Do you guys have any good stories about buying or selling accounts? Any helpful tips I missed? If so, leave a comment down below and maybe they can help the next guy.
When are the rest of the mower comparrison vidoes with Ed Wright and Stanley going to be posted?? Looking forward to Wright's insights on each unit along with yours and Stanley's - Thanks !
I tripled my business, which was already fifteen year established, overnight for 6k. sometimes it's a situation you don't even have to think about. but other times, it's a awful deal.
Sounds about right Brain, about $100 to $200 per account & sold my first 15 to move up to better ones in another side of town, worked perfectly. I just hate all the low ballers in this industry, seriously irritating..Get everything in writing!!!
This is something I’ve never understood. Specifically when companies try to go out of business and sell off all their equipment and accounts. When I don’t want to maintain your property anymore, I just notify the person that service will end however many days from now. They are human beings and they aren’t for sale. I’ve been in this business for 17 years and never bought or sold an account. I work at the pleasure of the person paying me. I surmise if someone tried to sell me an account I’d just approach the client and tell them they’re being exploited. This buying and selling business is dishonest. Not my way of making money and it’s not how I’ve built a solid business. Maybe there’s something with your contracts that I don’t understand. To me, it’s not right.
I once bought a bunch of accounts for $250 a piece. Lost most of them within 5 years do to deaths, moving, etc. never buying accounts again for more them $100.
I watched your video this morning . Around 5 pm today I was contacted by a competitor company. She is closing down the Pet Waste Removal section of her company and wanted to sell me her customers in my service area. She had no idea how much to charge me. I used your formula and she excepted it..$1000 for 20 accounts. Thank you so much for the tips. I’ve been learning so much.
Awesome Plan ! Very professional ! I picked up 20 clients in My Territory a few years ago. The former guy just up and quit on his people.....within 72 hours Everyone of his clients called Me because I was already servicing his clients neighbor. Service never stopped. Just continued the flow.
I don’t know if you see this comment but Brian you have helped me a ton ! I started two years ago pulling a push mower out of my dad’s Santa Fe . now I have my own set up, someone working for me , and 85 clients all through connections . Only thing is I need to watch a lot more of your videos as it’s so so important to have guidance . A ton of love from south jersey
Nice video Brian, those are some nice tips! I bought accounts from the 15 year old who doesn't want to do lawn care anymore but it didn't ever sell accounts before but now I know how to sell accounts!
I bought maybe 15 lawns and snow customers from a guy for like 2500, im only doing a couple lawns from the 15 i bought, this was over 10 years ago so it worked out well and made decent money from them. I ended up selling about 20 customers to a friend about 8 years ago... but i never got paid, i ended up letting it go. Lesson learned, u find out who your true friends are over the years.
I've never been into buying accounts, because everyone does business there own way. It's no guarantee if the customer is going to like you no matter what you done.
Good vid Brian. I have purchased lawn clients twice in my 10 years in biz. Price was 20% of the calculated income for regular weekly mowing for one season. (Our mowing season here in MN runs about 24 cuttings. We did a payment plan, something like yours but spread out longer, and monthy. (I learned of both of these guys going out of lawn care biz through my local lawn equipment shop, called them up, and things when from there.) We transitioned with a "good news/bad news letter first, written by the guys going out of biz, wherein they recommended me and my company.) It was mailed out, and then I followed up a few days later with my first phone contact to the various customers.
I worked for a company that serviced large commercial properties all over the country I serviced 60 properties a month & ironically for 3 years my route was the eastern portion of Michigan. Everything from Indiana border north to Bad Axe Mi, and everything west to i69 and everything east to the shore of Lake Erie. I very much understand where your coming from with your focus on route density because it works so perfectly in Michigan and in particular the Detroit Suburbs. BUT my point being is I’m from Rural Indiana about an hour north of Indianapolis. My town has a population of 11k and is a suburb of Muncie which has a population of roughly 80k which is greatly dependent on the university. Now Muncie has 4 or 5 rural school districts all within 10-15mins of Muncie that directly feed off of Muncie stores and food and entertainment etc. and maybe this is just my travel for work mentality I have in me now. But if I had 20 properties in a town that’s 30minutes away on the other side of one of our rural Suberbs I sure as heck wouldn’t be shying away from that. If anything that gives me motive to expand and maybe even add another crew, my point being with all this is a route of 20 could turn into a route of 50 and that temporary money you have from selling those routes would be meaningless compared to what that city could provide long term for you. I’ll never be on a massive scale with my company but landscape companies thrive as the biggest midget and if I had 3 full time crews going out and servicing different areas 8 months a year there’s a killing worth of money to be made. Just giving my two cents
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah sometimes folks don’t understand the market I’m in. There’s 3 million people in a 35 minute radius! Thanks for sharing your .02 as well 💪
Awesome awesome info Brian. I’ve been watching for last couple months and I feel like I’ve got such an advantage going into this brand new year with my brand new lawn service. Can’t imagine how or where I would have found all this info if I hadn’t been watching my daughters play UA-cam videos and wondered what kind of info is out there for lawn care. Thanks again and my wife and I may try to attend the GIE this year.
It’s awesome to see how you’ve grown over these last 8-9 years. You’re definitely an inspiration. Your videos and editing have came a long way as well.
I'm 19 I've had my lawn care and tree service for 2 years and we're crushing it!! Thank you for your info brain its greatly appreciated I watch you and lawn crack for all my info and ryan actually made a whole video about me and my business
Let me save potential viewers some time and maybe some cash (Remember Brian, you asked for opinions and comments) ... Customers have FREE WILL that can't be bought or sold by third parties. Therefore, anyone who buys clients would be taking a huge risk that the customer retains your service. Therefore, lawn accounts are not to be bought or sold. Then there is the customer who benefits ZERO from their account being pawned off. Anyone who buys lawn accounts as a growth strategy could be going backwards very easily. You CAN ASK for and/or pay a small FINDERS FEE for customers, but that should not exceed $20 per lead. That's how it really works folks!
