I do lawn mowing as a part time job for my wife and I. These numbers are real and about what we do on a saturday. Or over the course of a week in the evenings. We have about 15 regular customers each month and make between $1600 to $2000 a month. best part time job we have ever had. We have been at it 6 years now, It has put of our kids through college.
Why does everyone just mention the profits. These are scewed figures. After taxes and insurance these profit figures aren't that rosy, or is everyone running their business off the books?
One of the Exmark walk behinds I bought wouldn't track straight and just today I fixed the issue myself. Felt very good knowing I wouldn't have to pay the dealer to do it for me.
I have a complete shop set up in my huge garage, (near 3 car wide 1.5 car deep garage attached to my house) my shop has a car hoist in it (my garage ceiling is 12 ft high & 9ft high double door), chain hoist from ceiling for lifting things (blade sharpening of lawn mowers is super handy or if I use my car hoist which can be tricky to lift a mower) anyhow I have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing ALL shop work myself after hours. On several occasions I have bought run down beat up near new era equipment for literally pennies on the dollar (by purchasing beat up equipment I save the money even if I have to purchase a couple parts during g repair process), and have restored the equipment to near new condition mechanically & cosmetically (paint goes along way) in my basement which is connected to my garage/shop I have a sand blaster cabinet for sandblasting rusty parts, next to that is a small parts paint booth & parts cleaner cabinet, all of this stuff I acquired over 4-5 year period, welder & torch in my shop for repair/rebuild or just custom building a tool or piece of equipment I need (I do often build something I need if I cannot buy the item). Repairs on everything can be cut considerably if u dont think it's possible I figure everything I have in my shop its paid for it self 10 - 20 times over because of how much I use the stuff I have in the shop. On several occasions I've even made money with my shop because someone has needed to use my welder, torch, chain hoist car lift, u name it people will ask and that is when I put the price out their and usually they will pay to use the stuff cuz it still saves them money from having to have the item fixed elsewhere. So yes doing your own repairs saves tons of money typically if u have a shop that is set up to do literally everything u need to do.
I am thinking of getting back into lawn care... I owned a business that was doing 90 to 120 yards a week..I started in 1992 and shut it down 2016.... I got burned out I guess !!! Now I do commercial and residential pressure washing,but I want to mow some..KINDA MISS IT !!!! So I want about 15 to 25 yards a week just to fill in the gaps. They average 1/2 to 3/4 acre around me. I have a Scag walk behind 48"..the only one of 6 Scags that I kept when I shut down the lawn care business.
Nice!!! I know everyone is different but I think we can all agree that cruising in the truck by yourself knocking down lawns at $500 a day is nice. I Would hate a 5 day run like that with no time for big money extras and dodging rain and catching up on Sundays. It might be your first year in a new town but your a seasoned vet that knows his equipment and how to get stuff done. Great video Jason! Keep up the good work.
Chris Smith Thanks. I have had a few comments on other videos indicating that it is hard to make money in lawn care. I am not going to be rich off of $485 per day, but this video was intending to show people that you can make good money mowing lawns even when starting out. The work is easier when working with helpers but there is something nice about being alone sometimes so you can have a little more freedom and you don't have to worry about the quality of work slipping.
So true. I'm 17 and only mow 8 yards a week on a saturday. I have been trying to expand into landscaping and tree services, and it's going well. I mow a cemetery, and 7 residentials yards and make $385 a week for working nine hours. Good money!
i made 410 for 13 houses. Best this year. PLus I bought a 30inch mower, its saves so much time and headache. I highly recommend toro timmaster. Buy it used for half price.
Love to see someone who busts his hump and being a go getter! I used to landscape in Florida. Hot hard work but I love the smell of fresh cut grass. Great motivation details
I average about $60 hour when I quote a yard. It's not how long it takes you that is the big deal, it is how long it would take them to do it. Plus I also offer reel moving too with is a whole different pricing.
Joli Garcon not at all where I was going with that analogy. I mean how long it takes the average person with average homeowner’s equipment. I can cover more ground in less time with more efficiency.
This is the truest video I’ve seen about lean services, I did it part time last year and I made at least 400-800$ most weekends up until it got a little cold out.
Im in Ky, and our prices are practically identical. What about leave removal? I make about 75 hr for leaves. I feel like thats pretty cheap. Anyone else?
My first two months on my own I have 6 clients 1 is a restaurant group that owns 4 area chain restaurants I maintain that I'm on a yearly contract with. My others are residential, non-contract. I've already had one newly-constructed shopping center wanting me to lay sod, plant trees, do mulch and maintain bi-weekly but I had to turn that down due to working a 50hr a week job with a large landscaping crew and landing the restaurant deal. I tried getting the contract to maintain but that went to the company that did the landscaping unfortunately. Two days ago, the big crew I work with hourly cut my hours in half claiming they want me to focus on my own company. They paid extremely well so I guess they see this as a way to save on payroll. Time is ticking. I'm 27 and out completely on my own and just spent a lot of money on 2 Exmark mowers and some Redmax handhelds. So far I'm making OK with the clients I have now but it's not enough to cover my cost of living. I'm very fortunate to have no debt within the business though! We have some wealthy areas and I'm really trying to get some houses in those areas on some weekly lawn contracts as well as landscaping for them but I feel it's too late into the season and I'll have to wait it out 'til early next year. I also focus on landing commercial. The crew I work with hourly has a TON of very large commercial properties we maintain and I know how much some of them pay and it's very generous I will say. Good luck everyone!!
