Why Lawn Mowing is a Horrible Business
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- These are the reasons I believe lawn mowing is a horrible business. Here's how to fix the problem so you can make profits in your mowing business. Will Kelly owns Military Lawn Cuts & Landscaping and his focus is to help you start and grow your lawn care business.
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Even people w/small properties & own a mower or even small ride-on, get tired of the chore. Or the machine breaks down. Or they just don't feel like raking the fall leaves this year. Don't be afraid to "sell" yourself face to face & talk to people! Homeowners want their place looking nice! Be that guy that can do more than cut grass...yes.
Absolutely! Thanks for your input!
Will, this is a very important topic and something I have been pondering this year heavily to improve upon. Our revenue should hit close to 400,000 this year and next year a little over half 1 million and we have to make sure that we incorporate additional services with all of our existing mowing customers in some fashion.
Weed control is a phenomenal upsell. It goes hand in hand.
Highly disagree because if you start out cuting big lawns 1 acre and up, your minimum can be $100 up to $200 depending on how overgrown it is. So many homeowners with big yards mowers break down all the time, their maintenance will cost them at least $400 so it's easier to pay someone
You do have a great point! I think it also depends on the market your in that can dictate pricing per acre
Such good content!!
I've been in the lawn care business for 8 years now. I know that's not a long time compared to most other people in the comment section, but I've gained a little experience by "learning my lesson the hard way." My first 3 or 4 years I was doing small neighborhood lawns for only $40. Customers think the overall size of their yard is the only pricing factor and it's easy just because it's small. Sure, it may only take 15 minutes to "mow" a smaller lot in the suburbs but you end up spending another whole hour weed eating the picket fence, edging the curb, sidewalk, front walkway, flower bed, pavers, blowing off the street and driveway, then getting stuck in a long conversation with the retired widowed homeowner. These small lot customers also tend to be nit-picky as well. This is why I don't have a logo on my truck or advertise to a broad market. I don't want people coming up to me while I'm trying to eat my lunch asking "Hey do you mow yards? I have a small yard that will only take a couple minutes to cut. Can you come do it after you finish that sandwich?" The worst encounter is when I'm in the middle of mowing and some random person driving down the street interrupts me. They always ask the #1 stupid question: "How much do you charge to mow a yard?" I die inside when people ask me that. Recently I stopped dealing with anything smaller than 1 acre. It's a complete game changer. More open space to mow at full speed, less weed eating, less edging, and much easier to charge a profitable price. Unfortunately, my area prefers bi-weekly instead of weekly cuts. Even the wealthy doctors and lawyers only want the lawn mowed every 10-14 days. I do have a few weekly customers though. My advice for a beginner would be to start with smaller yards BUT only as a temporary way to get your foot in the door. Do as much as you can solo, especially if you are new. Be extremely careful when/if you do decide to hire a helper. Chances are the candidate for hire doesn't take your business seriously and has no idea how much physical work is involved. Many of them even think you will just half the money down the middle and they won't have to do much of anything!
Thanks for your 8 years of experience input!
I mostly agree with what your saying. We have weekly mowing only customers that we have fantastic margins on. We price at $95 per hour, but have an effective hourly rate that ranges from $125-$150 per hour on these properties because of efficiency. We also have fairly dense routes. So I disagree that mow only customers are cheap. They can be, but we price high and have a bit lower close rate, so its not too much of an issue. However, I love fertilizer and weed control! Way less demanding on the body and it is definitely easy to have good margins on it. I like the idea of requiring both. We are getting away from landscape install and maintenance. I absolutely hate landscape. My body can't take that anymore and looking back, 80% of our employees who have quit in the last 4 years, were doing landscaping. July and August they gave up. It is bigger money upfront, but almost all call backs were landscape related and our margins were almost completely wiped out with that. Simple services!
Great input! Thanks for this!
I charge $150 a hour and am doing well
Nice!!! Keep up the good work!
Thank's mate, I've learnt alot from your advice and mike too,one week until spring starts hear in Australia,last year I dabbled then pulled the pin and done my research...just have to meet with my accountant then rego my business and get insurance then im giving it my all...just wanted to say thank for all your help mate 👍👍🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 👊✊
Hey mate I’m an Aussie too, swing by anytime for some advice on getting started, accountant won’t be needed to get up and going
You’re welcome brother!!
