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Sheedys Mowing
25-11-2007, 08:07 PM
So you have brought your equipment quite your day job and placed an add in your local paper, time to sit back and let the money roll in right, wrong, let me tell you that as a lawn mowing contractor I would strongly recommend that you start up part time while still maintaining your current employment or you have at least 3 months saved up that you can use on expenses, it is important to have a steady source of income comming in, even if you have a wife or husband and she/he works part time you should not rely on this completely because she/he may lose it and then what?

You just can not expect to start up and make the $800- $1,000 per week that you hope to make at a later stage. You will be lucky and I mean lucky if you bring in $300- $400 a week and that is before expenses :frightene and this will be you working 7 days a week just about every possible hour, if your not mowing lawns you should be dropping of flyers etc. you need to live and breath the lawn industry.

As Dean has said before the lawn mowing industry is a "growth" industry this means that it needs time to build it up, and also if it's not your cup of tea, nothing's lost you now have new equipment that you can use for personal use. ;)

It is important to start up slow & save on cost's and keep your round as compact as possible and please don't rush the jobs you get, if it takes you 2 hours to mow a 45 min lawn (who cares) if you do the best job you can your business will grow a lot faster throw word of mouth than if you rushed the job and saved 1.15 mins :who-knows .

It is also important to note especialy in this industry that if you have taken a personal/business loan, that you should get it protected it only cost's a couple of dollars a week but it is good insurance if you get injured and can not work, also public liabilty is a must talk to dean, become a life long member of ILMCOA for only $145 and get world wide competive liabilty insurance, it is a small price too pay for peace of mind. :aus-flag:

This type information is given because everyone here on this forum wants newcommers to do well we all see new members join up daily, we value your input in the forums everyone has a story too tell & everyone has differen't skills and knowleadge that they can pass on to other's, so it is a mutally benifitcal that everyone is respected equally. The info I have provided is not meant to scare you but to prepare you for your business success, and please if you have any questions, that is what this forum is all about helping each other. cheers :wave-hi:

Born To Mow
27-11-2007, 10:46 PM
Good post Life Style. I have to agree with you, however I started with $10,000 which brought a ute, Honda pushie, brushcutter and blower. I think I had $4,000 over. Started with no customers and my wife was and still is at home looking after our two sons. I don't know how we survided but we did.

Advertising cheap cuts from $10.00 at the time got me a lot of cheap jobs and a lot of time wasters, but at least their was $$ coming in. That was 2 1/2 years ago, now I average 12 lawns a day. Plus I maintain a retirement village. I now have a new ute, trailer, s/p mower, ride on and so on. Don't be afraid to take a risk if you really want something bad enough, bust your azz to get it, only good can come of it.

raemac1
28-11-2007, 12:30 PM
started in 2005 part time with all the equipment still doing part time with full time job it does help a great deal with expences but now starting to get bord not enough clients spent thousands on addvertising to many out there doing it on the cheap i,m sorry if any one takes offence but that;s the way it is i did;nt get into this to push a bloody mower around to get payed penuts i do a bloody good job and i charge pretty good and my clients think i do as well but it is hard trying to compeat with cowboys mowing for beer money not paying tax;s and rippin people off and theres people bustin there ass and getting treated like dogs i;m sorry but i;m angry
rossco

see Lowballers thread

just john
28-11-2007, 12:47 PM
started in 2005 part time with all the equipment still doing part time with full time job it does help a great deal with expences but now starting to get bord not enough clients spent thousands on addvertising to many out there doing it on the cheap i,m sorry if any one takes offence but that;s the way it is i did;nt get into this to push a bloody mower around to get payed penuts i do a bloody good job and i charge pretty good and my clients think i do as well but it is hard trying to compeat with cowboys mowing for beer money not paying tax;s and rippin people off and theres people bustin there ass and getting treated like dogs i;m sorry but i;m angry
rossco
I agree with you whole heartely i have been mowing on the coast / peninsula some 18years now ,had a full time run during this time for about 10 years but found it difficult to compete on price because every doley seems to have a station wagon with a mower in the back doing lawns for $15-20 to subsidise there welfare plus the old people up here still think that $20 is still a fortune.Dont worry Raemac i really know were your coming from its frustrating when you are doing an a1 job and next door is been done at half the price by some cowboy ,no edges done ,grass clippings everywhere in half the time :mad: GOOD LUCK

Mrs HMS
28-11-2007, 05:31 PM
Whilst I understand the frustration, hey we ALL have to compete with the cowboys, what it all boils down to is customer freedom of choice.

