Lee Homan
LawnSite Member
- Location
- Decatur, Alabama
I know this discussion has been brought up many times before but I have a few questions of my own I would appreciate some input on. first off I own and operate a one man lawn business in the south with about 40 regular accounts. I have been doing it for three years now, part-time the first two years and full-time in 1999. At first I would take anything at almost any price. Now my yards average between $30.00 and $45.00 but no less than $25.00. This is based on an hourly rate of $30.00. I have no basis as far as "Cost of doing business" for my $30.00 hourly rate only that talking with other people in the business that is pretty much the going rate. I have also tested the waters and have found that most of the people I deal with won't pay higher than $30.00 dollars for what they see as an hours worth of work, they always assume that that is $30.00 of pure profit. So this brings me to my question. Do most of you guys figure your rate based on your actual cost of doing business plus a profit or just some arbituary number? It seems to me that if your a legitimate tax paying business your going to have to mow a whole lot of grass to make a good living. When I say good living, for me that would mean a gross salary of somewhere around $30,000-$50,000. <br>