Ric
Lawn Pro
If your the one trimming and edging and blowing off, you don't want to have to wait on him :laughing:... I don't think you have to worry about that.
Need Advice on New Mower for Business
- Thread starter Conn0r33
- Start date
If your the one trimming and edging and blowing off, you don't want to have to wait on him :laughing:... I don't think you have to worry about that.
Ric
Lawn Pro
Well you buy what you want, it's your business. I will tell you though I've run solo and two man and if the guy that's running the ZTR or Stander is worth his weight there's no way any detail guy if he is worth his wait will ever keep up with the guy running the mower. It can't happen if the detail guy is doing his job.
Ok thanks! I think I will just add another trimmer or edger or blower depending on what seems to be the slowest.
Ric
Lawn Pro
Reinvesting in your company is fine and I can understand what your trying to accomplish but I also know what your trying to accomplish 9 out of 10 times never happens unless you have absolutely a ton of money for backing. Larger company's in Lawn care are basically becoming obsolete because of the competition and pricing of the smaller company's that are involved today and there are more popping up everyday with people wanting to make a dollar just to make ends meet.
The detail guys are there to do the detail work while you are mowing, They are there to do the clean up after you're gone and mowing the next client, that's there job. You have one guy working with you. Buying or adding another trimmer or edger or blower isn't going to necessarily make you or him any faster, your detail guy can only use one piece of equipment at a time. The only thing you accomplish is having a piece back up equipment.
Now I agree the detail guy should have the best equipment you can buy because the detail guy or work will make or break the business with the job he does or leaves behind but time savings will come with the mower you buy. If you want faster do what every LCO does, buy quality mowers and up grade about every two or three years.
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Wow Ric. You really aren't helping. You are clearly taking me for some random 17 year old that has just started and clearly doesn't know what he is doing. I have been obsessing about how I can be more efficient. Right now we are so efficient that the only way to get things done faster is a bigger mower.
When you say something like "having an extra piece of equipment that is only going to sit on the trailer isn't going to be making you more money" or "buying another blower or trimmer won't make you any faster." isn't that kind of obvious? When I said buy another trimmer. I meant if I have a property with lots of edging and trimming that by the time the other guy gets done mowing I will have only finished edging and have barely begun trimming. He could grab the other trimmer and help out. Then as we get close to finishing one person could go grab the blower while the other finishes trimming. Right now I don't have a tight route or a lot of properties. That being said I can't just leave one guy to finish up a property and head to mow another. Because I would have to come back and pick him up and drive him to the next one that was finished and the cycle continues. It would be better to have the guy mowing help trim or start blowing off the property. Compared to sitting in the truck waiting or driving around only to come back and pick up the detail guy. The detail guy could be either trimming, edging or whatever while the mowing guy helps out.
When you say it's hard to become a big company I have a few counter arguments. One is I would offer more than mowing. I would do mowing, fertilization and weed control, landscape maintence and landscaping. This would allow me to generate more gross revenue than if we only mowed. It would take a long time to become large enough to offer all that but i think it would be worth it.
Secondly when you say big companies are becoming obsolete I disagree. The largest lawn care company (BrightView) which im not even sure what they do. BrightView is the result of a merger between Brickman and somebody else. They were the top lawn care companies. Last year BrightView's gross revenue was two BILLION dollars. Trugreen which is right here in my area and everywhere else it seems like. Trugreen only does Treatments and Aration as far as I can tell. They had about 960 Million dollars in gross revenue. And they only treat lawns.
My fear is not that big companies will become obsolete but that they will get too big. Sort of a Walmart of lawn care. There's TruGreen everywhere. GroundsGuys is a huge mowing company. I think they make it harder for the small cheap companies. Because why wouldn't you want to go with a reputable company even if it is a bit more? You know you are getting a professional company not just some random guy you have never heard of. That's why I try to make my company look as professional as can be we have a website I won't go into everything. But people who don't know im 17 who have hired me don't know I'm a small company just run by some kid. And other people who know our company and me but not well have no idea that I hardly have any business. Once they see me mow for the first time with just push mowers they probably know but by that time I've got the job. And I am one of the most expensive companies in my area not the most im sure but I'm not cheap. I'm priced competitively but high. And I land almost every job that I am called about. I can't say for sure how expensive I am compared to the other companies in my area because im not totally sure how much they charge but I know I'm up there because I lost 1 job to one bigger company because they were cheaper.
All I want to know is Stand On or Wak Behind? 36, 48, or 52 inches? I have one property that pays really well and about 75% of the property is on steep hills. It's another commercial property.
Also like I stated at the begining i don't want to have to turn down business. So hills would be a factor and I would kind of have to hate to turn down a job because so much of it is on a hill steep enough that I could only push mow. Or loose the job because I would have to price so high to get the same profit as I would if it were flat and I could use a stand on.
Also like I stated at the begining i don't want to have to turn down business. So hills would be a factor and I would kind of have to hate to turn down a job because so much of it is on a hill steep enough that I could only push mow. Or loose the job because I would have to price so high to get the same profit as I would if it were flat and I could use a stand on.
Ric
Lawn Pro
Yeah your right, I'm clearly taking you for a random 17 year old that has just started and clearly doesn't know what he is doing. That is what I see. Let me ask a couple of questions before we go any further with this and those questions would be How many clients do you have, how long is your route and what's your equipment list at the present time?
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Do you want just clients I mow every week or should I also include people who hire me to mow only when they are on vacation? I do not know how long my route is.
Equipment: 2 Toro SR4 push mowers, Stihl BR 200, Stihl FS 45 and a Stihl edger which I'm not sure the exact name right off the top of my head. By the end of the year I will have $23,000 that I could use to reinvest in the business. Obviously not all of it but I could use some for marketing or better equipment etc.