I occasionally buy accounts, usually after picking up a new account and the property owner tells me their last guy is quitting the business. I’ll get his contact info and reach out. My standard offer is 20% of whatever I am able to bill for, for 12 months. In exchange, I ask the previous guy to make a list of all his accounts, and for him to reach out to them, let them know he’s got someone to take care of them, and tell them to expect my call. You can’t force the customer to switch, so I feel that a percentage of what I am able to sell is fair to both of us, vs $X.xx per account. I am in the same boat as you BTW. When we started I took on anything and everything, and am now really focusing on density. I’ve got a couple days worth of work I’d love to pass on to someone reliable, in certain areas. I’m just trying to be patient and sell them vs letting them go.
I'm a little late to the game. But I have about 20 lawns I cut for the last few yrs now but I moved an hr away and just can't keep up on the other side of town. I can sell these even though I don't have contracts?
@@keithlewis8238 possibly. There is no guarentee the customer will stay with the buyer without contracts. Most customers will as long as ther are reliable and do good work.
About 9 years ago I closed and sold off parts of my first landscaping company... I sold about 35 account no contracts just last few years history for $5000 cash on the spot. No promises. The total was about 50k gross sales on them, all mowing accounts and some were other services, fall cleanups, mulch etc.
You're right about there's not a lot of information on this subject about transitioning from or to another provider.I understand your thought process of having a tighter route. I live in a rural part of NC and the closest BIG city, lol, is 25 min away. I've even talked to a few of my lawncare/landscaping associates who live near me and business owners in my town and they also agreed with me about having to go 20-25 mins to grow our business. There's less than 10k people in my zip code. The town I'm speaking of, that is closest to me, has over 50k people and the average household income is at least double that from where I reside. Plus there's at least 7 new subs being built as we speak. If I could have the amount of people in close proximity, that you have at your disposal, as potential clients, I would definitely look into what you did! Lol! For the most part we have to go 20-25 miles. My goal is to gain at least 50 recurring clients in that area for next year. 50 may not seem like a lot, but it would be a big step for me, at this time.
I already posted a comment. But I can’t wait for 2019 because I’m gonna start using yardbook and it’s going to help take my business to a whole new level!
I feel like you and (Max) both got a good deal. Hope everything works out well for you and him both. Also Yardbook is amazing! It's so helpful. I company in my town has been doing lawn care for over 14 years and the owner is a close friend of mine I showed him yardbooks site a few months back and he has already switched to yardbook. 👍
Great Video. I enjoyed the content. When we sell/or buy accounts here in New York (metro area) its usually whatever the monthly is X 3. So if you are getting 100.00 a month (not including the extras, just the weekly service) I would sell or buy it for 300.00.
I love all your videos but here in the UK I'm not sure if there would be any money transferred as customers could cancel anytime and the guy you've sold too could make a loss
I didnt vet who i sold 10 accounts to and i didnt get $$$. He told me had insurance. He didnt. Didnt show or didnt communicate with clients ☹️. The were some of my first clients i had had for 10 -12 yrs. Found out from another landscaper he drove through a freshly sealed driveway causing $1000 damage. Your price sounds right to me.
Hey Brian greetings from Novi Michigan again 4 years ago when I sold my construction and Landscaping snow plowing business I did something very similar but on a larger scale split all the accounts up sold them to various companies with contracts through attorney then I took all my nine trucks with all my boss snow plow blades and all my snowex feedbox alters and sold them clean them all up and saw the one by one took me a year but I sold everything profited very highly from everything paid off and took all the money and move to another business the way it did it is right except I want to make sure you had a lot more in writing but you're on your way break into them commercial accounts in 2019
Good to hear you trust each other but $2000 is a lot to trust someone on their word and handshake. What happens if he takes on the customers then sails into the sunset. You would be surprised who will RIP you off in business. I had a supplier of 15 years rip me off last year after I made a similar deal with them (my other business in a different industry) just saw you addressed this at the end of the video 👍 very true what you said about getting into business with family too.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance yeah my own dad ripped me off when I was working for his business 10 years ago. That was an eye opener. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me ( I learnt my lesson the second time round lol)
Hi Brian, I am only 14, and i’m just getting into business. I am really looking forward to start implementing yard-books into my company. I’m especially intrigued on the storefront for the other services, and the online billing. I am still pretty confused on how to start using it, and how to set everything up. What are your best tips and advice on using it, and getting your customers transitioned to using it? Thank you, Dom
It’s brand new so we’re getting it setup ourselves. I’ve already been strategizing how we can best use it. I will definitely be offering the basics that my customer don’t know I really offer or have a sub for. Fert, Mulch, Aeration and Shrub Trimming, just to name a few. Hope that helps!
Hey it may be high or low, but it worked out great. Love reading everyone’s comments to see how or what they did / do. Seems like a lot of gray areas and even misinformation on this topic out there.
Random question, is there a video where you speak on paying tax for your business? I want to start this business, but I need to find out about the legal side for South Carolina. Also, pros and cons of having a business partner.
I try to not do much tax stuff other then suggest quarterly payments. If you pay more then $3K in annual taxes as a business, I think the rule is to start paying quarterly at a minimum. It’s just too complicated a topic. Definitely consult a local cpa or someone with accounting knowledge, they can steer you in the right direction
Thanks Brian, I didn’t know about that “store front” option with yardbooks sounds profitable, you’re doing great God Bless and trust that 2019 is going to be a great year for you and your family!
Hey Brian love the Chanel Just wondering if you ever though of do a video on selling snow plow & salt accounts Would be real interested to hear how you would handle it Thanks
@@BriansLawnMaintenance I’m really interested in selling my 5 truck plow and salting routes for 2022/2023 season the 3 killer is staffing fuel and insurance Let me know if you ever want to chat and l can run my ideas past you Take care love the Chanel
Dear Brian’s lawn care I have been watching your videos over the years I have a question I love when you make videos of your ex mark bagger is there any way you can leave your bagger on your mower so that way you can mow grass too instead of using it for spring and summer I live in Saskatoon I bag grass all year long
Hey Brain would you be able to do a video on sub contracting lawn accounts. How everything works from start to finish. I own a lawn and landscape company and thinking of doing this . thanks great videos!
