone wants the big jobs, but the real money is usually in the small jobs. I tend to agree. The bigger jobs jump the gross more quickly, but smaller properties are often much more profitable percentage-wise.

Also, it is much easier to schedule several smaller accounts than it is one larger one. With smaller jobs, it is easy to slip in a couple before or after a rain, for example. With an all day job, not so much. The biggest single property I've ever maintained took my wife and I about 4 hours to do, and I absolutely hated it, and was glad when the guy filed bankruptcy and boogied out of town.

Anyway, good luck to you.

[ag2112]

Thanks MO, I'm assuming in MO...so let be ask is 50 ish per acre good in Missouri or way low?

I appreciate the input, I will say I'm planning on getting a bigger mower,
Are hustler ztrs as good as ex mark?
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[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Originally Posted by ag2112

Thanks MO, I'm assuming in MO...so let be ask is 50 ish per acre good in Missouri or way low?

I appreciate the input, I will say I'm planning on getting a bigger mower,
Are hustler ztrs as good as ex mark?
Posted via Mobile Device

$50 a acre is low everywhere.

[Dave does lawns]

Originally Posted by ag2112

Thanks MO, I'm assuming in MO...so let be ask is 50 ish per acre good in Missouri or way low?

I appreciate the input, I will say I'm planning on getting a bigger mower,
Are hustler ztrs as good as ex mark?
Posted via Mobile Device

How many man hours do you expect this to take you?

[dhardin53]

Safest and best way to really get an make money on accounts like this I have 2 two fold approach. 1.) A "20/20 approach", you need to see or observe the guy that is mowing it now. Drive by every hour or so and see what they use and how long they take. This will then give you real time example. So when you look at what equipment you need so you can get a better idea on who to compete.
2.) "net-working" the most difficulty for some to do (properly with success). I am NOT talking about breaking into the office and find out what is being payed currently. But you need to network with the account to get some kind of ideal what is being payed now, plane and simple. Good networking takes time and skill, OK talent and luck is needs as well.

A old friend of mine explained it to me like this. Siting in the boat looking into muddy water and trying to GUESS how deep it is is just silly. You need to get out of the boat and get in the water.. Now in your case at least look at the guy standing in the water and estimate the waters depth.

[easy-lift guy]

Unless you have already submitted this bid, your terms should be prepayment for services rendered. The funds are already there, and unless your a fool I would not take on any work unless payment was received at the beginning of each month served.
You may have reserves to work with and that is fine,however you may quickly discover how important it is from a budget standpoint how important it is to have all of your accounts billed in this manner.
easy-lift guy