I like the fact you are honest, no bs talk and how your present yourself and not ramble like some lawn care guys I see on TH-cam makes it boring. It should be a educational not the boring type you hear sometimes. We all have opinions and how you want to run a business that’s your choice but then again you made a excellent point to have a repeat customers and build a good business practice so you don’t lose customers. You are definitely my favorite to watch thanks for the education and enjoyment of your lawn care cutting. I’m from Houston Texas!
Man I'm as real as it gets and that's the only way I know how to be! I'm just glad that these videos are helpful to people. Thanks for watching and for your support‼️💯
Straight facts bud. I am solo here in fl and I do 10-15 yards a day and it’s 100 plus no joke, and everything you said is true and you are right about having help much more efficient with experienced help. I’ve learned to not shortchange myself but be competitive and let my work show for itself. Nice to hear someone who knows what’s up couldn’t have said it better. Take care keep it up brother.
Love your channel Jason. Quality and professional at the highest level! Keep up the great work and videos. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family for the loss of your father! God bless!
Great video, Jason! I mow 20 yards at $50 minimum price, April through November here in GA. I'm 67 years old and this is a great hobby for a retired dude. Love the outdoors, customers and cash flow. Can't have a trailer where I live, so I rebuilt an aluminum wheelchair (side ramp) carrier to fit my 30 inch Toro and added attachments on back for weed whacker and edger. Easily slides into rear hitch and away I go! Best wishes!
The best most honest truthful informative video ever on pricing and just how shit works!!! I have found that if I drive over into the next city I can earn $5 - $10 more an hour but as I get older I find being closer to home for pit stops, lunch breaks, changing clothes, swopping out equipment letting puppy out far outweighs the hassle of commuting. Thanks for the vid!!!
Jason I couldn’t find anything that can say it better than you! Very well said indeed!!! Tip: If you mow the same yards in 5 different ways and you will be able to find out how long it takes to mow that pattern but not only that you will eventually see how much greener the grass will be just because you mowed it in different directions. Keep On Mowing my friend!
I don’t even try to compete on price, my area is full of chuck in a trucks. Just do good work/ always show up/ present my company as professional/ work fast & thorough/ keep my equipment well maintained. I’m solo and set my pricing at 125$ an hour, card on file only, and give 0 flips about losing out on pricing. In this for the long haul, and time is the most limited resource we have in life, don’t have time for cheap people/ budget issues. Learned a lot from you brother, the zappysites tip was the best thing I’ve done. Thanks for the tips, and keep making that money.
I've mowed lawns since I was 12 years old. I'm 63 this year and just mow my own property, but I do it like "the pros" and it takes me about 2 1/2 hours to mow, trim, blow etc... I do it twice a week average right now, but when the heat comes on in SW Oklahoma the grass slows way down. I enjoyed your video, and appreciate your "this is how it is" approach. Thanks Brother. Be safe!
Great video man. Some people don’t realize that those mowers, truck and the rest of your equipment don’t run on hopes and dreams. Plus, you have to factor your payout for healthcare, insurance, fuel and any other thing that is essential that you have to have for your business. People also don’t factor in the maintenance and time it takes to keep all your equipment running for several months outta the year… keep up the great work and stay safe sir…👍👍👍
Awesome to hear you are hustling to be better. Like I said in the video...$60-$80 solo is a good hourly rate that allows for growth. Keep grinding and keep coming up‼️💪
What i got out of this. Know your target clientele, know when to walk away when the prospective client will be better served by a larger company. Knowing your prices and times will better serve not only you, yet also your clients as well.
Another great video, Jason! I'm 73 and still take care of my own yard (an acre). My wife thinks I do so well that I should go into business, but I think I'll pass on that idea, lol. I enjoy your straightforward approach and good ideas and suggestions, as well as watching you do the work. Continued best of luck to you and the family.
Amazing video! Great advice. You must be fast, efficient, and have good route density and do quality work. This is another of your videos that I will recommend to a new solo, part time mowing guy.
great vid Jas... very informative and and educational.. thing i struggle with is the overheads.. equipment, insurance, fuel costs, blade changeout vs sharpening costs and still being able to put food on the table, I agree with know your area.. Thanks mate
You overhead will increase with growth of course but I break it down to an hourly cost according to a 40 week season(total yearly costs÷40weeks÷hrs/week). This gets me very close to an hourly rate on all overhead. With the other 3 months in the year my overhead is minimal and profits are WAY up because alot of it is covered in that 40 week period. Anyone working 40hrs a week at the rates that I mentioned can make very good profits if you are efficient. Even if you have a higher overhead. As far as blades go look at the rgb 712 sharpener....it's worth every penny. Thanks for watching bro.