I suppose that some people what a good quality job done and don't mind paying what that job is worth...these are the customers worth having. Then there are those who are prepared to compromise on quality to get the job done cheaper. It's like that everywhere, in every industry. Everyone wants to hand over less of their hard-earned....it's human nature.

Just got to keep telling ourselves that the quality clients count, don't take it personally when someone chooses cheaper over better...people have to work within their budgets and yes...to an elderly person on a limited income like the age pension $20 IS a fortune.

just john
28-11-2007, 07:17 PM
THE FUNNY THING IS IM SERIOUSLY THINKING ABOUT GETTING BACK INTO IT FULL TIME AGAIN ---DO I NEED MY HEAD READ OR WHAT :who-knows

administrator
28-11-2007, 07:33 PM
Listen i shall only say this once HELLO HELLO

Give three quotes
1 Rough job mower only no catch no blow no brushcutter drop grass walk away

2 Neat job nice tidy up make job look respectable

3 Rolls royce job the works just the way u like to do it MIGHTY FINE EDGES LOOKING A PIC


Easy Customer has three quotes knowes exactly where they stand jobs right

Mellors
28-11-2007, 07:34 PM
Hi all

I've been having some success recently with the strategy of always quoting at least two prices to prospective clients - the price for my "standard service" (whippersnipping and mowing - nice job) and for a "budget cut" (mowing only, single pass, no catching of clippings). The "standard service" quote is also divided into a quote for the first time, then for subsequent on-going service at specified interval (1, 2 or 3 weeks). Written quotes, on a standard form that I have composed.

In this way, you can be your own "lowballer", as well as looking professional.

I am still fine-tuning my system - I have lost a few for quoting too much, and had to do a few jobs where the effort was hardly worth the reward, when the client went for the low option, but in general, I think that this strategy is a goer.

Much of my inspiration came from the entry on "pricing" in Wikipedia, and related articles. I particularly liked the idea of "Goldilocks Pricing" (look it up ...).

:) Brrm brrm ...

Mellors
28-11-2007, 07:39 PM
look at the times on the last two posts! I was writing mine while the boss was writing just the same thing!

I guess that something must have sunk in when I first read the bible*

Brrm brrm


*for those who don't know, "Lawn-Mowing - Fast Track to Success" by Dean

administrator
28-11-2007, 07:45 PM
Mellors brainwashing you are under the Indy spell lol :p

administrator
28-11-2007, 07:46 PM
Just John

Just do it

Great life :aus-flag:

administrator
28-11-2007, 07:48 PM
Mellors glad you joined in the posts youre even enjoying it :ebony:

m287j
28-11-2007, 08:51 PM
I see a few lowballers around but very few. I can't even say i have had to compete with them on price in my area.

When i advertised in the local paper for 2 months i got a few people looking for the best quote. These days i don't advertise and all my work comes from word of mouth and referral so price never seems to be an issue. LEts see how how long that lasts. ;)

m287j
28-11-2007, 09:15 PM
I see a few lowballers around but very few. I can't even say i have had to compete with them on price in my area.

When i advertised in the local paper for 2 months i got a few people looking for the best quote. These days i don't advertise and all my work comes from word of mouth and referral so price never seems to be an issue. LEts see how how long that lasts. ;)

Born To Mow
28-11-2007, 09:58 PM
Good post Life Style. I have to agree with you, however I started with $10,000 which brought a ute, Honda pushie, brushcutter and blower. I think I had $4,000 over. Started with no customers and my wife was and still is at home looking after our two sons. I don't know how we Survived but we did.

