what is considered solo

[Kings of Green LLC]

i know this topic has been going on for ever but what is considered solo? I have read post on this site and heard from guys in my area stay solo never run multiple crews etc... but what is considered "big"? how many lawns per day can one guy do? myself its me and one full time guy we do 80 lawns a week i think im making a good living. i hate turning down work but you can only do so much with two guys! what about giving an employee a truck and a mower and paying him per yard say $10 give him 30 lawns per week still considered solo but as the owner your making x per lawn? right or wrong thinking?

[alldayrj]

You're not solo. You're duo.
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[CowboysLawnCareDelaware]

Your business is still solo, but after your first year you'd be stupid to be a sole proprietor, especially with a second crew, whether it's one guy or four guys on the second crew. I can cut 13-15 lawns per day in the Summer by myself with a 36" mower, apprx. 4-5 acres.

Other than that, I won't say more with out more details.

-Michael

[Kings of Green LLC]

maybe i should re-tittle this thread "what is to big" no i dont consider myself solo. but many say stay solo and dont git "BIG" well what is considered to big?

[CowboysLawnCareDelaware]

When your ratio of expenses to income, starts to become larger on the expenses and headache side.

-Michael

[larryinalabama]

Originally Posted by CowboysLawnCareDelaware

Your business is still solo, but after your first year you'd be stupid to be a sole proprietor, especially with a second crew, whether it's one guy or four guys on the second crew. I can cut 13-15 lawns per day in the Summer by myself with a 36" mower, apprx. 4-5 acres.

Other than that, I won't say more with out more details.

-Michael

You can cut 15 4 acre yards in a day with a 36" mower???

[RSK Property Maintenance]

Originally Posted by Kings of Green LLC

maybe i should re-tittle this thread "what is to big" no i dont consider myself solo. but many say stay solo and dont git "BIG" well what is considered to big?

there are a few companies around me that a decent sized, that have multiple crews running around on a daily basis. multiple crews means they have 2-4 trucks with trailers and mowers or a skid steer going around doing lawns, or maybe hardscape installs or maybe 1 of them is doing irrigation work, who knows. I think staying with 1 crew which could consist of you and 1 other guy or you and 2 other guys but staying with 1 truck, and 1 trailer, maybe 2 mowers on that one trailer and 1 guy to do the trimming would be the most efficient, most profitable i'm not sure about that, that's probably 1 guy mowing and 1 guy trimming for highest efficiency and staying most profitable, between 2 people you should be able to make a pretty comfortable living, also the headache's at this level are pretty minimal, not much overhead, very low payroll.

[dstifel]

4-5 acres total or 15 4-5 acre yards?

[CowboysLawnCareDelaware]

I would have -20% body fat if I walked 15 4 acre yards a day.

15 yards a day for a total of 4-5 acres, after thinking about it, its probably closer to 6 acres.

-Michael

[Darryl G]

Big is a relative term...it all depends on your perspective. A big lawn to someone from the city might be a half acre whereas to someone from the country that would be a small lawn. To me a big company in this business would be doing millions of dollars of sales per year, whereas someone who is just starting out might look at my operation and think I'm big. I have been told I was too big before, but that was in a different context, lol.

I'm "solo" and I only do 5 or 6 lawns a day most of the time but, I have done up to 9 or 10. It's not really about how many lawns, it's about how many dollars.

I do get some help with the phone from my wife and she does some clericial stuff for me as well. One of my sons will help out on the moving route in the summer but usually only 2 or 3 days a week for 4 or 5 hours. But most of the time it's just me and I'm not looking to have multiple crews and the assoiciated headaches. My goal is to maximize what I can bring in by myself with a little help from my family....to steadily grow my income without really growing the business. I do that by picking my accounts carefully, trying to keep a steady work load, and keeping a close eye on my accounts receivable, among other things.