I remember when lawn crews were two guys with Snapper walk behinds one in the front and one in the back. After cutting one guy would start trimming and one would start blowing. Then when zero turns become popular the two man crew dissapeared. It became a one man show. Most of the residential lawns in my area are done by single man operations and they do very well because the lots are all small and some even narrow 50 ft front lots.
Boy, I really wish that we had a Lawn Service like yours! The LS that has been chosen for the Townhouses that i live in are terrible. Great job and your respect and consideration for your customers is very admirable!
My minimum to drop my trailer is $50 regardless how small the lawn is, weekly service only, if it gets dry, I adjust to every 2 weeks or as needed, no exceptions. If a potential client doesn't want to pay my minimum, then they are not the kind of customer I want. I have been mowing since I was about 12 with my dad. Did it as a side hustle from 2010--2021, went full time in 2022. My minimum used to be $40, and with the cost of everything to keep equipment going, I decided end of 2023 that minimum would be $50 for all new clients. Anyone I mow for below $50, I raised them to $45 and they were fine with it. They know I'm gonna show up and do a good job. I have good route density and can sometimes knock out 3 lawns by myself because they're all together in a neighborhood. I never price by the hour for mowing, I price by the hour for other services like cleanup of a fence line or redoing a flower bed. Shrubs and light tree trimming I price by the job.
I’m solo for about 4 years now love it. My minimum is $45 and goes up from there depending on side of yard. I do help a old lady out and mow just her front yard for $25 but is it super small. But other then that. It is $45 or higher.
Good content! We have been averaging about $60-$80 per person. Thats pretty good for our area but, that's just what most of the pro's are charging here where we are at .Like you said, the larger properties don't pay as much as the small properties. We try to target small residential properties and focus on our route density. We also do pretty well with the few commercials that we do 👍
Thats great money! Thats about where we are as a team. We get that on the large commercial properties also and dont have to worry about density but it is non stop!
Over my 18 years doing thisni have learned pricing the hard way. Lost money on jobs, made money etc. Now we are priced at 125/ man hour and do ok. We charge by the sq ft of turf. Seems to be the only way to make it fair for both parties. The large 1 acre plus properties are where i struggle a bit but getting better. Larger equipment helps with the speed at times but knowingnthe properties is the biggest asset in getting faster on properties.
Sounds like you've got it figured out now because that's dead on! Like I said the larger properties are more of an acre per hour for mowing but are still based on area. I actually figure both numbers separately just to double check myself when pricing. I use my double cut acre per hour if that helps.
It's not so much about the hourly rate as it is how much you keep for every hour worked. No doubt you can get more work done per hour with a 2 man/lady crew but you also have pay that person. Yes, you may make slightly better money with an employee but at a cost. Not just the monetary cost but the headache and stress of being responsible for that employee. So at the end of the day, unless that other person is your wife, you're better off solo. When you start hiring employees, quality usually goes down and you have to put a move on it everyday to make any money. Then when one of your employees get in a fight with their wife/girlfriend and he doesn't show up for work you're stuck with a lot of lawns. No thank you. Stay solo and put your savings on a different investment vehicle.
Pricing depends on location and tenure. Running a business for over 18 years...my advice work smarter not harder. Why break your back doing two - three yards for $100 when you can make $100 doing one lawn? Those two to three yards wear out your blades, equipment faster and you are using more gas. Just my two cents...we haven't charged $50 in a very long time and we make very good money. In my opinion, guys out here that undercharge make it difficult for customers to get up to speed on current pricing. When you provide professional service you should get paid for it. Inflation is high everywhere. We provide top notch service, we provide professional service but I'm sorry when you are running a $15k lawn mower, gas pricing is almost $4 a gallon, blades cost $80 and the help wants more money than ever just to show up there is no way $50 will work. Professionals should get paid professional prices.
I live in Bloomington, Illinois, and there is a lot of lawn mowing company, but a solo person wouldn't make it here why because it's too much competition here with these big mowing companies because they do everything with these big trucks if I even started a mowing company or small mowing person with a push mower and a electric weed trimmer won't go far not unless I do houses that would be the only way that I can do that here but I'd like to here more please how I can do it thank you my friend and keep these videos going I like it when you are honest and straight to the point that's what I like 👍 👍👍
You would have to go in with a refuse to fail attitude and be competitive or very slighty better on price. Advertising will be a big thing for you. Door to door talking and leaving door hangers would also be a must on top of social media posts. It CAN BE done though.
they may be faster with 4, 5, 6, man crews but overhead is up there as well. hey, diff strokes for diff folks. you have a good set up(husb and wife team) that sets you apart from many of us.