Advertising cheap cuts from $10.00 at the time got me a lot of cheap jobs and a lot of time wasters, but at least their was $$ coming in. That was 2 1/2 years ago, now I average 12 lawns a day. Plus I maintain a retirement village. I now have a new ute, trailer, s/p mower, ride on and so on. Don't be afraid to take a risk if you really want something bad enough, bust your azz to get it, only good can come of it.

Just thought I should clarify something. Just because you place an ad. for Mowing from $10.00 does not mean you low ball - the ad. is to attract more calls and quoting a job is quoted appropriately.
:i dunno: :i dunno: :i dunno:

twin_cities_lawncare
28-11-2007, 11:16 PM
Our quotes are based on quarter hour segments pretty much, and the min we do is for 1/4 hour of work. We have instigated a slightly higher one-off job rate (c.f. regulars) to cover the fact that we still have to spend some of our precious time getting an invoice raised for the job.
I'd rather give the shoddy job finish jobs to the low-ballers than drive off leaving grass clippings lying around and an unedged finish - I don't want leave my work with the cringe factor. Maybe if we were still in early days or things were desperate, I might rethink, but... (shudder the thought)
The idea of having another job/backup in the early days is a very good idea. Even delivering pamplets/newspapers in your local area would be good for building up your stamina and provide you with an opportunity to drop off your own leaflets in the letterboxes of homes you'd like to mow.
We both had other jobs that were income-producing during the early days of our business, and with 3 teenagers relying on us at that time, it was very prudent. We have found the business alone can support the family (and hangers-on) these days, so have gradually shed our other jobs...makes life easier in many ways.

Sandgroper
30-11-2007, 07:25 PM
Just thought I should clarify something. Just because you place an ad. for Mowing from $10.00 does not mean you low ball - the ad. is to attract more calls and quoting a job is quoted appropriately.
:i dunno: :i dunno: :i dunno:

Yes theres a guy who does that here sometimes,,, from $15, you would attract every PITA and folks with short arms and long pockets IMO, i am thinking of an ad from $35 to weed out the idiots, this is only my thoughts beacause i have tried neither but i would think advertiseing from $10 would hurt the industry and give a false impression that it costs a few dollars to get your lawn mowed,,,,,,,we also have a fellow that advertisers $15 an hour for weeding, i am thinking of ringing him up and tell him how he is hurting the industry and give him a piece of my mind. ;dealers;

Hugh Jarss
30-11-2007, 07:33 PM
Yes theres a guy who does that here sometimes,,, from $15, you would attract every PITA and folks with short arms and long pockets IMO, i am thinking of an ad from $35 to weed out the idiots, this is only my thoughts beacause i have tried neither but i would think advertiseing from $10 would hurt the industry and give a false impression that it costs a few dollars to get your lawn mowed,,,,,,,we also have a fellow that advertisers $15 an hour for weeding, i am thinking of ringing him up and tell him how he is hurting the industry and give him a piece of my mind. ;dealers;

Hey Sandgroper, why don't you ring the silly bugger and offer him a job instead.... 15 bucks an hour ????? :rolleyes:

kakegc
30-11-2007, 07:42 PM
Hey Sandgroper, why don't you ring the silly bugger and offer him a job instead.... 15 bucks an hour ????? :rolleyes:


that's the way to go Sandy, use him as a subbie! :ebony:

Sandgroper
30-11-2007, 08:46 PM
Gee i never thought about that :laughing:

What the public dont realise some of these $15 an hour are pensoners earning a few quid,,,they are elderly and work half as fast,,,so its really $30 an hour in reality :)

