Rock on, super inspiring. I too, started mowing at 12 years old and built a business through high school and college. Burned out and ran the business into the ground after college. Took a 4 year hiatus in a different field. Now I recently started a new lawn care and landscaping business in a new town after starting a family.
Awesome! When I got done with college I chased volume because I thought that's what made a business! I learned there are better ways to grow and do this!
Great video Kevin. You are a rock that can hold everything together. Don’t get overwhelmed with all the work you do and remember family needs you to. I worked 7 days a week for over 20 years and missed out on a lot of family time. Remember one thing money isn’t everything I know you need money to live. But don’t kill yourself making it. I enjoy watching your videos and you are a very smart family man. Praying for your business to Grow and be very productive. Thank you
Thank you! We don't normally work this much, but right now the work is there and if we don't get it someone else will! One of those things, get it while the getting is good
Great business plan! I’m glad it’s working out so well for you, you’ve earned it! The trailer and all that equipment is awesome! It’s interesting to me you make more doing the extras (tree trimming, edging, etc.) than the actual lawn mowing but obviously, that has to be your core service. Keep up the awesome work!
The yards are the bread and butter and the core work for the week! But per hour and return on our time the other jobs pay way better, but you wouldn't get them without the core business of the yards!
It's become my Sunday morning ritual that I've even got my wife into. Morning coffee watching the two new weekly updates. Question- what's better about the Echo edgers o er the Stihl. I need to but new and haven't used a Echo. Only Stihl for 20 years.
Thank you so much! I have always had good luck with Echo when it comes to edgers, trimmers, and bowers! I do like Stihl for anything that cuts trees though!
Nothing smells as good as freshly cut grass. As a young girl I loved mowing my grandparents property and of course my Dad left it to me to do our property too a chore he called it but I loved it. To this day, many many years later, still mowing, trimming, edging etc all for my own property. To me its more satisfying with visual results than if I cleaned house all day🤣 Best Wishes For Continued Success👍🇺🇲
If you have an account that you really want but the mower doesn't fit through, you should offer to expand the gate with free labor if they pay for parts. Or even potentially just do it completely free of charge to get in the account. You will be more productive with the larger machine anyway. And the customer will be astonished that you are willing to expand their gate size for them free of charge.
It would have to be a very good account to widen a gate to do a job! We mostly mow properties with acres and no gates so we don't really even target neighborhood homes!
Smart, smart, smart! Your company looks like it services high-end clients, who appreciate quality. It wouldn't surprise me to hear a national company has tried to buy you out or hire you in management. My cousin did that. Working for a national company just wasn't what he thought it would be. He eventually went to work for his son, who started his own lawncare company. Very interesting video!
Dude you’re a maniac with the 50 yard weekends when you were in college. I mowed growing up, went to UCF, worked for the Orlando Magic for a decade. Then started Seans Lawns and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I love it, even in the 100+ degrees weather in the summer. I’m at 96 yards a week solo, 68 of them are Monday-Wednesday. I don’t recommend packing your days full, it’s stressful and exhausting. I charge the most out of everyone in my area and some people have no problem paying it. My clients love that I’m the person doing the work. They can text or call and get effective and efficient responses. Also, they don’t have felons or drunk old men angrily using power equipment in their yards for $14 an hour. There are people who prefer this, and the majority of them I never hear from because there yards look great. Route density is the second most important besides price point. Driving 5 miles for 20 yards will always crush driving 20 miles for 5 yards. I have an enclosed trailer, yours is ridiculously nice. Congrats you got a new subscriber and supporter.
Thanks I wanted the trailer to be setup perfectly for how I intend to work! I am solo now but will take on an employee next year! that being said I will always be the one doing to work as that's what I belive they are paying for!
You inspire me so much this year was my first season too as a 17 years old people always think im not that professional and all that stuff because they think im doing this just for the money and I really appreciate you doing this kind of video because it will help settle on how to grow properly from an experience mind and I really thank you for that. I just listen to this video and last week the video of you starting and it really help me make decision for the next year.
I really enjoyed your video. I love hearing success stories like yours, and learning about how much thought and preparation went into starting up your business. It was very interesting! Are you a one man show or do you have employees now? Thanks.
Kevin, congratulations on this HUGE STEP! It takes courage to “step” without knowing what is on the next step down. Like the new channel name, like the all black trailer and decal and naturally I LOVE that Ford. Hope you and the family are getting settled in say from RV Life. May God bless your paths and continue to open doors for you and the family. If you see this message and read it, check out a guy I met and been following for some years. He puts out great content and if you have any questions he is very helpful. The channel is Blades of Grass Lawncare in Savanah, GA and his name is Johnnie.