Been solo my whole mowing life, would not have it any other way. My small yards just does not make since to have a helper. 90% of all my yards I finish it 20 min. Boom.
just a tip, your lines are wheel to wheel, you need to be deck wheel to deck wheel at worst, also your customers lawns need iron and soil amendments after a good 3" minimum core plug aeration...the aeration in this case isn't to get water and nutrients deeper into the ground, no, in this case the sand in that area is killing your turn around zones which is lawn company damage due to your lines pattern being overly destructive. if they aren't playing baseball or football, they don't need straight line stripes every single time to know ball speed, trajectory and base runner/first down yardage touch down yardage. so many of thinkers of line stripes are dragging the industry down with baseball as the standard...is a customer paying for perfect grass like stadiums do? are you the grounds keeper of a baseball stadium...see my point, you don't even have golf course tournament grade grounds keeper skills. stop doing the baseball only striping, you have to change it up or you develop bald spots, hard pack and ruts and what is terrible for the ground kills the grass. compaction over the same area every week for years is what causes lawns like these either within 6 months or 6 years. offset your lines if your going to keep doing every cut like this i don't care that you do 90's the second time and 45's the third time, point is, you drove on that spot and it will take 6 months to uncompact it back to proper grass growing optimum. if your customers don't use that lawn as a putting green and ask how the ball is rolling and any slope tips and which way the grass is laying at what cut height and dew conditions as well as how long ago from the last aeration and what the ightly watering schedule and amount is and how water deficient or over watered the grass is tips...they don't give an eff about stripes. NO JOKE. those bare and thing areas need repair due to the tire damage. with those kinds of lawns you have too aggressive of tire bite and should be using turf saver tires on a sit down as standups won't handle some of those inclines if there is wetness in those low areas. your flat lawns should be run with smooth high run tires aka treadless if you want to actually zero turn. go to a golf course and watch the greens mower guys and look at their equipment real hard, record video of them for atleast one tee box and one hole green on a very nice course. that is your competition that is what people are accustomed to seeing, and that is their expectation, but passiveness they will not say it as they don't want to offend you or any one, and they don't want to lose a contractor they like dealing with. most of the problems in lawn care are either low quality for the prices paid meaning lawn damage and doesn't look good, or interpersonal relations skills aka bad attitude and misunderstandings due to little to no or poor communication. if you worked at a large golf course in high school or college you will know exactly what i'm talking about lawn love and customer skills wise. i also worked as floor sales at a national retailer for extra hours floating from computers to home theater to car audio and appliances and i set service plan records at 3 different stores because i knew the conditions, the problems and the solutions. sure they could go to the high end expensive stores...they're still going to have the same issues and price is going to be higher for dealing with the same exact issues, or they could go to the low end retailers and fight with other customers to get the dirt cheapest prices, but they will still wind up in the same position they are in now. doesn't matter the market or what you are selling, know your conditions, your problems and the solutions and you are 50% of the way to the sale vs every one else. customers are customers because they have a problem, they are hunting for an answer/solution to their problem. being better than the competition is what leads to reputation and being able to get away with a slightly higher price, that means you must go the extra mile making sure the customer is satisfied they will get no better service solution from any competitor. it can be as easy as an ALL-in-1 stop shop. they have multiple problems you have multiple solutions
Now I want to race you ( even before you invited the competition ) 🤣 But yeah, you are flying with that mower. I'm up here in Pa cutting at 3.75 to 4.5 ( especially as we're going into summer and were in a late spring drought ), and if I run a single pass that fast, even with freshly sharpen3d blades, I'm not gonna be satisfied with the result. But if I do a double cut, I definitely fly through the second pass, at least. String trimming and edging, we're about even.
My average is about $60 per hour as a solo operator in my area of southeast Mississippi. I bid on a cemetery cut last year that had roughly 80 to 100 graves I would have to weed eat around. Roughly about 2 acres to cut. Since it was my first bid on a job that large I estimated how long it would take me. I gave them a price of $400. Another guy ended up getting the job for $200 so I didn’t win the bid. Regardless, you live and you learn. I’ll know next time how to price.