Hugh Jarss
30-11-2007, 09:01 PM
Well even at 30 an hour it's still half what I've been charging.... today I turned up to mow a regular's lawn, I've done it 3 times before plus other weedkilling, shrub trimming, guttercleaning etc, and she says ok, do it today but maybe I'll get someone else after that, you're a bit expensive aren't you, a friend says she has someone working much cheaper.
I said no, I'm not expensive, you get what you pay for, then explained that if I charge any less I'll be outta business at tax time, or when a mower dies, or something goes wrong with my ute, and that much of the work I pick up is because a "CHEAP GUY" stopped turning up and stopped answering his phone.... and that's why it happens, they can't afford to stay in business, so they go and get a job workin for someone else.
I then advised her to look for a local pensioner doin it for a few extra bucks, and she said, no, no, no.... thanked me for explaining the situation to her and told me just to drop in and mow and do whatever gardening I think needs doing whenever I like, and text her how much so she can deposit into my account...
once again proving that paying attention to what some of you guys say to do on this forum is worth it's weight in gold.... so to everyone who's given this sort of advice on here.... thankyou :wave-hi:

Sheedys Mowing
03-12-2007, 09:15 PM
If I was to say to a client that i charge $60 per hour they would laugh in my face and tell me to get real, i charge $25 for gardening work and $30 per hour for mowing that is the going rate were I am, any less i go broke any more im too dear and go broke :dean:

Hugh Jarss
03-12-2007, 09:32 PM
If I was to say to a client that i charge $60 per hour they would laugh in my face and tell me to get real, i charge $25 for gardening work and $30 per hour for mowing that is the going rate were I am, any less i go broke any more im too dear and go broke :dean:

Some people around here baulk at it a bit at first, I just invite them to watch how hard I work and see how much sweat pours out of me, they seem to like that and laugh and say ok, go for it.
Pool cleaners charge 75 an hour and stand around scooping a few leaves and testing water... rather be working myself, but the money seems way too good to be true.
The cost of living is quite expensive here, no way I could survive if I only charged those rates.
After taking out expenses there wouldn't be much left would there ? You must do a lot of hours.
I get sick of paying really high rent sometimes and consider moving to somewhere cheaper but the travel to an area like this would be more expensive time and money wise than the amount I'd save on rent.
Do you have a more upmarket area not far away ?
Perhaps you could try working there ???

Sheedys Mowing
03-12-2007, 10:47 PM
The closet up market area is about an hour away so no good there really, at the moment i'm only doing residential lawns I work about 4hrs a day on ave or $120 a day working 7 days for $840 per week ive only been going a couple of months though, but i also have another business that pays around $800- $1,200 per week so i pay the bills easy ;) , im looking at doing body corporate, real estate etc. hopefully i might be able to charge a little more per hour with this kind of work, i'm not sure where you live but i would love to charge those rates, I tend to look at my client and figure how much they are willing to pay, im getting around a 85% job rate which is a little high and shows that I could charge a little more as a 75% job rate is ideal. I will strive for the $1 a minute but at the moment thats a long shot with the amount of cowboys in my area hopefully good clients will see through them. :i dunno:

Mellors
04-12-2007, 07:58 AM
If I was to say to a client that i charge $60 per hour they would laugh in my face and tell me to get real, i charge $25 for gardening work and $30 per hour for mowing that is the going rate were I am

If you quote too high, and your quote is not accepted, what does the (lost) customer do? Pay someone else to do it, do it themselves, or let it go?

I seem to remember reading somewhere ( :read_this ) that you shouldn't quote your hourly rate, but give a price for the job wanted (which you would base on your estimate of how long it will take you, times the hourly rate of pay that you are aiming to get).

I am gradually increasing my average received $/hr, by quoting higher and higher prices for similar jobs, until I get a proportion of rejections.

