[DillonsLawnCare]

I'm 17 and This will be my fifth year in the business, and I've come to somewhat of a conclusion that if I target the larger accounts, I make more money. Larger yard=Larger check. Right? Anyways, I've got about 25 accounts right now. They all average about $40 a mow. I bring in anywhere from $2500 to $3300 a month, just off of mowing. That doesn't include landscaping and what not. I was thinking that if I could get 20, $75.00 yards, and mow them at least 4 times per month, that's $6000 a month. I would have fewer yards and I wouldn't have to worry about bringing a push mower along, for the most part. This way I've doubled my money, and I'm spending close to the same amount of time, without having to fool with these little cookie cutter yards that aren't right next to each other.:hammerhead: This way I would be able to concentrate on just the mowing part. I'm sure everyone would want to be on the mower instead of weed eating. But, in order for me to put this all together, I have to find the correct yards in which I need to advertise. This is where you guys come in for a little help. I've learned that knocking on peoples doors can go all different ways. Either they like you, they hate you, they don't care, or their dog wants to kill you.

What I'm asking of you guys is, Do you think this is a good idea? What is the correct way to market these kinds of properties?

I've done quite a bit of "searching" in the "search" tab up above. Not much luck on this specific topic. Thanks in advance, and thanks for taking the time to read this.:usflag::waving:

 

[ALC-GregH]

You market them the same way you would a smaller property. Time and expense is all it is.

 

[topsites]

Actually no, it adds out, the larger lots don't cost exponentially more, in fact it's almost the opposite...
I can mow a 1/4 acre lot for $35 yet for a lot four times that size (1 acre) I've been known to scramble to try and get $50!

Now don't that suck, 30-35 on a 1/4 acre but 50 on a full...
Four times more a $30 lot doesn't make it 120...
It's also a LOT more work, you only think you enjoy mowing until a lot so big that time starts to dragging...
But 50 they do pay, just not 60...

It might pay off if you have long ways to drive, in my case it does, but if your route is tight I'm not so sure it will.
It also depends on the mower, for anything up to an acre you really need at least a 48" deck, then once we get
into acres you really need a 60" and now you don't got room or time for the smaller mowers.
Why, because the dang trailer won't hold 4 thousand pounds worth of lawn mower and even if it did it ain't worth it.

Last but not least a mower's deck size really does dictate what size yards it can handle, that's just how it is,
smaller decks are more cost-efficient and work better on smaller lots, but for the big yards you need a wider deck.

So my recommendation is to map out a strategy to do with the deck sized mowers you're most comfortable with,
to a point what you own now dictates what you'll be getting into for a bit as well, I'm not saying don't get into the
bigger lots... But rather than stepping from 1/4 acres straight to some 5 acre ordeals I might recommend taking
smaller steps, go up a bit in size and work it from there, that way you also don't lose your smaller lots.

So for example...
I don't know what you have, but say you do mostly 1/4 acres...
I would try and get into 1/3 to 1/2 acre lots, step it up in that way, maybe one bigger 3/4 acre lot, like that.
That way it won't eat your lunch and you'll have a chance to adjust gradually.

 

[gene gls]

The profit margin is greater on small yards verses big yards. The bigger the house and yard, the more it costs the property owner to maintain and they most always want things done cheaper than what it should cost to do the job. The trick is to find customers that are willing to pay top dollar for top notch work and then charge accordingly. Always do top notch work, and work will always come to you, without the cost of advertizing.

 

[gene gls]

The profit margin is greater on small yards verses big yards. The bigger the house and yard, the more it costs the property owner to maintain and they most always want things done cheaper than what it should cost to do the job. The trick is to find customers that are willing to pay top dollar for top notch work and then charge accordingly. Always do top notch work, and work will always come to you, without the cost of advertizing.

 

[ALC-GregH]

The profit margin is greater on small yards verses big yards. The bigger the house and yard, the more it costs the property owner to maintain and they most always want things done cheaper than what it should cost to do the job. The trick is to find customers that are willing to pay top dollar for top notch work and then charge accordingly. Always do top notch work, and work will always come to you, without the cost of advertising.

I big amen to that. I'm a firm believer in just that and it works.

 

[MikeKle]

I got rid of all my large properties, In my opinion they just put more wear and tear on the mowers, and arent worth it in the long run. I now try to stick with 1/4 to 1/2 acre average residential lots. in and out in no time, every week, its great, no getting stuck at one property for hours anymore! But if you use ZTRs, they can mow faster than my WBs and for some reason can handle more use than a WB too?

 

[greengiant9963]

The profit margin is greater on small yards verses big yards. The bigger the house and yard, the more it costs the property owner to maintain and they most always want things done cheaper than what it should cost to do the job. The trick is to find customers that are willing to pay top dollar for top notch work and then charge accordingly. Always do top notch work, and work will always come to you, without the cost of advertizing.

Well put. I have always found that smaller to medium size lawns grouped close together pay better than the larger one's for the most part.

 

[LwnmwrMan22]

Do NOT head to larger properties.

I targer these and will tell you I make 100-200% more PROFIT on the small to mid-sized commercial properties.

