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Started By
Message
Successful lawn service owners?
Posted on 1/16/14 at 8:58 am
Posted on 1/16/14 at 8:58 am
Goodmorning MT.
This is probably peasant talk over here, but are there any successful lawn/landscape service owners on this board?
Quick rundown about myself/family:
26, wife, 3 month old child. Stable yet extremely stressful/non-flexible O&G sales job making roughly 50k annually. Debt at the moment includes home and auto loan (auto is $8500). We have lived on my salary alone for 2.5 years as my wife has been busy with school and clinicals. She picks up the occasional relief shift as RN about once a month.
Wife is 28 finishing grad school in May for Nurse Practitioner. Student loans will total roughly $30,000 due to deferment of undergrad loans when grad school was started.
What I want to do:
By the end of 2014 I would like to work for myself. Aside from O&G, I have 7 years in the golf course maintenance industry. I loved what I did, but working for the governement did not allow me to live comfortably due to constant budget constraints and cutbacks.
In short (or long) I would like to start a lawn/landscape business. With my wife starting her NP job this summer, our household income will increase around x2 with her new salary added.
After we get her student loans paid at least 50%, I should have the financial freedom to take the plunge into my first small business.
Startup Costs:
For $10k I can start up very comfortably. This $10k will not be carried as debt, as I plan to pay cash for equipment over the duration of 2014 while at my current job.
ETA:
How I plan to stand out:
I understand that the lawn care market is extremely saturated, along with a large turnover and multiple failures.
Insurance, Landscape/Horticulture License and Pesticide Applicator License are the 3 things I plan to use to stand out and be versatile.
Why I want to take this risk:
I am on call 365 days a year. My company is under-staffed and still does not have a grasp on understanding the consumables market, leaving me up a creek without a paddle on most days.
I would like flexibility to spend time with my family. We just had our first child, and I would like to do activities with her without worrying about my phone ringing and having to leave on the drop of a dime.
I understand what I signed up for, but at this point in my life it is not going to work if it continues to be a downfall in many different aspects of work and home life.
Sorry for the tl;dr, but I have a fire in my eye for this operation and would love any insight.
This is probably peasant talk over here, but are there any successful lawn/landscape service owners on this board?
Quick rundown about myself/family:
26, wife, 3 month old child. Stable yet extremely stressful/non-flexible O&G sales job making roughly 50k annually. Debt at the moment includes home and auto loan (auto is $8500). We have lived on my salary alone for 2.5 years as my wife has been busy with school and clinicals. She picks up the occasional relief shift as RN about once a month.
Wife is 28 finishing grad school in May for Nurse Practitioner. Student loans will total roughly $30,000 due to deferment of undergrad loans when grad school was started.
What I want to do:
By the end of 2014 I would like to work for myself. Aside from O&G, I have 7 years in the golf course maintenance industry. I loved what I did, but working for the governement did not allow me to live comfortably due to constant budget constraints and cutbacks.
In short (or long) I would like to start a lawn/landscape business. With my wife starting her NP job this summer, our household income will increase around x2 with her new salary added.
After we get her student loans paid at least 50%, I should have the financial freedom to take the plunge into my first small business.
Startup Costs:
For $10k I can start up very comfortably. This $10k will not be carried as debt, as I plan to pay cash for equipment over the duration of 2014 while at my current job.
ETA:
How I plan to stand out:
I understand that the lawn care market is extremely saturated, along with a large turnover and multiple failures.
Insurance, Landscape/Horticulture License and Pesticide Applicator License are the 3 things I plan to use to stand out and be versatile.
Why I want to take this risk:
I am on call 365 days a year. My company is under-staffed and still does not have a grasp on understanding the consumables market, leaving me up a creek without a paddle on most days.
I would like flexibility to spend time with my family. We just had our first child, and I would like to do activities with her without worrying about my phone ringing and having to leave on the drop of a dime.
I understand what I signed up for, but at this point in my life it is not going to work if it continues to be a downfall in many different aspects of work and home life.
Sorry for the tl;dr, but I have a fire in my eye for this operation and would love any insight.