:)

Born To Mow
04-12-2007, 05:38 PM
If I was to say to a client that i charge $60 per hour they would laugh in my face and tell me to get real, i charge $25 for gardening work and $30 per hour for mowing that is the going rate were I am, any less i go broke any more im too dear and go broke :dean:

If you are happy with the amount of regular customers that you have, try quoting new jobs at $45 - $55 an hour. If you win a job/customer you will be over the moon, if not you have nothing to lose.

holdenhead
07-12-2007, 11:17 PM
I have been told my prices are too low. as on my fliers it say's Front from $12 Front and back from $24. But where I live i can be mowed and back in the car within 15 mins as I mainly target new housing estates and alot of lawns are very small. the average house block would be about 500m2. Put a 20 square house on that and it doesn't leave much. I have a few lawns that I feel guilty charging $24 front and back coz they are that small and I could be out of there in 20 mins so I spray some weeds and if they want a bush neatened up I do that. I've had a customer tell me that there last mower man charged $35 for a lawn that takes me 20 mins to do. Am I a cowboy or just reasonable. Cheers Rick

Bgs
07-12-2007, 11:47 PM
Not sure what area you are in but i would put it up to $27.5 or $30.00 . But if you are happy with that price and it is covering your costs and it is working for you leave it as it is.

Try a few flyers with the increased price and see what the response is , If people are prepared to pay more go with it put it in your pocket and stop feeling guilty :wave-hi:

Born To Mow
08-12-2007, 09:57 AM
I have been told my prices are too low. as on my fliers it say's Front from $12 Front and back from $24. But where I live i can be mowed and back in the car within 15 mins as I mainly target new housing estates and alot of lawns are very small. the average house block would be about 500m2. Put a 20 square house on that and it doesn't leave much. I have a few lawns that I feel guilty charging $24 front and back coz they are that small and I could be out of there in 20 mins so I spray some weeds and if they want a bush neatened up I do that. I've had a customer tell me that there last mower man charged $35 for a lawn that takes me 20 mins to do. Am I a cowboy or just reasonable. Cheers Rick

I would do the same, any new jobs quote at a higher rate and see what your response is. If your still gaining new customers at the higher rate I would increase your current $24 regulars as well. Better to be making $350 a day than $240 a day.

Mellors
08-12-2007, 12:04 PM
There are a lot of comments on this subject in "where to in Sydney" theread, also.

Is it possible to merge threads or something?

holdenhead
10-12-2007, 02:52 PM
I make $300-$400 most days as the conditions on my $24 price is that I mow the lawn on a certain day of the week when I am in the area and my theory is if I charge a little less I get more in a smaller area.
Because I have a tighter run I can mow more lawns in a day as well so 15 lawns is an average day and 24 lawns have been done but that was a 14 hour day and I cant do that to often as the bones get a bit sore and the wife doesn't like me getting home after dark even if I do bring a wad of cash home.

Cheers Rick

Countrymile
11-11-2008, 06:53 PM
Hi Guys,
Resurrecting an old thread. I was hoping to ask you for your advice. We have been operating for about 1 and a half months now and have 12 regulars and have done several one off jobs. We have built to about $1300 per month. I have been trying to do some forecasting for the business. As we would like to build this up to $4000 per month, we need about 40 customers.
I love being Darren's offsider so much, I would like to make it permanent.
:cheer:
A couple of questions if that's ok.
1.What are your great pearls of wisdom for attracting new regular customers? We have an ad in the paper, do regular pamphlet drops and I have sent out a letter to the local real estates introducing our service.
2.How do you approach commercial customers such as industrial areas, petrol stations. etc.
3. How do you protect yourselves for the winter slowdown.
I suppose it will happen in time, and we are happy with the progress, but I would love to hear your thoughts on how you did it yourselves.
Thanking you all in advance.
Shannon

glassngrass
11-11-2008, 09:16 PM
3. How do you protect yourselves for the winter slowdown.
Shannon
In drought stricken regional Victoria that's a vital question, cos the mowing season is really only ten weeks long!
I do two things :
1. Take on a heap more work that I can possibly do on my own in Spring. I use a casual or two to keep up, the as things slow down I use the casuals less, and I'm still busy!
2. Diversify. I do window cleaning - non-seasonal, all year round and scheduled weekly/fortnightly/monthly. I also have a couple of houses I do fortnightly domestic cleaning. Keeps head above water even at worst of times.
You might look for seasonal activities to supplement your income. eg. gutter cleaning in lead up to winter, flu/chimney sweep in winter/autumn
I thought of getting a slasher - once the lawns are all dried up and dead, council will be slapping a heap of fire hazard warnings on local rural properties.

tree beard
11-11-2008, 09:24 PM
Hi Country mile

As you know I am little older this time around than you!

