Printable View
Well guys its official. I have almost all the equipment to start my lawn care business. I have about 8 people now I do it for at $70 per yard per week. After gas costs its not that wonderful but the cool thing is nobody is above me and it's my business.
i wish you well!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
American Dream baby. God bless this country!!
Best of luck
I can tell you a lot of stories...I worked for my brother's company for about 8 summers. www.jtlandscaping.bizQuote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
:lol: mowing along the edge of the woods i had a rabbit run out of the woods right in to the mower deck... he ran right in to the outlet hole and shot back out in pieces... :lmao:Quote:
Originally Posted by third_shift|studios
Best of Luck with your business!!!
Thanks guys. Thats awesome with your bro's business TSS.
It's a lucrative business for sure. I mean this in the nicest way possible-I hope you're an asshole, b/c your employees will dick you over any chance they have. My bro actually put GPS systems on all the trucks to monitor how long and where they go-that was due to his guys constantly doing "side work" while on the job with his equipment. Get yourself a dumptruck, a trailer with a tail gate, 2 eXmark walk behinds [36" and 48"] and 2 lawnboys, oh and he uses Shindaiwa weed wackers with tap heads. Good luck, bud!
The best of luck to you bud !!Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
I tried to start my own auto detailing business a few years ago, ended up getting referals from the local Volvo Dealership but not enough to make a go of it.
I wish you every success !! :yup:
thats a shame.Quote:
Originally Posted by SleeperC5
do landscaping, with the flowers/trees then u can really rack in the cash. just cutting lawns isnt going to make it worth ur wild. i have a friend who started as "lawn care" just cutting, went into more landscaping and now hes making a killing.
good luck
Since others seem to be giving advice, I’ll throw my $.02 in.
Make sure you have all of the appropriate business licenses, tax id numbers, etc. You would hate to have an otherwise successful business brought to its knees because you didn’t cross your T’s and dot your I’s.
I personally use Bank of America Business. It has reminders when and how much you need to pay for taxes and fees and all kinds of bullshit. (Because, God bless America, there is a lot of bullshit you have to pay for as a legitimate business owner.) Federal AND State taxes, medicare/social security/federal income you have to match along with SUI tax = very overwhelming before you get your cherry popped.
It takes care of all the taxes on payday and is VERY quick. I go in, choose how much each employee gets paid, press a few buttons and the direct deposits are in. Gives me amounts for anyone I have to write a check for and use Quickbooks (Also HIGHLY recommended) to print out checks. Payroll total can take me as little as 30 minutes a week, depending on how many jobs were completed.
I def plan on going through Bank Of America when I can. I just finished my AS in business at my community college so I have seen what is ahead of me as far as taxes and whatnot. I'm sure there will be more but I'm ready to do this. I plan on offering fertilizating and hedge trimming, flowers, tree's, I just want to get my feet on the ground and grow from there. Until I'm overwhelmed it will be just me doing the work.
My vision is to have the best possible service, with the best possible workmanship. I scaped my aunt and uncles house recently I'll show you what I did there when I get some pictures.
What does the 70.00 include.Thats seems awfully high for cut,edge,and weedwacked.
Just wondering.
I did landscaping 1 summer for a company and 2 years for myself....fun stuff. I had it bad in the hot AZ sun though. We always charged ~$100/house/week and had more business than I could handle....probably just location though.
+1 on this... my father owns his own company, and its usually just me and him on the job. Worked for 7 hours the other day trimming shrubs and raking up the debris, cost the customers $585, and they loved it. Plus its quite satisfying to turn a POS yard into a nice clean place you'd wanna hang out. Best of luck to you. We need more American's doing these jobs.Quote:
Originally Posted by ls1blackbeauty98
Great advice! Do it right!Quote:
Originally Posted by gwballin
And.........don't screw around with your taxes - you'll be the one that ends up screwed........
Good luck!
Do i get a discount because im on your friend list?Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
You've made the Great American Leap JHayes. Good luck and remember to always keep an open mind towards additional opportunities to make money that may present themselves in the course of running this business.Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwballin
All that and take advise from no one. Everyone will tell you "you can write this off and deduct this", "your not responsable for this if it happens". I learned everyone is full of shit.
Find a good CPA, Lawyer, and insurance agent. My wife has her CPA and we still have someone else sign off on all our tax returns.
The insurance agent was the most informative. I don't care what stories anyone tells you, you are liable for everything.
Damn right.Quote:
Originally Posted by doberman 152
Cut, edge, weedwacking. I called like 4 different places to see what they charged in my area. Most were $100 for just that. I also asked if they had a blower to clear driveways of leaves and pineneedles so that they could run them over with the mower to get rid of them. They all did, for an additional cost.Quote:
Originally Posted by flash
that's a lot, but i'm used to western PA pricing which was like $30-$50 depending on lawn size. Hell, it might have gone up due to inflation and seriously the best part about it is that your demographic NEEDS your services. They are either businesses or old people who just can't do the work themselves. Of course you'll score some bitchin yuppie yards from time to time too =)Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ 666
:yup: last thing you want is to mow over some ones dog or have a rock fly out and break a window and get sued with out coverage... they sue the insurance company instead of you...
*btw... life of agony kicks ass... haven't heard them since early high school...
ehh... depends on the amount needed to be mowed... my buddy who owns an excavating company mowes business lawns... he makes between $75 - $250... the houses he does between $30 - $75... just for the mowing/weed wacking/ and edging...Quote:
Originally Posted by third_shift|studios
fuck, i meant western PA.
I think my bro did something like a pay-it-ahead thing, where you'd pay more for your lawn maintenance but wouldn't pay for shrub trimming and mulch installation at the time it occurs.
also... try to get a contract with the people you mow for...
Definately instill a "pay up front" method, at best for a monthly basis.
My neighbors lawns that I mow got $100 from the other people for 2 acres. I figure $70 is good for that size, and less for smaller yards
It's not even that direct. My insurance agent told me if a friend called me and said he was going to a parts store and then stopping by my shop. If I asked him to pick something up at the store(that he was already going to) and he got into an accident that I was liable because he was acting as an "agent for the business". Doesn't matter if he is an employee or volunteered to get parts. CYA!Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaz
$ 70 is low, but then you are starting out and I can see why you'd do this. Just keep a close eye on the bottom line, remember you have a lot of $$$ in equipment, advertising, and insurance.Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
You can always raise it for new customers.
Hell I thought you were talking for the typical 1/4 lot not a 2 acre lot.Thats probaly pretty cheap for that much property.Quote:
Originally Posted by JHayesLS1
Equipment wise we live on 4 acres of property and we have a few mowers that need work. I'm in the process of fixing them and cleaning the old equipment up to get them rolling. I already ordered a bunch of business cards to stick on people's doors in housing developments. The only thing I really need is a trailer and I'm saving for one so I will be able to start this thing with no money owed.