Newly registered member, site looks great. I have some concerns with the really big guys in my market. When we first started we were primarily residential, but when low prices, and cutthroat competition threatened profits, (which were small at the time)we moved up to small apartments and condos. Then came the zero turn revolution and easy no payments till 2010 financing. Soon instead of keeping the increased profits due to the increase in productivity, everybody was moving into larger properties by lowballing. not really aproblem because we had a large loyal base and provided very good service. But soon even our higher level of service could not fight off the ever shrinking prices of the low baller. We moved up to even larger properties to escape these pirahnas. we now cut properties 10 acres and up primarily apartments. that worked good for a while until the very large companies started filtering down to these smaller (for them)properties. now I am faced with a problem, there is no place to go. I recently bid on a full service contract at MCI's newest corporate headquarters. The landscape project installed was $250,000. The winning bid was based on $20 per man hr mowing. $20 yard for mulch installed(mulch costs me $10 yard by the tractor trailer). Any extra labor was to be billed at $12 per hour. Some pleas tell me how they can do this? because I dont think I am the brightest kid in school but I really do not see where the money is.
yes $20 per hour for labor. the funny thing is when I asked the guy how he was doing it he said that his cost was only $18 hr and that the property was big enough to make money at it. Furthermore the St. Louis market is in such a shambles that I was cutting a 16 acre complex for $650 2 years ago and a new company came from tennessee and bid $375 and the manager gave it to him. crazy! I am thinking about getting out and converting all our cutters to landscapers. I will keep one zero for my house.