I totally respect that you put your honest numbers out there. In my opinion you’re right on point with what is truthful and realistic for a one man show. I focus more on landscaping, but if I’m fully booked I’ll profit about 2k a week. Here in Cincinnati our landscaping season can be up to 44 weeks and in a mild winter you can do about half that all winter with lingering cleanups and such. More established companies can obviously do a lot more, but if you have everything streamlined you can make 100k running a 3 man crew for 44 weeks. I try to mow 1-2 days and landscape 3-4.
I have a couple commercial slots too. A pub and a restaurant. Early morning is the only way to get them done. Infact I have a third that I start at 5 pm after they close.
Great information, I'm actually moving to a new area and planning on doing just that. So it is nice to see others succeed in something I'm looking to succeed in. Thanks again
Great job!!! I appreciate your professionalism. I’ve watched several videos you’ve made. I’ve learned quite a bit. I don’t intend on starting a lawn care business, I simply like learning from those that know their stuff. Keep up the great work. I’ll be watching more of your videos.
Isn't the grass wet at 6 in the morning? I find it to be difficult to mow on wet grass due to uneven terrain in my area, and it doesn't typically look as good
I live in Mississippi and I know guys that charge up to $120 for a decent sized lawn. There's money to be made here, lots of new houses being built all the time.
BreezyMuney ___ I live there. How old are you? I'm About to start. I got a zero turn, weed eater, push, and leaf blower, along with a truck and trailer...Let me know if you want to partner up. I moved here about a year ago and don't know many people. Would be more appealing to customers if there are 2 people. Seems more legit and get a ton of work done. My only problem is I can't drive with a trailer for shit. Haha I'm trying to fucking BANK this season so I can move the hell out of my grandmas house. Reply if you're interested.
Its nice that you say that route is not efficient. I cut 30-38 lawns in 2 days with 3 people. My route has some people that are 30 min away. I'm trying to weed out the far away places and getting places closer so we don't have all that drive time. I always look at the time we are driving, we could be doing a place closer to my place. Good videos, Keep it up. Trying to get some videos going myself.
+Yousaf Rehman I'm self employed mowing grass. I make $2,400 a month with about 22 yards. All I bought was a new $250 push mower, used weedwacker for $50, and a used blower for $30. I've charged as much as $110-$130 for a one time cut for an overgrown yard. But I operate my business in a suburb of Saint Louis whose median income is $80,000. My advertising consists of a very small newspaper classifieds ad. Craigslist and keeping up with my Google Business Page. I got a lot of my customers off of all of that for little to no money. I did use Thumbtack to double my business late July. This is my first year, I'm sure if I didn't wait until August to quit my crap job at McDonald's and invested more into marketing I would hace made double.
First year in lawn care 23 solid customers. Weekly only. Making 5.5k a month 3 hours a day still enjoying my summer and enjoying the slow side of business as i know i wont have as much down time in the future 😅
Awesome. This video makes me feel encouraged. I am about to enter this business. Not to be a jerk but I checked your math and the total was actually $475.00. Ten bucks off - big deal. Thank you for making your videos.
I am doing weed control and fertilization now which is a year round business. Lawn mowing companies many times, do leaf cleanup or snow plowing (in the North)
1 day of 500 bucks on a saturday or sunday 4 times per month is 2000 times 8 months for mowing is 16k at the end of the year on top of your regular job. or if you get enough customers and transition in to lawn care full time thats 80k at the end of the year. me and my wife combined make about 40k so 80k for 8 months of mowing and 4 months of vacations is a dream come true honestly. granted that 40k is after taxes and the 80k is before taxes but still.
Wow man, Great info right there. Very encouraging. I'm way under charging right now, just to get the ball rolling. Once I get busy enough I plan on raising my price for new clients and weeding out the less profitable ones. What sizes are those lawns you cut? Your prices seem pretty high at $40 & $50. Even $35 is on the higher end for typical lawns here under 3000 square feet.
im trying to start my own business, ive been mowing lawns around my neighborhood for about 14 years though. But here there are small towns spread about 12 to 20 miles apart and quite a bit of competitors and is very hard to get customers..plus most people will not pay more than 20 bucks for a 3000 sq foot lawn..its hard but im still trying.
Shelby Thorn Wow. Sounds like a challenging area to have a lawn business. I think it will be important for you to find the customers who are willing to pay more for your service. It will be hard to make it at $20 per lawn.
Yes it is. My name is Zach by the way i was using he laptop..Didnt realize i was on her account..You have great advice by the way. I am working on watching your videos..Wi;; sub and like,Oh and the only reason i keep doing some of those is because some are in walking distance from my garage and some have been with me for 14 years aroundabout..they give me great ref. Thanks again
I started mowing lawn for my dad he has 2 acres of land and he pays me 20 bucks a week Im hoping to start doing it for my neighbours cause all the houses around my area have big yards
I have all the basic equipment except for a trailer. With my full time job the best I could manage would be a few jobs after work. What do you do initially to get customers just go door to door and see if they need someone to cut their grass? I'd feel weird about passing out business cards if I'm not officially in business yet.