I use jobber with my lawn care company it’s really nice to have and definitely helps with routing, payments, quotes etc. and my clients love it but it’s expensive. I’ve looked into other software that may be cheaper but I’m just afraid to change what works. What are your thoughts?
Justin Bishop Jobber is good and so are their people. I haven’t used it so I can’t really weigh in, sorry! Maybe someone else can leave a comment comparing the 2 crm’s. Thanks!
Brian's Lawn Maintenance I don’t have a lot of connections here where I live in Tennessee cause I just do my own thing but our grass grows really fast here and 90% of my clients are bi-weekly and won’t go weekly but it’s so hard to keep the yards maintained due to grass growth and the time it takes to do those bi-weeklys are a pain. What would you recommend if you was in my position? I’d love to hear your thoughts cause I’ve kinda ran out of options lol. Thank you in advance!
Good evening. I am currently in the process of selling my lawn route. I built a small but very profitable route of around 24 accounts. Have been in business for just under 21 years. And many of the 24 accounts I’ve been servicing for that length of time. So definitely some attachments for me. Some of these clients I view as family at this point. It sounds like you definitely had a “silver platter” type experience, as you put it, with selling your route to a friend. It sounds like no legal paperwork/documentation was necessary in your situation. What would you recommend for someone like me who’s selling to a total stranger? Should there be something in writing to protect myself from the buyer potentially trying to come back at me if say, he got fired after the first month due to poor quality of job, and demands his money back from me? This is new territory for me. I’ve never bought or sold a lawn route. I just want to make sure I do it the appropriate way legally to protect myself. Any advice?
Hey love the videos, you looking for a dump trailer with side wall? There is on for sale on Merriman rd between 7 mile and 8 closer to 8 mile on the west side
Hey! Quick question, how do you handle when you mow? Do you set up contracts? How do those contracts work? Are they all contracted? Weekly? Biweekly? On call? I NEED ANSWERS 😂😂
Brian's Lawn Maintenance So are there any exceptions to just weekly? Do you have customers that you mow every two weeks too? What about customers that want to be on call? Just overall, how do you set up your schedule for the week?
Few calls but I think the Christmas rush got everyone. They all mentally shifted gears. But I’m glad we made another impression on everyone so next snow storm they remember us, and spring they remember us.
Thoughts for this situation? I have 65 yards, do mowing, mulch, bush trimming etc. Monthly revenue is $6000 recurring and roughly $1800 on the landscaping side. I’m asking for 3 months of the recurring revenue and 50% of profits for the landscaping profits. Does that seem fair?
@@SuperNoticer thanks, it worked out. Buyer is very profitable and I made a good exit. Seller financed it for 18 months and helped transition customers and moved all my systems seamlessly
Brian, good video, I believe you said you sold the clients in June, did you pick that time intentionally? Do you believe there's an optimum time to sell lawn care customers; beginning, midseason, end of season?
Yeah I picked that time but it was half luck and half just finally deciding to prune it. It worked out that my friend was in the market, and I was ready to make a transition in my business. Luck just happened to play a part and made it such a blessing so we could move on with what we wanted to do in 2018/19!
Great video. We have been using Yardbood for the last year and a half. It has been a great asset to us. We are setting up our selling suite now that it is available. How did you get your into portion of your video? Thanks for great videos!
If you start going into Doctor appointments and test results I am going to tell you TMFI. And if it happens to many time I will not watch or listen to your videos. The only thing I did differently was I took the guy I was selling to meet the customers on a Saturday and or Sunday.
Love your videos I some witch I could talk to u since I’m new and pick ur brain enough to just get me started right but I have learn a lot from your videos thks
Hey Brian its Rocco from R & J here in ct that's exactly what we do in this area as well so it's fair for both parties thanks buddy always enjoy your videos so please keep them coming there appreciated thanks Rocco
Respect for having the balls to give out your selling price. That said, if i heard you correctly you sold all the accounts for 2 grand all in? For a guy like you that sounds like a monthly gas bill type of money. Were those 20 clients super unprofitable or did you not assume the continued money stream month over month and year over year for those accounts? Either way you seem to be killing it that a loss on this doesn't really matter.
Meh I didn’t really care either way. To be honest, I was just going to drop them. This just worked out as a good case study scenario for me personally. I was more interested in freeing up my schedule mentally to rebuild that route (which I already took on 8 new clients in a new sub where I want to grow to 40) and make a new day out of it where I live. I’m sure I could’ve sold for a few hundred each buuut. I don’t also know if the buyer was in that position either. So $2K seemed favorable either way, ya.
SOOOO CHEAP I go 25 minutes out. Do a lot work in the area. Could move closer but will not. Ideally starting close is good idea. A bigger company in my area is selling for $ 750,000 annual revenue $1,327,706 . Not including property and inventory.
Wow $100 per account that is unbelievable they go for three to five hundred dollars around where I live per account ..... I would buy as many as I could get right now for 200 per account
I use Yardbook app the majority of the time. It's great being able to set up a new customer account and invoice on the fly out in the field. I'll use the app to text quotes/invoices on the spot. I love it and my customers are always amazed when I do it all in front of them. Basically, my cell is my office with the Yardbook app.
Sounds like he stole those. $100 per lawn per month I get but there is multiple months in a season so personally I would value that a lot more. Especially because your giving him extra work along with those lawns. I think $500 per account might be more realistic. Assuming he isn't a hack he will keep them for years to come and that will pay for itself many times over. $100 is crazy low.
We bought a route a few years back. Paid 1.5X gross. Terms 90% transfer then subtract each account lost at 1.5X gross for each account that is lost for the first 90 days. One of the best moves we ever made.
he's a friend. brian did him a big kindness. nothing wrong with that. now on the other hand, i'd say if i were the other guy, a year or two down the road, if things are going well, i would come back with another 3-5k and say "you know what, brother, i really appreciate what you did selling me those accounts-- on a payment plan, no less." but i'm not saying the friend has to do that either.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance True. That's what it's all about. I think the real lesson here isnt the money its knowing when to change your routes for the better. It's hard to look at your own business objectively. Especially when your starting out. You say yes to everything just cause your excited to get the work, but realizing what makes sense from a business sense years later is hard to do. Let alone adjusting to it and cutting things out. My lawns are spread out throughout towns. Makes me question the logic of it.
