Hi. First time poster. I have run a 1 man lawn care service for 7 years now. Lawn care is the main service, but I try to help out customers with any jobs in the yard or around the house. I rarely say no to a job because I enjoy helping people and I have to pay the bills. I have built the business up to where I am making decent money, but the amount of work has gotten to be physically too much. I work long hours and I exert myself beyond my limits. I need some outside viewpoints on what adjustments I can make. I really like my work, but I can't go on pushing myself like this. How do I handle this problem while still making enough money to stay afloat?
How do I not run myself into the ground?
1 - 20 of 114 Posts
Joined
·
66,984 Posts
Build systems for your business. Start acting like an operation that is more than just you. Raise prices to decrease work load. Buy equipment to decrease the physical aspect of your work. Hire someone to work with you.
That's the blueprint
That's the blueprint
and work less. Learn to say no. Raise your prices!
Joined
·
66 Posts
100% hire someone. IMO easiest way for solo operators to burn is not hiring a second person. Secondly, congrats. You're in a great position. If you hire someone you will likely add 60-70% revenue and take a lot off your shoulders. Even if you don't you'll experience a wonderful thing called thinning where you raise prices, work less and make the same, if not more.
Joined
·
2,545 Posts
Nailed it!
Joined
·
4,698 Posts
Something that is not being conveyed and is very important is the potential issues of hiring somebody. Now you need comp. Now you babysit. Now you potentially dont hire the right person. This day in age, be picky and know who you are hiring or it will bite you. Do you like all your money or ate you prepared to pay somebody else?
Joined
·
16,451 Posts
I wish I would have hired way way sooner. Especially at first when it's just you and a helper. Its super easy to have one guy. OP, just go for it. When you look back you will think why did I wait so long.
Joined
·
4,698 Posts
Used to be a piece of cake. I had a good one there for a minute. Good help is truly hard to find these days.
Raise prices if you don't want to manage employees. That will probably thin out 10% of clients with a 20% increase. Otherwise hire, then raise prices anyway. I have a hard time saying no also, but it's getting to the point where I just have to. Its always something urgent and all our clients know we book a long time out.
Joined
·
152 Posts
you either need to learn how to say "no" or learn how to manage people. It seems easy but the margins decrease and problems increase. Some are better at it then others. I have some horror stories that really led me to hate adding employees. The bottom line is it can be hard to scale in this industry but not impossible.
Joined
·
8,994 Posts
I had an advantage getting into lawncare. Because I was a building contractor for 26 yrs and was used to hiring workers.
Once I started lawncare my first yr as solo. Then hired a worker the next yr. And grew the business to fill his schedule to 40 hrs quickly.
I pulled up all slack, plus maintenance, plus jobbing, and filling the pipeline with work. Once me and him were maxing out, I hired another. Now after 13 yrs I stick with 2 to 3 good workers. Plus me and my wife.
Being a lone ranger isn't fun or healthy.
To the OP.
Also hire out payroll. It's worth it.
Just price accordingly to cover the added overhead.
For every hour your worker puts in you should being grossing $60 or above as an average. Also you should be pulling in the same or above gross on yourself. You can then compound you earnings.
Solo maxes out at 60 to 70 hrs per week. 2 workers plus you each doing 40 hrs per week equals 120 billable hours at (say) $60 per hr.
Now your company grosses $7200.00 weekly and your putting in only 40 hrs not 70 hrs.
Joined
·
684 Posts
I'm in somewhat the same position as you, which is actually a good one! I am doing this in 'retirement', but pretty much full time May - Oct during our season here in MN.
Last year was my 3rd year in business and like most said, I finally got a good feel on how to market and reached my max. I overstepped my bounds a bit in late summer
by doing overseeding & aeration with rental units. Luckily my brother has a lawn service about 25 miles from me, so he & his helper were able to rapidly catch me back up.
Like you, I took on jobs outside of my main 3 items: mowing, fertilization, & weed control (with mowing being what I mainly want to do, weed control the last thing I want to do).
Those jobs included: rock shoveling, mulching, shrub trimming, planting ,etc. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! You have enough business, start limiting and focusing on what you do.
- I will no longer take on any customer that does not use my mowing service.
- I will no longer do rock shoveling, planting, or mulching.
- I have established a minimum $45 fee mowing charge (that will go up $5 in 2023 or 2024).
- I have dropped a couple problem customers (dog feces, holes dug by dogs - not the dogs' fault => owner's fault).
Joined
·
684 Posts
Agreed. With employees should come extra $$$, but there will be extra headaches.
Thanks so much for the reply! Extremely beneficial to hear from someone that sounds very similar to me.
Joined
·
1,296 Posts
Some great info in each post!
ill reiterate, learn to say no or you’ll drive yourself into not working.
Determine what you’re good at or an underserved market and follow that. It’s nice to be versatile, but you may miss better paying opportunities.
know your worth, what the other guy makes/charges is irrelevant to your operation.
learn to be a solution seeker; network with others to be the “ I know a guy” guy.
ill reiterate, learn to say no or you’ll drive yourself into not working.
Determine what you’re good at or an underserved market and follow that. It’s nice to be versatile, but you may miss better paying opportunities.
know your worth, what the other guy makes/charges is irrelevant to your operation.
learn to be a solution seeker; network with others to be the “ I know a guy” guy.
Joined
·
882 Posts
Raise your prices is a good one. Work less make more. Say no to ppl if you’re busy. Pick your work hours, for instance if I’m still out at 5 I go home. ( I leave my house around 630) Tomorrow is another day. Do not work 7 days a week. Do not work 7 days a week. Half day Saturdays until 2. If you’re grinding hard and feel overworked, take a day off and get back in the game. You’re the boss. Tomorrow is another day.
Joined
·
2,772 Posts
No successful business was built on excuses. Sure be picky but I’ve found the best tactic is to hire based on character rather than experience. A person w good character will want to learn and do a good job for you. As long as you are also a person of good character
Joined
·
2,772 Posts
My back pretty much went out at 40 years old. Started having knee and shoulder problems. I hired out of necessity. I don’t make a ton more $ then I would solo …but Now it is much less tiring & my back problem is very manageable now . I can stop early and send my guy out for the last 2 hours. Have him load up in the morning while I’m getting ready. I had Covid last year and could barely move for a few days. . He went out and made me $2000 while I was laying in bed. This was a time sensitive job that would’ve went to another company if we didn’t do it asap. When something’s really bothering me like my back guess who’s shoveling mulch all day ?…not me. Plenty of pros to hiring. Loose your guy suddenly and can’t replace him ? …O well ….drop ur lowest paying lawns and keep the rest & you end up in a better place then you were
1 - 20 of 114 Posts
