Lawn Service FTW

[AdultAdvertisingServices]

Holy crap, I ordered lawn service the other day and they just came: mowed, trimmed, pulled weeds, fertilized, and weed control...in under 10 MINUTES!!

Would take me 2-3 hrs if I did it myself

[detoxed]

yes...now imagine how many yards they do a day and how much they pay the mexicans working the trimmers

[martinsc]

how much did you pay them?

[SpeakEasy]

Originally Posted by detoxed

yes...now imagine how many yards they do a day and how much they pay the mexicans working the trimmers

Exactly my thoughts.

[Sosa]

get a bigger yard

[AdultAdvertisingServices]

Originally Posted by martinsc

how much did you pay them?

The contract was for $30, which is pretty cheap IMO.

Felt kinda bad for the workers because they're probably not getting paid much

[TeaseumGirls]

?????? I still like to do it myself... maybe i am old fashioned or got brainwashed from my pops.... lil excersise and get to go outdoors

[crocop]

some of those mowers cost 10+ grand, they need to be fast they do business on volume

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by crocop

some of those mowers cost 10+ grand, they need to be fast they do business on volume

It is a wee bit more complicated. Yes indeed some of the equipment is expensive. A zero turn mower such as a rhino or something will set the company back 8 to 15k per mower. Trailers are not cheap either, nor the trucks that pull them. Then all the other commercial equipment, like hedgers, line trimmers, edgers, blowers, and a wide assortment of small tools. The bitch is most of the equipment has a maximum hours usage on them.
There are also a lot of other costs that keep rolling along even when items are not in use. Such as insurance, storage locations, truck payments and so forth.
Fiance runs such a company, and btw 30.00 is reasonably cheap unless they have several jobs on your block.

[MaddCaz]

thats why they charge the megabucks yo

[Charlie_RedHotBucks]

my wife is starting a lawn maintence and landscaping company..equipment is not cheap..nor ez to figure out at 1st LOL.. ran over some of her bushes the other day.. a good crew can get it done in no time...

[crocop]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

It is a wee bit more complicated. Yes indeed some of the equipment is expensive. A zero turn mower such as a rhino or something will set the company back 8 to 15k per mower. Trailers are not cheap either, nor the trucks that pull them. Then all the other commercial equipment, like hedgers, line trimmers, edgers, blowers, and a wide assortment of small tools. The bitch is most of the equipment has a maximum hours usage on them.
There are also a lot of other costs that keep rolling along even when items are not in use. Such as insurance, storage locations, truck payments and so forth.
Fiance runs such a company, and btw 30.00 is reasonably cheap unless they have several jobs on your block.

like i said, they arent making much on each so they need to do volume

[kenny]

Originally Posted by TeaseumGirls

?????? I still like to do it myself... maybe i am old fashioned or got brainwashed from my pops.... lil excersise and get to go outdoors

Thats actually a good thing if you work on a computer all day.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Charlie_RedHotBucks

my wife is starting a lawn maintence and landscaping company..equipment is not cheap..nor ez to figure out at 1st LOL.. ran over some of her bushes the other day.. a good crew can get it done in no time...

See After Shock Media's post above for the MOST important factor in profitability for lawn care companies. *How many jobs can you do on the same block. In the same area.

Loading/unloading, driving to next job can eat your profits quickly.

When I lived in Texas a company serviced the lawns and swimming pools for at least 10 houses on the same street. What a deal for everyone!

[detoxed]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

It is a wee bit more complicated. Yes indeed some of the equipment is expensive. A zero turn mower such as a rhino or something will set the company back 8 to 15k per mower. Trailers are not cheap either, nor the trucks that pull them. Then all the other commercial equipment, like hedgers, line trimmers, edgers, blowers, and a wide assortment of small tools. The bitch is most of the equipment has a maximum hours usage on them.
There are also a lot of other costs that keep rolling along even when items are not in use. Such as insurance, storage locations, truck payments and so forth.
Fiance runs such a company, and btw 30.00 is reasonably cheap unless they have several jobs on your block.

Yes I live a small town and the high school kids wont even mow a yard for less than $50

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by crocop

like i said, they arent making much on each so they need to do volume

Volume is indeed king for a part of the company. Particularly residential service. Most all of that is mow, blow, go. Trick is of course that part of many companies is also landscaping, and commercial accounts. Commercial for example pays for the entire year and most of the service is minimal, specially in winter months. Landscaping on the other hand pays a lot for jobs that do not take much time, bennifits of licensing and all.

Originally Posted by Charlie_RedHotBucks

my wife is starting a lawn maintence and landscaping company..equipment is not cheap..nor ez to figure out at 1st LOL.. ran over some of her bushes the other day.. a good crew can get it done in no time...

Words of warning if you are serious. Know your costs inside and out and do not forget nor neglect the hidden costs. Aside from labor costs, you really need to know all of your passive costs along with the costs each machine costs you per hour, not forgetting maintenance and eventual replacement costs. This all really ads up and you will see quickly that if you underbid jobs you will start to hemorrhage money real quick but not notice until it is to late.

[crocop]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Volume is indeed king for a part of the company. Particularly residential service. Most all of that is mow, blow, go. Trick is of course that part of many companies is also landscaping, and commercial accounts. Commercial for example pays for the entire year and most of the service is minimal, specially in winter months. Landscaping on the other hand pays a lot for jobs that do not take much time, bennifits of licensing and all.



Words of warning if you are serious. Know your costs inside and out and do not forget nor neglect the hidden costs. Aside from labor costs, you really need to know all of your passive costs along with the costs each machine costs you per hour, not forgetting maintenance and eventual replacement costs. This all really ads up and you will see quickly that if you underbid jobs you will start to hemorrhage money real quick but not notice until it is to late.

the people i know who are in the biz do not do lawn work anymore, its too cuthroat and low margin. they are 100% landscaping / pools / sports courts

[Dvae]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

There are also a lot of other costs that keep rolling along even when items are not in use. Such as insurance, storage locations, truck payments and so forth.

I've seen several that are using a full-sized Ford 4WD diesel super-cab, big tires the whole bit.
Those can run 50k easy.
How'd you like to make that payment?

[dissipate]

I love my lawn guys, and who says illegal mexican labor is bad

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by Dvae

I've seen several that are using a full-sized Ford 4WD diesel super-cab, big tires the whole bit.
Those can run 50k easy.
How'd you like to make that payment?

Umm we do have trucks

We just use different ones. Mostly ford rangers and then we have a couple 69 ford trucks.

[Charlie_RedHotBucks]

thanks for the advice.. she has been doing mostly landscaping jobs and we are trying to get her on maintence as well.. i will definatly tell her about getting consecutive contracts per block great idea

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by Charlie_RedHotBucks

thanks for the advice.. she has been doing mostly landscaping jobs and we are trying to get her on maintence as well.. i will definatly tell her about getting consecutive contracts per block great idea

Travel time is money lost. every minute of every day working or not is costing you money.

[Solid Bob]

Originally Posted by crocop

the people i know who are in the biz do not do lawn work anymore, its too cuthroat and low margin. they are 100% landscaping / pools / sports courts

And the people I know clear 6 and 7 figures / year without any trouble. I guess my people are smarter than your people?

[AdultAdvertisingServices]

Originally Posted by dissipate

I love my lawn guys, and who says illegal mexican labor is bad

I bet they're harder to find after Bush beefed up Border Patrol