I don't know about $100 thou unfortunately inflation is helping pave that road, even more unfortunately is that it won't be worth what it once was... When I started I got into $30k and it was good, not quite where I wanted to be but good enough, it takes years... 2-5 to get off to some kind of a start, then another 3-5 before one actually starts to hit that stride and another 2-5 to become established... In most cases that's a good decade or longer. I didn't want to believe that when I was young but now at 55 years old I can see it, looking back, the people who told me these very things, they were right...
I didn't start to see the money until around my 12th year and by then I had been in the business long enough to not get so darn excited every time an extra $50 or $100 came my way, that probably helped, thou the real money didn't start until about year 15 and it's been pretty peachy since.
Last year I grossed $75k, I'm shooting for $100 but as I told my wife, you can't go from $50 to $500 overnight... It doesn't work that way, rather it's a process, it takes time... You can go from $50 to $60, let that percolate and set in, then once that's some kind of firm try for $70, don't overshoot or you'll hurt yourself, been there done that, got the t-shirt lol

Thanks for asking, it was a pleasure to share that.

 

Are you 100% solo making 75k a year? That’s really impressive. Can you break down how many accounts that is? Strictly mowing? Thanks!

 

I’m a bit above that, not quite 100k but I work Monday-Sunday.

It’s a two man route but I gave up looking for employees last season. My son helps with the commercials and acreages(he can only mow, he’s 12) but I don’t do a lot of those.

I started out as a low cost mower and just slowly raised prices over 3 years. My prices are still lower than most, however.

I would prefer to only mow but try telling little old ladies that always bake you cookies you don’t really clean out gutters and see how far you get lol.

 

I'll say this: A good business plan is vital to success. But a plan that is doable is essential. Doing that much money as a single operation is going to be difficult at best and definitely a dawn-to-dusk x 6 operation.

 

Eh, I work 10 hour days, 5 days a week. To hit $100k and not kill yourself takes quality, not quantity. People who value their property will pay someone knowledgable more $ to take care of it. The more services you can do at 1 account, the easier it is.

 

I did $102k in 2020, $123k in 2021. YTD, I’m at $43k. That’s solo but not just mowing. 25% mowing, 55% apps, 20% landscaping on average. Net on those 2 years averaged out to 63%. Had around 1500/1600 hours each year. This is my 9th year full time.

I’m just a regular dude, if I can do it, anybody can.

 

Love to hear that. Keep up the great work!

 

As usual, one's location & region plays a YUUUGE role in how many servicings/year they can count on.

 

Length of season matters. The big companies here work all winter doing pruning and mulch. Mowing is from late February through mid November plus leaf season.

 

I do about 100k gross
85k is mowing
I do all the cutting alone about sixty houses
I also do fertilizer. Clean ups I have help for on weekends.
Seeding and aerating in fall helps add to that
It is about 90-100 an hour. My route is super tight. I do 14-15 houses a day 1/2 to 3/4 an acre.
I use a 60 and 36. Started using john deere a few years ago. They work really well
No one wants to work anymore, so right after covid I made the decision to cut my list in half and kept 60.
They all get extra stuff so that helps
I take the winters off (dec to mid march)

 

Been in the game years pushing mowing to 100k a year!! All trailer park lots and in the same community now!!

 

So now your doing slick, be my friend casual low pressure sales.

 

Will you be my friend?

 

Yea, in a perfect world where it never rains, things never break down, you never get sick or need a day off or never get tired and burnt from cutting 15 yards every day 6 days a week, etc.. etc..

If you want to make 6 figures, and actually have money left over and a life, maybe try a different business. JMO..

 

Yea, in a perfect world where it never rains, things never break down, you never get sick or need a day off or never get tired and burnt from cutting 15 yards every day 6 days a week, etc.. etc..

If you want to make 6 figures, and actually have money left over and a life, maybe try a different business. JMO..

yea the guys working 8 days a week is just ridiculous living life like that. No thanks! I admire the work ethic but I value my family/personal time too much.

If/when I went full time I’d shoot for 4 days cutting a week and 6-8 hours a day. I’d be happy taking home 25-30k a year.

 

I assume that is gross? Net...no not going to happen with a solo guy mowing lawns, not enough days of the week. I am at 1.5 men in my operation and we do that volume but you do work your arse off and some days I wonder what Im driving at.......

 

Your driving at a early grave son!!

 

I'm a full-time firefighter and solo LCO. I only do commercial properties and I'm not afraid to take on big properties. My largest property is a 20 acre church that takes me close to 12 hours (6:30-6:30).

I've been doing this for 23 years. I also snow plow for some of my accounts when needed. But being in the south, it's hit or miss each year. I'm 90% lawn maintenance with the rest being snow plowing and mulch/pine straw installations.

That being said, I've grossed over 200K the past two years just in my business. We had a few snow events this winter so I hit 100K by the end of April. But that's unusual.

For anyone who may think it can't be done, that's fine. But I assure you it can.

 

I'm a full-time firefighter and solo LCO. I only do commercial properties and I'm not afraid to take on big properties. My largest property is a 20 acre church that takes me close to 12 hours (6:30-6:30).

