I agree everyone thinks the lawn company shouldn’t be raised. So happy you’re sharing this. I’ve been wanting lawn companies to ban together to raise the rates it’s so ridiculous that so many customers think we should only get 25.0030.00 a cut including trimming weed spray etc.
If you are running a legit business paying your taxes, insurance, licensing, L&I, and paying your employees above the table you must charge a good amount. Plus you are in business to make money! If someone complains you are too expensive and they don’t see the value in your work they are not the customer you want. Good luck out there and thanks for watching!
This year all basic lawn accounts are 50.00 up towards 75.00 (based on the size of the lot). I sent out notification to all my customers and only lost about 10 our of 110 accounts. Most people accept it, but there is handful that will not accept. Expenses are very high.
$50 was my minimum to start last season and I plan to raise my price to $55 minimum in 2024. My yearly increases are usually around $5/$10 more per cut. I try to average $100 per man hour.
Pricing without mention of lawn size is irrelevant. However, great convo to charge. Glad to see you’re charging a good price in Spokane! Wish more guys would charge at least as much as you do! We went to $60 for up to 4k of Turf last season.
Thanks for the comment. I think size is less important than how long does the property take to do and how much of a pain in the neck is it. It could be really big but super easy with no obstacles Vs small but has a stupid steep swale and a lot of bushes to trim around. $60 seems fair. I should raise my prices. Thanks for watching!
Great conversation fellas, I agree that you definitely need to increase your prices to cover all the expenses. It’s hard when your first starting out for sure because you’re just trying to get work, but over time it’s necessary that you do. As your experience and skill levels grow so should your prices in my opinion. Thanks for sharing this content it’s very helpful.
South east Florida. I'm solo with a turfmaster& timemaster. The minimum charge on a small HOA yard is $35 per cut weekly April through November..biweekly December through March. Some bigger yards are $40 to $55 per cut..
Great video, you are so right on how difficult it is when you first starting out. I call it graduating in lawn care. Over the last year or so I’m perfecting my skills to improve so during that time I’m learning to improve on time efficiency on cutting the lawn. Example I charge $50, but it takes 1 hour to cut it. I’m earn less than $1 per minute. Later on my skills improve, now it take 25 minutes to do the same yard. Now I can do the same yard right be side it an earn $100 an hour. Now I have an idea of what I want to make per hour. I know what it takes to make $100 or more an hour so when I have a price and they say no that’s too high I’m able to walk away and go to the next customer. You have graduated . You have to know what is your worth and what it takes to run your business per day per week per month. Brian lawn maintenance is a really good video on how he base his price and how he has route density to improve on his efficiency make it more per hour. I hope this helps someone. Thanks
You're absolutely right! Last year, being my first year, my prices varied significantly in terms of per yard, per hour, etc. I have since determined my minimum rate and now adjust the price based on the time it takes to complete a yard. If a job takes longer than expected, I need to raise the price. Pricing based on pay-for-performance (P4P) or per hour has helped me tremendously in figuring this out.
Guy in the green: you're way off on true hourly cost for an employee. I retired after decades as an executive/owner. A $20.00 an hour employee in NE Texas costs $20.00 plus 30%. $26.00 an hour. Add overtime and it's obscene.Also,you need to reverse the way you are trying to explain the business model. First determine true fixed overhead: insurance,equipment depreciation costs,equipment costs,etc.Then factor in fuels etc. Then determine volume needed for a break even point(to not go broke). Then add in what the owner needs to make to make it worth his time.At that point a person can determine if they can afford to hire even one employee. My best guess is that annual volume for a full year round yard maintenance company would be a gross invoicing amount of $140,000.00 to $160,000.00 . Should give a 1 person operation a gross income of $70,000.00 to $80,000.00 a year barring theft and other catastrophic incidents. Also I would adjust gross income down 15% on the model until it would be field proven.
Excellent comment! Yes, you’re right. There are a ton of extra costs involved that were not discussed. I should make a more detailed video outlining all of those extra costs. Thanks for watching!
It’s arbitrary. 5,000 - 10,000 square feet. It kind of depends on how much a pain in the butt the yard is. More the pain the more money it's going to be. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Run the numbers to create your per manhour rates. What are your cogs, what are your operational costs, we see many companies that don't know how to do that.
