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Thread: Things that make me grumpy

  1. #4456
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by geoff View Post
    some very good points there ...however i still stress if you are starting up or running a good business you need to be professional...you should from day one have all the good stuff including uniform ....if i started up a coffee shop i would not just have a card table and a little jug to boil the water ..so why would i just have the basic lawn mowing stuff like the beer bobs.....presenting to the customer a professional unit will put ypou ahead of these guys...and if the cuatomer wants just a beer bob price they are not what you want in business ..instead of you blokes whinging about the cheap ones fight back with a professional unit ...but knowing this forum will get me hed kicked in...lol
    Which is exactly what I am saying mate. However there is no doubt the beer bobs are hurting the industry. If they weren't about those people looking for cheap prices would be forced to take the industry standard. The coffee shop analogy is a good one. You dont see coffee shop beer bobs yet we do in our industry. Plenty of us out there run professional units and plenty have done so from the get go but there is a fair proportion of operators in this industry who dont. If you ignore them them you allow them to perpetuate.

    We should all fight them either by educating them or educating any potential customers at every opportunity. If we are going to be serious about this industry then we need to be serious about issues like this that draw down prices and give us all a bad image rather than sticking our heads in the sand hoping they will go away
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  2. #4457
    Member Macka's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    the biggest problem with this industry, is the forums like this one that is giving away professional Business info for FREE,

    why wouldn't you start a gardening business when you do alittle reserch and see the going hourly rate you guys are posting.

    And all the tips. No other Business would give info to there competion and if a employee did they would be sacked. It everyones fault that has posted valuable information about there business.

  3. #4458
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Macka View Post
    the biggest problem with this industry, is the forums like this one that is giving away professional Business info for FREE,

    why wouldn't you start a gardening business when you do alittle reserch and see the going hourly rate you guys are posting.

    And all the tips. No other Business would give info to there competion and if a employee did they would be sacked. It everyones fault that has posted valuable information about there business.
    Thats why we have a private members section for that stuff. But if posting rates shows the beer bobs they can charge more and they do then that can only be a good thing.
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  4. #4459
    Member Macka's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluey View Post
    Thats why we have a private members section for that stuff. But if posting rates shows the beer bobs they can charge more and they do then that can only be a good thing.
    Posting Rates just floods the industry with new starters, that fail, it takes years to make money. We should be advertising the truth. " its not a industry to invest in if it not your dream job, hard work and to much competion".

    Posting Rates just gives the insentive to anough person to give it a go, effectively the real reason there are more taking up this industry everyday.

    People will always try to charge more if they want money, no need to push it.

    The pivate section forum is a joke with no sub forums, and all the real info is public anyway.

  5. #4460
    Senior Member head1956's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Sad part is a lot of the cheaper guys do a good job even if they use the victa 2 stroke and Bunnings edger and the customers are happy and they expect the same price from the next guy and so on. These guys are like fleas, get rid of one lot and the next lot hatch. Should be like plumbers and mechanics (I was one) and charge a set rate, you won't catch a beer bob plumber or grease monkey charging 20 bucks to fix your toilet or service your car / mower / whatever. Most guys who do cheapie mowing are only doing it in their down time or days off from main real job and it does pay for the beer as well...

  6. #4461
    Member Qld tgc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Macka View Post
    the biggest problem with this industry, is the forums like this one that is giving away professional Business info for FREE,

    why wouldn't you start a gardening business when you do alittle reserch and see the going hourly rate you guys are posting.

    And all the tips. No other Business would give info to there competion and if a employee did they would be sacked. It everyones fault that has posted valuable information about there business.
    Thats exactly how I got started, and why I rarely post.
    I became a Ilcoa member, but ultimately between the public posts on this forum and Lawnclub you can find out everything you need to know to start a business and begin competing against those giving all their info away.

  7. #4462

    Arrow Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Macka View Post
    Posting Rates just floods the industry with new starters, that fail, it takes years to make money. We should be advertising the truth. " its not a industry to invest in if it not your dream job, hard work and to much competion".

    Posting Rates just gives the insentive to anough person to give it a go, effectively the real reason there are more taking up this industry everyday.

    People will always try to charge more if they want money, no need to push it.

    The pivate section forum is a joke with no sub forums, and all the real info is public anyway.


    So do we need more positive people on this forum??????

