Its good if and when you can get them. A lot of them think the world revolves around them too and will expect to always be your #1 priority at their every whim.
They dont care much about price as long as you are reliable, do a great job, and can do it on a Thursday or Friday.

Its hard to get these account cause once they find someone that keeps them happy they stick with them no matter the price. You have to find the few unhappy ones or new home owners.
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Its good if and when you can get them. A lot of them think the world revolves around them too and will expect to always be your #1 priority at their every whim.
They dont care much about price as long as you are reliable, do a great job, and can do it on a Thursday or Friday.

Its hard to get these account cause once they find someone that keeps them happy they stick with them no matter the price. You have to find the few unhappy ones or new home owners.
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I hear you. From what I've seen it's all about similar to as you mentioned, catching the right person at the right time, a good word of mouth, or simply just being lucky or at the right place at the right time. Once you do land those "GOOD" jobs, I think it opens up a can of opportunities though. For example, working at my fence's parents, I knew when I took that job, I would be getting to work in an "EXCLUSIVE" area and get seen. Now when I go to do the neighbors, I will get "Seen" more. I started out with four lawns on one street in a neighborhood this year. By the time everyone seen me on that street, I do 9 houses on that street, every single one other then the four came from word of mouth or me being "seen" on the street and people stopping and asking.

 

I hear you. From what I've seen it's all about similar to as you mentioned, catching the right person at the right time, a good word of mouth, or simply just being lucky or at the right place at the right time. Once you do land those "GOOD" jobs, I thing it opens up a can of opportunities though. For example, working at my fence's parents, I knew when I took that job, I would be getting to work in an "EXCLUSIVE" area and get seen. Now when I go to do the neighbors, I will get "Seen" more. I started out with four lawns on one street in a neighborhood this year. By the time everyone seen me on that street, I do 9 houses on that street, every single one other then the four came from word of mouth or me being "seen" on the street and people stopping and asking.

Got a similar thing going on in a high end area near me. Old homes with old rich people. I acquired a customer about 10 yrs ago in this area that also happened to be involved with local politics. He has a privet hedge around his property that I meticulously maintain. That hedge combined with his connections have gotten me more business then I can keep*track of. The "add it to the bill" customers are golden. Not that you should take advantage of them...but it sure is nice to know you will always get what you want out of a job
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To the OP... Congratulations on your new customer! While I'm sure that this is exciting for you, I would highly suggest that you find a consistent way of bidding (successfully) on these properties. "Take a guess then double it cuz I think they can afford it" obviously works every once in a while, as it just did for you, but it is not a sustainable practice.
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its great when you take the price you'd do it for, then add extra, and they take it without even trying to bicker...i think this is the proper way to bid lawncare. if everyone did this, our prices could finally go up and we would all be making a lot more money

 

Congrats! I picked up one in a higher end neighborhood around me, not much more than what i normally charge, but it gets me in the door for that neighborhood. Which i could end up with a lot more in there since just about everyone has a lawn company cut their lawns. I saw 4 companies in the 10 mins i was in the neighborhood for the bid. Good luck with your new pricing technique!

 

I gave up on "high end" homes. Seemed like all their money was tied up in the mortgage and not paying bills. I also found wealthy people are cheaper than the average person, and think the world revolves around them.

I know of others who target high end homes and they make good money, good luck!

 

Lucky man, we have multi-million dollar homes off in the Valley but this cheap dominated Lawncare fleet has them all, I am just glad they rarely come up my way on our business.

 

High end is all I do. As a one man operation, it is more practical to do a handful of high paying accounts per week rather than have to hack down many low paying yards in one day 5 days a week. Corollary of this is that I provide high end work. No string, no rotary mowers. Shrub and garden maintenance included. Irrigation service. Weed/pest control for the entire landscape. Fertilization. Only thing I do not touch is trees over 10 feet. That is referred to a licensed and properly equipped arborist.

 

I gave up on "high end" homes. Seemed like all their money was tied up in the mortgage and not paying bills. I also found wealthy people are cheaper than the average person, and think the world revolves around them.

I know of others who target high end homes and they make good money, good luck!

This has been more of my experience. They're rich because they're good with money, and aren't going to pay more than necessary. And of course they have super high expectations so you're going to spend more time there than you think, making everything perfect.

I think the ideal customer is one who appreciates the value of the work you do. Regardless of whether they're poor or wealthy.

 

High end is all I do. As a one man operation, it is more practical to do a handful of high paying accounts per week rather than have to hack down many low paying yards in one day 5 days a week. Corollary of this is that I provide high end work. No string, no rotary mowers. Shrub and garden maintenance included. Irrigation service. Weed/pest control for the entire landscape. Fertilization. Only thing I do not touch is trees over 10 feet. That is referred to a licensed and properly equipped arborist.