I appreciate you experience. I am thinking of doing this part time soon. For the lawns you mentioned here are they weekly or biweekly or how often do you average cutting a lawn in a month? Thanks for an answer.
Most of my mowing customers are bi-weekly though some are weekly. The bi-weekly lawns are usually twice per month. The weekly are usually 4 times per month
it's realistic I charge 30 minimum so when you say you are doing multiple yards for that I hope they are indeed tiny like 5000 sq ft. or at least take 25 minutes or something. what I'm more interested in is obviously you switched to fertilization for a reason.... do you make more in that than mowing? or is it just easier for you? reason? how is that doing this year? full weeks for that this year?
Love Jesus Love People The lawns I am charging $30 are mostly less than 3000 sq ft. Some are probably less than 2000. I switched to fertilization for a number of reasons. I still think mowing is great, and has some advantages. The advantages of fertilizing is that is a year round business. I think that is the biggest advantage. The other advantage is that I think the profit margins are a little better once you get established. The biggest disadvantage is it take longer to build the business because you need a lot more customers. I probably need 4 times as many customer fertilizing as I would mowing. So far, it is going great. I have pick up about 80 fertilization customers. I am hoping year 2 will be great.
+Lawn Care Business how often do you do the same lawn in a month?......... once month, twice a month or every week? im asking because i do most of my clients once a month, the average amount i charge is $40 (they are pretty much the same size in turf) and its not working out for me, plz let me know
What did you do to build your web site? Did you create it yourself or did you pay someone to do if for you? I am just starting out and will be fully retired on July 1st, 2017. So right now yard care & maintenance is part time. I am doing work on Saturdays and will be doing some late afternoon jobs after the days get longer in the spring. I will again be going full time the first of July. I am in Southwest Georgia. I am using Yardbook for my estimates, invoicing, equipment maintenance and customer & vendor files.
I have a question is your prices per cut or monthly year round? I'm in FL and I charge monthly and year round only. But every guy with a truck cuts grass down here and take any job and charge by the hour.
+Kenny Muhleisen I typically charge per cut. In Florida, perhaps it would be different since the weather stays warmer. Here in Alabama, there was a winter break and that is the time the customer was most likely to fire you. I was burned by going year round on residentials. I still do that for commercials with a contract.
Grant I started out with an old push mower I found in my grandfathers shed, I cleaned the carbs, new gas and I changed the blades. Worked great, I then bought a cheap huskee lawn tractor. 46” deck. It worked well for my 2 lawns. I recommend saving for a self propelled push mower. Edit: sorry if it’s late.
Dicofole Yes, I am primarily focused on fertilization and weed control. The pricing for those services is based on the square footage of the lawn so it is not really done by marking up the products.
Lawn Care Business So if I went to Home Depot and bought a bag of weed and feed and a spreader and I use my own car to go to each customer. How do I price my service ? Just calculate the area covered by a bag + a profit I want to make and then charge based on the area to cover ? Are there places to get cheaper fertilizers than big box stores ? thanks.
Dicofole If you just want to buy a spreader and some fertilizer then you can just mark up your costs. I have a pricing chart based on the square footage. As the square footage increases, the price per foot goes down. For example, I may charge a 2000 sq ft. lawn only $30. If it is 10,000, then it is around $80. The rate varies per sq ft. I buy fertilizer from a company called Harrell's. You can buy fertilizer at John Deere Landscapes probably cheaper than a big box store. I pay around $18/bag of 50lbs for one type. Another type is a little cheaper.
Did you did that on a 8 hour shift or 12 hour shift? And what strategies you use to charge your clients for your work? In my neighborhood is $22 to $35 a yard work
Any tips for a beginner? At the moment I’m using a push mower, and weed eater, Nothing else. Trying to start it up but would love some sort of tips and advice.
I am in my third year of mowing. Got into it this big time, bought a rider. I have 11 properties to mow. I charge $25.00 for a yard. I have 2 days that I can dedicate the whole day. I have 2 business also, they are small plots. Roughly 30 minutes each to mow/Trim/Edge. I love it. I also do yard clean up work. I do get cash for some yards but for the most part I bill my customers on a monthly basis. It started out slow but I have built up a sizable amount of money in the checking account associated with my business. Thanks for the honesty in this video.
I'm 14 and if I do this then after about a day I can get a pro streaming/gaming/youtubing setup which would be nice. Oh and a couple thousand dollars of pocket money's always nice
+Eli Bowen I would get a push mower and focus on small lawns. A riding mower will be great if you can get one. Small lawns are many times more profitable
How do you charge your customers? PayPal on website, cash, mailed billing/invoice? Customers certainly will not be at home all the time so how exactly does this part of the job work? Thinking about doing this a little on the side, thanks for any advice!