I have not chased agents at this stage but have focused on my customers. so am getting a little extra from word of mouth already (which is nice). I advertise as well and do the brochure drops in the streets I get quotes in. I am expanding into add in business such as lawn coring, soft landscaping and stump grinding.

Born To Mow
11-11-2008, 10:28 PM
Hi Country mile. Test out different advertising avenues, your local rag is a good place to start. Also try the Yellow Pages, you get a discount for the first two years.

Try the internet, there's a few free listings out there (cracker.com) is one. This time of the year, I average 1 call a week from the net, 3 from the Yellow Pages, plus jobs from word of mouth.

It's also good to network with contractors in your area. If there are areas that you do not service because they are too faraway but you get calls for, find a contractor in that area and you can both refer jobs to each other:who-knows. I also network with a family owned cleaning business, we also refer customers for each other.

Don't be afraid to talk to local contractors, I know one guy who has got so much on he gives me all his new jobs. There are people out there who don't mind helping someone out.

Any way best of luck.

holdenhead
12-11-2008, 01:24 AM
Hi, I've found that to get the good commercial and industrial jobs takes luck and being in the right place at the right time. You wont know where that is till it happens though.

I have 3 servo's that I mow, They came from me sitting down at subway (which is inside one of them) having lunch when this guy comes up to me for a quote as he saw my ute and ride on out the front. I quoted him and he sends me to the other 2 servo's he runs.

Another time I was given a factory to mow by a residential customer. I went down and did that. But when I got back to the ute I found I had been blocked in by a truck unloading a shipping container. So rather than sit around I picked up a stack of cards and headed up and down this one street stopping at all the factories to introduce myself and let them know I'm working in the area. That one trip up the rd got me 8 other factories to mow.

In the beinging I would be walking the streets flyers in hand more than mower in hand but it gets to a point where that turns around and when it does it snow balls pretty quick.

Good luck

haireyscarie
12-11-2008, 07:34 AM
I have sent out a letter to the local real estates introducing our service.
be very careful.
they are not very good payers
2 in town neally sent me broke
9 mths i had to wait for some payments
i said to them stick it were the sun dont shine
so be very carefull
next time i see you guys i will tell the 1's,
iwas talking about

glassngrass
12-11-2008, 07:54 AM
be very careful.
they are not very good payers

Not all real estate agents are the same. I've had an agent say the landlord would pay the account directly themselves, then when payment wasn't forthcoming said "What can we do?" :i dunno: They refused to pass on landlord details so I could get debt collector so I refered back to our original agreement - that is, the one who asked me to quote then authorised me to proceed is responsible for the account - I put it squarely back on them.

To protect yourself.
1. Ensure agent is clear that THEY are responsible for the bill, not the landlord
2. Include account terms (eg. 30 day EOM) on every invoice. These should include penalties, ie. late payment fee, legal fees, debvt collector commissions.
3. Keep on trop of your accounts receiveables - the longer you take to remind the customer of an overdue account, the less likely you will collect. When it comes crunch time, people will pay up to avoid penalties most of the time.
4. Suspend services. If they are relying on regular maintenance, a letter/email advising account is suspended until all outstanding amounts are cleared may do the trick.
5. If you get apologies/excuses, etc... be sure to get the customer to give you a firm arrangement (not vague like 'soon') as to when and how they will pay. Perhaps send a letter back outlining this new agreement (contract!) Being 'on the ball' here will go a long way to helping customer decide you are not going to go away easily.

Could perhaps try increasing rates for agents, then offer discount for payment on time!