The best part of this is your giving the insensitive to do better! If you can charge 40 to 60 a yard..... And as you do it you get faster..... You make the same money in less time which means you can get more customers and make more
I have a $60 minimum for all mowing Typically nets me about $80 per hour The market in the midlands of SC is flooded with $20 guys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that I’m too expensive.
@@AmericanLawnSpecialists still part time mowing 4-5 properties 4 days a week. Looking at going full time in lawn care within the next 2-3 years but until then I keep grinding it out
What is the size of the deck on the bobcat that you are using in this video? Also i charge by the size of the yard, because i move slower than the average man due to some life threatening injuries from past. So its up to me or whoever is cutting the grass whether one makes 1 dollar an hour or 1 dollar in 3 hours. Some days i can move extremely fast, some days i dont feel like moving at all so it takes me a little longer at times to finish.
If you are solo it will take a while but for the most part figure out how much area you mow,edge,trim, and blow in 1 hour and shoot for around $80ish per hour. As you get better and more efficient the profit will increase
hey pardner, this is a lil off topic, but can you elaborate on the lap bars on your 7000.. meaning, are they buttery feeling or stiff?? you kids be safe pardner., great content, stay hydrated... :)
@@AmericanLawnSpecialists cool, been helping some lco friends of mine, that I convinced to try the standers, so far Im completely mind blowned!! cant wait to plop my hiney down on a 7000, Im sposed to be retired, (LCO retired 36yrs) be safe... :)
As a solo operator, that's the sweet spot. To take on a crew, you are now responsible for their livelyhood. Unless you hiring a bunch of immigrants, and not paying them fair wages to survive in todays economy. By myself, I don't gotta stress about someone not showing up for work, and causing me to fall behind on a route.
That's right! I am extremely fortunate to have my wife as my partner in this business but we are at that point. With proper bidding though our rate allows us to hire and hope we can get good people. Lol
That's just not enough. We are extremely saturated where we are too and I had to pass on alot of customers because of prices but I still manage to find the ones that will pay for quality. Now we are becoming known for it.
I'm a solo operator and yea I kill myself and my clients want more and more for less. I actually today started to think wtf am I doing. Was in a wheelchair in 2015, degenerative disc disease, bi-polar severe anxiety and ptsd. This is the only gig I can do but with that said my clients are taking advantage of me.
You have to establish your worth. When you give a price it is for a set service and anything else asked by a client and you can give them a price if it something you want to do. You are a business and your services are not free.
If you think that information is wrong you either weren't listening or have alot to learn and either way you definitely need to stop listening to "they" because they are lying to you. Lol. That's 20 years of experience talking and I don't mean 20 years of trying to figure it out on my own.
21:20 his face is the sign of heat stroke or sun burn, his non burned shoulders tell me it's heat stroke. take a cool down break there buddy, 20 minutes.
![How Much Profit Should Your Lawn Care Business Make? [Numbers Revealed!] Good Profit Margin??](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/We5V3VEpkLA/mqdefault.jpg)
I like the fact you are honest, no bs talk and how your present yourself and not ramble like some lawn care guys I see on TH-cam makes it boring. It should be a educational not the boring type you hear sometimes. We all have opinions and how you want to run a business that’s your choice but then again you made a excellent point to have a repeat customers and build a good business practice so you don’t lose customers. You are definitely my favorite to watch thanks for the education and enjoyment of your lawn care cutting. I’m from Houston Texas!
Man I'm as real as it gets and that's the only way I know how to be! I'm just glad that these videos are helpful to people. Thanks for watching and for your support‼️💯
@@AmericanLawnSpecialists of course you always got my support!
Straight facts bud. I am solo here in fl and I do 10-15 yards a day and it’s 100 plus no joke, and everything you said is true and you are right about having help much more efficient with experienced help. I’ve learned to not shortchange myself but be competitive and let my work show for itself. Nice to hear someone who knows what’s up couldn’t have said it better. Take care keep it up brother.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Love your channel Jason. Quality and professional at the highest level! Keep up the great work and videos. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family for the loss of your father! God bless!
Greatly appreciate that!!! 💯
Great video, Jason! I mow 20 yards at $50 minimum price, April through November here in GA. I'm 67 years old and this is a great hobby for a retired dude. Love the outdoors, customers and cash flow. Can't have a trailer where I live, so I rebuilt an aluminum wheelchair (side ramp) carrier to fit my 30 inch Toro and added attachments on back for weed whacker and edger. Easily slides into rear hitch and away I go! Best wishes!