  8. #4463
    Senior Member Mow And Go's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Tend to agree with South East Mowing here. No one forces anyone to contribute or read the forums to be blunt. Don't like it, then stfu basically. It is not your right to be a user here, it is given to you at Dean's ongoing expense and headache. Show some gratitude and stop the *****ing ffs
    I dont break things ...I just use them beyond their operational limitations
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  9. #4464
    Member Qld tgc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Mow And Go View Post
    Tend to agree with South East Mowing here. No one forces anyone to contribute or read the forums to be blunt. Don't like it, then stfu basically. It is not your right to be a user here, it is given to you at Dean's ongoing expense and headache. Show some gratitude and stop the *****ing ffs
    Disagree, if you're a paid up member it is your right to be here. I don't know Dean but this forum is a way for him to build his business so i wouldn't be so quick to conclude its altruistic on his behalf.
    Also isn't this whole thread about having a whinge, maybe you should pull your head in a bit champ?

  10. #4465
    Senior Member geoff's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Displaying the rates is one way to show the beer bobs what the standard is....at the tip i have for years always tell the other operators what i charge ...most of the guys take on my advice and thank me greatly when i see them again...if your charging the 88 plus per hour of course you have to perform and thats what the customer , the good customer requires....
    in my opinion i reckon we should reveal all...if the beer bob copies well he has to lift his standard.....i work have worked smart not harder by charging good rates and performing a good job...if we can educate we all win in the end..its not rocket science , its running a business

  11. #4466
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by geoff View Post
    Displaying the rates is one way to show the beer bobs what the standard is....at the tip i have for years always tell the other operators what i charge ...most of the guys take on my advice and thank me greatly when i see them again...if your charging the 88 plus per hour of course you have to perform and thats what the customer , the good customer requires....
    in my opinion i reckon we should reveal all...if the beer bob copies well he has to lift his standard.....i work have worked smart not harder by charging good rates and performing a good job...if we can educate we all win in the end..its not rocket science , its running a business
    Exactly. Well said. We need to educate the beer bobs and help them lift their game. Win win in my books
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  12. #4467
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by tgc View Post
    Thats exactly how I got started, and why I rarely post.
    I became a Ilcoa member, but ultimately between the public posts on this forum and Lawnclub you can find out everything you need to know to start a business and begin competing against those giving all their info away.
    So you used this forum to get going and start your business but your not willing to help someone in the same boat. When I started I spent weeks on this forum reading up on everything. It was invaluable advice and from speaking to the old hands I got even better advice. I started out with a huge amount of general knowledge gained from this forum and most important was rates. I had no real clue what I should charge and had I not got help from the guys here I would have been way lower than what I was which was pretty bloody low anyway.

    The way I see it this forum is an education medium. Like Geoff says this game isnt rocket science. You need some basic business principles, charge a rate that will keep it sustainable for you and hopefully build your bank balance, do good work, gain clients an be as professional as you can.

    If you can do that then you may make it
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  13. #4468
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Macka View Post
    Posting Rates just floods the industry with new starters, that fail, it takes years to make money. We should be advertising the truth. " its not a industry to invest in if it not your dream job, hard work and to much competion".

    Posting Rates just gives the insentive to anough person to give it a go, effectively the real reason there are more taking up this industry everyday.

    People will always try to charge more if they want money, no need to push it.

    The pivate section forum is a joke with no sub forums, and all the real info is public anyway.
    I will disagree with that mate. I think it helps the new starters at least gain a handle on what to charge. The info on here does tell the truth I think. People will have a go at the game for a whole lot of reasons. The least we can do is give them enough info and help so they are not beer bobs. Competition is always going to be around. Its how you run and portray your business what counts.

    I am sure if you asked Dean he would add some sub forums to the private section. To be honest there are not a lot of things that go in there. If you have a business secret or edge and dont want to share it then dont. Thats pretty simple. Theres a few things I do that I wont give out.
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  14. #4469
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    The good thing about this thread and others like it is that it will make people look at their rates and at what others are charging. If your going to last in this industy you need to have good idea of what your opposition is charging and what the general acceptable rates are in your area.

    You also need to run your business as a business not a job. If you dont know how much it costs you to actually run your business per day then you need to spend some time working it out. Get that sorted and you will pretty quickly see if your rates are sustainable.
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  15. #4470

    Default Re: Things that make me grumpy

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluey View Post
    The good thing about this thread and others like it is that it will make people look at their rates and at what others are charging. If your going to last in this industy you need to have good idea of what your opposition is charging and what the general acceptable rates are in your area.

    You also need to run your business as a business not a job. If you dont know how much it costs you to actually run your business per day then you need to spend some time working it out. Get that sorted and you will pretty quickly see if your rates are sustainable.
    Someone is "on a roll"!

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