There are some good debt collection/slow payer threads on the forum.
In the end, we offer gardening services, and not free, unsecured loans!

The Local Gardener
12-11-2008, 03:19 PM
Sound advise. Well said!

BJS Services
12-03-2009, 04:47 PM
Hi Mr Sheedy,
Very true what you say see our note almost the same as yours.
Business chat
Things not too good
Top of page 2.
Bob and Judy Firth B and J mowing Bundaberg

haireyscarie
12-03-2009, 05:37 PM
Not all real estate agents are the same. I've had an agent say the landlord would pay the account directly themselves, then when payment wasn't forthcoming said "What can we do?" :i dunno: They refused to pass on landlord details so I could get debt collector so I refered back to our original agreement - that is, the one who asked me to quote then authorised me to proceed is responsible for the account - I put it squarely back on them.

To protect yourself.
1. Ensure agent is clear that THEY are responsible for the bill, not the landlord
2. Include account terms (eg. 30 day EOM) on every invoice. These should include penalties, ie. late payment fee, legal fees, debvt collector commissions.
3. Keep on trop of your accounts receiveables - the longer you take to remind the customer of an overdue account, the less likely you will collect. When it comes crunch time, people will pay up to avoid penalties most of the time.
4. Suspend services. If they are relying on regular maintenance, a letter/email advising account is suspended until all outstanding amounts are cleared may do the trick.
5. If you get apologies/excuses, etc... be sure to get the customer to give you a firm arrangement (not vague like 'soon') as to when and how they will pay. Perhaps send a letter back outlining this new agreement (contract!) Being 'on the ball' here will go a long way to helping customer decide you are not going to go away easily.

Could perhaps try increasing rates for agents, then offer discount for payment on time!

There are some good debt collection/slow payer threads on the forum.
In the end, we offer gardening services, and not free, unsecured loans!
sorry mate i was not saying there all like it
it was just for countrymile
about our town were we live
just to clear that up for you

Murray
12-03-2009, 10:28 PM
If they don't pay their bill on my terms I give them an extra 'service'!

A little poison here, a little tree lopping there.

Coz' until the bill is paid I'm still working on the job they arranged!

Pay the bill! End of job!

Works a treat.

BLACK BEAR
12-03-2009, 11:11 PM
I understand what you are doing Murray and you must tread very CAREFULLY! Take it from 1 who was "charged" :dean: interviewed, etc etc but eventually never prosecuted in my younger more carefree days. I am very careful how I collect my debts now :wave-hi:

Bgs
12-03-2009, 11:22 PM
I understand what you are doing Murray and you must tread very CAREFULLY! Take it from 1 who was "charged" :dean: interviewed, etc etc but eventually never prosecuted in my younger more carefree days. I am very careful how I collect my debts now :wave-hi:

Come on Black Bear Tell us what you did :p

administrator
13-03-2009, 12:08 AM
best to keep it a secret

Bluey
13-03-2009, 06:41 PM
best to keep it a secret
Agreed...remember these posts are for all the world to see. Use the PM process instead

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
31-07-2009, 04:08 PM
ten dollars are you seriouse how could you make any money out of that

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
31-07-2009, 04:22 PM
your a cowboy i do nothing for less than 38.5 i try to work on 30 an hour but anything less than an hour 38.50 what about your time between jobs phone call writing invoices come on

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
31-07-2009, 04:25 PM
I have been told my prices are too low. as on my fliers it say's Front from $12 Front and back from $24. But where I live i can be mowed and back in the car within 15 mins as I mainly target new housing estates and alot of lawns are very small. the average house block would be about 500m2. Put a 20 square house on that and it doesn't leave much. I have a few lawns that I feel guilty charging $24 front and back coz they are that small and I could be out of there in 20 mins so I spray some weeds and if they want a bush neatened up I do that. I've had a customer tell me that there last mower man charged $35 for a lawn that takes me 20 mins to do. Am I a cowboy or just reasonable. Cheers Rick

you are a cowboy i dont charge anything less than $38.5 i try to work on 30 an hour but for anything under an hour $38.50 what about travel time time on phone invoicing gst