Thanks and best of luck to you
Hi, I cut grass in Warner robins GA and and surrounding areas
The best most honest truthful informative video ever on pricing and just how shit works!!! I have found that if I drive over into the next city I can earn $5 - $10 more an hour but as I get older I find being closer to home for pit stops, lunch breaks, changing clothes, swopping out equipment letting puppy out far outweighs the hassle of commuting. Thanks for the vid!!!
I try to give the info like it is! Thanks for watching!
Jason I couldn’t find anything that can say it better than you! Very well said indeed!!! Tip: If you mow the same yards in 5 different ways and you will be able to find out how long it takes to mow that pattern but not only that you will eventually see how much greener the grass will be just because you mowed it in different directions. Keep On Mowing my friend!
I don’t even try to compete on price, my area is full of chuck in a trucks. Just do good work/ always show up/ present my company as professional/ work fast & thorough/ keep my equipment well maintained. I’m solo and set my pricing at 125$ an hour, card on file only, and give 0 flips about losing out on pricing. In this for the long haul, and time is the most limited resource we have in life, don’t have time for cheap people/ budget issues. Learned a lot from you brother, the zappysites tip was the best thing I’ve done. Thanks for the tips, and keep making that money.
Very well explained Jason! Work at a steady pace, and also take pride in your work! Great job and stay hydrated and motivated👍👊
Thanks!
I've mowed lawns since I was 12 years old. I'm 63 this year and just mow my own property, but I do it like "the pros" and it takes me about 2 1/2 hours to mow, trim, blow etc... I do it twice a week average right now, but when the heat comes on in SW Oklahoma the grass slows way down. I enjoyed your video, and appreciate your "this is how it is" approach. Thanks Brother. Be safe!
Its awesome that you take pride like that!!! Thank you for your comment and support!
Great video man. Some people don’t realize that those mowers, truck and the rest of your equipment don’t run on hopes and dreams. Plus, you have to factor your payout for healthcare, insurance, fuel and any other thing that is essential that you have to have for your business. People also don’t factor in the maintenance and time it takes to keep all your equipment running for several months outta the year… keep up the great work and stay safe sir…👍👍👍
Lol. I swear some people believe they do!!!! Thanks!
Thanks for this video this morning!
Awesome to hear you are hustling to be better. Like I said in the video...$60-$80 solo is a good hourly rate that allows for growth. Keep grinding and keep coming up‼️💪
20 clients. Nice, especially with a full-time job! I'm looking to pick up 10 when I start up this season.
What i got out of this. Know your target clientele, know when to walk away when the prospective client will be better served by a larger company. Knowing your prices and times will better serve not only you, yet also your clients as well.
Another great video, Jason! I'm 73 and still take care of my own yard (an acre). My wife thinks I do so well that I should go into business, but I think I'll pass on that idea, lol. I enjoy your straightforward approach and good ideas and suggestions, as well as watching you do the work. Continued best of luck to you and the family.
Thank you! It is much appreciated!
Amazing video! Great advice. You must be fast, efficient, and have good route density and do quality work. This is another of your videos that I will recommend to a new solo, part time mowing guy.
I appreciate that!
Great video love your honesty about the business without exposing your bottom line.
I appreciate that!
great vid Jas... very informative and and educational.. thing i struggle with is the overheads.. equipment, insurance, fuel costs, blade changeout vs sharpening costs and still being able to put food on the table, I agree with know your area.. Thanks mate
You overhead will increase with growth of course but I break it down to an hourly cost according to a 40 week season(total yearly costs÷40weeks÷hrs/week). This gets me very close to an hourly rate on all overhead. With the other 3 months in the year my overhead is minimal and profits are WAY up because alot of it is covered in that 40 week period. Anyone working 40hrs a week at the rates that I mentioned can make very good profits if you are efficient. Even if you have a higher overhead. As far as blades go look at the rgb 712 sharpener....it's worth every penny. Thanks for watching bro.
I remember when lawn crews were two guys with Snapper walk behinds one in the front and one in the back. After cutting one guy would start trimming and one would start blowing. Then when zero turns become popular the two man crew dissapeared. It became a one man show. Most of the residential lawns in my area are done by single man operations and they do very well because the lots are all small and some even narrow 50 ft front lots.
Yeah man I started out working on 2-3 man crews with walk behinds and larger crews with lawn/turf tractors. It's crazy how much things have changed.
Boy, I really wish that we had a Lawn Service like yours! The LS that has been chosen for the Townhouses that i live in are terrible. Great job and your respect and consideration for your customers is very admirable!
