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Possibly thinking of starting own grounds maintenance business.

C

Cid Jester

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
119
Location
Northern California
So I have been thinking lately of starting my own grounds maintenance business.
I have worked for hardscaping/landscaping before and was thinking if I was to buy my own work truck and some basic lawn tools (mowers, edger, weed eat, etc)
That I could start by just posting flyers around town. I have done side jobs in this before and have made decent money for minimal work. Also I have been looking online for job descriptions and am pretty confident that I could handle something like this.

What I'm thinking is for $100 a month I will come to someones house every two weeks for basic lawn cutting and bush trimming. Anything else can be decussed as an extra fee from there. I would be responsible for all yard waste removal.

Pretty much I'm tried of not having any cash flow coming in. I figure this would be a easy legitimate income that wouldn't take to much to put together.

Although I'm not aware of what else I would have to do to make this legit. I figure I will need to get a business license in the state of California and just get some
clientele.

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
how did you come up with the $100 figure? how does it compare with what other people are charging for similar services (it sounds a little high to me)? why should people choose you instead of somebody else?

alasdair
 
Thats was another thought that crossed my mind. I would assume there would be a lot of computation with all the mexicans I see driving around and hitting up whole blocks at a time in my town. The price was just a rough est. that I haven't researched yet but from my past exp. I have been given $100 for mowing 3 lawns (two front and a back) and that only took me about an hour to do. Also I remember when I was living in Chico my roommates mother paid for a lawn service that cost around $900 for the year and that was for a year contract. If im not mistaken that was a while ago.

I figure it will take some time to get the clients I would need to make this a livable situation but even a couple would be some extra income that would require little time on my part.
 
sounds like you haven't really given this much thought.

put yourself in the shoes of your potential clients. what are you going to offer them that differentiates you from everybody else who thinks they can make money with minimal effort like this?

alasdair
 
^ your work can only speak for itself if you get some work. if you just look the same as every other company, why should anybody select you (over them) and give you a job?

best of luck with your business.

alasdair
 
Cid Jester said:
Why do I need to be any different from any other company? Its a simple job. take care of peoples lawns. my work should speak for itself.
Click to expand...

Because a well established company that employs many low wage workers will be able to crush you if they feel you are encroaching on their territory.

What research have you done? Have you surveyed the neighborhood you plan to open up shop in about their current service? Are they happy? Dissatisfied? Why?

Have you worked out any of the financials yet? Your overhead including applicable taxes etc? Are you familiar with book keeping?

Do you know which permits you need yet? Insurance requirements?
 
Whilst the general concept is simple as you've described, the particulars and variables that accompany opening a business and actually succeeding generally require a lot more effort and research than you've currently put in.

You want to understand the ins and outs of everything. You need to have a comprehensive understanding of everything the other posters in this thread have listed, plus much more.

I'd seek some advice before jumping head first into this.
 
If getting the equip isn't too big a hurdle then go for it. Easy as sin and practically zero overhead.
And yeah, differentiating yourself with quality work is great, but as long as your work is the norm then you'll keep contracts (so long as price is right). If you know a lot of the right ppl you can actually find lots and lots of business very quickly.
 
If you have any connections in real estate (particularly those who flip foreclosed homes which need maintenance) that can help a lot. You give them a better price, but they give you a lot of business.
 
Tommyboy said:
If you have any connections in real estate (particularly those who flip foreclosed homes which need maintenance) that can help a lot. You give them a better price, but they give you a lot of business.
Click to expand...
they'll give you out as referrals and they'll use you a ton themselves if they're an REO(real estate owned; they act as a selling broker for banks). Hell, if I were you I'd probably be doing a few REO agents' personal properties gratis ;p
 
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