Sandgroper
31-07-2009, 07:40 PM
Well HoldenHead says he makes $300-$400 a day on his small $24 lawns,,thats still good money Cowboy or not :)

Bgs
01-08-2009, 09:27 AM
Well HoldenHead says he makes $300-$400 a day on his small $24 lawns,,thats still good money Cowboy or not :)

Agreed most cowboys would be lucky to make $400 a week Holden heads making that a day good on him. :russ:

cadase
01-08-2009, 11:08 AM
Just thought I should clarify something. Just because you place an ad. for Mowing from $10.00 does not mean you low ball - the ad. is to attract more calls and quoting a job is quoted appropriately.
:i dunno: :i dunno: :i dunno:

I don't like that style of advertising, in the lawn business or businesses that i buy from, i just think it's very misleading,+ i dont want the customers it creates. Don't like the 3 quote system either,
mowing a lawn,no catching, no edges, no blowing ??? you'd have to park your trailer around the corner so no one could see who you were. Na that's not great advertising for your product, prospective customers looking at it, don't know its the economy pricing, they would just look at the finished product and think you were a goose.
But a 2 quote system is pretty good You have the basic---- mow, trim, blow, customers bin and the premium----mow, trim, blow, weedkill paths, garden beds,remove clippings,fertilize etc.
And a piece of advice for new contractors, put your business name and phone number on your trailer, phone number as large as possible
and dont forget the rear of the trailer, i've had lots of people call, sitting behind me at traffic lights. maybe even a small clear plastic box on the side of your trailer with flyers in it, so customers neighbours can grab one while your doing a lawn.
OK speech over :) i'll just fade back into the background again now :laughing:

holdenhead
02-08-2009, 12:23 AM
I'm registered and pay tax, work full time at mowing and support my family doing it. It depends on how you set your business up. You can make money charging $10 for a lawn.......if that lawn was just a nature strip and you were working next door and only mow that lawn when you are doing other jobs in that street. My cheapest lawn is $5. It is a square of grass 3m x 3m, It joins a lawn I mow anyway. If I didn't get payed for it I would probly run over it anyway just to make the lawn next door look better.

I have been mowing lawns for 12 years or so 7 years maybe as a 'cowboy'. Yes earning beer money while working in my trade as a chef. Every time we moved I would print some fliers and off I'd go 5-6 lawns a week. Loved every minute of it. Did that until I got the guts to jump right in. The best job in the world! There will always be 'cowboys' in mowing because it's a job you can do without a degree or licence or any formal training and I'm sure most lawnies have started this way. All you need is a victa mower a ryobi snipper and a broom and you can make real money. It doesn't take long though for you to work out that you cant go around like that for long. I think it took me 3 months to go out and buy a Honda 195 and Honda 2 stroke snipper. They were tough machines had the mower for 8 years and have still got the snipper although it's retired now.

I will be one of those old guys pushing a mower around to top up my pension as long as the body holds up. I'm only 33 now so it's a long way off and there will be no pension by then and retirment will be at 90.

Take pride in whatever you chose to do and enjoy life!

Cheers Rick

VJinTownsville
02-08-2009, 01:32 AM
Lucky I didnt have "COWBOY MOWING SERVICE" as my business name. I would have to be pretty brave considering the stigma attached to that name.


Plus....I'm Filipino hahaha

Cheers
VJ

administrator
02-08-2009, 09:42 AM
Turnover is alot different to what is actually yours lol

So many hands in the cookie jar b4 you get your quid . :cool:

PaulG
19-01-2012, 10:03 PM
^ Never a truer word spoken!

Been looking around the topics for tips info on better budgeting and came across this old thread.

For all the new guys out there there's some good info to be read, some covered in other newer topics since, but still a good read.

A lot of old names too that don't seem to be on the forum much anymore. Wonder if they're still out there mowing...