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
My minimum to drop my trailer is $50 regardless how small the lawn is, weekly service only, if it gets dry, I adjust to every 2 weeks or as needed, no exceptions. If a potential client doesn't want to pay my minimum, then they are not the kind of customer I want. I have been mowing since I was about 12 with my dad. Did it as a side hustle from 2010--2021, went full time in 2022.
My minimum used to be $40, and with the cost of everything to keep equipment going, I decided end of 2023 that minimum would be $50 for all new clients. Anyone I mow for below $50, I raised them to $45 and they were fine with it. They know I'm gonna show up and do a good job. I have good route density and can sometimes knock out 3 lawns by myself because they're all together in a neighborhood.
I never price by the hour for mowing, I price by the hour for other services like cleanup of a fence line or redoing a flower bed. Shrubs and light tree trimming I price by the job.
i run solo - 65 yards. thought abt hiring someone but dont want the potential headaches. happy where i am !!
If you are happy and comfortable where you are without help I definitely wouldn't change it.
Great Video Brotha! Subscribed! Thanks For Sharing! ✊️
Great Video as Always!!!!!! Keep ‘Em coming!!!!👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thank you! Great to hear from you and will do!
I’m solo for about 4 years now love it. My minimum is $45 and goes up from there depending on side of yard. I do help a old lady out and mow just her front yard for $25 but is it super small. But other then that. It is $45 or higher.
Sounds like you're on track and yeah sometimes you have to cut the elderly some slack
Good content! We have been averaging about $60-$80 per person. Thats pretty good for our area but, that's just what most of the pro's are charging here where we are at .Like you said, the larger properties don't pay as much as the small properties. We try to target small residential properties and focus on our route density. We also do pretty well with the few commercials that we do 👍
Thats great money! Thats about where we are as a team. We get that on the large commercial properties also and dont have to worry about density but it is non stop!
I also like the fact you are very professional by using your edger I really don’t like the gap a string trimmer leaves after edging
Over my 18 years doing thisni have learned pricing the hard way. Lost money on jobs, made money etc. Now we are priced at 125/ man hour and do ok. We charge by the sq ft of turf. Seems to be the only way to make it fair for both parties. The large 1 acre plus properties are where i struggle a bit but getting better. Larger equipment helps with the speed at times but knowingnthe properties is the biggest asset in getting faster on properties.
Sounds like you've got it figured out now because that's dead on! Like I said the larger properties are more of an acre per hour for mowing but are still based on area. I actually figure both numbers separately just to double check myself when pricing. I use my double cut acre per hour if that helps.
It's not so much about the hourly rate as it is how much you keep for every hour worked. No doubt you can get more work done per hour with a 2 man/lady crew but you also have pay that person. Yes, you may make slightly better money with an employee but at a cost. Not just the monetary cost but the headache and stress of being responsible for that employee. So at the end of the day, unless that other person is your wife, you're better off solo. When you start hiring employees, quality usually goes down and you have to put a move on it everyday to make any money. Then when one of your employees get in a fight with their wife/girlfriend and he doesn't show up for work you're stuck with a lot of lawns. No thank you. Stay solo and put your savings on a different investment vehicle.
Pricing depends on location and tenure. Running a business for over 18 years...my advice work smarter not harder. Why break your back doing two - three yards for $100 when you can make $100 doing one lawn? Those two to three yards wear out your blades, equipment faster and you are using more gas. Just my two cents...we haven't charged $50 in a very long time and we make very good money.
In my opinion, guys out here that undercharge make it difficult for customers to get up to speed on current pricing. When you provide professional service you should get paid for it.
Inflation is high everywhere. We provide top notch service, we provide professional service but I'm sorry when you are running a $15k lawn mower, gas pricing is almost $4 a gallon, blades cost $80 and the help wants more money than ever just to show up there is no way $50 will work. Professionals should get paid professional prices.
That is correct and is why I said I could take my time on a few yards and make that but instead my pricing has me making more than double that. 👍
I live in Bloomington, Illinois, and there is a lot of lawn mowing company, but a solo person wouldn't make it here why because it's too much competition here with these big mowing companies because they do everything with these big trucks if I even started a mowing company or small mowing person with a push mower and a electric weed trimmer won't go far not unless I do houses that would be the only way that I can do that here but I'd like to here more please how I can do it thank you my friend and keep these videos going I like it when you are honest and straight to the point that's what I like 👍 👍👍
You would have to go in with a refuse to fail attitude and be competitive or very slighty better on price. Advertising will be a big thing for you. Door to door talking and leaving door hangers would also be a must on top of social media posts. It CAN BE done though.