This post was edited on 1/16/14 at 9:16 am
13
Posted on 1/16/14 at 9:17 am to Polar Pop
the guy who does my lawn has a bigger house than I do.
start small, work hard, increase your client base, do a great job, be polite, take care of housewives and old ladies, work harder, higher reliable employees as the need arises, treat them good, work even harder, ?????, profit
Good luck man, my dad did this in the 80's after the oil business went bust. He did well, then went on to other ventures.
start small, work hard, increase your client base, do a great job, be polite, take care of housewives and old ladies, work harder, higher reliable employees as the need arises, treat them good, work even harder, ?????, profit
Good luck man, my dad did this in the 80's after the oil business went bust. He did well, then went on to other ventures.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 9:23 am to Polar Pop
Hard arse work and you are competing with people willing to work for almost free.
You have to get into landscape/irrigation etc to really make much. Prepare to have workers not show up, quit and become competitors constantly. Winter months are a bitch also.
Most of what I know comes from watching a friend in the business.
You have to get into landscape/irrigation etc to really make much. Prepare to have workers not show up, quit and become competitors constantly. Winter months are a bitch also.
Most of what I know comes from watching a friend in the business.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 9:27 am to Polar Pop
Go to commercial businesses and make sure you get paid year around, most will. Maybe look at buying someone out, that way you will have the yards already and instant money. Obviously you need insurance on your equipment and liability inurance. Don't undercut your prices too much and put signs on your vehicle. Have a catchy but not cheesy name and come up with a slogan less than 5 words. Make your phone # appear bigger than everything else on your vehicle. Word of mouth will get you the most yards and build relationships with your residential customers. If you are close with them, they will keep you even when someone tries to undercut you 75% of the time.
Its definitely alot of competition but time and referrals will get you going and you can make good money. So much of your competition quits within a couple years, just outlast them. Get door hangers and take them to neighborhoods. Actually, I've seen a study that shows that doesn't piss people off nearly as much as putting signs on their vehicles. Having those licenses will give you a good edge and definitely market all that.
Its definitely alot of competition but time and referrals will get you going and you can make good money. So much of your competition quits within a couple years, just outlast them. Get door hangers and take them to neighborhoods. Actually, I've seen a study that shows that doesn't piss people off nearly as much as putting signs on their vehicles. Having those licenses will give you a good edge and definitely market all that.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 9:29 am to Polar Pop
quote:
start small, work hard, increase your client base, do a great job, be polite, take care of housewives and old ladies, work harder, higher reliable employees as the need arises, treat them good, work even harder, ?????, profit
This
But be prepared. You are still "on call" 365 especially through startup (first couple years). Small business needs lots of nurturing and sweat equity. If you are willing and able to handle this you will be successful.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 9:47 am to ynlvr
Thanks for the insight guys, I definately want to know the good, bad and ugly
As far as being "on call", the situation I am in right now has me getting calls at 1AM and all other times, having to head out immediately (usually at the expense of someone elses stupid mistake). (Ex: My kid is having her first birthday party on a Saturday and the phone rings, I have no other choice but to leave and do my job.)
I do not mind being on call to grow my own business. Other than word of mouth, direct customer service will be KEY, leading to word of mouth business...."neighbors talk".
To be safe, this will start as a sole operation. I do not want to have someones paycheck riding on my ability to collect business, other than my own.
I am looking for the flexibilty to do the smaller things in life - take my daughter to/from school, slow day? "I want to go fishing", etc.
I know the finer points of the business will come with time. The first order is growing my business 24/7 to lead up to those finer points.
As far as being "on call", the situation I am in right now has me getting calls at 1AM and all other times, having to head out immediately (usually at the expense of someone elses stupid mistake). (Ex: My kid is having her first birthday party on a Saturday and the phone rings, I have no other choice but to leave and do my job.)
I do not mind being on call to grow my own business. Other than word of mouth, direct customer service will be KEY, leading to word of mouth business...."neighbors talk".
To be safe, this will start as a sole operation. I do not want to have someones paycheck riding on my ability to collect business, other than my own.
I am looking for the flexibilty to do the smaller things in life - take my daughter to/from school, slow day? "I want to go fishing", etc.
