[ffemt1271]

what do you guys pay your employees. I'm about to hire a guy part time. (he's doing this as a part time job) and all he will be doing is weed eating , edging, and blowing. what would be a good per hour amount?

 

[proenterprises]

well, i am not the employer, rather the employee,

I have been working for the same guy for almost 3 years now and I still make only 7.00.

I basically just weedo and blow and on occasion i run a lazer.

I think that 7.50 is fair starting pay with a 90 day raise to an even 8.00.

 

[Dr. Mow]

I start part time help out at $8.00 then after 90 days or so raise it to $10.00
good help is well worth it.

 

[KLMlawn]

Well, you have to understand the economic value that is specific to your area and then somehow find a happy median between that and what you can afford and what you feel the value of having that extra set of hands is worth to you.
I would say, and I do follow my own advise, that if an employee is going out with me to help, then he can't cost me more than 20% of the days total income. Otherwise I feel more as if I have a partner rather than an employee. In actuality, I shoot for about 15% or less per man. Now that would be different if he was part of a two or three man crew, with myself being absent and available to go out and do other business related matters.
You have to figure what your billable hours come to and multiply that by what you normally charge per hour or what your average hourly income from cutting is. Needless to say, I charge hourly for just about everything except mowing, fert., aeration, etc. .... things that can be priced by the sq.ft. ... not there is anything wrong with "per job pricing" but this is what I feel more comfortable with.
If two workers can cut $90 per hour, and you are paying them $10 each, then your payroll is about 22% of your hourly income, and leaves you to go out and do other work, estimates, or sit at home and watch TV .... whatever. If you were to go out with just another guy, then your payroll would be 11%, but with drive time and loading/unloading, "BS" time, etc. .... you realistically wind up at more like 15% with you and another guy, and about 25% with two guys out working and you free.
Here on Long Island, it is rough finding someone to work for less than $10 per hour, or $100 a day. Regardless of what they will be doing, I really do not think you will be able to go much lower than $8-$9 per hr. and find a hard working and trustworthy individual.

 

[NCSULandscaper]

I started off offering $8 an hour and i couldnt ever get the employees to keep showing up after a week. So i went and started at $10 to attempt to keep them working and not quit after a week. Still didnt work so i just went back to solo again and forget employees.

 

[tiedeman]

the pay depends on the area...but just don't think of pay as what would bring in employees. What about health insurance, cell phone, paid vacation, contract, paid education, etc. Those will attract someone as well.

 

[z_clark]

At the company I work for, foremen make $11.00 to $13.00, and laborers average $7.00 to $8.50. It is a large company thus there are some benefits that start after being employed for 3 months. This is in Dallas, TX so it is geographically close and maybe economically similar. (first post, love lawn site!)

 

[Rhett]

 

[proenterprises]

i have to agree with rhett here. i make only 7.00 now and even though i am only pt high school student, i need money too.

buying a truck in the fall and going out on my own next year, i dont know how any of these other guys with families survive on less than 100 per day.

as for the cars and houses they live in====craped appts and honda civics. its no picnic but its life