Not all customers want big corporate monsters on their property. Most of the giants are in HOA communities.
they may be faster with 4, 5, 6, man crews but overhead is up there as well. hey, diff strokes for diff folks. you have a good set up(husb and wife team) that sets you apart from many of us.
Been solo my whole mowing life, would not have it any other way. My small yards just does not make since to have a helper. 90% of all my yards I finish it 20 min. Boom.
Awesome‼️ Keep grinding and getting money‼️💯💪
I’m solo also it’s just my help I always have to go behind 🤦🏽♂️and it just seemed like I was the only person taking pride in my work
just a tip, your lines are wheel to wheel, you need to be deck wheel to deck wheel at worst, also your customers lawns need iron and soil amendments after a good 3" minimum core plug aeration...the aeration in this case isn't to get water and nutrients deeper into the ground, no, in this case the sand in that area is killing your turn around zones which is lawn company damage due to your lines pattern being overly destructive. if they aren't playing baseball or football, they don't need straight line stripes every single time to know ball speed, trajectory and base runner/first down yardage touch down yardage.
so many of thinkers of line stripes are dragging the industry down with baseball as the standard...is a customer paying for perfect grass like stadiums do? are you the grounds keeper of a baseball stadium...see my point, you don't even have golf course tournament grade grounds keeper skills. stop doing the baseball only striping, you have to change it up or you develop bald spots, hard pack and ruts and what is terrible for the ground kills the grass. compaction over the same area every week for years is what causes lawns like these either within 6 months or 6 years. offset your lines if your going to keep doing every cut like this i don't care that you do 90's the second time and 45's the third time, point is, you drove on that spot and it will take 6 months to uncompact it back to proper grass growing optimum. if your customers don't use that lawn as a putting green and ask how the ball is rolling and any slope tips and which way the grass is laying at what cut height and dew conditions as well as how long ago from the last aeration and what the ightly watering schedule and amount is and how water deficient or over watered the grass is tips...they don't give an eff about stripes. NO JOKE.
those bare and thing areas need repair due to the tire damage. with those kinds of lawns you have too aggressive of tire bite and should be using turf saver tires on a sit down as standups won't handle some of those inclines if there is wetness in those low areas. your flat lawns should be run with smooth high run tires aka treadless if you want to actually zero turn. go to a golf course and watch the greens mower guys and look at their equipment real hard, record video of them for atleast one tee box and one hole green on a very nice course.
that is your competition that is what people are accustomed to seeing, and that is their expectation, but passiveness they will not say it as they don't want to offend you or any one, and they don't want to lose a contractor they like dealing with.
most of the problems in lawn care are either low quality for the prices paid meaning lawn damage and doesn't look good, or interpersonal relations skills aka bad attitude and misunderstandings due to little to no or poor communication.
if you worked at a large golf course in high school or college you will know exactly what i'm talking about lawn love and customer skills wise. i also worked as floor sales at a national retailer for extra hours floating from computers to home theater to car audio and appliances and i set service plan records at 3 different stores because i knew the conditions, the problems and the solutions. sure they could go to the high end expensive stores...they're still going to have the same issues and price is going to be higher for dealing with the same exact issues, or they could go to the low end retailers and fight with other customers to get the dirt cheapest prices, but they will still wind up in the same position they are in now.
doesn't matter the market or what you are selling, know your conditions, your problems and the solutions and you are 50% of the way to the sale vs every one else.
customers are customers because they have a problem, they are hunting for an answer/solution to their problem.
being better than the competition is what leads to reputation and being able to get away with a slightly higher price, that means you must go the extra mile making sure the customer is satisfied they will get no better service solution from any competitor. it can be as easy as an ALL-in-1 stop shop. they have multiple problems you have multiple solutions
Im just starting this will be my first year and I’m charging $30 for small medium yards for mowing trimming and edging.
Route density is very important if you are going to make good money
With residential properties route density is HUGE! Thanks for watching
Now I want to race you ( even before you invited the competition ) 🤣 But yeah, you are flying with that mower. I'm up here in Pa cutting at 3.75 to 4.5 ( especially as we're going into summer and were in a late spring drought ), and if I run a single pass that fast, even with freshly sharpen3d blades, I'm not gonna be satisfied with the result. But if I do a double cut, I definitely fly through the second pass, at least. String trimming and edging, we're about even.