Great video! We have similarities in our thinking. I'm over 19 years into a small garden maintenance job with a team of three in South West England. I have my 1st ride on mower quote to do ( my choice - did not want to get into huge areas at the start) So I'm looking for any tips or advice on how to quote with a rider on. Have done 1000s of small to large propelled mower machine jobs and wondered if I should just quote that way as in quote whatever it would take with the biggest mowers, but just use the ride on instead?
Quote with your daily goal in mind. If your daily goal is to make $1,000 a day and you estimate the job to take 1/2 day then start the bid at $500’ish. Good luck! Thanks for watching.
$50-55 is too low imo. An average commercial Lawn Mower 10-12k. Everything has gone up. employee wages, insurance, maintenance, trucks, ect. Around here, $75 is a bargin. $100 is probably what most successful comp[anies charge. I'm solo and $75-85 is what I get. But even that is very bad. That is why I am slowly transititioing to landscaping, tear outs and cleanups, trees, mulch, ect. So much more profit.
7:30 how? : Taxes government gets 30 to 35%, insurance biz and workers and auto transportation, then labor, then machinery costs 19 cents per mile has to be saved to replace an auto, $11.42 cents per mower hour to replace that mower plus maintenance in the mean time, figure a new trimmer once every 9 months to 1.5 years if you are straight up commercial/townhouses 5days/10hours per/7months per year use. EXpendables: trimmer line, blades, FUEL gas,oil,mix... i like to count food as FUEL which is required inorder to perform work but that is limited due to tax regulations but you can swing $2,000 a year from what i have seen in the corporate world in warehousing, manufacturers can swing more. (i don't make the rules) maintenance like sharpening blades, greasing bearings, washing equipment etc. take what you will +/- due to your expense costs for all these. whats left in the pot after those you still have to deduct the proprietors time.
Maintenance last year was killer. A couple of costly breakdowns on the trucks and mowers. You’re right I didn’t even talk about regular taxes of about 30% of everything. I like your comment about food being fuel for the body. You’re right about all the other cost like grease for the bearings sharpening mower blades new weed-eaters and regular maintenance. It all adds up! Thanks for watching and the insightful comment!
$52.50 is definitely fair. Make some more with the extras like fertilizer and RoundUp treatments for even more margins for profit. I wish you luck in 2024!
I wrap it into the total bid. About $150 an hour (includes clean up and hauling). I kind of eye ball how much debris there will be and how much time it will take to not only clean up but how long will I have to spend driving out to the dump. Generally speaking I charge a lot for trimming and hedging. There is kind of an art to making it look good. Thanks for watching.
Eastern Washington state. Regular residential size city lot. Sizing is less important than how much a pain in the butt is the property. Flat, no obstacles using large ride on mower piece of cake. Or smaller but more of a pain could be more money.
tax prep i don't count. almost always that service saves me money i didn't know i would have been able to decrease going to the government or told me ways to deduct for the rest of the time i wouldn't have known about on my own. the preparation costs are an expense i can deduct anyway as a cost of business
Thanks for watching. Feel for market pushback in regard to pricing. If you start to loose customers because your price is too high then it may be time to lower the price a little. If you continue to gain customers then you know your price is a little low or just right.
I do it on the side and i live in wnc and charge 80/hr and think that's sufficient for me 👍 and I do about 12. I think a minimum for me of 60 a yrd is to much
My experience with lawn service is hire the small contractor that has been on the street for many years years and always stay on a first name basis with owner operator. Stay clear of big operators
Its rough out there. I could never charge $55 as a minimum. I have good route density and that helps, but realistically $42.50 as a minimum is where it falls here. Our minimum lawns are small, though, anywhere from 1,000 - 3,000 sq.ft, so Im not sure how that compares to the size of your $55 lawns.
Thanks for watching. Push the envelope on your pricing. When customers start to push back or cancel then you know you’ve reached the peak. It’s okay to loose a few customers on price. You are in business to make money. Good luck!
Awesome! Do it! The growing season is much longer in Florida than here in Spokane Eastern Washington state. Watch my other videos. A lot of tips and tricks. Biggest piece of advice would be to charge a good high rate and not be afraid of people canceling or not buying. Your service is valuable and more importantly you are valuable. Don’t let cheapskates get you to lower your price. Thanks for watching!
