Can Solo Guys MAKE A LIVING Mowing Lawns???
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
- The amount of money someone can make daily as a solo operator mowing lawns gets blown out of proportion... sure you could do 15 plus lawns in a day, but you WILL BURN OUT. In this video I'm giving an overview of MY EXPERIENCE from doing this day in and day out and what the realities are from me knowing MULTIPLE solo guys... As well as all the solo guys in TurfProsAcademy... These are realistic numbers if you get things dialed in... Of course, I have a crew, but there is still money to be made as a solo operator in the lawn care industry.
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MY STORY:
In 2016 I had been in law enforcement for 7 years.
I was not in control of my schedule, I was hardly making any money, and I was away from my family working nights and holidays. I was capable of more, and I was silently suffering. I knew I was selling myself and my family short.
I started Florida Turf Pros as a side hustle in 2016 before going full time in 2017.
My lawn business changed my life.
I control my own schedule, control my own income, and I am proud of what I have built; a business that supports me, my family, and some employees.
If you are a lawn care business owner, this channel will be a valuable resource for you.
This really is a great industry to be in, and I hope that by documenting my journey it will help you.
-Jonathan C. Christian
Great insights. I have been a solo operator for almost 30 years. I service between 60 to 70 yards in a 5 day week sometimes 6. Route density is key. My heaviest days are Monday and Tuesday. I usually knock out about 20 or so each of these days. All grouped closely together sometimes 3 or 4 right next to each other. Be dependable and predictable. The accounts are serviced the same days every week normally about the same time of day each time. Once you understand how to get through each yard it is a piece of cake. The same way every time, everything each and every time. Variations of mowing patterns taken into account. Quality, dependable service, but you have to understand your customer. Some yards you are just a grass cutter and other customers you are a lawn guy. Don't cut corners. I try to sell my customers on annual contracts where the amount is the same every month with extra money for things that are outside of the normal course of work. I figure mine on 44 trips per year, servicing 12 months of the year. It has worked for me. I use to work a job and do this on the side. You can make it. Bet on yourself. People will pay for quality work.
This is an excellent comment... thanks for sharing.
I call bs how is he going go find 60-70 people everyday people love to lie
I've been doing this for 30 years now. 70 accounts is no problem where I am. There are yard guys everywhere here. Military town with loads of retirees. So I can BS on you
@@kristensdad6828 i read that wrong man i thought it said 60-70 everyday🤣
Right on the mark! Im solo and some things that come to mind that pays dividends is, let the mower cut the grass on the curbs(not your string trimmer); Shute blocker; 4 day maintenance week; full property maintenance(landscaping beds)range $90-220 per ;working for people that have the money to spend on a excellent service; full sleeve poly shirts and pants, full brim hat, scheduled service only company!, monthly during winter for properties that have trees and or nice landscaping. Equipment don’t make a business! Your customers make your business! Offer a premium service for premium price for the people that value it. Have money in the bank so you can wag the tail, not the customer. You are the professional you need to back it up with your company appearance and service!
Me too! Lol
I totally agree! Whats sustainable is a good point! At this point in my life and solo I'm the Tortoise not the Hare , Some days I may hit 7 and some 3 it depends I'm set up to be consistent over the long haul. I may not ever get rich but I do ok for a retired solo lawncare provider, Some days I can even by doughnuts🍩🤣Great information👌🏾
You got me with the "lawns don't have to be beautiful to make money". I'm listening to this as I reorganize my routes and am working out a $1,000+ solo day with "ugly" yards. They are my best customers as far as efficiency and hourly income on the day! LOVE IT
Awesome info. You’re one of the few on TH-cam that hasn’t forgot what it’s like to be new in Lawn Care
I always enjoy watching this guy's videos. Very educational.
Love it! Thank you for the great advice!
Very good content that is on point. Operator efficiency, route density, and recovery. All great points make a difference on the bottom line with profit and health.
Johnathan, I have watched you for years and years. This might be the best video you have ever done.
Great video. You spot on with the facts you talk about in this video. I have been running a lawn business now for 14 years and recovery time,clusters of yards and a good operator is so important to a smooth running business. Also to profit margins.
Great video with tons of advice 🔥
The content in this video is from MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE starting as a solo guy, as well as many others in TurfProsAcademy... these are real numbers we're seeing from those actually doing it. What are you guys seeing on your end as solo operators? More, less, same? Discuss!
thanks for sharing, this is great!
Increase revenue streams. Fertilizer, weed control. Irrigation service, bed maintenance, season color, ways to take a 1600/yr customer into a 3500/yr customer
You are absolutely spot on. I have mowed 14 in a day and 12 in a day. Route density is key. 12 a day is adequate for me. Kudos to those wanting to do more. I am a realist. Great content
Once again, good stuff!!!!!!
