PDA

View Full Version : Lawns per day



paul123
16-07-2008, 02:54 PM
Hi Guy's,
As a one person mowing business I used to mow 8 - 10 lawns a day (push / walk behind mow residential) How many are most of you guy's doing?..... yes I became burnt out and knackered but the work was there.

bks07
16-07-2008, 03:53 PM
Hi Paul,

I average around 13 per day some times up to 16 if im really busy but to do 16 i work from 7am to around 530-6 pm and all jobs are with in 1 minute drive between each job. i don't know how old you are im only 28 till tomorrow.. :laughing: then its another year old and another years wiser so they say

paul123
16-07-2008, 04:13 PM
Yeah I was 28 when I was doing that, 10 or 11 hour days including the tip were quite common but I think 6 to 8 good jobs a day is sustainable for the long run? Depends on the interest rates I guess??

geoff
16-07-2008, 05:30 PM
10 lawns a day is a nice number for us old 5o's rockers....a relative of mine has been mowing for over 40 years and now over 80 can still go a day of mowing , thats would be great when u are getting the pension or evn super with some cashys on the side , a lifestyle of being fit and having a buck to spend on whatever

la huerta
09-09-2008, 11:14 PM
when i used to work with a lawn mowing company some time ago, another guy and i did the lawns together (one mow, the other edge and grab the blower) we used to knock off 25-27 lawns a day, the boss was very pleased with us, as you can imagine, i used to get paid $70 a day.

:(

la huerta
09-09-2008, 11:23 PM
realistically though, working for yourself, aim at 10 a day.

$30-$40 a lawn, 10 lawns a day, 4 days a week, is pretty dam good dough without killing yourself.

one thing though is a lot of people don't realize when getting into the industry is you really need to live like a bit of an athlete (good food, sleep, cut down on grog), then those 10 lawn are easy, otherwise your pushing your body to hard, and that's not good for you in the long term, so stick with a number you can manage easy if your not in tip top shape.

Born To Mow
29-09-2008, 07:01 PM
realistically though, working for yourself, aim at 10 a day.

$30-$40 a lawn, 10 lawns a day, 4 days a week, is pretty dam good dough without killing yourself.

one thing though is a lot of people don't realize when getting into the industry is you really need to live like a bit of an athlete (good food, sleep, cut down on grog), then those 10 lawn are easy, otherwise your pushing your body to hard, and that's not good for you in the long term, so stick with a number you can manage easy if your not in tip top shape.

Good post Huerta, depending on the heat I think 10 - 13 average lawns a day. I work my run out so Friday and Monday are easy and well paid jobs. Monday gardening, Friday a couple of ride on jobs and say two or three pushie jobs.

tree beard
29-09-2008, 08:43 PM
Im aiming for the 6-8 a day but I wont stop the car and unload a mower for less than $40 a cut. I Like to use monday for service and a local job or two and then see how the weeks escalation takes me :)

paul123
29-09-2008, 08:52 PM
Thanks guys,
Yeah I don't like doing jobs for less than $35 - $40, since I made my minimum charge $35 it has made it easier to walk away from the people who don't want to pay for good service. i had one quote the other day that wanted to argue for 20 minutes she could get the lawn mowed for $30 instead of $35.

Born To Mow
29-09-2008, 10:54 PM
Thanks guys,
Yeah I don't like doing jobs for less than $35 - $40, since I made my minimum charge $35 it has made it easier to walk away from the people who don't want to pay for good service. i had one quote the other day that wanted to argue for 20 minutes she could get the lawn mowed for $30 instead of $35.

I think $35.00 is a good benchmark for a minimum charge rate for resi lawns. There is no such thing as a $25 or $30 lawn these days. (it took me a while to talk myself into that) ;dealers;

We put up a lot of our prices once we were established to reach that mark. Only lost 3 customers, I do have a few new customers who question the price. I always explain to the them the cost of running a legit business tax, gst, insurance etc. and then remind them that the cheaper cowboys don't pay this, thus they can charge beer money rates. :i dunno:

The more of us legit lawnies that charge a descent rate the better it is for the industry on a whole.

lifestyle
29-09-2008, 11:29 PM
The more of us legit lawnies that charge a descent rate the better it is for the industry on a whole.