Imagine if you got sick for a day or two. Could you still handle the weekly work load? Maybe if possible hire a helper once a week to help out on your big days.
Yup, lawn care is highly personal. Customers will pay more if they like you and feel valued. On the other hand if customers are price driven then they will hire the cheapest guy in town regardless of quality or relationship.
@@KeystoneLawnCare Been using the same lawn company for annual care since 2006. He's up to $2200.00 a year now and it's starting to get my attention.Medium size yard and flower beds: not a huge estate.
my $50 yards take abt 30-35 minutes solo. i like to make min of $1.50 per minute. what is starting to pizz me off is the inconsiderate people.....i tell them min of 1-2 days prior that i am coming and they leave crap out in the yard. strongly thinking abt charging an extra 5-10 bucks per occurance....if i pizz them off no big deal - go get another yard.
Yes, I totally agree. Leaving patio furniture, kids toys and dog crap all over the yard is so annoying! Yes, charge them and if they cancel good riddance. Thanks for watching!
It’s arbitrary. 5,000 - 10,000 square feet. It kind of depends on how much a pain in the butt the yard is. Hills, swales, a lot of bushes to trim around, can you fit your large mower through the back gate or do you have to push. $55 minimum to start for average time / yard. Price goes up from there.
You’re right a 60 inch deck is way too for small yards. I usually use a Scag 36 inch mid size walk behind whenever possible. Thanks for watching and the comment!
Professional guys need & should charge a minimum $ 150 a month. You are grown adults, charge accordingly. Stop undercutting eachother. Sales & educating the customer goes a long way.
I agree, we need to do a better job selling ourselves. It’s important to develop a good relationship with the customer so they trust us and feel our pricing is fair and justified. Thanks for the comment!
Yes, having a hourly goal is good. With three men you could mow 2.5 yards per hour at about $55 per yard would put you at about $137.50 per hour. Maybe $165 if you are hauling butt doing three per hour. Thanks for watching!
Regular city residential lot of normal size. I don’t really split hairs on overall square feet. I look at it and think to myself how easy and fast can I do it. If it has a lot of trimming or if they want it bagged then it’ll be a little more.
Can i get an idea on peoples pricing per acre. Everybody list here some of your lawns acreage including house and driveway (so like a google earth lot measurement not just grass) and what you charge. (Example .85 acre charging $85.) I need a ballpark for my first year making estimates. 😜
Sorry, I don’t know. I don’t do estimates on square footage or acreage. I eyeball it and think about how long it would take me. If it’s easy to do with no obstacles or is it a pain in the neck with a ton of obstacles or weed-eating. My goal is to earn $100 per hour. May that be with one big yard or a couple of small ones. Maybe someone else can add a comment for more help. Thanks for watching!
@@KeystoneLawnCare thanks. If you have a lawn you think is priced well not too high and not too low you could check the acreage and tell me what you charge for that one. Want to poll many people to see how it comes out for science. 😜
I would encourage you to raise your rates if you are doing this as your main job. The cost of everything is going up. Don't cut yourself short. Good luck out there and thanks for watching!
Y’all can write down every expense ie , tires per year for truck , trailer & mowers , insurance truck , businesses & employees , oil & mix , fuel , parts & repairs , weed eater line , new equipment, miscellaneous hand tools , gloves ppo , lawnmower blade sharpening iE the machine & blades , fuel , spark plugs & air filters , clothing , meals , boots , and the NUMBER # 1 thing that y’all can tell your customers is EXPERIENCE! Sell your vast knowledge & experience and high standards. That’s not cheap . How many of y’all own a Stihl handheld trimmer that’s made in Germany? Stihl vs Echo or an ole school Shindaiwa T-27 that last over 20 years and don’t use paper filters . I’m increasing my rate to $65 for this year and yes to upselling additional services especially tree services and installs . PROBST Señor
People still think they should only be paying 20 to 25 dollars for there lawns to be mowed they also think gas is free they dont like it then they should mow there lawns themselves?
You’re right! People are crazy to think $20 to $25 is a fair price for a professional outfit to mow their lawns. Thanks for the comment and for watching.
a kid mowing lawn with a push mower minimum charge should be $25-$30 east and west coast is the 30, midwest is the 25. MINIMUM easy city lot so 1/4 acre or less. d don't know what quarter acre is, this is what school teachers are for. carpenter geometry for technical work that's commercial = Pythagorean theorem
$57.50, why not $57.53? No, no, no my guy. Nobody is going to take that price increase seriously. Keep the numbers even. If you’re going to move up from $55.00 increase to $60.00 & never give a number with change. It’s easier for a customer to give three $20.00 bills than for them to dig for lose change. Also, when you only move up by $2.50, it looks more like you are being petty than justifying an increase. Trust me, that small of an increase plus the customer having to dig for change won’t be appreciated over the $5.00 increase.
@@KeystoneLawnCare completely agree so many people think a lawn company employee makes low pay in fact it’s usually $20.00 an hour and up. Costs are high these days.
I imagine there are a lot of unlicensed outfits with no insurance paying low wages cash under the table, not paying taxes out there, but that’s not us. To run a legit business it’s expensive. Thanks for the comment and watching!
I agree everyone thinks the lawn company shouldn’t be raised. So happy you’re sharing this. I’ve been wanting lawn companies to ban together to raise the rates it’s so ridiculous that so many customers think we should only get 25.0030.00 a cut including trimming weed spray etc.
If you are running a legit business paying your taxes, insurance, licensing, L&I, and paying your employees above the table you must charge a good amount. Plus you are in business to make money! If someone complains you are too expensive and they don’t see the value in your work they are not the customer you want. Good luck out there and thanks for watching!
This year all basic lawn accounts are 50.00 up towards 75.00 (based on the size of the lot). I sent out notification to all my customers and only lost about 10 our of 110 accounts. Most people accept it, but there is handful that will not accept. Expenses are very high.
That’s awesome! The extra money you charge makes up for the lost customers and frees up your schedule for higher priced properties. Nice job!
$50 was my minimum to start last season and I plan to raise my price to $55 minimum in 2024. My yearly increases are usually around $5/$10 more per cut. I try to average $100 per man hour.
Excellent! It’s good to have an hourly goal for yourself. $100 is definitely doable. Keep it up and kick some butt making some money in 2024!
What area do live ?
@@tylerdyck7985 I live in York Pa.
Spokane, Washington
To do a small yard with hedge bush trim? Even if you have to push mow as well?
Pricing without mention of lawn size is irrelevant.
However, great convo to charge. Glad to see you’re charging a good price in Spokane! Wish more guys would charge at least as much as you do! We went to $60 for up to 4k of Turf last season.
Thanks for the comment. I think size is less important than how long does the property take to do and how much of a pain in the neck is it. It could be really big but super easy with no obstacles Vs small but has a stupid steep swale and a lot of bushes to trim around. $60 seems fair. I should raise my prices. Thanks for watching!
Great conversation fellas, I agree that you definitely need to increase your prices to cover all the expenses. It’s hard when your first starting out for sure because you’re just trying to get work, but over time it’s necessary that you do. As your experience and skill levels grow so should your prices in my opinion. Thanks for sharing this content it’s very helpful.
Thanks for watching and leaving an insightful comment!
South east Florida. I'm solo with a turfmaster& timemaster. The minimum charge on a small HOA yard is $35 per cut weekly April through November..biweekly December through March. Some bigger yards are $40 to $55 per cut..
Wow! Bi-weekly through the winter. That’s awesome!
Thanks guys been looking for a vid like this just basic info without getting lost in percentage and numbers
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching.
Learn your numbers, it will keep you from spending money on a property that isn’t yours vs profiting off of it.
Great video, you are so right on how difficult it is when you first starting out. I call it graduating in lawn care. Over the last year or so I’m perfecting my skills to improve so during that time I’m learning to improve on time efficiency on cutting the lawn. Example I charge $50, but it takes 1 hour to cut it. I’m earn less than $1 per minute. Later on my skills improve, now it take 25 minutes to do the same yard. Now I can do the same yard right be side it an earn $100 an hour. Now I have an idea of what I want to make per hour. I know what it takes to make $100 or more an hour so when I have a price and they say no that’s too high I’m able to walk away and go to the next customer. You have graduated . You have to know what is your worth and what it takes to run your business per day per week per month. Brian lawn maintenance is a really good video on how he base his price and how he has route density to improve on his efficiency make it more per hour. I hope this helps someone. Thanks
Thanks for watching and your insightful comment. You’re right it’s important to know your worth!