As everyone says, you get a base price for whatever sq ft. The problem is that the price does not rise exponentionally with the increase of sq footage.

It dramatically decreases.

I always tell the story of my irrigation guy that dabbles in lawn mowing.

He's in a group of business people that meet twice / month and one is on the PTO board for the local school district I mow.

She offered him the numbers of what I mow the district for, and he said no thanks.

She said "what are you talking about, it's over $30,000, why wouldn't you want that big of an account?"

He proceeded to tell her that if he tried to tackle the account with the equipment that he has, he would be making about $28-30 / hour. While that may sound good to some, especially outside of this industry, he said he can make $50-60 / hour on small properties, and $80+ on irrigation work.

If you're not set up to do LARGE volumes of grass FAST, you'll have a hard time making any money doing larger properties.

 

[mhaley927]

Heres my two cents and its a bit different then most. I've been mowing lawns for ages, mine and others, but lasy year I started seriously taking a stab at picking up aco****s. I'll be starting this season with 13, 11 of which are small, "cookie cutter" lots. The 11 make one day for me and my patner. Average price is probably around $30 each.

The other two are acreage lots (I couldnt tell you the acreage, I don't measure, we're a two man crew and we try to be fair, do quality work, and make educated eyeball decisions on our bids). Each one makes one 4 hour day for the two of us. We each hop on a z (72" kubota and 50" scag) mow, grab a whipper each to trim (thats the most painstaking part because people can get mad if you miss a spot), he rides down the drieway on the 72" with the blades running to clean it off, and I do some final touchups with the blower.

Four hours later, we each walk away with a little over $100 in our pockets after we take out a certain percent for our gas, materials, and our "nest egg" (I mean money for future equipment, takes into consider depreciation of mowers, trimmers, etc.). I'm a teenager too, and for me that's a great day of work for a summer job. Maybe for "real" commercial companies it won't be as lucrative. Probably won't now that I think about it. But for us, its gratifying to see a huge lot go from looking decent to looking dang good, and a $100 day each is plenty of money for us.

As far as approaching those high-dollar customers, we cleaned the equipemtn up, drove the whole truck and trialor w/ mowers to the yard, presented ouselves as professional but not arogant, and explained exactly to the customers why we can mow their 6-7 acre yards much cheaper than "the real pros". We haven't lost one of those clients yet.

From one newbie/young-gun to the next, good luck!

 

[Southern Elegance]

more equipment, more labor, more fuel, less money. you can do more small yards in a day at 30-35 a yard than you can large yards at 75-+. its basically the law of deminsing return.

ive been getting away from larger yards and trying to go after smaller ones. Also if you do get a couple bigger accounts and get use to that money coming in, they can really hurt you if you ever lose them

 

[Southern Elegance]

it does sound good on paper, but not in the real world.

just like you would think, if you are solo adding a helper will cut your time in half on a yard. it doesnt, its more like a quarter, if your lucky

 

[mhaley927]

Agreed Southern Elegance, but for me anyways (a two man, college student crew, realtively new service with as little overhead as any service will ever have, and plenty of time in our weekly schedule to fill)it is well worth it. But again, we're obviously in a different situation than many of the bigger companies. Just my take.

 

[Tinkerer]

I hated the blur of doing small lawns all day and driving from one to the next one. I got into a neighborhood with 350k-750k properties and it spread. I did a good job and neighbors would stop and ask if I could mow their lawn. It took a while to add customers. My knees can't handle much walking so I have to use a rider. Not everyone with a large house has a large checking account to pay someone to mow their lawn for them. It all depends upon how rich the area you live in is. Do you drive a rusty or beat up vehicle? People in expensive houses might be calling someone else when they see you driving a beater. I did it part time and had only 5-7 large lawns I was mowing. I find that many of these people will ask you to mow every 10 days instead of 7 so as to save money. And when you have a bunch of 7 day lawns mixed with 10 day lawns,,,, throw in the mix rain for 2-3 straight days and you got some customers calling you asking when you will mow.

 

[DillonsLawnCare]

Ok. Everything that was mentioned made complete sense. I'm glad I came here first before I started to proceed with my plan. The idea that I had was that in order for me to reach the profit margin I want to be at, I would have to be mowing double the yards. That's twice as many problems. But, all of you that said the larger homes try and steer clear of the larger prices, are all correct. I guess I was trying to imagine perfect customers with lush green acre lots that would pay me $100 a piece for! They're are some out there like that, but I need to get a grip. So, from all of the replies, I should target small to mid-size yards. $30-$50 yards. This way my equipment will last me a bit longer, I receive better returning profit, and I can knock a ton out in one day. That sounds like a plan, but I don't have the luxury of having all of these yards right next to each other. Any suggestions? I appreciate all of the good feedback!!!! Thanks!!!:waving::usflag:

 

[LwnmwrMan22]

Years. It takes time to build a business. I've been in it for 21 years, still tweaking every year.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[DillonsLawnCare]

Years. It takes time to build a business. I've been in it for 21 years, still tweaking every year.
Posted via Mobile Device

That's the answer I was expecting. Okie dokie, Thanks again to everyone who shared their .02 cents!! :waving::usflag: