I have found that people do not mind paying extra if you use a push mower.
There are a lot of homeowners that do not want a big mower on their grass. Me I don't like the tire marks all over the lawn that you get from a ztr
I tried advertising in past for lawn mowing etc. I only got 2 calls and took both jobs. I dont have any zero turns but plenty of front riding mowers. So how does a guy with front engine riding mower compete with zero turn guys? How you know if your charging too much or not enough when mowing with riding mower? I see alot guys doing it in my area and dont see how I could draw in the business if started advertising again for lawn mowing.
if you are trying to compete with them on an equipment basis,, you can't, ZTR will always be faster, more menuverable, and 9 out of 10 times leave a more finished cut, a lot of it depends on what type of lawn you are mowing, My company mows mostly 1 to 10 acre lawns/grounds, though I do still have some residential lawns, mostly push/self propelled mowers on those. (My ZTR won't fit through the gates.... ) If you're trying to out bid the others,, I, like so many others on here, charge between $0.50 and $1.00 per minute and estimate how much time it takes us to do a particular lawn.
Im not trying to compete with them on equipment basis or how long it takes to get the job done. Just trying to build little customer basis.