Joined
·
6,926 Posts
Well, I know this is the debate of the ages here on Lawnsite. Many people swear by staying a Solo Op. and many people swear by employees. But I'll tell you what, right now I'm dang happy that I'm not a Solo Op.
I broke my foot two weeks ago on a Sunday. I could walk on it but it was very painful. Definitely couldn't work on it (e.g. lift anything, push a mower, etc.) I did do a little light pruning and fixed a few sprinkler heads but I kept a very light workload for myself the first week.
This tuesday, I had surgery and they put two pins in my foot. After surgery, I've been totally laid up for the rest of the week. Finally, today, I can come up to my office and type for a few minutes without having my foot elevated. But the rest of the week I've been on the couch, having to put my foot above my heart at all times. Working via Nextel and through my good employees.
I'll be able to go out a little next week and give a few bids and check in on a few jobs but I'll still be on very light duty. And it will just slowly get better from there. But if I were a solo op. just mowing lawns every day, there's no way. I'd have to stop for at least 4 weeks. That could be detrimental to one's business. Thankfully I have a great foreman who can do the bidding for me and my wife has now been trained to handle most of the office work. And the crews are out doing their jobs still so I can afford the time off. I'm still taking and making 40-50 calls per day, but all on the couch with Fox News on in the background, a soda in my hand, and my foot up in the air.
I guess that's one way to do business. But I'd prefer to actually be out working. Fortunately, though, I was able to still keep working and making money because I wasn't a solo op.
I broke my foot two weeks ago on a Sunday. I could walk on it but it was very painful. Definitely couldn't work on it (e.g. lift anything, push a mower, etc.) I did do a little light pruning and fixed a few sprinkler heads but I kept a very light workload for myself the first week.
This tuesday, I had surgery and they put two pins in my foot. After surgery, I've been totally laid up for the rest of the week. Finally, today, I can come up to my office and type for a few minutes without having my foot elevated. But the rest of the week I've been on the couch, having to put my foot above my heart at all times. Working via Nextel and through my good employees.
I'll be able to go out a little next week and give a few bids and check in on a few jobs but I'll still be on very light duty. And it will just slowly get better from there. But if I were a solo op. just mowing lawns every day, there's no way. I'd have to stop for at least 4 weeks. That could be detrimental to one's business. Thankfully I have a great foreman who can do the bidding for me and my wife has now been trained to handle most of the office work. And the crews are out doing their jobs still so I can afford the time off. I'm still taking and making 40-50 calls per day, but all on the couch with Fox News on in the background, a soda in my hand, and my foot up in the air.
I guess that's one way to do business. But I'd prefer to actually be out working. Fortunately, though, I was able to still keep working and making money because I wasn't a solo op.