Green doctor I think that's awesome that you are able to do that. Of course you have a few factors built in that most guys on lawnsite don't. Namely, you seem much more educated/knowledgable than the average guy here, and you live in paradise, where wealthy people and gorgeous landscapes are much more common (I'd be willing to bet). And to keep these landscapes maintained it requires more effort and skill than the majority of the rest of the country.

In my area, a "quality" job means straight stripes, and don't plaster anything with grass clippings. If you're able to do that, you've passed the test. And there's a million guys around that can pass the test.

Most customers, wealthy or not, will go with the cheap guy, who can provide these things just as well as the more expensive guy.

 

About 85% of my business is "high end" lake homes. Its a challenge and profit margins are extremely low. The plus is its fun to work on those properties, and I usually only do 2 homes per day.

I have being doing a whole lot better on 1/2 acre mow and blow accounts, which I want to get more into as time goes on.

 

Gorgeous landscapes are few and far between. The people with the skills to maintain them are even fewer and further between. Stripes? Being that I am dealing with warm season grass cut low, it takes a special mower to even stripe the lawn. Every lawn mowed gets cross cut with a Toro Greensmaster. Bermuda, centipede and zoysia will stripe when mowed with that mower. As I said, I had a choice between needing to mow 50+ lawns a week or deal with far fewer than that. Doing 50+ lawns a week means I would need to run a crew that mows, blows, and goes. My normal customer wants no part of that. They want a certain kind of service. My time is valued. It is not about how fast I get it done, it is all about the end product which cannot be gotten in a hurry.

 

The thing about targeting higher ends a lot of people don't factor in and forget about is less work, wear, and tear on your machines. When I'm cutting high end, I'm cutting grass. :laugh: Half of the time when you cut low end, your cutting blade dulling weed beds or should I say un-treated lawns, sometimes your cutting rocks, tree stumps, dog poop, and whatever the low end customer has to offer. Most high end properties you don't have to deal with tearing up your equipment on rocks, tree stumps, and dog poop. I'd rather cut healthy grass all day.

 

OP has not discovered anything new nor did he invent the wheel.

I have found many wealthy clients to be extremely cheap. It is a pleasure to have one when they are not cheap.

The one that I have never asks me the price when I tell her she needs something. Though I will not take advantage of her so I do not charge her more because of who she is or where she lives.

What makes working for a upscale property is that they will spend the money to make the property look great. Nice to drive away and say my business did that.

All the power to everyone that can get as many good customers as they can.

 

I gave up on "high end" homes. Seemed like all their money was tied up in the mortgage and not paying bills. I also found wealthy people are cheaper than the average person, and think the world revolves around them.

I know of others who target high end homes and they make good money, good luck!

I agree with you. Most of the wealthy people I work for are pretty tight with their money. The want a cadillac but only want to pay for a Kia. However I do maintain an estate with 7 highly landscaped acres and I charge $350 a visit. It's honestly not great money for all the work / hassle involved, but I make up for it with flowers and mulch.

It's always nice to be proud of your work too. I'm always in a good mood while working on the property.

 

The thing about targeting higher ends a lot of people don't factor in and forget about is less work, wear, and tear on your machines. When I'm cutting high end, I'm cutting grass. :laugh: Half of the time when you cut low end, your cutting blade dulling weed beds or should I say un-treated lawns, sometimes your cutting rocks, tree stumps, dog poop, and whatever the low end customer has to offer. Most high end properties you don't have to deal with tearing up your equipment on rocks, tree stumps, and dog poop. I'd rather cut healthy grass all day.

So high end properties don't have rocks, tree stumps, or dog poop????

 

Well said everyone, I enjoy small upscale homes, they are nicely landscaped but small and very manageable for a solo guy, I do not enjoy spending half a day at one property, although less driving and wear and tear is nice, in my area homes are 3-5k and some very rarely are 10k. People can afford the time and money to make their property nice because it is small, like a typically mulch job here is maybe 1-2 yards, I see guys on Lawnsite taking about 10-15 yards at one property, that would literally cover the entire property with mulch around here, lol. I enjoy what I do, however the small low end homes are nice becasue they are quicker to complete, very rarely have to be double cut or anything special and often the prices are the same as the highly landscaped over fertilized neighbour's house. However these lower end lawns often have nice houses, its all about the person that lives there, the low ends lawns also typically don't give you too much extra work and may not attract to many additional customers, but they pay the bills, pay on time and never complain.

 

It seems that Usually the nicer the house and car in the driveway. The cheaper the customer is. Had a fellow in a nice golf community on a payment plan for 75 dollars. Lol. Not much high end stuff in my area anyway. A high end home here is like a double wide, rather than a single wide. lol.
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I do the same thing OP. I've been trying to do it since day one though. I still mow junk yards but only for the cash flow until I pick up more high end accounts. I think what you have discovered is the best area to be in lawncare. You will certainly find cheap customers still, however, the ones you do pick up will be extremely profitable. I would however, figure out a consistent way to price properties. It's unprofessional to charge people more just because they may be able to afford it.
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High end is all I do. As a one man operation, it is more practical to do a handful of high paying accounts per week rather than have to hack down many low paying yards in one day 5 days a week. Corollary of this is that I provide high end work. No string, no rotary mowers. Shrub and garden maintenance included. Irrigation service. Weed/pest control for the entire landscape. Fertilization. Only thing I do not touch is trees over 10 feet. That is referred to a licensed and properly equipped arborist.

You and I are in the same boat....high end homes rock! Even though some of my clients are in lower-middle class neighborhoods (about 15%), they still purchase all of my services and have the nicest grounds around (everyone else lets their yard go to pot).

 

Well said everyone, I enjoy small upscale homes, they are nicely landscaped but small and very manageable for a solo guy, I do not enjoy spending half a day at one property, although less driving and wear and tear is nice, in my area homes are 3-5k and some very rarely are 10k. People can afford the time and money to make their property nice because it is small, like a typically mulch job here is maybe 1-2 yards, I see guys on Lawnsite taking about 10-15 yards at one property, that would literally cover the entire property with mulch around here, lol. I enjoy what I do, however the small low end homes are nice becasue they are quicker to complete, very rarely have to be double cut or anything special and often the prices are the same as the highly landscaped over fertilized neighbour's house. However these lower end lawns often have nice houses, its all about the person that lives there, the low ends lawns also typically don't give you too much extra work and may not attract to many additional customers, but they pay the bills, pay on time and never complain.

10-15 is small here. Even on lots less than 1.5 acres.
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I live in a coastal area with frontage on the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, several inlets, rivers, and lakes. The high end homes here are mostly on the water, with steep slopes to the water's edge. I'm afraid to take those properties, and having my zero-turn end up in the river, LOL. The homes across the street from the waterfront properties, however, are usually slightly lower value, in the next tier wealth-wise, without the water hazards. I can do pretty well with them.

 

The majority of my clients are "high end" in upscale new neighborhoods. I work for CEO's, doctors, lawyers, self employed/self made millionaires, etc. I have a few properties well over 1 million with the majority between 400-800k. I kinda fell into these properties as they are 5 min down the road, literally across the tracks. I market every spring with EDDM but the majority of my work is word of mouth.

I dont have any pain in the butt clients, I interview them at the first meeting, talking about the lawn, and everything else from family work, school, and random topics. After the meeting I decide if I want to bid the job, moreso for weekly service than one time jobs. I have one client in a newer plan, on the corner lot, completed house was last tranfered from the builder at $825k before the pool and back patio was put in. I stripe his lawn quite well, and I am in the process of fixing what the last guy did to his lawn. He said the neighbors across the street are asking him about me cause they cant figure out how the stripes appear and stay for a week. He hinted that they will be calling me...of course this is after the lawn is done, one was just hydro seeded today while I was cutting my clients property.

This is pretty typical for my clients. And no, on these properties, I do not battle weeds, rocks, or dog poop. They have a company that comes cleans the dog poo, a fert company that controlls the weeds, and in one case, a guy brought his employees in to install an 18" storm drain 300ft after a bad storm flooded the pool, and to dry up a soggy part of the yard. I have clients that offer me dinner, invite me in for a beer, leave me a towel near the pool incase I want to take a dip when im done. I have no bad clients, I befriend them immediately and im treated as such. They dont mind paying for good service nor do they question me when it comes to their lawn, however they dont tolerate second rate work. If the fenced play area needs bagged, I bag it and charge them accordingly, if it needs double cut, I do it and charge them. When I email the bill, they pay it and respond with a msg about how great it looks. They dont care about the bill. They dont want to be the worst lawn in the neighborhood and dont mind paying people they trust for good work.

So yes, I love my highend accounts. They trust me, and dont mind paying me to do what I love.

 

sometimes a customer doesn't "batt an eye" at your price, because in truth, they have no intent to ever pay it.

$500? that's great!

They get the bill, they send $175.00 with 20 pictures of the stuff you missed or did sub standard in their opinion. It's the same thing every week.
Average joe would pay $200.00 without any interaction with you.

just because you GIVE a price and they accept doesn't mean you will get it.

work up a contract, with terms, for full service and a monthly payment, then see how quickly they sign.

Stop doing this verbal price agreement thing.
This is how people get stuff?

eh? $140? I thought you said $40!