You're absolutely right! Last year, being my first year, my prices varied significantly in terms of per yard, per hour, etc. I have since determined my minimum rate and now adjust the price based on the time it takes to complete a yard. If a job takes longer than expected, I need to raise the price. Pricing based on pay-for-performance (P4P) or per hour has helped me tremendously in figuring this out.
Keep up the good work and kick some butt this year!
Guy in the green: you're way off on true hourly cost for an employee. I retired after decades as an executive/owner. A $20.00 an hour employee in NE Texas costs $20.00 plus 30%. $26.00 an hour. Add overtime and it's obscene.Also,you need to reverse the way you are trying to explain the business model. First determine true fixed overhead: insurance,equipment depreciation costs,equipment costs,etc.Then factor in fuels etc. Then determine volume needed for a break even point(to not go broke). Then add in what the owner needs to make to make it worth his time.At that point a person can determine if they can afford to hire even one employee. My best guess is that annual volume for a full year round yard maintenance company would be a gross invoicing amount of $140,000.00 to $160,000.00 . Should give a 1 person operation a gross income of $70,000.00 to $80,000.00 a year barring theft and other catastrophic incidents. Also I would adjust gross income down 15% on the model until it would be field proven.
Excellent comment! Yes, you’re right. There are a ton of extra costs involved that were not discussed. I should make a more detailed video outlining all of those extra costs. Thanks for watching!
When he referenced the $20 an hour, he said he was just using a number for easy math...
We are located on the coast, an hour north of Seattle and we are at $100 minimum for lawn service.
Wow! $100 minimum. You charge what the market can handle. Nice job!
What are the size of the lawns an are there a lot of obstacles in the way glad hear you can get that rate . Thanks for sharing
It’s arbitrary. 5,000 - 10,000 square feet. It kind of depends on how much a pain in the butt the yard is. More the pain the more money it's going to be. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@chrisnestel5495 smallest lawn we have is about 1,400 sq feet.
$100 for a quarter acre????A lie doesn’t care who tell it
Run the numbers to create your per manhour rates. What are your cogs, what are your operational costs, we see many companies that don't know how to do that.
Great comment! Yes, total up all your expenses and divide by the hour. Thanks for watching!
Great video! We have similarities in our thinking.
I'm over 19 years into a small garden maintenance job with a team of three in South West England. I have my 1st ride on mower quote to do ( my choice - did not want to get into huge areas at the start) So I'm looking for any tips or advice on how to quote with a rider on. Have done 1000s of small to large propelled mower machine jobs and wondered if I should just quote that way as in quote whatever it would take with the biggest mowers, but just use the ride on instead?
Quote with your daily goal in mind. If your daily goal is to make $1,000 a day and you estimate the job to take 1/2 day then start the bid at $500’ish. Good luck! Thanks for watching.
$50-55 is too low imo. An average commercial Lawn Mower 10-12k. Everything has gone up. employee wages, insurance, maintenance, trucks, ect. Around here, $75 is a bargin. $100 is probably what most successful comp[anies charge. I'm solo and $75-85 is what I get. But even that is very bad. That is why I am slowly transititioing to landscaping, tear outs and cleanups, trees, mulch, ect. So much more profit.
You’re right there is a lot more money in hardscaping than lawn mowing. Good luck in your transition to landscaping! Thanks for watching.
Wow dude, $75-100 for a lawn is awesome! Where are you located?
Spokane, Washington. Eastern Washington state next to Idaho.
7:30 how? : Taxes government gets 30 to 35%, insurance biz and workers and auto transportation, then labor, then machinery costs 19 cents per mile has to be saved to replace an auto, $11.42 cents per mower hour to replace that mower plus maintenance in the mean time, figure a new trimmer once every 9 months to 1.5 years if you are straight up commercial/townhouses 5days/10hours per/7months per year use. EXpendables: trimmer line, blades, FUEL gas,oil,mix... i like to count food as FUEL which is required inorder to perform work but that is limited due to tax regulations but you can swing $2,000 a year from what i have seen in the corporate world in warehousing, manufacturers can swing more. (i don't make the rules)
maintenance like sharpening blades, greasing bearings, washing equipment etc.
take what you will +/- due to your expense costs for all these.
whats left in the pot after those you still have to deduct the proprietors time.