Can you please explain the following? According to you're video it was about 20-21 accounts in that region just on a half day off work, so you are saying you crank out 40-45 yards a day with 1 crew? Thats about 200-225 accounts per week which in return is 866 - 975 / month, average that at 40$/cut/account 34.500$ - 39.000$ Month. Can you please verify how you crank out 20 yards on a half a day ? ( simple math 1 yards takes 15minutes X 20 is 300 minutes AKA 5 hours, without riding around in that area lets say 5 minutes of travel between each yard 25min morning drive 18 x 5min = 90 minutes AKA 1,5 hours in between yards 25 min return drive ) ( total that would some up to 300+50+90 minutes + 30min lunch break 470 MIN total aprox 7:50 Hours ) So i'm sorry but i have to call BS on the whole thing and say it like it really is and thats just as a commercial for Yardbook, nothing wrong with that but don't try to convince everyone it's something else )
I love comments like this. Thanks for using your brain! Nah, we average 30-35 lawns a day, $25-$30 a cut. I wish I was making the gross numbers you quoted! This is with a 2 man setup. We clean up, but not like you’re suggesting! The route I sold off was in fact a 8-12pm Setup. We had 12 in a row in one sub. I have no incentive to embellish. Good question though. Thanks for the comment!
Oh and the average lawns I have are >4Ksqft if that helps. Small subdivision style homes. Watch some of our DITL videos you’ll get a better idea of our typical property. Thanks!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance Thank you for verifying the numbers, none the less i think the reason you have sold this is not the travel but the fact you priced it to do them without taking into account your travel time. As for my calculations you should be 30-35$ / yard to make it profitable to the extent you don't worry about the travel time as all those lawns combined would be able to pay yourself and your crew the lost revenue of that hour of travel time. This is obviously solely based on that 8-12PM setup you currently have if you would have a 8am-5pm setup your price mark as it is right now will be profitable as you don't lose that hour of daylight ( running time in the middle of the day )
Bingo. But if we break down or even a belt breaks, this was 25 minutes west of where I live. And 20 more west of even the dealer for parts. A few times we broke down and it was 45 minutes to get parts, 45 back, 30 at the dealer etc. So there was definitely a lot more that went into the decision
![CUSTOMER REFUSES TO PAY! [SNEAKY CONTRACTS OUT THERE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GfLVPIC3cpU/mqdefault.jpg)
Do you guys have any good stories about buying or selling accounts? Any helpful tips I missed? If so, leave a comment down below and maybe they can help the next guy.
When are the rest of the mower comparrison vidoes with Ed Wright and Stanley going to be posted?? Looking forward to Wright's insights on each unit along with yours and Stanley's - Thanks !
I tripled my business, which was already fifteen year established, overnight for 6k.
sometimes it's a situation you don't even have to think about.
but other times, it's a awful deal.
Sounds about right Brain, about $100 to $200 per account & sold my first 15 to move up to better ones in another side of town, worked perfectly. I just hate all the low ballers in this industry, seriously irritating..Get everything in writing!!!
This is something I’ve never understood. Specifically when companies try to go out of business and sell off all their equipment and accounts. When I don’t want to maintain your property anymore, I just notify the person that service will end however many days from now. They are human beings and they aren’t for sale. I’ve been in this business for 17 years and never bought or sold an account. I work at the pleasure of the person paying me. I surmise if someone tried to sell me an account I’d just approach the client and tell them they’re being exploited. This buying and selling business is dishonest. Not my way of making money and it’s not how I’ve built a solid business. Maybe there’s something with your contracts that I don’t understand. To me, it’s not right.
I once bought a bunch of accounts for $250 a piece. Lost most of them within 5 years do to deaths, moving, etc. never buying accounts again for more them $100.
I watched your video this morning . Around 5 pm today I was contacted by a competitor company. She is closing down the Pet Waste Removal section of her company and wanted to sell me her customers in my service area. She had no idea how much to charge me. I used your formula and she excepted it..$1000 for 20 accounts. Thank you so much for the tips. I’ve been learning so much.
Lucky for y’all. My business doesn’t start till 25 minutes away.
Awesome Plan ! Very professional ! I picked up 20 clients in My Territory a few years ago. The former guy just up and quit on his people.....within 72 hours Everyone of his clients called Me because I was already servicing his clients neighbor. Service never stopped. Just continued the flow.
That happened to me too once! We picked up a dozen accounts almost instantly.
Gods Favor !!
I don’t know if you see this comment but Brian you have helped me a ton ! I started two years ago pulling a push mower out of my dad’s Santa Fe . now I have my own set up, someone working for me , and 85 clients all through connections . Only thing is I need to watch a lot more of your videos as it’s so so important to have guidance . A ton of love from south jersey
That’s awesome brother. Keep up the hustle! Check out our podcast while you mow, Fullerton Unfiltered!
Nice video Brian, those are some nice tips! I bought accounts from the 15 year old who doesn't want to do lawn care anymore but it didn't ever sell accounts before but now I know how to sell accounts!
I bought maybe 15 lawns and snow customers from a guy for like 2500, im only doing a couple lawns from the 15 i bought, this was over 10 years ago so it worked out well and made decent money from them.
I ended up selling about 20 customers to a friend about 8 years ago... but i never got paid, i ended up letting it go. Lesson learned, u find out who your true friends are over the years.
I've never been into buying accounts, because everyone does business there own way. It's no guarantee if the customer is going to like you no matter what you done.