Jonathan is dropping GOLD nuggets! Love it, brother!
Good info. When laying out my routes I even try to factor traffic flow, Right hand turns prevent waiting to cross traffic and keeps from wasting time. Solo is hard over the long haul. At 48 I’m finding it very difficult to keep hitting the numbers consistently.
8-10 for me now solo working in 3 great neighborhoods near by each other…when I had two extra guys it was 18-22 per day. You can definitely make a killing in lawncare💯
Hi ..are your yards weekly??
Yes weekly
When starting up, I took on everything. First realization was that I wasn't making any money hauling equipment around town. It only makes money when it's running. So, logistics and planning is key in this game. Then I got selective on the type of accounts, only took on townehomes and other year round properties.
Thanks for the info
Nothing but real truth in this video. Great channel.
First of all, thanks! You and a couple more guys on TH-cam made me think and look at what I'm doing. April 1st was my third year full-time. Right now, I'm spot on what you said. I'm doing 8 to 13 yards a day solo. Averaging Right at 11. My market is crazy. I truly have to turn down work several times a week. Finding that perfect yard is key. I have yards I go to and hate, but now I see the ones I like, and they pay just as good. That's what year 3 is showing me. And your wife is indeed beautiful. 😅
You make a living doing anything as long as you hustle hard enough!
I like the cluster analogy brah.
❤ love berry picking with you!
Only because you make me go into the thorny sections.
Awesome video
Dang good advice man!!!
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it.
Thank you!💯
You know your stuff. Great content.
I appreciate that!
True inspiration. Ty. I wish you did life coaching in addition to cutting. I just can’t pull the trigger to flip to full time, side hustle keeps growing and starting my route at 4pm after working in healthcare is starting to brake me after 30? Years of hustling.
This was a very realistic video and I couldn't agree more. I would argue you will make more as a solo compared to a 2 man for the simple fact that a 2 man doesn't double your production.
I love St. Augustine lawns they’re easy to mow usually one pass and the clippings disappear. I have a few here in Va. Beach but mostly fescue which can require some extra work.
I have 53 customers im thinking about going pt on my job because im still growing and my job is getting in the way
What about winter time and your customers do have no tree so there no leaves to get up
@@mikeduckworth9533 winter is for maintenance on equipment or for moving to a warmer climate ;)
On Long Island ny. Everything is extra. And you have to have crews. Because the trimming will slow you down. We all have sidewalks patios pools paths all have to be trimmed. Then the shrub work is all day Saturday and Sunday. Not easy.
I do 550 on my main lawn day. Trying to fill up a 2nd. Other days i do cleanups and hedge trimming. Some of those are around 800. I do all push mowing though and collect clippings.
Good video....I hope that client doesn't see this video talking about how bad the lawn looks! 😅😂
I ran solo for years and maxed out at about 110 lawns a week. Once I swapped over to fertilizing and pest control I doubled my income with half the work and equipment. Highly recommend people go that route. Yes it has a slightly bigger barrier to entry with licensing and education but a solo guy in a van can easily pull in $2k in a 8 hour work day depending on your market and density. Best thing I ever did was stepping out of mowing.
How do you compete with the big companies like True-Green? They seem cheap!
@@shannonp4037 Quality, personal, education and local. My servicing offering was much greater with a personalized approach. “Custom” programs for each lawn, soil testing on all my properties, mostly organic products with use of bio stimulants. I often took on free lawns in neighborhoods to grow into those areas, I would just find an ugly lawn and offer to make it beautiful again for free. With the use of proper bio stimulants it’s not hard to get a lawn to turn around quick. Or money back guarantees if I did not turn their lawn around within two months. After I had a few on a street it was easy to go door to door and point out my results vs TrueGreen or Weedman results. Most was me just walking around talking to people and showing them a better quality experience with a personal touch. Staying active on Facebook and answering questions / education. I have a friend that started a lawn care business from scratch and he spent the winter before active on neighborhood Facebook groups answering questions, he started his first Spring with 82 accounts just from him staying engaged on Facebook and providing good education and information over the winter before.
I had plenty of Tuegreen lawns in between mine and I would just keep poking those home owners and creating good relationships with them. Many homes have had Truegreen for years and their lawns look like shit, not hard to show them a better way. If they want cheap they get cheap results. Most of my products I ran were from Greene County Fertilizers, hands down the best products in this industry. Can’t stress education enough, you cannot turn a lawn around all on your own, home owners need to be taught good cultural practices and be involved with their lawn and do what you ask them to do. It goes a long way.
How in the world were you mowing 110 lawns a week solo?