Maintenance last year was killer. A couple of costly breakdowns on the trucks and mowers. You’re right I didn’t even talk about regular taxes of about 30% of everything. I like your comment about food being fuel for the body. You’re right about all the other cost like grease for the bearings sharpening mower blades new weed-eaters and regular maintenance. It all adds up! Thanks for watching and the insightful comment!
$52.50 is my min for 2024. I'm solo.
$52.50 is definitely fair. Make some more with the extras like fertilizer and RoundUp treatments for even more margins for profit. I wish you luck in 2024!
How do you all do the trimming and dump charges ?
I wrap it into the total bid. About $150 an hour (includes clean up and hauling). I kind of eye ball how much debris there will be and how much time it will take to not only clean up but how long will I have to spend driving out to the dump. Generally speaking I charge a lot for trimming and hedging. There is kind of an art to making it look good. Thanks for watching.
What state are you guys bro ? Does it matter the sizes bro? Of the property?
Eastern Washington state. Regular residential size city lot. Sizing is less important than how much a pain in the butt is the property. Flat, no obstacles using large ride on mower piece of cake. Or smaller but more of a pain could be more money.
Crm / month, truck ins/month, mower ins/month, gen liability/ month, website / month, gas, loan, phone, tax prep, blades belts oil grease tires shirts pants hats door hangers and you haven't paid yourself yet. Dang, where did all the money go?
Yeah, no kidding! There are a lot of costs in running your own lawn mowing outfit.
tax prep i don't count. almost always that service saves me money i didn't know i would have been able to decrease going to the government or told me ways to deduct for the rest of the time i wouldn't have known about on my own. the preparation costs are an expense i can deduct anyway as a cost of business
saving money for the winter 🤣
Excellent comment about the tax preparation! You’re right. Hiring a good tax person can save you a lot of money.
Yup, gotta save money for the winter especially if it doesn’t snow.
Does that cost include trimming and edging
Yes, mowing, trimming, hard edging, and blow sidewalks and walkways. More money if it’s a new first time customer and if the grass and edges are bad.
Great thanks
Thanks for watching!
55 is very expensive for our area and would be a very decent size yard. Commercial is a whole different story. 55 as a base is just a lot lol idk.
Thanks for watching. Feel for market pushback in regard to pricing. If you start to loose customers because your price is too high then it may be time to lower the price a little. If you continue to gain customers then you know your price is a little low or just right.
I do it on the side and i live in wnc and charge 80/hr and think that's sufficient for me 👍 and I do about 12. I think a minimum for me of 60 a yrd is to much
Nice side hustle at $80 per hour! Thanks for watching.
My experience with lawn service is hire the small contractor that has been on the street for many years years and always stay on a first name basis with owner operator. Stay clear of big operators
Good advice. It’s always nice to know the guy walking around on your property on a weekly basis. Thanks for watching!
Are these prices per cut? Do you give a discount for weekly/biweekly?
Yes, per week. Price would be more if they only want every two weeks. Don’t work twice as hard for only half the pay. Thanks for watching!
The Cost, I make a spread sheet, and keep track of gas, oil, and exsp. of every job, that way I can recoup what I have spent
That’s a great idea. Thanks for watching!
Vehicle insurance rates are skyrocketing and that has to be passed along too.
Yeah, you’re right! I have two trucks with commercial coverage and it’s over $4,000 a year.
Its rough out there. I could never charge $55 as a minimum. I have good route density and that helps, but realistically $42.50 as a minimum is where it falls here. Our minimum lawns are small, though, anywhere from 1,000 - 3,000 sq.ft, so Im not sure how that compares to the size of your $55 lawns.
Thanks for watching. Push the envelope on your pricing. When customers start to push back or cancel then you know you’ve reached the peak. It’s okay to loose a few customers on price. You are in business to make money. Good luck!