Good vid Brian. I have purchased lawn clients twice in my 10 years in biz. Price was 20% of the calculated income for regular weekly mowing for one season. (Our mowing season here in MN runs about 24 cuttings. We did a payment plan, something like yours but spread out longer, and monthy. (I learned of both of these guys going out of lawn care biz through my local lawn equipment shop, called them up, and things when from there.) We transitioned with a "good news/bad news letter first, written by the guys going out of biz, wherein they recommended me and my company.) It was mailed out, and then I followed up a few days later with my first phone contact to the various customers.
I worked for a company that serviced large commercial properties all over the country I serviced 60 properties a month & ironically for 3 years my route was the eastern portion of Michigan. Everything from Indiana border north to Bad Axe Mi, and everything west to i69 and everything east to the shore of Lake Erie.
I very much understand where your coming from with your focus on route density because it works so perfectly in Michigan and in particular the Detroit Suburbs.
BUT my point being is I’m from Rural Indiana about an hour north of Indianapolis. My town has a population of 11k and is a suburb of Muncie which has a population of roughly 80k which is greatly dependent on the university. Now Muncie has 4 or 5 rural school districts all within 10-15mins of Muncie that directly feed off of Muncie stores and food and entertainment etc.
and maybe this is just my travel for work mentality I have in me now. But if I had 20 properties in a town that’s 30minutes away on the other side of one of our rural Suberbs I sure as heck wouldn’t be shying away from that. If anything that gives me motive to expand and maybe even add another crew, my point being with all this is a route of 20 could turn into a route of 50 and that temporary money you have from selling those routes would be meaningless compared to what that city could provide long term for you.
I’ll never be on a massive scale with my company but landscape companies thrive as the biggest midget and if I had 3 full time crews going out and servicing different areas 8 months a year there’s a killing worth of money to be made.
Just giving my two cents
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah sometimes folks don’t understand the market I’m in. There’s 3 million people in a 35 minute radius! Thanks for sharing your .02 as well 💪
2018 was 1st year I used yard books for my software loved it was so easy and professional.
Awesome awesome info Brian. I’ve been watching for last couple months and I feel like I’ve got such an advantage going into this brand new year with my brand new lawn service. Can’t imagine how or where I would have found all this info if I hadn’t been watching my daughters play UA-cam videos and wondered what kind of info is out there for lawn care. Thanks again and my wife and I may try to attend the GIE this year.
Lol that’s awesome man. Thanks for the support!
It’s awesome to see how you’ve grown over these last 8-9 years. You’re definitely an inspiration. Your videos and editing have came a long way as well.
Thanks Myron!
I'm 19 I've had my lawn care and tree service for 2 years and we're crushing it!! Thank you for your info brain its greatly appreciated I watch you and lawn crack for all my info and ryan actually made a whole video about me and my business
Awesome buddy. Keep the hammer down 💪
His info brain is something else eh lol
Let me save potential viewers some time and maybe some cash (Remember Brian, you asked for opinions and comments) ... Customers have FREE WILL that can't be bought or sold by third parties. Therefore, anyone who buys clients would be taking a huge risk that the customer retains your service. Therefore, lawn accounts are not to be bought or sold. Then there is the customer who benefits ZERO from their account being pawned off. Anyone who buys lawn accounts as a growth strategy could be going backwards very easily. You CAN ASK for and/or pay a small FINDERS FEE for customers, but that should not exceed $20 per lead. That's how it really works folks!
I occasionally buy accounts, usually after picking up a new account and the property owner tells me their last guy is quitting the business. I’ll get his contact info and reach out. My standard offer is 20% of whatever I am able to bill for, for 12 months. In exchange, I ask the previous guy to make a list of all his accounts, and for him to reach out to them, let them know he’s got someone to take care of them, and tell them to expect my call. You can’t force the customer to switch, so I feel that a percentage of what I am able to sell is fair to both of us, vs $X.xx per account.
I am in the same boat as you BTW. When we started I took on anything and everything, and am now really focusing on density. I’ve got a couple days worth of work I’d love to pass on to someone reliable, in certain areas. I’m just trying to be patient and sell them vs letting them go.
Yeah man I feel ya. A few extra bucks is always nice instead of just letting them go.
I'm a little late to the game. But I have about 20 lawns I cut for the last few yrs now but I moved an hr away and just can't keep up on the other side of town. I can sell these even though I don't have contracts?
@@keithlewis8238 possibly. There is no guarentee the customer will stay with the buyer without contracts. Most customers will as long as ther are reliable and do good work.
@@cwiedner didn't even know it was an option, glad I found this. Thank you
Thank you for the response today! This is so helpful.
Look at Yard Book stepping their game up! Power moves! Good video bud!
Our longest commute was an hour and a half one way and when the one day the highway was insanely backed up it took us 3 hours to get there.
About 9 years ago I closed and sold off parts of my first landscaping company... I sold about 35 account no contracts just last few years history for $5000 cash on the spot. No promises. The total was about 50k gross sales on them, all mowing accounts and some were other services, fall cleanups, mulch etc.
how did you find a company to sell your accounts to and did you cal each account and let them know they were being handed off to another company?
On point again my man!
You're right about there's not a lot of information on this subject about transitioning from or to another provider.I understand your thought process of having a tighter route. I live in a rural part of NC and the closest BIG city, lol, is 25 min away. I've even talked to a few of my lawncare/landscaping associates who live near me and business owners in my town and they also agreed with me about having to go 20-25 mins to grow our business. There's less than 10k people in my zip code. The town I'm speaking of, that is closest to me, has over 50k people and the average household income is at least double that from where I reside. Plus there's at least 7 new subs being built as we speak. If I could have the amount of people in close proximity, that you have at your disposal, as potential clients, I would definitely look into what you did! Lol! For the most part we have to go 20-25 miles. My goal is to gain at least 50 recurring clients in that area for next year. 50 may not seem like a lot, but it would be a big step for me, at this time.
That’s awesome man. Get your 50 and move to the new sub yourself lol
I already posted a comment. But I can’t wait for 2019 because I’m gonna start using yardbook and it’s going to help take my business to a whole new level!
I feel like you and (Max) both got a good deal. Hope everything works out well for you and him both. Also Yardbook is amazing! It's so helpful. I company in my town has been doing lawn care for over 14 years and the owner is a close friend of mine I showed him yardbooks site a few months back and he has already switched to yardbook. 👍
That’s what’s up
Great Video. I enjoyed the content.