I had the same start as you Kevin, I grew up in a mobile home park and something about a kid walking with a push mower, plug in weed whacker with a a 100’ extension cord drew people in. I was 10 years old making $10 to $15 a yard and did great work. I had some customers give me their old mowers to fix, led me to fixing and selling them, along the way building my skills. Long story short, in Michigan we get snow which led me to shoveling and snow blowing the same customers and gained more customers, if they had salt I would do that as well. Work ethic was instilled and hard work builds a person. In the long and short I saved up the money and paid for my first 2 years of community college which earned me my welding certificate. Looking back it was the best job ever and I still miss the heck out of it. You definitely are in the right path, volume is nice but higher pay foe higher quality at a lower volume is better. You have the skills and equipment for a better return. Keep up the great work and keeping the inspiration coming. 👍🏻👍🏻 Edit: Great return on your investment Kevin. To have the equipment payed for in the first year is awesome, in 2 years you could have it all paid for and invested in a few more things and then save to pay for replacement equipment while putting profits in the bank. You are on definitely a smart guy and studied your market before you jumped in, knew what you wanted, got the equity you needed to do what you wanted, and the best part is not spending money on advertising but getting the best advertising ever: the customers word of mouth. The saying goes a good job gets far less than a bad job.
Thank you so much for the compliments! I also walked around my neighborhood with a mower and plug in weedeater and blower! Those were to good days, makes me appreciate the equipment I have now!
I have owned a lawn business now for going on 7 years. This is my mato great video, really, I always say nothing. Good is cheap. Nothing cheap is good, are quality of work speaks for its self
The Diboll/Lufkin area is a great area to offer tree service, giant trees everywhere. Also, the yard season in Texas is longer than states not in the south. And when the grass ain’t growing, some of those trees make leaves that need to be dealt with. 😁
I like your communication skills and your ability to explain yourself concisely and with simplicity! I didn't hear one single vulgar curse word, nor any poor English! College benefitted you well! I was also impressed with your equipment, and the fact that you care about your public appearance and appeal! American certainly NEEDS men, as well as women, like you: ambitious, intelligent, diligent, goal-oriented, and just plain old-fashioned down-to-earth! Bless you sir!
Great video, buddy. Like you i am a property maintenance company also. There is a lot less headache and a lot higher profit margin. It also keeps other "green" companies off of "your properties. Sweet setup!
Sometimes I wonder about you sharing to much info about your business. But u are a smart man and can work circles around most men, so that eases my sincere concerns for you and the family.. Alisha has your back with all you do and she is a strong woman who knows the importance of that and she knows her worth as a wife, mother, caregiver, etc, etc, and confidante … love your channel, have been following you since you left the oil field.. Ps.. just to add more to your plate…lol. Just by painting the trim black on your pole barn/rec center….❤ could unite the property and set it off even more..❤. But I’m sure you have already thought about that…take care..
That's the beauty of sharing, anyone can go out and do this if they want! If someone steals my customers, I wasn't doing a good job or they weren't the right customer!
Great video man, new sub here. Starting my own company in late October in Florida which seems to be off season... Also want to grow with quality not quantity.
Thank you! I started mine late in the season and had no problem filling my schedule! If you go for quality and nit quantity you will find the right customers!
“I’m gonna tell you the shortest story ever, that’s probably gonna be super long.” Haha sounds like me. You can bet your dad was tearing up to himself, as you were out there mowing those yards. He’s definitely proud of you…
My husband mowed yards as a kid, bought his first Lawn Boy Mower when he was 13. He mowed, got a real job, and kept going. Years later, he sells mowers and fixes them for others, still mowing. I lost my job and picked up the eBay lawn boy mower selling. We made $$$$. We did good with the mowers. You picked a good business. People don't want to do the work. They will pay you.
I've cut grass for over 30 years. We cut every other week and they don't care about quality. I run three 72" Kubota zero turns and one 60" Toro grandstand. I would suggest trying a 72" mower before buying one. The cut quality isn't as good as a 60". The size of the deck has more rock to it leaving an uneven cut to a good eye. The grandstand will also out cut the zero turn on a 1 to 2 acre property. They track hills better and can turn a lot quicker without tearing up the ground.
That is a big consideration going larger! My 60 inch deck does a good job but even on some of my properties it can mess up an area quick if your not careful about how you mow! The 72 would be worse in those areas!