+MW Schwartz For most of my weed control customers, I leave an invoice on the door. For mowing customers, I usually mail an invoice at the end of the month. I also use yardbook.com for software which allows me to email invoices to customers and they can pay via credit card
How are u able to charge 35 bucks? My neiborhood has decently sized yards and I can barely get 25 for a lawn. I live in MI by the way so idk if that has any effect on it.
im interested in starting a buisness the confusing part for me is like how do i go about getting a buisness lisence and how do i go about paperwork with customers like do they sign a contract or how does that work
Trevor Schifano I’m in the same boat. Wondering the same questions as well as how u come up with pricing. How do u go about getting jobs too? If it’s all references how’d you get your first job?
+Charlotte Drummer I offer weed control and fertilization. I also mow some lawns. This video was referring to mowing lawns. The prices in the video do not include any of the other services
$485 is a great day. I'd say average day for me is $300. But some days with extra work (palm trees clean up, mulch, etc. ) I have made on my own about $600, but that's not the norm.
Lawn Care Business I have a good mixture of property sizes that I mow. Everything from a 5000 sq ft lawn up to a 4 acre property and everything in between. The big properties are nice because i can park and mow for several hours at a time and dont have to run all over town loading and unloading, however I make the most money on the properties that are 1/2 acre or less. Wish I had about 50 of them in the same neighborhood!
I am not making that much but great days and then so so days pays the bills. I just today stopped service to 10 customers that are about 9 miles away which is to far. Everything is 5 minutes from my house. Dump, Mulch, nurseries and lots of customers. If I could get my driving time way down like 9 miles a day that would be great.
+Miguel Armenta www.yardbook.com is a gree lawn care software that I use. It has a feature which allows you to measure the square footage of a property. It works great.
I do lawn mowing as a part time job for my wife and I. These numbers are real and about what we do on a saturday. Or over the course of a week in the evenings. We have about 15 regular customers each month and make between $1600 to $2000 a month. best part time job we have ever had. We have been at it 6 years now, It has put of our kids through college.
Great comment man. Thanks for the perspective!
I'm starting up in the spring and this really makes me feel good about doing it. you are making awesome money
What merchant service do you use
Any updates?
Why does everyone just mention the profits. These are scewed figures. After taxes and insurance these profit figures aren't that rosy, or is everyone running their business off the books?
I'm in my 2nd year. I've had $750 days this season. I love it. I'm addicted.
Hey what lawnmower you recommend
+ORexlly hustler 42 inch zero turn it's a little expensive, but you got to spend money to make money
+lop mki what do you reccomend that's not 0turn
+ORexlly do you want a push mower?
+lop mki no a rider
My son is 13 and this video will get him excited! He's wanting to start a mowing business and has 3 yards so far! Thanks for the video
one of the best ways to cut cost is to learn to fix the equipment yourself.
Anthony Perry depends on what your time is worth
slowrider30 very important point
Time is always money
One of the Exmark walk behinds I bought wouldn't track straight and just today I fixed the issue myself. Felt very good knowing I wouldn't have to pay the dealer to do it for me.
I have a complete shop set up in my huge garage, (near 3 car wide 1.5 car deep garage attached to my house) my shop has a car hoist in it (my garage ceiling is 12 ft high & 9ft high double door), chain hoist from ceiling for lifting things (blade sharpening of lawn mowers is super handy or if I use my car hoist which can be tricky to lift a mower) anyhow I have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing ALL shop work myself after hours. On several occasions I have bought run down beat up near new era equipment for literally pennies on the dollar (by purchasing beat up equipment I save the money even if I have to purchase a couple parts during g repair process), and have restored the equipment to near new condition mechanically & cosmetically (paint goes along way) in my basement which is connected to my garage/shop I have a sand blaster cabinet for sandblasting rusty parts, next to that is a small parts paint booth & parts cleaner cabinet, all of this stuff I acquired over 4-5 year period, welder & torch in my shop for repair/rebuild or just custom building a tool or piece of equipment I need (I do often build something I need if I cannot buy the item). Repairs on everything can be cut considerably if u dont think it's possible I figure everything I have in my shop its paid for it self 10 - 20 times over because of how much I use the stuff I have in the shop. On several occasions I've even made money with my shop because someone has needed to use my welder, torch, chain hoist car lift, u name it people will ask and that is when I put the price out their and usually they will pay to use the stuff cuz it still saves them money from having to have the item fixed elsewhere. So yes doing your own repairs saves tons of money typically if u have a shop that is set up to do literally everything u need to do.
Finally a straight forward video thanks man
no kidding
this guy is great. he knows what he's doing
I am thinking of getting back into lawn care... I owned a business that was doing 90 to 120 yards a week..I started in 1992 and shut it down 2016.... I got burned out I guess !!!
Now I do commercial and residential pressure washing,but I want to mow some..KINDA MISS IT !!!! So I want about 15 to 25 yards a week just to fill in the gaps. They average 1/2 to 3/4 acre around me.
I have a Scag walk behind 48"..the only one of 6 Scags that I kept when I shut down the lawn care business.
I could watch your videos all day brother!