When we sell/or buy accounts here in New York (metro area) its usually whatever the monthly is X 3. So if you are getting 100.00 a month (not including the extras, just the weekly service) I would sell or buy it for 300.00.
I searched this, hoping you had a video on it… and I found it. Lol love your videos!
Hope you enjoyed it!
I love all your videos but here in the UK I'm not sure if there would be any money transferred as customers could cancel anytime and the guy you've sold too could make a loss
Max is quite an impressive friend
I didnt vet who i sold 10 accounts to and i didnt get $$$. He told me had insurance. He didnt. Didnt show or didnt communicate with clients ☹️. The were some of my first clients i had had for 10 -12 yrs. Found out from another landscaper he drove through a freshly sealed driveway causing $1000 damage. Your price sounds right to me.
Doing that this year! Hopefully we can make a boom. 💪
Hey Brian greetings from Novi Michigan again 4 years ago when I sold my construction and Landscaping snow plowing business I did something very similar but on a larger scale split all the accounts up sold them to various companies with contracts through attorney then I took all my nine trucks with all my boss snow plow blades and all my snowex feedbox alters and sold them clean them all up and saw the one by one took me a year but I sold everything profited very highly from everything paid off and took all the money and move to another business the way it did it is right except I want to make sure you had a lot more in writing but you're on your way break into them commercial accounts in 2019
Awesome man that’s cool. Thanks for sharing.
Like the transition process!
Another awesome video, Brian. We are all learning together and it is great you use your experiences to help others.
Good to hear you trust each other but $2000 is a lot to trust someone on their word and handshake. What happens if he takes on the customers then sails into the sunset. You would be surprised who will RIP you off in business. I had a supplier of 15 years rip me off last year after I made a similar deal with them (my other business in a different industry) just saw you addressed this at the end of the video 👍 very true what you said about getting into business with family too.
Yeah even if you know the person it’s always a risk. Lots of unknowns! That’s why I love reading the comments too.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance yeah my own dad ripped me off when I was working for his business 10 years ago. That was an eye opener. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me ( I learnt my lesson the second time round lol)
Holy moly. $100 for each account. Dang I live in Mississippi and I’ll take some too at that price. 😂.
Lol
i hear you; even if they're tiny $25 yards, that's still a steal.
That must have been all the customer that are hard to get paid from for that price.....lol
Lawn Enforcement where at in MS I run Bubbas Lawn Care and more LLC on the gulf coast hit me up on fb
IKT JoeFish I run Primary Lawns in SW Louisiana. Look me up on FB. Might see you at some trade shows.
Awesome video brother keep up the awesome work Have a Happy Healthy New Year to you and your Family
Nice job bro. Lots of info. Smart decisions. 👍🏼💪🏼👊🏼
Thanks Aiden
Hi Brian, I am only 14, and i’m just getting into business. I am really looking forward to start implementing yard-books into my company. I’m especially intrigued on the storefront for the other services, and the online billing. I am still pretty confused on how to start using it, and how to set everything up. What are your best tips and advice on using it, and getting your customers transitioned to using it? Thank you, Dom
It’s brand new so we’re getting it setup ourselves. I’ve already been strategizing how we can best use it. I will definitely be offering the basics that my customer don’t know I really offer or have a sub for. Fert, Mulch, Aeration and Shrub Trimming, just to name a few. Hope that helps!
Good stuff Brian....I always wondered how much one would sell a list of customers on a route. It seems you guys made a fair deal in my opinion.
Hey it may be high or low, but it worked out great. Love reading everyone’s comments to see how or what they did / do. Seems like a lot of gray areas and even misinformation on this topic out there.
Wow I don’t understand why anyone would dislike this smh but great video keep crushing it 💪🏾👍🏾🌾🍁
👊👍
Random question, is there a video where you speak on paying tax for your business? I want to start this business, but I need to find out about the legal side for South Carolina.
Also, pros and cons of having a business partner.
I try to not do much tax stuff other then suggest quarterly payments. If you pay more then $3K in annual taxes as a business, I think the rule is to start paying quarterly at a minimum. It’s just too complicated a topic. Definitely consult a local cpa or someone with accounting knowledge, they can steer you in the right direction
@@BriansLawnMaintenance Thank for the response and info.
Thanks Brian, I didn’t know about that “store front” option with yardbooks sounds profitable, you’re doing great God Bless and trust that 2019 is going to be a great year for you and your family!
Thanks Calvin. Oh ya!
Hey Brian love the Chanel
Just wondering if you ever though of do a video on selling snow plow & salt accounts
Would be real interested to hear how you would handle it
Thanks
To be honest I haven’t done either yet!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance
I’m really interested in selling my 5 truck plow and salting routes for 2022/2023 season the 3 killer is staffing fuel and insurance
Let me know if you ever want to chat and l can run my ideas past you
Take care love the Chanel
I love Yardbook I have been using them for 2 years
Great information Brian, as always.
Thanks buddy
Awesome video and great advice.
Is there a website or somewhere i can buy landscaping accounts ?
Very helpful tips. Have you been out plowing yet this winter???
Nope not yet buddy!
Dear Brian’s lawn care I have been watching your videos over the years I have a question I love when you make videos of your ex mark bagger is there any way you can leave your bagger on your mower so that way you can mow grass too instead of using it for spring and summer I live in Saskatoon I bag grass all year long
Hey Brain would you be able to do a video on sub contracting lawn accounts. How everything works from start to finish. I own a lawn and landscape company and thinking of doing this . thanks great videos!
I haven’t subbed any accounts really. Just to a few friends to help for a day.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance brain brain brain is all I see lol. Brian is the brains. As often as you get called brain, should consider a name change ;)
I use jobber with my lawn care company it’s really nice to have and definitely helps with routing, payments, quotes etc. and my clients love it but it’s expensive. I’ve looked into other software that may be cheaper but I’m just afraid to change what works. What are your thoughts?
