Any help for the new kid?

[Nick17]

Hi guys, first time here, and I have found it very pleasing. I am new, and a lot of questions enclosed, so PLEASE help where ever you can.

A little about me:

I will be going to UCF for my masters in BA (Business Administration) and DeVry for my minor in Accounting.

I'm 17 years old, still young and I talked with my father and got him to pay HALF of all the equipment I am slowly putting together.

So far I use:

Husqvarna 21" 5.5HP Honda
Husqvarna 125BT back pack blower
Homelite string trimmer (upgrading soon to Husqvarna)
Weed Eater 2.5HP old used edger (also upgrading slowly, after trimmer)

I do approx. 6-8 yards a week. Advertising has slowed down, as I attain a normal job, and do this on the side.

I would like to do this full-time next year. Do I need a license to fertilize and the normal lawn maintenance job? Is there a minimum age to apply for one?

We live in a "rich" area and I'm just a little confused on how much I should charge or "bid" as I am slowly learning. Now I charge $25 per lawn (mow lawn, trim, edge, and blow) with my own equipment and weeding or trimming hedges is extra.

Is there any type of pesticide that kills weeds, and doesn't require hand weeding?

I guess that's enough for now, as I will continue to use the "search" button to learn more about common abbreviations. ANY more tips/suggestions are certainly welcomed.



Thanks for your help,



-Nick

[dustin ward]

man the best advice i could give you is i started out the same way but had noone helping me with paying for my equipment so be very grateful.one thing to do is make your self some goals.second thing is talk to everyone you know i mean everyone and let them know what your doin.if you do a ggod job it will soon pay off.third is get buss card and pass them out to everone and go to your local office max and you can get lil refrigerator magnets and stick your buss cards on there and pass them out to everyone

[Nick17]

Thanks for the advice. We NEEDED the equipment, because we did not have anything, so I told my father that we would need the "higher" grade lawn mowers and other tools.

So we agreed and he would pay half for everything, since we needed it anyways, but I wanted higher grade tools so I had to pay for it.

I will soon be licensed for sure. Looking into being insured and attaining a license for pesticides, when I learn more and gain another year of experience (only 2 under the belt).




Thanks again,



-Nick

[Team Gopher]

Hi Nick,

Here are some sites that might be helpful.

Pest Control: Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control - P.O. Box 210 Jacksonville, FL. 32231 - Phone: (904) 798-4609 - (904) 488-6368 - Fax: (904) 488-8497

http://www.floridalma.org/

http://www.fnga.org/index.asp

[Nick17]

Thanks Gopher

I also went to the library and got "Small Business for Dummies" and "Everything Lawn Care Book".

Hopefully one of these books will help. I will add the links to fav's. Is there any link for the names taken in the state of FL? I saw one for Kentucky or something..





Thanks again,



-Nick