+RocCity Plowing & Lawncare thank you. Glad you enjoy them
Nice!!! I know everyone is different but I think we can all agree that cruising in the truck by yourself knocking down lawns at $500 a day is nice. I Would hate a 5 day run like that with no time for big money extras and dodging rain and catching up on Sundays. It might be your first year in a new town but your a seasoned vet that knows his equipment and how to get stuff done. Great video Jason! Keep up the good work.
Chris Smith Thanks. I have had a few comments on other videos indicating that it is hard to make money in lawn care. I am not going to be rich off of $485 per day, but this video was intending to show people that you can make good money mowing lawns even when starting out. The work is easier when working with helpers but there is something nice about being alone sometimes so you can have a little more freedom and you don't have to worry about the quality of work slipping.
Lawn Care Business Hi my name is Dave wondering do you carry insurance
A HUGE encouragement THANK YOU!
So true. I'm 17 and only mow 8 yards a week on a saturday. I have been trying to expand into landscaping and tree services, and it's going well. I mow a cemetery, and 7 residentials yards and make $385 a week for working nine hours. Good money!
+Marton Bagoly Sounds great. I think lawn care is a great side business
how'd did you start out just to ask?
Marton Bagoly
i made 410 for 13 houses. Best this year. PLus I bought a 30inch mower, its saves so much time and headache. I highly recommend toro timmaster. Buy it used for half price.
WithTheLight1111 Glad to hear things are going well for you. Upgrading equipment can be a big help.
+Lawn Care Business walkers 👍🏻🔥 Greatest mowers ever. 16gs but well worth the purchase
@@kodylanterman6149 agreed best cut ever
Love to see someone who busts his hump and being a go getter! I used to landscape in Florida. Hot hard work but I love the smell of fresh cut grass. Great motivation details
I average about $60 hour when I quote a yard. It's not how long it takes you that is the big deal, it is how long it would take them to do it. Plus I also offer reel moving too with is a whole different pricing.
Joli Garcon not at all where I was going with that analogy. I mean how long it takes the average person with average homeowner’s equipment. I can cover more ground in less time with more efficiency.
This is the truest video I’ve seen about lean services, I did it part time last year and I made at least 400-800$ most weekends up until it got a little cold out.
Glad you felt like it was an honest video. Thank you for the comment
Im in Ky, and our prices are practically identical. What about leave removal? I make about 75 hr for leaves. I feel like thats pretty cheap. Anyone else?
My first two months on my own I have 6 clients 1 is a restaurant group that owns 4 area chain restaurants I maintain that I'm on a yearly contract with. My others are residential, non-contract.
I've already had one newly-constructed shopping center wanting me to lay sod, plant trees, do mulch and maintain bi-weekly but I had to turn that down due to working a 50hr a week job with a large landscaping crew and landing the restaurant deal. I tried getting the contract to maintain but that went to the company that did the landscaping unfortunately.
Two days ago, the big crew I work with hourly cut my hours in half claiming they want me to focus on my own company. They paid extremely well so I guess they see this as a way to save on payroll. Time is ticking. I'm 27 and out completely on my own and just spent a lot of money on 2 Exmark mowers and some Redmax handhelds. So far I'm making OK with the clients I have now but it's not enough to cover my cost of living. I'm very fortunate to have no debt within the business though!
We have some wealthy areas and I'm really trying to get some houses in those areas on some weekly lawn contracts as well as landscaping for them but I feel it's too late into the season and I'll have to wait it out 'til early next year. I also focus on landing commercial. The crew I work with hourly has a TON of very large commercial properties we maintain and I know how much some of them pay and it's very generous I will say.
Good luck everyone!!
update?
I totally respect that you put your honest numbers out there. In my opinion you’re right on point with what is truthful and realistic for a one man show. I focus more on landscaping, but if I’m fully booked I’ll profit about 2k a week. Here in Cincinnati our landscaping season can be up to 44 weeks and in a mild winter you can do about half that all winter with lingering cleanups and such. More established companies can obviously do a lot more, but if you have everything streamlined you can make 100k running a 3 man crew for 44 weeks. I try to mow 1-2 days and landscape 3-4.
What’s your #1 marketing tip ? What really gets customers calling ?
I have a couple commercial slots too. A pub and a restaurant. Early morning is the only way to get them done. Infact I have a third that I start at 5 pm after they close.
Excellent video! thanks for the insight and encouragement.
Great information, I'm actually moving to a new area and planning on doing just that. So it is nice to see others succeed in something I'm looking to succeed in. Thanks again
+Carlos Molina Best wishes in your new area!!!
This has more than helped. It has encouraged me greatly. Thanks.
Glad to help
Excellent information! Can't go wrong following your lead!
Great job!!!
I appreciate your professionalism.
I’ve watched several videos you’ve made. I’ve learned quite a bit.
I don’t intend on starting a lawn care business, I simply like learning from those that know their stuff.
Keep up the great work. I’ll be watching more of your videos.
Thank you. Glad you enjoy the video
Isn't the grass wet at 6 in the morning? I find it to be difficult to mow on wet grass due to uneven terrain in my area, and it doesn't typically look as good
Very motivating, I am planning on starting my own lawn care business in the spring
+Pro Mountain Biker that is great. I hope it goes well for you
I live in Mississippi and I know guys that charge up to $120 for a decent sized lawn. There's money to be made here, lots of new houses being built all the time.
