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Sorry but I'm not just agreeing with them no matter what they say, in my book that's basically lying. I'm standing up for my political candidate I'm not going to shove it down their throat but I'm not gonna just agree with whatever. I like everything else about your post though.
I think it's all ridiculous. Business wise ..."sorry I don't discuss politics on the job" is a very simple way to end the conversation . What are you gonna change their beliefs in a 10 minute convo ? Just move on. we used to vote behind a closed curtain for a reason !! Ppl kept their politics way more private . And I don't think ppl are "more sensitive" these days if anything we are more insensitive. Hell im 40 and when I grew up they didn't even show couple in bed together on tv (gasp) / marijuana was devils lettuce and the big gateway drug / LGTBQ ?,,,,you couldn't even whisper that you were gay ...sexuality was hidden and taboo whilst racism and stereotyping was accepted / they didn't even say "crap" on tv / violent or sexual movies had a "X" or XXX rating . So no ppl aren't more sensitive these days - we have lost a lot of the politeness we used to show each other . Especially when it comes to arguing about very personal opinions with ppl we barely know. . And some things like idk ...racism does "trigger" ppl and rightfully so . So no I don't feel bad for a business owner that looses everything cuz they can't keep their racism to themselves. In this day & age if you still hold those beliefs then you are destined to fail anyway. Plus Racist DADS end up w mixed grand babies 9x out of 10. Karma will get ya one way or another
 
I think it's all ridiculous. Business wise ..."sorry I don't discuss politics on the job" is a very simple way to end the conversation . What are you gonna change their beliefs in a 10 minute convo ? Just move on. we used to vote behind a closed curtain for a reason !! Ppl kept their politics way more private . And I don't think ppl are "more sensitive" these days if anything we are more insensitive. Hell im 40 and when I grew up they didn't even show couple in bed together on tv (gasp) / marijuana was devils lettuce and the big gateway drug / LGTBQ ?,,,,you couldn't even whisper that you were gay ...sexuality was hidden and taboo whilst racism and stereotyping was accepted / they didn't even say "crap" on tv / violent or sexual movies had a "X" or XXX rating . So no ppl aren't more sensitive these days - we have lost a lot of the politeness we used to show each other . Especially when it comes to arguing about very personal opinions with ppl we barely know. . And some things like idk ...racism does "trigger" ppl and rightfully so . So no I don't feel bad for a business owner that looses everything cuz they can't keep their racism to themselves. In this day & age if you still hold those beliefs then you are destined to fail anyway. Plus Racist DADS end up w mixed grand babies 9x out of 10. Karma will get ya one way or another
I don't think most people agree with the "actual" definition of rasicsm."actual" meaning the dictionary definition. but you can be "rasict" for being "white",for wearing a "maga" hat,voting Trump,making more money than others,and it goes on and on.my daughter went to a Asian friends house to have dinner.i asked her,"did you have noodles?".she said,"that's racist."I said "no,that's a stereotype"I purposely get her into conversation like that to teach her the difference.
 
I've got a thought of moving to a year round area cause snow is too unreliable here, how's the grass there?
I've got a thought of moving to a year round area cause snow is too unreliable here, how's the grass there?
sent you a message Mike. you look in your inbox.just learned about it yesterday from someone very helpfull yesterday.mine wouldn't say I had a message so just check.
 
I kept several of those from a previous job with gloves.never really thought of a use for them until your post.thank you
Thanks! I give them to all my men with their uniform. Everyone loves them.

It's the little things!
 
I keep Gatorade in the fridge at all times, helps keep me going on hot days.
And ALWAYS keep an empty one in the truck for, uh, unexpected leaks! :);)
 
Wow, if you dont know how to keep your thoughts to your self in a work place you have a bunch of learning to do. Dont matter what the client says, I'm not there to change anybody except I'd like to change there bank ballance. I'd even go so far as to say your just as messed up as the client who will fire you for being a trump supporter if you wont let the other guy say his peace. Morals are subjective as hell too. Legalities stand, like I got this person tied up in the basement so dont blow grass on the basement windows gets a call to the cops. Otherwise, pay me, I'll do the work, talk about your passions and I'll listen and say yeah?, thats nice, wow, really? I tell my kids, you gotta have morals and values, they dont have to be high.... ya just gotta have some.
 