@@FloridaTurfPros 6 days a week killing myself and good route density. Had an awesome 48” mower that I ran for 20 years ( old Buyers Gold mower) Replaced the hydros with ones I pulled off a forklift and suped it up a bunch. Re designed the pulley system to get more speed out of it. Was able to cut at about 12mph and drive 15mph with it. So having that speed all day made a big difference just going back to the trailer for example. Had a 36” gravely that drove me crazy because how slow it was. Don’t make them like they used to anymore. Found them at Costco for $2k. Plus it was extremely light and easy to maneuver around. Only weighed about 300 lbs. Thing was a monster and just as scary to use. Closest thing I can find to those mowers is from Bradley mowers but the design has changed so much you can’t do much to them to make them faster. Only did 110 for about two years and it was just too much. Dropped down to 90 a week solo and would do that in about 4.5 days. Average sqft was about 3k so quick and easy lawns.
@FlordiaTurfPros It depends where you are at. I live in CA. Everything is expensive here EXCEPT getting your lawn cut. For your average subdivision house, you are not getting more than $20, most of the time $15. There are just to many people willing to do it for cheap, and there are virtually no barriers to entry other than a very small investment to get started. It's a strange economic situation where minimum wage is $20/hr., but $15 to mow your lawn. It's crazy.
Here in Southern California, homeowners expect to have the planter work included in the price. That just means more time on property. Thus a $49 minimum per visit. For the yards in my area. Make sure to calculate price for yourself guys. My price may not be good for your workflow.
Glad you mentioned RECOVERY at end of day. Drinking or Smoking to relax will put you on the unemployment line. Rest, Diet, Recreation with Family are Key.
How do you determine with what to charge? Do you also trim and blow? What about maintenance? Like blade sharpening?
I'm having alot of trouble getting clients when starting my small care business. What do you recommend I do>?
Buddy, I need to know the exact name and exact color of these pants because wrangler makes a blue million of them and I want the ones you are wearing. Thanks a lot! I’m very picky and apologize for being a pain in advance. Lol
I live in Cental Florida. I started my lawn care business in March 2021. As of December 2023-now I am full. I consider full 80-85 a week, Mon-Thurs approx. 730-330-4pm.I make $657 a day working those 4 days a week. I leave Friday open for special projects and rain make ups. I have a very tight route; almost all of my days/time is spent in the same 4-mile radius. I am considering at the start of next year either raising all customers prices 5% or hiring another person. However, I'm hearing from too many people on TH-cam and in person, about how hard it is to keep an employee and how stressful it is.
Right on
I been doing it solo for 20yrs.
Bought my truck an I got a house 2010 ....2day I owe less then 5k. Did it solo Dolo!
I have a brand new f250 and 2, 13k zero turns on my trailer and some well seasoned stihl handhelds. My trailer has 4 different rusty rims and bald tires to give the haters something to talk about. 😂 sorry too busy working to care about my trailer rims.
There’s an app called real green that we use to route and track time. I’m solo and can get 10-12 a day if I stay until 5 or so.
It gets lonely sometimes, but i will say this get a good customer and use them to buy a gravely like yours. Then dont fianance anything until you get monthly contracts to cover all the big items truck etc.
I'd like to do this but I can't get the ZTR to stop leaving skid marks. They're ok in ur drawers but not so great in the lawn.
I’m a solo guy I do about 56-60 a week mom-fri at about $50 each. I like the smallest yard possible and thin. Bigger tall wet yards just drain your time. Problem with loading up your schedule is when it rains or is really tall.
Very true... Our area gets so much rain that I learned after the first year I absolutely can NOT mow 5 days a week or we will get behind all the time. We do a 4 day/week mow schedule then take care of flowerbed work on Fridays.
Even when you are efficient with your workload. How many jobs do you need every month to meet your expenses? All your fuel for equipment and truck. All your regular maintenance and unexpected repairs. And liability insurance. Before you make a profit .it's not as easy as people think.
Have you done a new equipment tour yet? I know you have the 36/52” ProStance mowers and i think you said you went to PAS2620 for trimmers and edgers. Blowers still 580s? I’m in Tampa Bay Area and slowly copying your setup haha
I'm about to do an equipment tour/setup. Yes, 580t's and BR600's.
How do you get those “clusters”
Lawns like that you can cut 20 a day no problem. Make it so when you un load your trailer you cut four on the same street or five on the same street
What about winter?
Just discovered your channel so don't know if you have discussed this previously, but what percentage of lawns do you cut vs cut and seed/fertilize? Like how you show a video of cutting "ugly" yard. Not everyone has these insane park like yards.