Glad to hear prices are good in Mississippi
Jesus Renk especially in Southaven and Olive Branch. I'm doing my lawn service in April 2017.
BreezyMuney ___ I live there. How old are you? I'm About to start. I got a zero turn, weed eater, push, and leaf blower, along with a truck and trailer...Let me know if you want to partner up. I moved here about a year ago and don't know many people. Would be more appealing to customers if there are 2 people. Seems more legit and get a ton of work done. My only problem is I can't drive with a trailer for shit. Haha I'm trying to fucking BANK this season so I can move the hell out of my grandmas house. Reply if you're interested.
120 that’s good money in Texas 60 is Already really expensive
This seems so easy vs other things
haha, was just remembering when I first got started in the business back in 1983 at 16, was getting $7.50 per yard. Great channel.
+stealinator You've been at this business for quite a while
I'm in Gadsden Alabama and I only have a couple of yards. Been watching your videos and I really appreciate all of the information. Thanks!
Glad the videos are helpful
Its nice that you say that route is not efficient. I cut 30-38 lawns in 2 days with 3 people. My route has some people that are 30 min away. I'm trying to weed out the far away places and getting places closer so we don't have all that drive time. I always look at the time we are driving, we could be doing a place closer to my place. Good videos, Keep it up. Trying to get some videos going myself.
Yes, my goal is to fill in the gaps in my route to make it more efficient each year
Sure nuff. Lawn work isn't a bad gig. Long as your equipment hangs in, and the weather. But all in all it's a decent business. Good luck.
watched a lot of your videos. thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge,
Jason good information,thanks for sharing
Those 8000 to 15000 square foot just mow and go yards are the best. Mow for 10 to 30 minutes, take your cash and go. Love them.
+Ize O Penn I agree
hey there, i m 18 years old and i m looking forward to start my own lawn care business, and ur video really motivated me, thx
+Yousaf Rehman glad the video was helpful. Best wishes in your business
+Lawn Care Business, how much money do I need to invest to start my lawn care business?
+Yousaf Rehman I'm self employed mowing grass. I make $2,400 a month with about 22 yards. All I bought was a new $250 push mower, used weedwacker for $50, and a used blower for $30. I've charged as much as $110-$130 for a one time cut for an overgrown yard. But I operate my business in a suburb of Saint Louis whose median income is $80,000. My advertising consists of a very small newspaper classifieds ad. Craigslist and keeping up with my Google Business Page. I got a lot of my customers off of all of that for little to no money. I did use Thumbtack to double my business late July. This is my first year, I'm sure if I didn't wait until August to quit my crap job at McDonald's and invested more into marketing I would hace made double.
+David Lee, awesome, I would do just that. Thanks for the tips
First year in lawn care 23 solid customers. Weekly only. Making 5.5k a month 3 hours a day still enjoying my summer and enjoying the slow side of business as i know i wont have as much down time in the future 😅
Definitely encouraging, thanks for the input!
Awesome. This video makes me feel encouraged. I am about to enter this business. Not to be a jerk but I checked your math and the total was actually $475.00. Ten bucks off - big deal. Thank you for making your videos.
XWingRepair4cheap honest mistake. Thanks for correcting
thanks for the motivation dude
Great Info, Thanks for the share.
+Tyrone Durand Glad to help. Thanks for the comment
How do you get customers do you just go door to door??
Anyone?
what do u do for the off season. when u don't have any lawns to cut during the winter time?
I am doing weed control and fertilization now which is a year round business. Lawn mowing companies many times, do leaf cleanup or snow plowing (in the North)
1 day of 500 bucks on a saturday or sunday 4 times per month is 2000 times 8 months for mowing is 16k at the end of the year on top of your regular job. or if you get enough customers and transition in to lawn care full time thats 80k at the end of the year. me and my wife combined make about 40k so 80k for 8 months of mowing and 4 months of vacations is a dream come true honestly. granted that 40k is after taxes and the 80k is before taxes but still.
Thanks for the video!
+Firebrand01 glad to help
Wow man, Great info right there. Very encouraging. I'm way under charging right now, just to get the ball rolling. Once I get busy enough I plan on raising my price for new clients and weeding out the less profitable ones. What sizes are those lawns you cut? Your prices seem pretty high at $40 & $50. Even $35 is on the higher end for typical lawns here under 3000 square feet.
What do you do during winter months?
What should I do with the lawn clippings?
How much should i charge to mow a half acre
Thoughts on a regular riding mower to start vs a zero turn?
im trying to start my own business, ive been mowing lawns around my neighborhood for about 14 years though. But here there are small towns spread about 12 to 20 miles apart and quite a bit of competitors and is very hard to get customers..plus most people will not pay more than 20 bucks for a 3000 sq foot lawn..its hard but im still trying.
Shelby Thorn Wow. Sounds like a challenging area to have a lawn business. I think it will be important for you to find the customers who are willing to pay more for your service. It will be hard to make it at $20 per lawn.
