I have put out thousands of ads and have found that for one-time services, like aerating, they work great. For maintenance, nearly all of my business has come from neighbors of customers who like the job I am doing and from word of mouth. Basically, do your best on the properties you service and make them look great and the business will come. People are the "Joneses" and they won't have their neighbors yard looking like a million bucks while theirs looks like crap. Which brings up another important point: If you take on crappy yards and all you do is mow them, don't ever expect a referral and hope no one ever see's you there. Bad properties can ruin your image and your image is you best asset in this business. Most people's "lawn guy" cannot make their property look really great. This is where you can set yourself apart from the competition. "Fert your properties, and drop the one's who won't let you." Also, if you are going full-time without a customer base already, then expect to be in the negative for awhile.....