I don't seed/fertilize any of my lawns. Overseeding is almost always a waste on warm season turf grasses. There are some fertilization companies I work with and refer work to for clients who want those services.
$50 a pop….thats a great price where I live
Your deck is missing the left side wheel... I'm sure there's a purpose, what is the advantage?
I've got several deck wheels on order... 😂 thanks for noticing!
How do you get your gravely to cut well ? they don't cut well in Long Northern grass
We’re mowing, warm, season, turf grasses, I’ve never had an issue with cut quality.
Facts 👍🏽🫡🍀💰
The answer is yes, I’m not even a year in and I focus on landscaping (soft scapes) and I’m making 1,200 in two reasonable days. Alone. I have a brand new ferris z2 52” stander and a scag 30” push with a stick edger, trimmer and a couple stihl 800 blowers.
I was going to say 8 a day is a good amount to go for.
28.3😉
I really don’t understand been cutting lawns for over 10 years in central Florida. Nobody pays $50 a cut here in my area. Typically most cookie cutter yards pay $25-$35 per kite and some people still scream when you tell them that price.
In middle Tennessee I ain't rolling out of bed for a yard that pays under 50 dollars
Where did you get your hat at?
tractor supply... it's a justin hat.
I only do an average of 5 to 6 a day. I don’t even try to max my self out anymore it’s not worth it, you’ll just burn your self out and your equipment. Not to mention the more you make the more u gonna pay Uncle Sam at the end of the year. Sometimes less is more. 6 hours a day and I’m done I’ll turn that phone off. Don’t kill your self for these customers cause they can replace u the next day.
What up , You are saying you get $50 for by weekly or weekly. In Florida ? 👍
In this example it would be a $50 mow... I charge per service and let the client decide if they want every two weeks or only once a week.
@@FloridaTurfProsso you charge the same for weekly as biweekly mow? I doubt that
@@acfuller86 He really is a mad lad if he does. I give a 50% up charge on biweekly. So my becomes 75 etc. I will not kill my equipment because your cheap lol
Yes but... How much overhead does it cost per day? I noticed you drive a stander. People never take this into account. Gas for truck/ gas for equipment. Take that off the $600 per day. Being solo I use per week $70 truck with using AC on entire time and equipment gas $20 on average. 141 accounts Monday-Thursday Bi-weekly all in 1 community. 3-per hour $90. Push mower
--Week A--
$535-Monday
$550-Tuesday
$650-Wednesday
$440-Thursday
--$2,175--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
--Week B--
$780-Monday
$600-Tuesday
$570-Wednesday
$495-Thursday
--$2,410--
I have some accounts weekly. Trim 2 accounts per week all 52 weeks a year here Gilbert, AZ. Add another $150 per week income.
It's 100 degrees in Summer and 70 all winter.
Rains 5-7 days entire year that's all we get with rain.
youre a pro? first 2 stripes parrallel to street are in same direction
We don’t stripe warm, seasoned turf grasses. Absolute nonsense.
Get some huge corporate lawns...make big $$$$$
Man look im 52yrs old im solo most of the time. So i do a min of 300 and a max of 500 a day.
Aint no way you left those stripes in the clients yard like that. You went back over them…. Right?🤣
It’s Florida the type of grass they have won’t hold a stripe, no need to even try. Only cool weather grass will hold down.
Midwest……$600 per day, 5 days a week, 25 weeks per year. Not enough meat on that bone.
im a critical care nurse with tons of liability and mountains of stress and have to deal with tons of Sh@t from all the karens in HR doctors co workers families patients etc. nothing is more stressful than what im doing now. and i make 600 a day. its not worth it id rather cut grass
That would make a great video. Ugly lawns pay the bills.
Sure would... 😊
Are u all talking weekly when u'll all say 12-15 yards a day
No, he is talking daily. If you charge $50/lawn for a mow and trim and each lawn takes you 20 minutes and you spend another 20 minutes driving between clients, you mow 2 lawns per hour. If you leave home at 7:30 am and arrive at your 1st at 8:00, mow 2 lawns per hour including drive time, 1 hour for lunch and then return home for 4:30, you should have mowed 14 lawns. You were out for 9 hours, took a 1 hour lunch and took 1/2 hour drive between your house and the first client and then your last client and your house totaling 1 hour driving. Some lawns take more or less time. Driving between clients is the killer of wasted time.
There's no point in landscaping anymore ...since covid boom now every dick and Jane is a landscaper and also offering too many services for the person just starting out to be competitive enough
Good info. When laying out my routes I even try to factor traffic flow, Right hand turns prevent waiting to cross traffic and keeps from wasting time. Solo is hard over the long haul. At 48 I’m finding it very difficult to keep hitting the numbers consistently.