I’m contemplating in starting a lawn care service once we move to Florida what is some advice you can give me?
Awesome! Do it! The growing season is much longer in Florida than here in Spokane Eastern Washington state. Watch my other videos. A lot of tips and tricks. Biggest piece of advice would be to charge a good high rate and not be afraid of people canceling or not buying. Your service is valuable and more importantly you are valuable. Don’t let cheapskates get you to lower your price. Thanks for watching!
@@KeystoneLawnCare thank I will also how long should I ride solo when starting out?
Imagine if you got sick for a day or two. Could you still handle the weekly work load? Maybe if possible hire a helper once a week to help out on your big days.
Charge whatever you want. People will either pay or drop you. Pretty simple. There is always a cheaper service provider out there.
Yup, lawn care is highly personal. Customers will pay more if they like you and feel valued. On the other hand if customers are price driven then they will hire the cheapest guy in town regardless of quality or relationship.
@@KeystoneLawnCare Been using the same lawn company for annual care since 2006. He's up to $2200.00 a year now and it's starting to get my attention.Medium size yard and flower beds: not a huge estate.
Seems the cost of everything is going up. For a long time customer maybe you could negotiate pricing.
@@KeystoneLawnCarelooking forward to finding this out in 2024.
Thanks for watching!
my $50 yards take abt 30-35 minutes solo. i like to make min of $1.50 per minute. what is starting to pizz me off is the inconsiderate people.....i tell them min of 1-2 days prior that i am coming and they leave crap out in the yard. strongly thinking abt charging an extra 5-10 bucks per occurance....if i pizz them off no big deal - go get another yard.
Yes, I totally agree. Leaving patio furniture, kids toys and dog crap all over the yard is so annoying! Yes, charge them and if they cancel good riddance. Thanks for watching!
I'm in Jacksonville fl 50 is my minimum for cookie cutters if it's a5 minute front yard 35
Thanks for the comment. My minimum, minimum is $40 for those five minute jobs. Thanks for watching!
55 per yard for how much turf area?
It’s arbitrary. 5,000 - 10,000 square feet. It kind of depends on how much a pain in the butt the yard is. Hills, swales, a lot of bushes to trim around, can you fit your large mower through the back gate or do you have to push. $55 minimum to start for average time / yard. Price goes up from there.
@KeystoneLawnCare how much would u charge for
3200 Square feet
By cut por by month
Acreage isn’t wrong but small yards are wrong if u got a 60 inch deck
You’re right a 60 inch deck is way too for small yards. I usually use a Scag 36 inch mid size walk behind whenever possible. Thanks for watching and the comment!
Professional guys need & should charge a minimum $ 150 a month.
You are grown adults, charge accordingly. Stop undercutting eachother.
Sales & educating the customer goes a long way.
I agree, we need to do a better job selling ourselves. It’s important to develop a good relationship with the customer so they trust us and feel our pricing is fair and justified. Thanks for the comment!
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45$ minimum in Rochester NY
Hmm, 🤔 Seems low. Prices are increasing everywhere. Don’t cut yourself short. Thanks for watching!
40% per employee per hour.......that is the actual average overhead recovery number. My cost is a smidge more
Good info. Thanks for watching!
So, if I plan to charge $50 per man hour and I have 3 guys working, I need to be sure I'm making $150 per hour, is this correct?
Yes, having a hourly goal is good. With three men you could mow 2.5 yards per hour at about $55 per yard would put you at about $137.50 per hour. Maybe $165 if you are hauling butt doing three per hour. Thanks for watching!
$55 yard what size yard?
Regular city residential lot of normal size. I don’t really split hairs on overall square feet. I look at it and think to myself how easy and fast can I do it. If it has a lot of trimming or if they want it bagged then it’ll be a little more.
Can i get an idea on peoples pricing per acre. Everybody list here some of your lawns acreage including house and driveway (so like a google earth lot measurement not just grass) and what you charge. (Example .85 acre charging $85.) I need a ballpark for my first year making estimates. 😜
Sorry, I don’t know. I don’t do estimates on square footage or acreage. I eyeball it and think about how long it would take me. If it’s easy to do with no obstacles or is it a pain in the neck with a ton of obstacles or weed-eating. My goal is to earn $100 per hour. May that be with one big yard or a couple of small ones. Maybe someone else can add a comment for more help. Thanks for watching!
