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View Full Version : Where to base my business......?



Gordon Gekko
03-10-2009, 10:57 PM
Hi All,

Just starting to set things up, trailers, equipment, etc.............

I live in the Dandenongs and plan on basing myself in a suburb(s) off the mountain.

So to explain, I would travel 20 min to get to "my" suburb and work there for the day, do marketing there for the day.....spend my whole day there......

So I might have two suburbs i work, like Berwick and Rowville ( for those people who know Melbourne) These two suburbs are about 30min apart and inbetween them is rural, so no work in the middle.

Am i making sense here????

So maybe, two days i spend in Bewrick and 3 days in Rowville......Does anybody else do it like this?

I prefer not to work in my local area. two reasons, know too many people and very hilly.

Cheers

Jay

Glenofcarwoola
05-10-2009, 09:12 PM
I can sort of understand where your coming from Jay, cause I'm 15 minutes out of Canberra and my main area is 35 Min away. Its only like that because I used to live there and that's where most of my customers are (word of mouth gets me more jobs in that same area) but travelling that far has its downfalls too.

First is the cost in fuel, I have to drive for an hour a day just to get to the area of my work and back.

If you forget something your stuffed.

If the weather is a bit iffy your not sure whether its worth going in or not and it plays on your mind all day. (I live in the hills as well)

If you can get the work where you live you would be much more better off so think twice about basing your business somewhere else.

Sandgroper
05-10-2009, 10:09 PM
Someone told me its better to drive to a better area/more suitable if you have to, even if its 30-45 mins and spend the day there.

This works well if you live in a lower economic area as well, i know its not in your case but if you live in Frankston for instance,,you could be silly working there, drive 40 mins to a richer area.

VJinTownsville
05-10-2009, 10:09 PM
Yea I love my home/base suburb. I am starting to have a client in each street as I drive out. i am lucky to get into a nice suburb that is still growing and less than 10 years old.

I don't like houses over 10yrs old because they're likely to have a lot of trees and shrubs which are a nightmare to trim around and maneuevre the mower. There is also a likelihood of them being lower earners and "mugs" roaming the streets and your things being stolen. Not all of it are like that but I prefer to fish in rich waters and closer to home.

The houses I do don't have a lot of gardens. However, they have a lot of lazy-a*sses.

Glenofcarwoola
05-10-2009, 10:22 PM
Yea I love my home/base suburb. I am starting to have a client in each street as I drive out. i am lucky to get into a nice suburb that is still growing and less than 10 years old.

I don't like houses over 10yrs old because they're likely to have a lot of trees and shrubs which are a nightmare to trim around and maneuevre the mower. There is also a likelihood of them being lower earners and "mugs" roaming the streets and your things being stolen. Not all of it are like that but I prefer to fish in rich waters and closer to home.

The houses I do don't have a lot of gardens. However, they have a lot of lazy-a*sses.

VJ if you don't already, get yourself a hedge trimmer and charge accordingly. Make some money while making your lawns easier to mow. I've had a few arguments with customers after cutting back branches from bushes overhanging the lawn, when it comes down to cold hard cash they always back off.

Scooby Steve
06-10-2009, 06:33 PM
Hi All,

Just starting to set things up, trailers, equipment, etc.............

I live in the Dandenongs and plan on basing myself in a suburb(s) off the mountain.

So to explain, I would travel 20 min to get to "my" suburb and work there for the day, do marketing there for the day.....spend my whole day there......

So I might have two suburbs i work, like Berwick and Rowville ( for those people who know Melbourne) These two suburbs are about 30min apart and inbetween them is rural, so no work in the middle.

Am i making sense here????

So maybe, two days i spend in Bewrick and 3 days in Rowville......Does anybody else do it like this?

I prefer not to work in my local area. two reasons, know too many people and very hilly.

Cheers

Jay


Don't stray too far from home if you can. Petrol will only get more expensive and travel time will double in the next ten years (in Melbourne anyway).

I don't know which side of the Dandenongs your in but look at Rowville, Scoresby, Knox , Ferntree Gully. There is plenty of commercials in the Scoresby/Knox area as well as domestic's.

ian
07-10-2009, 09:02 PM
Don't stray too far from home if you can. Petrol will only get more expensive and travel time will double in the next ten years (in Melbourne anyway).

I don't know which side of the Dandenongs your in but look at Rowville, Scoresby, Knox , Ferntree Gully. There is plenty of commercials in the Scoresby/Knox area as well as domestic's.
thanks scooby i will return the favour suggest foresthill,nunawading ,blackburn :)
seriously though i would suggest that you try to concentrate on one area either berwick or rowville which ever is the closest to your home but not both as the traveling time could be a killer even if you plan to spend a full day in the area if it rains or you have a brake down you could find that you have to travel to one area to finish a job or 2 then travel back to the area your supposed to be working in that day losing an hour or more in traveling time

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
07-10-2009, 09:10 PM
Hey..what the! Nop, nop nop. I agree with scooby steve, dont worry about Berwick go for the knox area ;frosty; ;frosty;

Fred's mowing
08-10-2009, 06:58 PM
Someone told me its better to drive to a better area/more suitable if you have to, even if its 30-45 mins and spend the day there.

This works well if you live in a lower economic area as well, i know its not in your case but if you live in Frankston for instance,,you could be silly working there, drive 40 mins to a richer area.

So whats wrong with Frankston :rolleyes: ?
Cheers Dean.

Scooby Steve
08-10-2009, 07:45 PM
Whats right with it would be a quicker answer lol.