Justin Bishop Jobber is good and so are their people. I haven’t used it so I can’t really weigh in, sorry! Maybe someone else can leave a comment comparing the 2 crm’s. Thanks!
Brian's Lawn Maintenance I don’t have a lot of connections here where I live in Tennessee cause I just do my own thing but our grass grows really fast here and 90% of my clients are bi-weekly and won’t go weekly but it’s so hard to keep the yards maintained due to grass growth and the time it takes to do those bi-weeklys are a pain. What would you recommend if you was in my position? I’d love to hear your thoughts cause I’ve kinda ran out of options lol. Thank you in advance!
I used Yardbook for a few years. It's a great website.
I use Jobber now for all my CRM. I love them both.
@@carpoolcool6609 which one do you preferred and why?
Thanks Brian! Great Information!! 💪
Can't belive you don't have snow, we just got half of foot in St .Cloud MN
Yeah me neither haha
Doesn't matter that much for me since I'm only 13 and run a small operation, but still can't belive you don't have snow.
Good evening.
I am currently in the process of selling my lawn route. I built a small but very profitable route of around 24 accounts. Have been in business for just under 21 years. And many of the 24 accounts I’ve been servicing for that length of time. So definitely some attachments for me. Some of these clients I view as family at this point. It sounds like you definitely had a “silver platter” type experience, as you put it, with selling your route to a friend. It sounds like no legal paperwork/documentation was necessary in your situation. What would you recommend for someone like me who’s selling to a total stranger? Should there be something in writing to protect myself from the buyer potentially trying to come back at me if say, he got fired after the first month due to poor quality of job, and demands his money back from me? This is new territory for me. I’ve never bought or sold a lawn route. I just want to make sure I do it the appropriate way legally to protect myself. Any advice?
would also like to know the answer to this!
Wow he got a great deal.Everyone in my area os asking for minimum 6 months gross revenue on accounts
Hey love the videos, you looking for a dump trailer with side wall? There is on for sale on Merriman rd between 7 mile and 8 closer to 8 mile on the west side
Yeah I’m good for now since I have my new insert. But good looking out
Sounds like a fair price and a good transition. (I use Yardbook as well.)
Hey! Quick question, how do you handle when you mow? Do you set up contracts? How do those contracts work? Are they all contracted? Weekly? Biweekly? On call? I NEED ANSWERS 😂😂
Lol no contracts. Just weekly mowing
Brian's Lawn Maintenance So are there any exceptions to just weekly? Do you have customers that you mow every two weeks too? What about customers that want to be on call? Just overall, how do you set up your schedule for the week?
Brian - Have you seen a return yet on those flyers you printed out a few videos ago?
Few calls but I think the Christmas rush got everyone. They all mentally shifted gears. But I’m glad we made another impression on everyone so next snow storm they remember us, and spring they remember us.
Thoughts for this situation? I have 65 yards, do mowing, mulch, bush trimming etc. Monthly revenue is $6000 recurring and roughly $1800 on the landscaping side. I’m asking for 3 months of the recurring revenue and 50% of profits for the landscaping profits. Does that seem fair?
Oh gosh I mean up to you brother
Good luck with that lol
@@SuperNoticer thanks, it worked out. Buyer is very profitable and I made a good exit. Seller financed it for 18 months and helped transition customers and moved all my systems seamlessly
@@thefantasysportsgamingnetw2820 That's good to hear. Congrats
As an upstart is it smart to buy ac ounts or flyer. Advertising?
Just depends on what your budget is and your goals are.
Awesome Info buddy!👊🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🌱💯
Brian, good video, I believe you said you sold the clients in June, did you pick that time intentionally? Do you believe there's an optimum time to sell lawn care customers; beginning, midseason, end of season?
Yeah I picked that time but it was half luck and half just finally deciding to prune it.
It worked out that my friend was in the market, and I was ready to make a transition in my business. Luck just happened to play a part and made it such a blessing so we could move on with what we wanted to do in 2018/19!
Lot's of information in this one. Also nice intro where did you get it made?
Just Fiverr
Does yard book have consultants to speak with?
They have their chat feature and also email. But I’d encourage you to join the Facebook group, TONS of great people and conversations there.
Great video. We have been using Yardbood for the last year and a half. It has been a great asset to us. We are setting up our selling suite now that it is available. How did you get your into portion of your video? Thanks for great videos!
That’s suite! Ha, I had to. Fiverr.com!
No one around here sells Nd buys lawn accounts. Brian, do you get a kickback from advertising products such as yardbooks?
Lots of folks I know buy and sell them around here. Yeah Yardbook has been a partner of ours for a while. We use their software in our business too.
Good stuff
Hey Brian.did you introduce the buyer to your clients?
Nope just how I said it in the video. And his phone #.
Lawns in Florida go for the price for at least 3 months
Nice to know!
Brain,
Do you do contracts with your lawn customers?
No sir
Great video
He got a great deal! I would pay twice that.
Does yard book charge to process payments? How much?
1% and stripe is like 3% I think.
Yes, for credit card payments. I have most my customers write checks to avoid it.
If you start going into Doctor appointments and test results I am going to tell you TMFI. And if it happens to many time I will not watch or listen to your videos. The only thing I did differently was I took the guy I was selling to meet the customers on a Saturday and or Sunday.
Awesome
What percentage of the income of the accounts did you use to decide on a price?
We said it in the video three times.. :)
@@BriansLawnMaintenance you got me rofl . Keep up the great work pal.
Love your videos I some witch I could talk to u since I’m new and pick ur brain enough to just get me started right but I have learn a lot from your videos thks
Email anytime I try to answer everyone man rock on
25 min ? Is a bad route try leaving inland empire to work in la or Orange County in California 1 hour with traffic
Yikes!
good info , good video.
Hey Brian its Rocco from R & J here in ct that's exactly what we do in this area as well so it's fair for both parties thanks buddy always enjoy your videos so please keep them coming there appreciated thanks Rocco
Nice to know! Thanks Rocco
Well said
Wow I think you sold those cheap. Route density is definitely tge hardest part
What do you mean $100 bucks for an account is low!!! I am under charging by a lot then because I charge $25 per account.