@@valleycoastlawns mate your video on you tube "how to start a lawn mowing business in Aus" I recon I've watched that a good 50 time's at least lol you have been a massive help and confidence gainer aswell mate honestly thank you,im in nsw illawarra...I've got your UA-cam and think on fb...would definitely been keen for a chat and advice mate,im pretty confident I've got my head wrapped around it all and how I want to run the business but im always open for advice and new ideas 👍👍
@@TheWillKelly ❤👊✊
I run a lawn care and trimming business, offering bundled services, but this August and heading into September, business has been slow. Next year, I’m aiming to make $15,000, but it's tough with big companies like Weed Man and Tru Lawn Care dominating the market. This summer, I only made $2,500, and with gas being so expensive, I’ve only ended up with about $1,000 in profit. Right now, I’m earning $25 per hour from clients who only need mowing every two weeks, but it’s not enough to grow the business. Most of these clients are either close friends or referrals from them, and I just started this summer, so I’m still building my client base. It’s really frustrating, especially since I’m just 17 and trying to make this work. Seeing those numbers is pretty disheartening, so I’m open to any recommendations you might have.
Do not work for friends.
I charge 25 an hour also and I’m in iowa, most of my clients used to be every other week but now they are all weekly, around here the grass grows too fast to be mowed every two weeks and it leaves a lot of mulch on the grass, try to get them to go to every week, lower the price just a little for them so they are more willing to pay you every week, let them know they will have a better looking and healthier lawn being mowed once a week, and if you are in a cool season grass area then mulch, you don’t need to bag unless it’s over grown, but if you are cutting stuff like Bermuda then I guess you have to bag it, but if you are bagging I would say charge 30 bucks an hour because it’s just a pain to have to empty your bag every 2 minutes cause they don’t hold all that much grass
Seems like you may need to raise prices. We aim for $80 per man hour mowing and $160 per man hour doing weed control.
If you are wanting to eventually get employees one day you’re going to need to charge more than $30 an hour.
@@TheWillKellyWhat other services do you suggest me getting into; I want to and am looking into interlock design and making front & back landscapes designs and implement them.
Manicured lawns gives off a dystopian vibe these days. It used to be a symbol of wealth but now it's for the appearance of doing just ok.
Interesting thought process!
Yeah mate
Cheap customers I agree to stay away from
Pick your market
Great vid
Thanks 👍
honestly i would much rather cut 10-15 lawns per day in a dense route, than cut 3-5 houses a day because you stopped and weeded the beds at each one.. i might be lazy though lmao i HATE weeding, my worry is losing possible customers when i start up next spring due to me not wanting to deal with weeds. Might have to bite the bullet a little bit
That is also a service I do not like doing too lol
Do you have a used toro mower you might mot need anymore ?? 😭 I can pick up, l live in Cedar but wouldn't mind the drive.
We are going to be selling our Toros this off season
So is your second location not gonna mow?
We do offer mowing at the second location however the customer must sign up for our weed control program as well. We don’t offer just mowing services.
Agree 100%!
Thanks for your support brother!
id mow for cash under the table if i knew someone hiring
Maybe reach out to local companies near you?
Interested
Thanks!
Buddy I would not be your clientele for one simple reason I'm the type of person I do hire out the lawn mowing that's because I don't like doing it but everything else you're talking about I would not hire somebody to do because I actually enjoy doing it seriously I like taking care of my flower garden I like going out and fertilizing the yard doing things like that I just simply don't like cutting the grass 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
That makes sense to me!! It is enjoyable!
@@TheWillKelly it is very enjoyable getting out in the lawn to me and taking care of the garden and doing stuff like that but I do get the gist of your video and I understand where you're coming from through a business standpoint somebody who just wants you to cut their grass is not going to make you money and not everybody like I do and hires out the grass cutting because they find it to be boring
But I am curious about your standard you mentioned it a customer a b customer and a c customer where would you put somebody with my attitude at
I do $20 on the side.
It is horrible.
Yeah man you must raise your prices!
Charging 20 a mow is insane
You need to charge way higher. Holy crap
@@icac6122
There is one I’m going to drop altogether. But 50% of the time she gives me $25. A lot of weed whacking.
You're not charging enough 😮
@@Kenny-g4r
Everyone is neighbors that I walk to except a couple a golf cart ride away. I’ve been using a push mower for 14 months but just got a rider. It’s really quick now.
didnt you already make this EXACT same video?......... talk about recycled lol
Sometimes you need to hear it twice. 😉