Only Way To Make Money In This Business

[meets1]

I would agree. I would like to see the numbers broken down. After reading these posts and checking my numbers again and again, I am missing something.

[ProStreetCamaro]

Guys I think in this business its either you go small by yourself or maybe 1 other guy or you go huge with multiple crews and large contracts. The guys in the middle seem to be the ones that have to much overhead and not enough income generated.


We have 1 48" Lazer hp, 1 Gravely 34Z, 1 36" scag WB, 2 echo trimmers, 2 echo blowers, 1 echo hedge trimmer, 2 stick edgers. We are a 2 man crew. My father and I do 70 residentals a week on an average of about $30 per yard. all of our equpiment is paid for except for the gravely 34Z and we have no overhead what so ever. No storage rental or anything like that.

[the ace]

Originally Posted by milo

36 INCH WALK BEHIND, FULL SIZE TRUCK, TRIMMER, BOLWER. THATS IT..
ANY OTHER WAY THESE DAYS YOU CANT MAKE MONEY IN THIS BUSINESS

That all depends on what you consider "make money". To some a net of 20.00 per hour is damn good money, to others it's squat. I'm only trying to make a modest income, and that's fine with me. 40-50 hours per week 52 weeks a year, the rest of my time belongs to my family. By the way, I only use a 21 inch commercial toro and I make a decent living.

[kc2006]

Originally Posted by CLARK LAWN

how many employees do you have you said you do 60-70 yards you have enough equipment to be running 2 or 3 crews no wonder it cost you so much

Bingo. milo, you have all this equipment sitting around going to waste, unless you have multiple crews. Do you?

Theres a guy around here that cracks me up. He works a full time job, and then has a business on the side. He has 3 trucks, 2 trailers. He carries 4 trimmers with him, 3 ztr's, 2 21" mowers, 2 blowers, thats all on his trailer for the day! HE'S SOLO!!! I mean I understand the concept of having back up...but 3 trucks? 3 ztr's? 4 trimmers??? I would venture to say that this guys business is turning into a hobby to pay for his equipment.

[Duck Dodger]

Maybe you should try something else or better hiring practices. For us if we have a mower thats not running that means that man picked up a blower. Maybe you can use a 36 in your area but i think bigger is better. If you are cutting 60 inches per pass instead of 26 it means you are making money faster = more money made in a day. I have a few areas that take a pushmower but anything else 48 is the smallest I would think of using. You have to look at your whole opperation to figure what size you need to be to make money.

[JimLewis]

Originally Posted by milo

36 INCH WALK BEHIND, FULL SIZE TRUCK, TRIMMER, BOLWER. THATS IT..
ANY OTHER WAY THESE DAYS YOU CANT MAKE MONEY IN THIS BUSINESS

Well, here's another example of what's true in one part of the country doesn't apply at all to other parts of the country.

We do just fine in maintenance, thank you very much. And in 10 years, we've never used anything larger than a 21". A 36" would be way too big and heavy for the wet small lawns we are mowing every day.

Oh well. This is an entertaining thread to say the least. Anyone else want to start a thread with some generic statement that doesn't apply to half of the people reading it? Maybe we can start up a whole slew of threads where the author just quotes some random "fact" that really isn't accurate.

[LawnBoy89]

I'm still 16 so I don't have much experience with running a business but as I talk to alot of the LCO's around here I think I am starting to learn that if you keep it small and organized that is how you make money. Having a helper can definetly make you more money if you set it up right. I'm good friends with an older (than me) guy that usta be big but he downsized because he said when he looked at his number it was costing him way to much to operate and he really wasn't making it back. I think if you stay small and do it right that is the way to make money...also I hear the less mowing you do the more money you make.

[premierlawncare]

I think that "justmowit" uses small toro walkbehind mowers. And I think he makes money.

I think the money is made by being efficient and charging accordingly to be efficient. (if that makes sense)

[fga]

i like to keep things as simple as possible, truck wise, over head wise also. my 1500 series pick up and 6x12 trailer seems to be pretty good set up for me. very low cost. the trailer is $20 a year to register! and the routes are tight, so gas mileage isn't that bad at all. but i maintain urban areas, where you can really get bulk accounts with virtually very little driving. park the truck, cut 10.... next block, 3 or 4. 2 here... 7 on this block. etc.

i totally understand the quality differences in machines, but its a hard pill to swallow sometimes when you have to shell out $4500 for a mower to cut $15 lawns. and then you add employee damage! luckily i only need 1 wb and i bought a used one for a few hundred bucks. rest of my mowers are 21's.

[meets1]

I can see it comes down to demographics of your area. In my area, alot of lawns are 5000 sq ft and up to 1 acre. There are a few clients that INSIST we use 21 on there lawns. I put 3-4 21' on there lawn and it takes us alot of time to do it. Only reason I do it is b/c I give them a 5 step app for fert/spray, we do there snow removal and any landscape maint. that needs to be done. If I was to use a Z - more productive, more profit / yard, 20 minutes in and out.

Comes down to equipment as well. New, used, repairing etc. Same with trucks, trailers, and other "toys".