Yes it is. My name is Zach by the way i was using he laptop..Didnt realize i was on her account..You have great advice by the way. I am working on watching your videos..Wi;; sub and like,Oh and the only reason i keep doing some of those is because some are in walking distance from my garage and some have been with me for 14 years aroundabout..they give me great ref. Thanks again
I am not in the business, but I know a one man operation that is doing well. He just bought an in ground pool.....this got my attention.
great video. thanks for sharing :)
+Rodney J glad to help
What kind of equipment are you using? And are you weeding and edging too?
I started mowing lawn for my dad he has 2 acres of land and he pays me 20 bucks a week Im hoping to start doing it for my neighbours cause all the houses around my area have big yards
Ryan tell your dad to double that hehe
Sounds like a plan Thanks
Real quick. Is a husquverna riding tractor mower good to use for starters.
What kind of equipment do you have.
Good video!!
Best wishes in 2016!! THANKS, From Indianapolis, Indiana.
+Patrick Wilson Thanks Patrick. I hope you have a good 2016 as well. Let me know if I can help
what kind of mower do you use for the tiny yards?
+grasscutter88 I use my zero turn when I can. If not, then I use a push mower
What brands
Great vid
Whats your favorite way for collecting for services would it be mailing it in ..what works best for you thanks
That was very inspirational, and im interested in a new way of making money, what is the best option of tools on a to buy list for a beginner??
What mower do u use
I have all the basic equipment except for a trailer. With my full time job the best I could manage would be a few jobs after work. What do you do initially to get customers just go door to door and see if they need someone to cut their grass? I'd feel weird about passing out business cards if I'm not officially in business yet.
I appreciate you experience. I am thinking of doing this part time soon. For the lawns you mentioned here are they weekly or biweekly or how often do you average cutting a lawn in a month? Thanks for an answer.
Most of my mowing customers are bi-weekly though some are weekly. The bi-weekly lawns are usually twice per month. The weekly are usually 4 times per month
How do you get the commercial accounts?
it's realistic I charge 30 minimum so when you say you are doing multiple yards for that I hope they are indeed tiny like 5000 sq ft. or at least take 25 minutes or something. what I'm more interested in is obviously you switched to fertilization for a reason.... do you make more in that than mowing? or is it just easier for you? reason? how is that doing this year? full weeks for that this year?
Love Jesus Love People The lawns I am charging $30 are mostly less than 3000 sq ft. Some are probably less than 2000. I switched to fertilization for a number of reasons. I still think mowing is great, and has some advantages. The advantages of fertilizing is that is a year round business. I think that is the biggest advantage. The other advantage is that I think the profit margins are a little better once you get established. The biggest disadvantage is it take longer to build the business because you need a lot more customers. I probably need 4 times as many customer fertilizing as I would mowing. So far, it is going great. I have pick up about 80 fertilization customers. I am hoping year 2 will be great.
+Lawn Care Business how often do you do the same lawn in a month?......... once month, twice a month or every week? im asking because i do most of my clients once a month, the average amount i charge is $40 (they are pretty much the same size in turf) and its not working out for me, plz let me know
+Pedro Castro once a month is not enough. I know many of my lawns every other week. Some I do weekly
That's so much for the post
No problem. Glad to help
What did you do to build your web site? Did you create it yourself or did you pay someone to do if for you? I am just starting out and will be fully retired on July 1st, 2017. So right now yard care & maintenance is part time. I am doing work on Saturdays and will be doing some late afternoon jobs after the days get longer in the spring. I will again be going full time the first of July. I am in Southwest Georgia. I am using Yardbook for my estimates, invoicing, equipment maintenance and customer & vendor files.
I have a question is your prices per cut or monthly year round? I'm in FL and I charge monthly and year round only. But every guy with a truck cuts grass down here and take any job and charge by the hour.
+Kenny Muhleisen I typically charge per cut. In Florida, perhaps it would be different since the weather stays warmer. Here in Alabama, there was a winter break and that is the time the customer was most likely to fire you. I was burned by going year round on residentials. I still do that for commercials with a contract.
What kind of lawn mower did you use to do all this work ? I’m starting my business and I need something that is versitile
Grant I started out with an old push mower I found in my grandfathers shed, I cleaned the carbs, new gas and I changed the blades. Worked great, I then bought a cheap huskee lawn tractor. 46” deck. It worked well for my 2 lawns. I recommend saving for a self propelled push mower. Edit: sorry if it’s late.
What merchant service do you use
Do you also have fertilization customers ? How much markup do you add on the products you use ?
thanks for sharing.
Dicofole Yes, I am primarily focused on fertilization and weed control. The pricing for those services is based on the square footage of the lawn so it is not really done by marking up the products.
Lawn Care Business So if I went to Home Depot and bought a bag of weed and feed and a spreader and I use my own car to go to each customer. How do I price my service ? Just calculate the area covered by a bag + a profit I want to make and then charge based on the area to cover ? Are there places to get cheaper fertilizers than big box stores ?
thanks.
Dicofole If you just want to buy a spreader and some fertilizer then you can just mark up your costs. I have a pricing chart based on the square footage. As the square footage increases, the price per foot goes down. For example, I may charge a 2000 sq ft. lawn only $30. If it is 10,000, then it is around $80. The rate varies per sq ft. I buy fertilizer from a company called Harrell's. You can buy fertilizer at John Deere Landscapes probably cheaper than a big box store. I pay around $18/bag of 50lbs for one type. Another type is a little cheaper.