I've been doing this for 23 years. I also snow plow for some of my accounts when needed. But being in the south, it's hit or miss each year. I'm 90% lawn maintenance with the rest being snow plowing and mulch/pine straw installations.

That being said, I've grossed over 200K the past two years just in my business. We had a few snow events this winter so I hit 100K by the end of April. But that's unusual.

For anyone who may think it can't be done, that's fine. But I assure you it can.

20 acres in 12 hours seems kind of slow. Unless theres a huge amount of trimming? What kind of equipment are you running?

 

Right, that's the dilemma I have. My wife doesn't work, I provide the employer subsidized health coverage. To drop the full time job and go full time with mowing etc then I'd have to bear the full cost.

 

buy health insurance if sick and cancel it when you get better?

 

Or just not worry.
Every one has a timeline.
Our day's were already numbered since the beginning. Be at peace with that and enjoy every day you have. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

 

I think it's easily doable. My mowing season runs April through maybe November depending on temps and precip, some properties into December, and doing this PT I gross 45-50k with about 30 customers. 4 are commercial 2+ acre. If I was ever to quit my FT job, I would throw up some signs and knock on doors for tighter density where I'm already at.

 

I do only apps which include both granular fertilizer and liquid chemicals. I also do about 2-3 weeks of bare ground sterilant in fall. The bare ground spraying will gross me roughly 30k this year depending how many new ones I pick up. The apps will gross me about 150k this year. The apps and bare ground spraying take about 2/3 of the summer, so when I’m “caught up” I go out help my dad and brother install sprinklers. Pricing on apps is all over the board depending where in the USA you’re located. But where I’m at people pay a lot to have nice grass. Almost everyone has underground sprinklers since our average annual precip is 19”

 

are you a 12 month a year operation?

 

Been doing that for 20+ years! No wonder my wife wanted a Lexus! I buying a fishing pole!

 

100k solo is easy, just do the opposite of what I did

Seriously though, knowing what I know now it's very doable. I'm PT solo now but as a FT, the 4 big mistakes I made was spreading out too far geographically, offering too many services (trying to be everything to everybody), not raising prices enough, and not simplifying/systemetizing my book keeping.

 

Definitely do-able. I currently have an employee. If I were to go solo again and only keep my highest paying customers …I could just mow 5 days a week for 6-7 hours a day and pull in $600 per day no problem. $100k a year With winters off.
But it gets exhausting monotonous and hard to stay motivated when working alone. I prefer to keep trying to grow the business. I also like physical work and don’t have a goal of this being passive income. Just to streamline things enough and get a few good employees so that the business can function if I get sick / want days off or a vacation etc.

 

You must be a southerner. I couldnt mow $600 per day all summer and hit $100K. Not enough mowing weeks in the season. Not even close.
I'm at the age too, that I get SICK of mowing solo day in day out. 15 years of it will do that. I like a variety of outdoor svcs if nothing else, to make days go by a little better.

 

Took me until year 5 to crack that number in USD

 

Best way to make more money?

Cut your screen time down to five minutes a day, and no more stupid YouTube videos. Including all those who think they are sharing. “advice”

Go work, go Mow, go trim bushes, whatever- just go do it, that’s how you make your money.

This isn’t difficult.

I mean, good God, how did people make it in this industry before all the YouTube ‘channels’?

 

Best way to make more money?

Cut your screen time down to five minutes a day, and no more stupid YouTube videos. Including all those who think they are sharing. “advice”

Go work, go Mow, go trim bushes, whatever- just go do it, that’s how you make your money.

This isn’t difficult.

I mean, good God, how did people make it in this industry before all the YouTube ‘channels’?

You tube is a great resource for information. God forbid people watch YouTube for entertainment!

 

The right YT channels can save one money in repairs.

 

Keeping in mind...
$100k today isn't what it was 20 years ago.
It also depends on one's costs, this apparently varies widely from one to the next.
$100k isn't as amazing for a business that has high materials, overhead or advertising costs.

First few years aside, $100k today is probably about where a FT solo should be in this business.

 

7 months out of the year mowing here in PA. I don't know how I would ever hit 100k gross even if i mowed 10 yards a day 5 days a week for 7 months. Even adding in 10-15k im no where close.

 

Honestly I don't see the point of this thread if we are talking 100K gross. Too many folks get caught up on gross revenue when it means absolutely nothing.
Many years ago I went to a free SBA business accounting class. There was only two of us, the other was a lady who took over her dad's pool business.
The class was designed to help determine our gross, our net, and all the expenses in between.
I already knew all these numbers, was just taking the class for continuing education credits on my installation license. She clearly did not know her numbers.
She smiled with glee when the instructor asked us our gross revenue for the last year, as mine was $160,000, but hers was $290,000.
But after accounting for all of the expenses, which she clearly hadn't done, her net revenue came out to $24,000. Mine was like $56,000. It was clearly a wake up call for her and she was not smiling with glee anymore. Gross revenue means nothing...