I think he's selling the lawn connection for $100. Not charging $100 to cut.
Respect for having the balls to give out your selling price. That said, if i heard you correctly you sold all the accounts for 2 grand all in? For a guy like you that sounds like a monthly gas bill type of money. Were those 20 clients super unprofitable or did you not assume the continued money stream month over month and year over year for those accounts? Either way you seem to be killing it that a loss on this doesn't really matter.
Meh I didn’t really care either way. To be honest, I was just going to drop them. This just worked out as a good case study scenario for me personally. I was more interested in freeing up my schedule mentally to rebuild that route (which I already took on 8 new clients in a new sub where I want to grow to 40) and make a new day out of it where I live.
I’m sure I could’ve sold for a few hundred each buuut. I don’t also know if the buyer was in that position either. So $2K seemed favorable either way, ya.
100 bucks per lawn? seems real low
@Nigel Pearson Sure is a favor, that's a give away.
SOOOO CHEAP
I go 25 minutes out. Do a lot work in the area. Could move closer but will not. Ideally starting close is good idea.
A bigger company in my area is selling for $ 750,000 annual revenue $1,327,706 . Not including property and inventory.
Awesome
Wow $100 per account that is unbelievable they go for three to five hundred dollars around where I live per account ..... I would buy as many as I could get right now for 200 per account
x's and o's? 🤔 hugs and kisses? *what??* 🤣
Just for you 🤗
@@BriansLawnMaintenance aww, thanks, brother 🤣
What ever happened to their app ?
I only use desktop, not sure
I use Yardbook app the majority of the time. It's great being able to set up a new customer account and invoice on the fly out in the field. I'll use the app to text quotes/invoices on the spot. I love it and my customers are always amazed when I do it all in front of them. Basically, my cell is my office with the Yardbook app.
italian fighter what’s it called? I can’t find it in the Apple App Store
I have Android, not sure about apple.
italian fighter I googled it, they don’t have one for Apple get
Do you ever plan on scaling your business up with employees and equipment?
Not really nope
Sounds like he stole those. $100 per lawn per month I get but there is multiple months in a season so personally I would value that a lot more. Especially because your giving him extra work along with those lawns. I think $500 per account might be more realistic. Assuming he isn't a hack he will keep them for years to come and that will pay for itself many times over. $100 is crazy low.
Guess so! But it was a new experience and an awesome lesson I got to learn
We bought a route a few years back. Paid 1.5X gross. Terms 90% transfer then subtract each account lost at 1.5X gross for each account that is lost for the first 90 days. One of the best moves we ever made.
he's a friend. brian did him a big kindness. nothing wrong with that. now on the other hand, i'd say if i were the other guy, a year or two down the road, if things are going well, i would come back with another 3-5k and say "you know what, brother, i really appreciate what you did selling me those accounts-- on a payment plan, no less." but i'm not saying the friend has to do that either.
kodiak wild Totally. It worked out well. Could’ve went a million different ways but I’m happy with it all.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance True. That's what it's all about. I think the real lesson here isnt the money its knowing when to change your routes for the better. It's hard to look at your own business objectively. Especially when your starting out. You say yes to everything just cause your excited to get the work, but realizing what makes sense from a business sense years later is hard to do. Let alone adjusting to it and cutting things out. My lawns are spread out throughout towns. Makes me question the logic of it.
He got that dirt cheap
Sweet. Seems like a good deal for him 💪
Wow sold cheap. Sounds like it is a win win though.
place holder so I get to see all the "never buy accounts" replies.
Curious what other guys do as well. This topic always mystified me. Not many videos on this topic.
I wish someone would unload some accounts on me😎
Shindiwa
Can you please explain the following? According to you're video it was about 20-21 accounts in that region just on a half day off work, so you are saying you crank out 40-45 yards a day with 1 crew? Thats about 200-225 accounts per week which in return is 866 - 975 / month, average that at 40$/cut/account 34.500$ - 39.000$ Month. Can you please verify how you crank out 20 yards on a half a day ? ( simple math 1 yards takes 15minutes X 20 is 300 minutes AKA 5 hours, without riding around in that area lets say 5 minutes of travel between each yard 25min morning drive 18 x 5min = 90 minutes AKA 1,5 hours in between yards 25 min return drive ) ( total that would some up to 300+50+90 minutes + 30min lunch break 470 MIN total aprox 7:50 Hours ) So i'm sorry but i have to call BS on the whole thing and say it like it really is and thats just as a commercial for Yardbook, nothing wrong with that but don't try to convince everyone it's something else )
I love comments like this. Thanks for using your brain!
Nah, we average 30-35 lawns a day, $25-$30 a cut. I wish I was making the gross numbers you quoted! This is with a 2 man setup. We clean up, but not like you’re suggesting!
The route I sold off was in fact a 8-12pm Setup. We had 12 in a row in one sub. I have no incentive to embellish. Good question though.
Thanks for the comment!
Oh and the average lawns I have are >4Ksqft if that helps. Small subdivision style homes. Watch some of our DITL videos you’ll get a better idea of our typical property. Thanks!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance Thank you for verifying the numbers, none the less i think the reason you have sold this is not the travel but the fact you priced it to do them without taking into account your travel time. As for my calculations you should be 30-35$ / yard to make it profitable to the extent you don't worry about the travel time as all those lawns combined would be able to pay yourself and your crew the lost revenue of that hour of travel time. This is obviously solely based on that 8-12PM setup you currently have if you would have a 8am-5pm setup your price mark as it is right now will be profitable as you don't lose that hour of daylight ( running time in the middle of the day )
Bingo. But if we break down or even a belt breaks, this was 25 minutes west of where I live. And 20 more west of even the dealer for parts. A few times we broke down and it was 45 minutes to get parts, 45 back, 30 at the dealer etc. So there was definitely a lot more that went into the decision
Great comment!!!
Buying accounts makes absolutely no sense there is so much work out there
Florina Fitness on UA-cam could possibly be your twin sister. Check it out