The other day I received an email from a teen named Sasha who wanted to start a
lawn service, but wasn't sure about a few things. The email went as follows:
Hey Ben, Thanks for writing this blog. I learned a lot from it. After reading, I had a few questions about starting a lawn business, because I am thinking about doing that this summer. First of all, do you think it is possible to succeed if I do not own a lawn mower? I was thinking of maybe putting that the clients should have mowers on the flyers. And the second question is how big do you think the flyers should be, because I need to store a lot of info on there and do not want to print billions of pages. Last, how do I come up with the charges if I do not own a mower? Is it a good idea to do a flat rate for every job?
Sasha has some great questions. All these questions are important ones to ask when
starting a lawn business. Now, let's go question by question.
Do I need to actually own a lawn mower to start a lawn business?
Yes, you do need to actually own a mower to run a lawn business. However, don't let that burst your bubble. Although a really nice new push mower costs about 150-200 dollars, which I assume is more than your budget,
you can get a used one for
A LOT less. For example, my dad loves yard sales. One day he was at a yard sale, and he found a serviceable bagging push mower for me--
only 25 bucks. My dad also got me a pretty good, but used,
reel mower, and I think
he got it for something like $5. I would suggest going to yard sales in your area. You can also find them on
Craigslist for good prices. I saw one for $40 in my area. If you think $40 dollars is too much, trust me, it isn't.
You'll pay back $40 in just one or two mows. If you are having a hard time getting the money for it, just ask four of your friends to spot you 10 bucks (or eight of your friends to spot you 5 bucks, some kind of combination). I bet your parents might even be willing to help.
How big should the flyers be? I have A LOT of information.
For your flyers question, I would just put the key information (services, contact info, etc.) on the flyer using Microsoft Word and print it on (11x8, right?) computer paper. Here's an example of what your flyer should look like:
A simple
website could hold the extra information you have about your lawn service. If you haven't already, check out my post
Advertise Your Teen Lawn Service With Flyers.
How much should I charge customers? Should I use a flat rate?
You can check out
my post on the issue of how much to charge customers. You should not consider using a
flat rate. All yards are different. You wouldn't want to be making the same amount for a yard that takes you two hours and a yard that takes you thirty minutes, right? Basically, you multiply the time it will take you by how much money you think you reasonably want to make per hour. Then, you add costs for the mow, like gasoline. Make sure your price is
reasonable and a
round number (count by fives).
More advice
If you are starting your business after the first few spring mows, I'm not going to guarantee that you will get a lot of customers. By then, most people will have already made plans for who will cut their grass. However, don't let that stop you. You might get some customers, and even one or two customers can make you a good amount of cash. People will also keep your flyers that you put out now and call you next year. I got several calls this spring from people who had gotten the flyer last year and wanted me to mow their lawn this year.
And even if you aren't able to get any customers this summer, there's always the
fall. Fall cleanups is a very lucrative business, and the fall is actually the season where I first started my lawn service.
Conclusion
I'm really glad you have decided to go out and run a
mowing service-- in my opinion, they are one of the biggest money-makers for teens.
I would encourage anyone reading this to ask any questions they have about running/maintaining their lawn business in the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Good luck Sasha!
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Excellent tips. I'd like to throw one in the hat: Work for a quality landscaper for at least one year first. I know several guys who started out working for another landscaper just to make some cash. They learned the business along the way and realized they could make better money by venturing out on their own.
There's something to be said for having experience you can point to when starting a new business. Plus, you'll be better at scheduling, selling, and just about every other aspect of the business. There is no substitute for learning from a mentor.
Really good ideas Southlake Landscaper. I never really thought of actually working for another company, but learning the ins and outs of the landscaping trade could really open up your business. The services you could offer would become a lot more varied-- as in, not just mowing and raking leaves.
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I checked out your site-- really nice design, and I love the rotating pictures.
To be honest, I don't know much about getting a job a learning landscaping in the industry. However, if you'd ever like to write a guest post, that would be great! A guest post would have a couple links to whatever sites/profiles you wish.
Thanks for commenting.
Thank you thank you very much. This is a nice source.
Your information is very impressive and useful. I will prefer to read your article before going to anywhere service and love it.
And, no matter where you live, you'll probably sweat up a storm and end the day hot, sticky, and tired out. If this doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, hiring a landscaping pro or lawn mowing company could be just what you need. When you hire a landscape maintenance company to take care of your lawn for you, you're putting the job into the hands of folks who, 1) are choosing to do the work, and 2) have the right equipment to make it happen fast and efficiently. Yes, you pay for the service, but unless you love spending hours taking care of your yard each week in the high heat of summer, this may be the right route for you.
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