Crew size???

[stexasrookie]

I am extremely new to lawn maintenance, although ran a tree trimming business for some family for the past two years. My question is how does one justify running a four man crew when you can only expect to see $30 or so from the yard. I work in a smaller city of around 75k people and stay pretty busy, but when you have to pay your guys 10 minutes between each job at atleast $6 an hour thats only $6 an hour in profit. I know you can get jobs done faster in theory, but how do you justify the drive time or work around it? Any help is appreciated.

[mow2nd]

2 guys can mow 3 yards an hour x 8 hour day = 24 yards. Now figure how much you will profit

[Turfdude]

For $30 laws, crew size shoulkd only be 2 guys. Unless your lawns exceed 1/2 acre w/ multiple lawns at a stop, there is no need for larger than a 2 man crew.

[bushtrimmer]

4 guys work great for 10 acres or more and for commercial properties as long as you have a crew cab

[JustMowIt]

Originally Posted by stexasrookie

I am extremely new to lawn maintenance, although ran a tree trimming business for some family for the past two years. My question is how does one justify running a four man crew when you can only expect to see $30 or so from the yard. I work in a smaller city of around 75k people and stay pretty busy, but when you have to pay your guys 10 minutes between each job at atleast $6 an hour thats only $6 an hour in profit. I know you can get jobs done faster in theory, but how do you justify the drive time or work around it? Any help is appreciated.

We have found 3 guys can do 35 to 40 yards in our market, which is also the best leverage of truck & fuel. Right now, we are using 2 guys on about 4 of our trucks doing 26 per day just because many customers are going bi-weekly with the season ending or quiting early & our driver wants to finish the season in 4 more weeks. Our routes are tight, & they usually spend 8 to 14 min. per yard.

[out4now]

I see different set ups all the time. Just really depends on how much there is to do on any particular account and how far apart they are. On most residentials there are only two per truck. HOA's and apartments usually 3-4 in a crew cab. One guy's set up comes to mind, he has a crew to cut grass every week and a crew that does nothing but bushes, seeding, fertilizing etc. Guess that works well for him.

[LB Landscaping]

For my area/customers I have found 2 is the most profitable. Its nice to have a third (2 mowing 1 trimming/blowing) but for us the time savings isn't significant enough. If I get backed up due to rain then I'll add a 3rd if needed but generally run 2.

[Freshcut Lawn Care]

For Lawn Care, we generally use a 2 man crew.

We find a 3rd person helps, but usually ends up waiting for the other workers. When this hapens, I have the 3rd person pull weeds from flower beds to make the property (and our work look even better)!

Generally, we find anything more than a 2 man crew for basic lawn care a waste of time and resources. They should be doing something to add value to your work, however!

For Spring & Fall Clean ups we generally use 3 to 6 workers depending on the job and size of property. The additional workers are used for the Spring and Fall (only) and are generally friend's of my workers looking for some additional income.

Everyone stays busy, until the work is completed!

[impactlandscaping]

Same here... with mower advancements in size and hp, 3 men would be a waste around here. Our largest property is 3 acres, and it really has never warranted a third guy. All other services: installs, ponds, hardscapes, etc, I use myself and two men.Hydroseeding is usually just me and my brother unless it hasn't been prepped...sometimes, I seed by myself on prepped lots, and put them out on other maint. jobs. It just depends on your client base and size of properties as to setting a crew size..just remember sometimes"too many cooks spoil the pot"...LOL

[stexasrookie]

Thanks a lot guys, I was thinking of running a two man crew this next season. This past year I was by myself for the most part and was curious how other LCOs were doing things. I cant seem to understand a 4 man crew on 10k square foot residentials, but see several doing it. I'll se how 2 works and might go to three. By the way, how many lawns should a solo crew be able to tackle in a day with say 5 minutes drive time between each & 10 hour day.