Just joking all you Frangers (dont want my house fire bombed).

Being serious for a second it's not too bad.

Sorry Ian for dropping a newbie in your area, with all this rain though there should be enough for the two of you.

geoff1969
08-10-2009, 08:37 PM
So whats wrong with Frankston :rolleyes: ?
Cheers Dean.


frankston has excellent fish pier spent many hours fishing of that one as well as mornington and mentone .. :russ:

ian
08-10-2009, 08:47 PM
frankston has excellent fish pier spent many hours fishing of that one as well as mornington and mentone .. :russ:
geoff you must be old i think the mentone pier was demolished about 45 years ago . you may mean mordialloc pier :)

geoff1969
08-10-2009, 09:25 PM
geoff you must be old i think the mentone pier was demolished about 45 years ago . you may mean mordialloc pier :)

sorry ian i didnt word that to well ment fishing off frankston pier and mornington pier up through mentone and mordialloc and paterson lakes .all good fun sit back relax catch a few flattys -- 45 years ago i wasnt born ha ha also spent many years work for national foods down there in chelsea but then relocated to a depot closer to home .cheers

Sandgroper
09-10-2009, 10:20 AM
So whats wrong with Frankston :rolleyes: ?
Cheers Dean.

Well i guess a few famous people have come from there,,media star Roberta Williams for one :laughing:

Fred's mowing
09-10-2009, 08:33 PM
Well i guess a few famous people have come from there,,media star Roberta Williams for one :laughing:
Yer, now tell us all about smutt river province :laughing: .
Cheers Dean.

bb1
12-10-2009, 06:33 PM
Why base your business away from your home, I am also in a hilly area, just makes you fitter. Over 60% of my clients are within 10 minutes from home. Some days I drive no more than 10 K's less fuel, less wasted time travelling.

Work close to home if you can.

ian
12-10-2009, 07:52 PM
also probably less competition so you can charge a higher price

redbackmowing
12-10-2009, 09:30 PM
i understand the thinking behind it. but you may pick up the lost income from doing that extra job a day that would be spent travelling. easier to get that late afternoon quote done if it's just around the corner. better than saying 'i can't get there today' or driving 30mins to quote a job you may not get. Have you given your area a go?

administrator
12-10-2009, 10:10 PM
[QUOTE=Silkwood Garden Care]Hi All,

Just starting to set things up, trailers, equipment, etc.............

I live in the Dandenongs and plan on basing myself in a suburb(s) off the mountain.

So to explain, I would travel 20 min to get to "my" suburb and work there for the day, do marketing there for the day.....spend my whole day there......

So I might have two suburbs i work, like Berwick and Rowville ( for those people who know Melbourne) These two suburbs are about 30min apart and inbetween them is rural, so no work in the middle.

Am i making sense here????

So maybe, two days i spend in Bewrick and 3 days in Rowville......Does anybody else do it like this?

I prefer not to work in my local area. two reasons, know too many people and very hilly.
**************************************************


Hi Jay
I suggest you do a rethink this is my view

asset .knowing alot of people in your area easier to market your business word of mouth will fly around .umless you havent got a good name lol

asset Hilly area , everybody else things the same way you do so where are the contractors bet your bottom dollar its very difficult to get a contractor in the Dandenongs.

asset .Local you know the area well and the people and what they need

asset no travelling time


Heres a tip about Rowville you will get alot of calls but few jobs unless your cheap .

Berwick great business and growing area at a million miles an hour .

Anybody that doesnt look for work locally is not thinking clearly and has allready started pushing his costs higher b4 even starting .

Give it a go first in your area you may be surprised .

Good luck with your choicees .

Gordon Gekko
13-10-2009, 10:00 AM
Thanks for all the replies. In the town and surrounding area I live in, its not densly populatored, so not as many potenial customers. But if i "based" myself down in Berwick, a lot more gardens :)

For instance, I couldn't do a mail drop here, way way too far to walk !!!

But in saying that, I will be advertising in the local school newsletter and I will have a nice big sign out front of my place (I get lots of traffic going by)

Cheers

Jay

Scooby Steve
14-10-2009, 06:51 AM
Isn't it funny how we have different experiences for the same suburb.

I find Rowville a great place to get work and it has a good mix of domestic and commercial jobs too. If it was closer to home i would aim to get more work there.

Here is an example of one day i do there (sorry if it has a touch of rooread about it) : 3x 3/4 acre blocks in the one street @ $120 each house for mowing which take just over an hour each (ride-on) so i earn $360 before lunch. After lunch i do 3 normal blocks for an extra $121, finishing and home usually by 2.30-3.00.

Just under $500 for less than a days work, in fact its one of my better runs. I wouldn't rule out Rowville all together plenty of rich people with fancy homes in the newer estates.

Andy B
14-10-2009, 09:18 AM
Thanks for all the replies. In the town and surrounding area I live in, its not densly populatored, so not as many potenial customers. But if i "based" myself down in Berwick, a lot more gardens :)

For instance, I couldn't do a mail drop here, way way too far to walk !!!

But in saying that, I will be advertising in the local school newsletter and I will have a nice big sign out front of my place (I get lots of traffic going by)

Cheers

Jay

You could always do it on a BMX or get one of the local teenagers to do it for some coin. Just be carefull to take the stunt pegs off cause they sometimes catch on the letter boxes and falling off is more embarrassing than an old fella on a bmx. :)

Fred's mowing
14-10-2009, 08:39 PM
Buy a postie,s bike. Get a fluro jacket & fluro panniers, no one will question ya :ebony: .
Cheers Dean.