I agree with that.

Unfortunately the location still plays a part in how much you can charge. According to what we are told on the TV commercials, Tasmanians, for example, are paid on average $4,000 less per year for doing the same job as their mainland competition. Unfortunately that $4,000 seems to be the disposable income many use for "lifestyle services" (gardener, movies, sport, etc).

63impala
30-09-2008, 08:26 AM
My mate down the street all he does is mulches and most of his lawns are $25-30 he has some better ones,I always give him a bad time saying you should change your bussiness name to budget mowing. But he does have a local tight run and knocks his jobs over quick and does a good job. So that amound does not seem bad for low travel time and not having to fuss with clippings.

paul123
01-10-2008, 07:46 PM
If I have a good job and the neighbour asks for their nature strip to be cut, then I offer a $20 - $30 price as long as they undersand it is at the same visit as next door etc.. but I wouldn't base a business on those prices, depends how big the mortgage is I suppose.

geejay
01-10-2008, 07:53 PM
If I have a good job and the neighbour asks for their nature strip to be cut, then I offer a $20 - $30 price as long as they undersand it is at the same visit as next door etc.. but I wouldn't base a business on those prices, depends how big the mortgage is I suppose.

thats the way show them whos the boss,no micky mouse prices :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Countrymile
15-10-2008, 08:55 AM
Hi Guys,

What time does everyone start in the morning. It would be good to start earlier, but the grass is still quite wet early in the morning. Do you just not worry about it and mow anyway. With the weather getting hotter, it makes sense to start as early as you are allowed. It seems to be after 7am weekdays in NSW. Any thoughts? Thanks Shannon

tree beard
15-10-2008, 01:29 PM
Well I would have to be up there as the latest.

I usually kick off from home between 8-9 unless I have a big day but that gets me on the first job around 8.45 to 9.45.

But my Toro really doesnt like squeesing grass through the tiny hole into the catcher bag if its wet so I avoid the frustration anticipation and anxiety...great life style tho!

The cost of course is I tend to work till the sun is gone!

mowjoman
16-10-2008, 04:45 AM
8am is fair I reckon to start making noise on a weekday. If I've got a big one I'll start a bit earlier but pick one where noise at that time wont bother anyone.
God forbid I need to work on a Saturday or Sunday 10am at the earliest to avoid whipper snipper insertion :p

lifestyle
16-10-2008, 06:24 AM
8am is fair I reckon to start making noise on a weekday. If I've got a big one I'll start a bit earlier but pick one where noise at that time wont bother anyone.
God forbid I need to work on a Saturday or Sunday 10am at the earliest to avoid whipper snipper insertion :p

Weekdays 8:00am
Saturday 9:00am
Sunday 10:00am

I work a Lucas Mill in between my Hort. work and if it happens to be in town we don't fire up before 9:00 Weekdays... about 10:00 weekends (only had a couple in town though - most in the country).

On the Mill Yesterday & Today actually.

gjs
16-10-2008, 12:40 PM
leave home 9:am
home by 2:15pm Mon - Friday

I like to be off the road whilst the Mum's Taxis are out and about taking kids to and from school. As long as I get my $1,200 clear for the week that's all I want.
I work for the lifstyle not for the work

Cheers gjs

m287j
16-10-2008, 07:33 PM
I tend to start at 8:00am, my staff meet me at 7:45am and we then load up and hit the road.

1 day a week i try and start at 6:30am as we have one industrial site we do weekly and we like to blow the carpark before the cars start turning up, there are no houses around so we can get away with using the equipment before 7am.

grassy234
19-10-2008, 01:06 PM
Hi Shannon,
I always try to start at around 7AM. Grass might still be a bit wet from the dew but sooner start then sooner finish and these days I don't like being out too much in the heat of the day.
Cheers
Kevin :wave-hi:

holdenhead
20-10-2008, 10:36 PM
I start at 7am if I can get the lazy buggers out of bed, I have a few factories and servo's and have started at 5.30 last summer on those 35+ days we had.