Maine

[we dig it]

I was talking about the raking of the leaves mostly... when someone wants a quote that is hard for me . is it better to just tell them a hourly rate and just charge for actual hours or try to quote them a set price? Thanks

Pat

[McFarland_Lawn_Care]

Ya, hourly rate would be a safe bet - or you could give them a rough estimate of what how long you THINK it would take and see what they think. Just explain to them that it is time consuming and they should expect to pay for it. Most of my cleanups are $150-$200 on average. But also it helps because I do fall cleanups too so it cuts down on the leaves - on first time jobs it can be a mess!! lol

[stan the man]

you guys don't use the mower to pick up the leaves.i did a clean up Thursday the guy ask me how much. i said 600.00 and i did it in 3 hours all by and self. racking by hand takes time.McFarland_Lawn_Care did you look at that walker mower? what are guys running for mowers.

[McFarland_Lawn_Care]

Stan, no didn't have time to look at that Walker - plus never used a Walker before so not sure how much we would like it. I run Toro z masters and a couple hydro 48" walk behinds for some lawns.....Yes, I use one of the Z masters with a dfs bagger for cleanups....

Jason

[stan the man]

they are just like exmark. how fast does the bags full up on a fall clean up. all my clean up are done. but i went today and look at clean up. one of my account pick up a new house in Kennebunkport, ME. for his daughter. the grass is foot long and foot of leaves. no fall clean up was done. he wants it clean up. it going to be a job. it all by the hour. i figure it is about 4 day job. the bed are loaded with leaves. if you can find the beds. edging all the beds and mulching them. i did want the job. but he is a big account of my. so i will do it.

[NORTHMAN]

Hi,I have a question for you Maine guys,while on vacation a few years ago in the Rockland area,I saw a number of landscapers with john Deere lawn tractors and Walkers on their trailers,the Walkers i can understand but why the lawn tractors?The trailers were also set up to carry mowers in the rear and had a dump(side dump I think)in the front,pretty neat.Thanks.

[mouse179]

Hello all, I am just starting to get into the lawn care business, I was wondering a couple of things, 1 how do you figure out what to charge people? 2 Did you get a loan to start out with or just used what equipment you had and upgraded as you went? also is there a way to help stand out in a crowd, in my area there are lots of small out fits running around, some are pretty reliable and are around year in and year out others pop up for a season or 2 then fade away. I would love to be able to leave my full-time job and do this full-time, any advice at all would be greatly appreciated
.

[McFarland_Lawn_Care]

Mouse - do lots of reading and research. This forum can be very useful in the "starting a lawncare business" section or whatever it's called. I would highly recommend going to www.lawnguru.net and purchasing Ken's program - it is well worth every penny and is specific to lawncare in Maine since the guy who wrote it lives in Winslow. Knowing what to charge depends on your market area and what equipment you are using and how good you are with it. Only YOU can determine what you niche in the market will be and as far as how to stand out I would say is pretty basic: be professional, continually educate yourself, be dependable and always wear a smile, and return calls to customers asap. Very few people in my area do any of these things lol. But you are right, they come and go. It usually takes 3-5 years to develop a decent sized client base but be patient and before you know it you will have to turn down work. Good luck and pm me any questions. Where you from anyways?

[stan the man]

good luck on the lawn care business.on the lawn amount looking a how long it will take to mow it. 1.00 minute. i start out with use mower new trailer. i did take a loan out to get my equipment 1 st started out. after that just up up dated. i am debt free.

[we dig it]

K Guys Enough Rain or what!?!?!? Well I know that some guys in my area mow in the rain but I have tried on my own lawn to see and left tons of clumps with my walk behind and it plugs my chute on my z turn... Grass i mowed down to 2.5" on the 8th is now almost 5 to 6" ! They only want it mowed once a week but with almost a week of rain in forecast WTF! Whats everyone's experience with this?