Great tips to know, somtimes I think its more of a head ache to start a lawn care business but I have this drive to do it. I kmow first year or two I wont make much and im prepared for that. I question myself if im doing the right thing
If it is your passion put your best effort forward and see where the chips fall. Quality sells-just don't be the low baller. Command the price you know you deserve.
 
'd like to change there bank ballance.
You have stated a universal truth here. Listen up everyone-this is why you go forth each day. You exchange your expertise and good work for your client to remunerate you with their hard earned cash.

Altruism has no place in landscape maintenance unless you are doing some charity work or seniors, vets or other deserving folks.
 
Since this thread is asking for advice I am happy to share some tips as both a former lawn care contractor and power equipment dealer. I have been in the industry about 25 years and was very successful owning a large lawn care company and dealership.

I have made more mistakes than most and hope I have learned a little alone the way. not only do I have the experience if my own mistakes but being a dealer I have helped many new folks get into the biz and seen their mistakes also.

I mean none of my advice to be offensive so anyone in the biz please don’t take it that way. Further, the old adage you get what you pay for. My advice is free. Ymmv. My goal is not to tell you what to do but make you think.

I’m going to probably offer a couple of tips, expound on them and then come back and offer a couple more at a time. Haha. So think of it as a cliffhanger.

—decide what kind of company you want to be, identify a niche and stick to it

This is mission critical. So many people get in this business and chase every job without being focused. Do you want to be a residential, commercial or industrial focused company? Trust me it matters!!! Don’t try to be everything because it will cost you money. (More in why this is important in another post)

—learn something about business

The secret to any business is to charge more than it costs to do the work. Seems simple. I can tell you the majority of lawn maintenance business owners are totally clueless when it comes to knowing their true cost to operate every piece of equipment and how much it costs to do a job. Many of these companies and folks whom you consider “successful” contractors don’t make money consistently or loose money on some jobs and live on cash flow.

You need to understand gross, net, cash flow, depreciation and how to accurately track your costs.

Frankly, throughout my entire lawn care career my company did at best very average work and honestly if I’m being truthful provided below average and sub par quality of work. I made a lot of money. A lot. I made this money because I understood business, knew my costs to operate to the penny and knew and understood how to bid jobs, exploit & manipulate to my advantage Requests for Proposals (RFPs), when I could stick it to a client to make extra money AND have them thank me for it, underbid many others while makIng money and leave everyone else scratching their heads how I could do it.

I had spreadsheets for everything, every single piece of equipment and everything my company did. I could tell you with perfect accuracy how much per minute it cost to run a string trimmer, how much per mile it cost to drive a truck, the exact cost of every piece of equipment to run down to the penny. I knew how long to keep equipment to maximize the value to me verses repairs and when to sell. I knew how long a set of tires would last on a mower, a truck ect. How many nails my tires would get and busted rims would get torn up over a period of a contract. I experimented w convential vs synthetic oils and various oil and fluid change intervals to see how I could maximize profit without destroying a piece of equipment in the time frame I planned to operate it. I experimented on how often to sharpen blades vs replace. Cost of new blades vs labor to sharpen. Opportunity to replace when unit was down for maintenance ect. I stretched out intervals and frankly usually ran with dull blades. Other guys would sharpen them every day or twice a day or whatever but not once did I ever have a client say anything about cut quality. My standard was to sharpen or replace when it was bent, unsafe and most importantly slowed down the actual production and cutting. No one noticed torn or brown blades of grass. Remember what I said above....What kind of company do you want to be....for me it was high production commercial industrial.

This allowed me to make real net profit by understanding and knowing how to run a business. This is super critical.

.....to be continued if people want me to.....
 
Btw don’t think I didn’t maintain my equipment. I did. Very well. At the minimum I followed the owners manuals. Where it made sense and made me more money I exceeded the minimums. I didn’t run my equipment into the ground. I had worked out how often to have string trimmers and edgers striped down and replace the friction clutches as preventive maintenance. Fix it before it failed. Ect. So don’t get the wrong impression. Blade sharpness on mowers to me was a productive issue. Not a cut quality issue. Again. It’s the type of work I was doing. No way doing a high end residential lawn would dull blades be ok. Cutting a city park, road right if ways, school or housing development that type of thing—sure.

most importantly I never put safety of people or my staff anywhere but most important. Safety switches worked always, guards. Ect ect.
 
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