I know the finer points of the business will come with time. The first order is growing my business 24/7 to lead up to those finer points.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 10:06 am to Polar Pop
Here in Atlanta most if not all of the guys doing yards require a year round contract, so that is something to think about and figure out what the norm in your area is.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 10:32 am to Polar Pop
Go to lawnsite.com
Go for commercial and upscale jobs. Cheap jobs and you'll be competing against Mr. craftsman-in-the-back-of-the-truck
Word of mouth is best advertisement
Don't low ball
Buy good equipment slowly
Go for commercial and upscale jobs. Cheap jobs and you'll be competing against Mr. craftsman-in-the-back-of-the-truck
Word of mouth is best advertisement
Don't low ball
Buy good equipment slowly
Posted on 1/16/14 at 10:36 am to jimbeam
quote:
Word of mouth is best advertisement
Probably true, but a word of advice from a guy who repairs appliances in my area. I was shooting the breeze with him while he was working on my dryer and he told me that he purposefully named his business "AAA Accelerated Appliance" so it would show up first in the yellow pages.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 10:59 am to Polar Pop
quote:
I have 7 years in the golf course maintenance industry. I loved what I did, but working for the governement did not allow me to live comfortably due to constant budget constraints and cutbacks.
Getting my masters in turf right now.
Good luck on the lawn company. Let people know you have an agronomic background and you aren't just some guy pushing a lawn mower.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 11:05 am to jimbeam
- Been living on lawnsite.com the past few days.
- Thats a great idea about the "A" coming up first in directories.
- Congratulations on your Masters in Turf. I got halfway through my Turf Cert with Penn State and had to hang it up due to my job cutting back and basically giving me the ultimatum of leaving for a better paying job (which I did) or sticking around for 2 years at cut wage to "be next in line" for Assistant Super.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 11:17 am to Polar Pop
quote:
Thats a great idea about the "A" coming up first in directories.
Glad you liked it. Had nothing more to add to the discussion but just something he told me that stuck with me over time. Something to consider anyways.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 11:17 am to Polar Pop
I do it as a side job on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. I have 2 friends that did it full time and each of them sold out in the last few years to take plant jobs because it's so competitive and it's extremely hard to find consistent help. If you can do it and keep up on it it's extremely good money.
My main line of work is Pest/Termite control (self employed) and I've often thought about getting into lawn care full time to go along with it and just to offer another service, but I kind of like that it's small right now and it's just a nice little cash business on the side.
Good luck!
My main line of work is Pest/Termite control (self employed) and I've often thought about getting into lawn care full time to go along with it and just to offer another service, but I kind of like that it's small right now and it's just a nice little cash business on the side.
Good luck!
Posted on 1/16/14 at 11:33 am to Venelar
The volatility and fear of having to hang it up does worry me sometimes.
If my wife wasnt the bread winner, this would not even be a consideration. Whether I cut 1 yard or 100, it will not keep food from being on the table. On the flip side of that, I am not doing this to have an "easy" job so my wife can work hard and I can reap benefits. I want this to be huge, but I also want to enjoy taking solid shits in the morning and being generally happy throughout the day.
I guess I will be a "trophy husband"
If my wife wasnt the bread winner, this would not even be a consideration. Whether I cut 1 yard or 100, it will not keep food from being on the table. On the flip side of that, I am not doing this to have an "easy" job so my wife can work hard and I can reap benefits. I want this to be huge, but I also want to enjoy taking solid shits in the morning and being generally happy throughout the day.
I guess I will be a "trophy husband"
Posted on 1/16/14 at 11:57 am to Polar Pop
A friend hires workers from El Salvador. They have green cards and papers, he fly's them in in the spring and they stay through to the fall. He pays them well though so they keep coming back.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 12:23 pm to eng08
Rent your equitment first then buy it when you have money to. Also hire contractor employeers
Posted on 1/16/14 at 12:42 pm to bamafan425
Congrats to the MState Turf Management school. Guys do good work there. I've hired good people out of that program.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 2:12 pm to ynlvr
quote:
Congrats to the MState Turf Management school. Guys do good work there. I've hired good people out of that program.
Appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be out of here in a year and looking for jobs all around the country.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 2:51 pm to Polar Pop
In college I worked for a complete idiot and he was pulling in 120K gross. Not sure what his expenses were, but that is what I saw come in. Where he really made the money was on commercial jobs. Get them to sign a yearly contract. The winter months were golden. We used to maintain Cajun Construction on Airline. $1000+/month contract. We spent 3 hours a week there in the summer and 1 hour a week during the winter.
Posted on 1/16/14 at 2:52 pm to HeadyMurphey
quote:that's really not that much
120K gross
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