@@KeystoneLawnCare thanks. If you have a lawn you think is priced well not too high and not too low you could check the acreage and tell me what you charge for that one. Want to poll many people to see how it comes out for science. 😜
I would never explain to a customer why the price is what it is. Especially my minimum, they aren't forced to hire me
You’re right I don’t justify my pricing to the customer. Price is what it is. Take it or leave it. Thanks for watching!
@KeystoneLawnCare thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!!
55 kinda high if that minimum I mean 40 minimum and then u charge by square foot easy as that
I would encourage you to raise your rates if you are doing this as your main job. The cost of everything is going up. Don't cut yourself short. Good luck out there and thanks for watching!
Y’all can write down every expense ie , tires per year for truck , trailer & mowers , insurance truck , businesses & employees , oil & mix , fuel , parts & repairs , weed eater line , new equipment, miscellaneous hand tools , gloves ppo , lawnmower blade sharpening iE the machine & blades , fuel , spark plugs & air filters , clothing , meals , boots , and the NUMBER # 1 thing that y’all can tell your customers is EXPERIENCE!
Sell your vast knowledge & experience and high standards. That’s not cheap .
How many of y’all own a Stihl handheld trimmer that’s made in Germany?
Stihl vs Echo or an ole school Shindaiwa T-27 that last over 20 years and don’t use paper filters .
I’m increasing my rate to $65 for this year and yes to upselling additional services especially tree services and installs .
PROBST Señor
Excellent comment! Experience is what customers are really paying for. $65 sounds fair. Thanks for watching!
I don't know where you live? But in my area the big guy's charge $90 an hr. With the price of gas and upkeep of equipment, $50 is not going to CUT IT!
Yeah, you’re right. I got to start charging more. Thanks for watching!
People still think they should only be paying 20 to 25 dollars for there lawns to be mowed they also think gas is free they dont like it then they should mow there lawns themselves?
You’re right! People are crazy to think $20 to $25 is a fair price for a professional outfit to mow their lawns. Thanks for the comment and for watching.
Men pay $20 for a haircut that takes less than 15 mins. How can 1 hr of mowing cost less than $80??
Great point! Last time I had a plumber out he was here for about an hour and charged me almost $1,000.
It costs me $20 for a 10min haircut. They can pay me $40 for the same 10 min mow. 30 min mow =$120
a kid mowing lawn with a push mower minimum charge should be $25-$30 east and west coast is the 30, midwest is the 25. MINIMUM easy city lot so 1/4 acre or less. d don't know what quarter acre is, this is what school teachers are for.
carpenter geometry for technical work that's commercial = Pythagorean theorem
Thanks for watching and the comment. You’re right about a kid charging much less.
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Thanks for watching!
Alabama $75 a hour minimum
$75 per hour. What about minimum yard price, for say 20 minutes with a team? Maybe $50’ish?
$57.50, why not $57.53? No, no, no my guy. Nobody is going to take that price increase seriously. Keep the numbers even. If you’re going to move up from $55.00 increase to $60.00 & never give a number with change. It’s easier for a customer to give three $20.00 bills than for them to dig for lose change. Also, when you only move up by $2.50, it looks more like you are being petty than justifying an increase. Trust me, that small of an increase plus the customer having to dig for change won’t be appreciated over the $5.00 increase.
Great comment! You’re right when paying with cash it’s easier without the odd denominations.
$87.50
Yes, that’s what I’m talking about! Keep it up. Thanks for watching.
Raise your current price by $5‐10
Good idea. Thanks for watching!
high costs running a lawn mowing company???? If you have high monthly costs, you're doing it wrong.
I disagree. Cost of fuel alone is a lot. Paying employees $20 an hour is a lot. Plus labor burden. It’s expensive to run a small business.
@@KeystoneLawnCare completely agree so many people think a lawn company employee makes low pay in fact it’s usually $20.00 an hour and up. Costs are high these days.
I imagine there are a lot of unlicensed outfits with no insurance paying low wages cash under the table, not paying taxes out there, but that’s not us. To run a legit business it’s expensive. Thanks for the comment and watching!