Did you did that on a 8 hour shift or 12 hour shift? And what strategies you use to charge your clients for your work?
In my neighborhood is $22 to $35 a yard work
Eli Laguna 6am to 4pm it sounded
💪❤ thank you so much, and great video!
Any tips for a beginner? At the moment I’m using a push mower, and weed eater,
Nothing else. Trying to start it up but would love some sort of tips and advice.
I've got hundreds of videos on here with lots of information. I would start with those
When you say small yards what are some square feet’s? 5k Sqft, 20k sqft, etc?
+che vang 5000 sq ft and less
I am in my third year of mowing. Got into it this big time, bought a rider. I have 11 properties to mow. I charge $25.00 for a yard. I have 2 days that I can dedicate the whole day. I have 2 business also, they are small plots. Roughly 30 minutes each to mow/Trim/Edge. I love it. I also do yard clean up work. I do get cash for some yards but for the most part I bill my customers on a monthly basis. It started out slow but I have built up a sizable amount of money in the checking account associated with my business. Thanks for the honesty in this video.
Sounds like things are going well for you. thanks for the comment
How do you bill out your mowing?
+zarathustra I just did a video on billing. ua-cam.com/video/Wtwx9akm8j0/v-deo.html
I'm 14 and if I do this then after about a day I can get a pro streaming/gaming/youtubing setup which would be nice. Oh and a couple thousand dollars of pocket money's always nice
How do u start your own round
Do you get customers that wants his are her grass cut once every two weeks?
+thegreatone1978 yes, I give them a choice of weekly or bi weekly
What is a fair rate per hour for a helper?
What do recommended doing as a 15 year old kid
+Eli Bowen I would get a push mower and focus on small lawns. A riding mower will be great if you can get one. Small lawns are many times more profitable
Thats funny - in Victoria BC, Canada, we don't show up for less than $50.
+Tristan Redman I hear the cost of living in Canada is high. Perhaps lawn care prices are a little higher also
How do you charge your customers? PayPal on website, cash, mailed billing/invoice? Customers certainly will not be at home all the time so how exactly does this part of the job work? Thinking about doing this a little on the side, thanks for any advice!
+MW Schwartz For most of my weed control customers, I leave an invoice on the door. For mowing customers, I usually mail an invoice at the end of the month. I also use yardbook.com for software which allows me to email invoices to customers and they can pay via credit card
How are u able to charge 35 bucks? My neiborhood has decently sized yards and I can barely get 25 for a lawn. I live in MI by the way so idk if that has any effect on it.
Do you edge & weedwack?
Are u just cutting the grass or is that full services
that video was for cutting grass but now I do weed control and fertilization
What about trimming with a weed walker?
how did you reach/advertise to get those customers
What's the best zero turn lawnmower
Edgar'sMiran Valencia I would get a ex mark it will last
Dat boi Preston thanks
Scag Freedom Z
im interested in starting a buisness the confusing part for me is like how do i go about getting a buisness lisence and how do i go about paperwork with customers like do they sign a contract or how does that work
Trevor Schifano I’m in the same boat. Wondering the same questions as well as how u come up with pricing. How do u go about getting jobs too? If it’s all references how’d you get your first job?
Hey guy after deducting expenses how much you really make?
Great video! Do your rates include any other services; pre-emergence, winterizing, seeding, or just cuts? Thanks!
+Charlotte Drummer I offer weed control and fertilization. I also mow some lawns. This video was referring to mowing lawns. The prices in the video do not include any of the other services
+Lawn Care Business Ok got ya. Thanks for such a fast reply! Stay calm and mow on brother!
$485 is a great day. I'd say average day for me is $300. But some days with extra work (palm trees clean up, mulch, etc. ) I have made on my own about $600, but that's not the norm.
Prices are comparable to South Florida, but the bigger homes want to pay less, example: 1/2 acre $ 75 and that's with a lot of weed eater
***** I have thought for a while that smaller homes are more profitable. Thanks for the comments
Lawn Care Business I have a good mixture of property sizes that I mow. Everything from a 5000 sq ft lawn up to a 4 acre property and everything in between. The big properties are nice because i can park and mow for several hours at a time and dont have to run all over town loading and unloading, however I make the most money on the properties that are 1/2 acre or less. Wish I had about 50 of them in the same neighborhood!
bstevens426 100% agree on your analysis
I am not making that much but great days and then so so days pays the bills. I just today stopped service to 10 customers that are about 9 miles away which is to far. Everything is 5 minutes from my house. Dump, Mulch, nurseries and lots of customers. If I could get my driving time way down like 9 miles a day that would be great.
Dandy Lawn Sounds like a good plan to me. Now you can keep adding more customers within your radius
Is there any app were it can tell you how much Sq ft a house have and just charge of how big it is?
+Miguel Armenta www.yardbook.com is a gree lawn care software that I use. It has a feature which allows you to measure the square footage of a property. It works great.
i did the math and found out if i mow 12 yards a day for for $25 its $300 when you are done