Come on with it‼️ lol. And yeah we double cut alot. It just depends on the conditions and finish
My average is about $60 per hour as a solo operator in my area of southeast Mississippi. I bid on a cemetery cut last year that had roughly 80 to 100 graves I would have to weed eat around. Roughly about 2 acres to cut. Since it was my first bid on a job that large I estimated how long it would take me. I gave them a price of $400. Another guy ended up getting the job for $200 so I didn’t win the bid. Regardless, you live and you learn. I’ll know next time how to price.
That's a good living and cemeteries are very hard to turn profit as a solo guy. The work will come though! Just keep grinding and keep getting better!
The best part of this is your giving the insensitive to do better! If you can charge 40 to 60 a yard..... And as you do it you get faster..... You make the same money in less time which means you can get more customers and make more
Great info Thanks!
I have a $60 minimum for all mowing
Typically nets me about $80 per hour
The market in the midlands of SC is flooded with $20 guys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that I’m too expensive.
That's really good solo and allows for room to grow‼️💪
@@AmericanLawnSpecialists still part time mowing 4-5 properties 4 days a week.
Looking at going full time in lawn care within the next 2-3 years but until then I keep grinding it out
What is the size of the deck on the bobcat that you are using in this video? Also i charge by the size of the yard, because i move slower than the average man due to some life threatening injuries from past. So its up to me or whoever is cutting the grass whether one makes 1 dollar an hour or 1 dollar in 3 hours. Some days i can move extremely fast, some days i dont feel like moving at all so it takes me a little longer at times to finish.
How do you find out the price in your area? Every lawn guy I talked to acts like it’s a big secret or something?
If you are solo it will take a while but for the most part figure out how much area you mow,edge,trim, and blow in 1 hour and shoot for around $80ish per hour. As you get better and more efficient the profit will increase
hey pardner, this is a lil off topic, but can you elaborate on the lap bars on your 7000.. meaning, are they buttery feeling or stiff?? you kids be safe pardner., great content, stay hydrated... :)
The controls on the 7000 are extremely smooth. Not too soft and not too stiff and all the power you could ever want
@@AmericanLawnSpecialists cool, been helping some lco friends of mine, that I convinced to try the standers, so far Im completely mind blowned!! cant wait to plop my hiney down on a 7000, Im sposed to be retired, (LCO retired 36yrs) be safe... :)
@@gunnerfanning5921 you won't regret it‼️💯
As a solo operator, that's the sweet spot. To take on a crew, you are now responsible for their livelyhood. Unless you hiring a bunch of immigrants, and not paying them fair wages to survive in todays economy. By myself, I don't gotta stress about someone not showing up for work, and causing me to fall behind on a route.
That's right! I am extremely fortunate to have my wife as my partner in this business but we are at that point. With proper bidding though our rate allows us to hire and hope we can get good people. Lol
Great video
Thanks‼️💪
How would u price a acre or more with a 60 inch deck
You need to know your acre per hour of your mower. Then add time for obstacles since that will take longer and charge your hourly rate accordingly
You know that lever off to the right you close it so you don’t blow the grass and all the beds
No way!!! That's what that is for???
I saw that you did the front yard only in the 2 across from each other, what about the backyards
Just didn't put that in the video. We service the entire properties
That's about what I get is around a $100 an hour!
Nice! Keep making that money!
My area is so saturated with operators we are doing $20 a cut. With two guys it takes 15 minutes per.
That's just not enough. We are extremely saturated where we are too and I had to pass on alot of customers because of prices but I still manage to find the ones that will pay for quality. Now we are becoming known for it.
I am solo and it's rough
But when done right the reward is great‼️💯💪
I cut about 40 yd a week by myself.
I'm a solo operator and yea I kill myself and my clients want more and more for less. I actually today started to think wtf am I doing. Was in a wheelchair in 2015, degenerative disc disease, bi-polar severe anxiety and ptsd. This is the only gig I can do but with that said my clients are taking advantage of me.
You have to establish your worth. When you give a price it is for a set service and anything else asked by a client and you can give them a price if it something you want to do. You are a business and your services are not free.
Absolutely 💯
Most of the yards I mow. Are 60 each they take about 2 hours to mow. I mow every week. I have 5 yards
Keep grinding 💪
You are wrong they always say not to be competitive
If you think that information is wrong you either weren't listening or have alot to learn and either way you definitely need to stop listening to "they" because they are lying to you. Lol. That's 20 years of experience talking and I don't mean 20 years of trying to figure it out on my own.
21:20 his face is the sign of heat stroke or sun burn, his non burned shoulders tell me it's heat stroke. take a cool down break there buddy, 20 minutes.
It's hot af out there! Lol. No heat stroke though. I get red quickly in the heat but I'm good.
Lots of talk