Have you considered purchasing a dump trailer, and then a skid steer or mini excavator? It seems like your target customer demographic being homeowners with acreage, it seem like some equipment would be right up your alley? I don’t do landscaping full time, I have a 9-5 at a plant as a maintenance and fabrication manager, and I rent out trailers, but I have a hedger cutter and a weed eater and a I’ve made a little money with them doing junk hauling for customers with my dump trailer they’ll ask me to remove weeds too sometimes. I paid $11,750.00 for my 14k dump trailer, I paid it off in 3 payments only took 4 months doing it late in the day and on the weekends.
Looking forward to more landscaping content. I'm a solo owner/operator in Maryland.. Also, are you solo in your lawn care business, and if so do you plan on staying solo or having crews/employees?
It's easy to think of your mower as your fourth most profitable, however, it opens the door for the rest of the service. Think of it as a loss leader (minus the loss of money) the way the big box stores do. I look at things the way you do. I don't want anyone else in the green industry stepping foot onto any of my clients properties (other than the squirt and fert guys, I don't want the headache of that license). Like you, I started a business in a market with zero lot line subdivisions (Tampa) and moved to a rural area. Even in Tampa, I provided full service. Really nice set up.
Another great video. And I sit here wondering, how does he have time for all this? Are you still farming too? I really enjoyed the farming videos but I can’t imagine you have time for that anymore.
I am still working at the ranch, but it has been a very flexible schedule so when I need more time for mowing I take it and when I have more time for ranching I do that!
Would you mind sharing how you keep track of clients, do you use an app? What do you use also how do you keep track of money coming in and money going out. Not asking what you make or spend just asking how you keep track of it all. Maybe might help me or others out. Different options
There's not much more startup businesses that you can make the kind of money that it brings. Ive had a part time landscape company for 14 years with 16 yards. My full time is law enforcement. Keep up the good videos! And who's "we" that you keep referring to?
That's how I started in the late sixties and early seventies until I went into the military after graduating high school. I resumed landscaping as an owner-operator up to the present day.
Would your neighbors consider going battery operated an upgrade? These companies exist. A quieter operation would be welcoming by your clientelle. I don't know why most neighborhoods are switching to commercial equipment instead of doing it themselves with a battery or manual mower. Did you at least put a muffler on your mowers?
For one you can't make a profit on your investment going electric! My mower cost $14,000, the electric version is around $35,000! Not to mention the rigging in the trailer to be able to charge batteries! Solar alone will not support a full days of work! So I would have to run a gas generator to charge my electric equipment! We are also in Texas where not a single person is offended by the sound of gas lawn equipment!
Your trailer looks like my husband’s tool barn, one side has all of these same tools hanging on the wall for our own yard. They all look alike to me but he says they all do different things. He isn’t a landscaper but he does play in the dirt, he owns an excavating company. He just likes good quality tools and likes to own every kind of tool for everything and anything he might need it for. The pole saws definitely come in handy often to trim very high branches on our trees. He keeps his tool barn and his tools /machines immaculate like you keep your trailer! Things last a long time when it’s taken care of, no doubt about that.
Here in Texas we don't really have a winter that shuts work down! We may slow down on mowing frequency, but then we pick up alot of clean ups, tree work, pressure washing and hardscaping work! Also having commerical contracts that pay year round helps as well!
@OffThePathWithKevin well dang I must have missed the part of you being in Texas being so caught up in the video. It is an extremely nice setup that you have I have subscribed and will continue following your journey. Thanks !
I’m 18 years old and I want to put a landscaping company but I don’t know if I will do good and I’m saving money to start one bc my brother has his construction company and it is successful I’m scared to start one
@@OffThePathWithKevin Lots of labor, for such low pay, over saturated market, equipment is expensive. Looks hard to scale without employees, that want 20 an hour and most likely wont put in the work, and all the karen customers. To be fair, most in my area are the DIY people.
@@OffThePathWithKevin Not lying at all. Im good at excuses, lol. I keep looking into other things, but yet keep coming back to lawn care, knowing I will hate the work. But I like the vids, and it seems ok, untill I look at the yard, and im like nope... I also hate the heat, and have sun damage so bad a blade of grass might rip my skin open. No joke. So idk if i would do it... But the money in landscaping seems legit...
Unfortunately this will only work for so long... End of the day all people rich or poor care about money... Guaranteed customer retention will be less than 80% year over year
if I'm losing customers over price then I have the wrong customers! All business lose customers, but as long as you're are growing more than you lose you are doing the right things!
@@OffThePathWithKevin I believe it - but , I figured you may have a success with handing out some business cards after church or somewhere or something like that . Because older people have money property and a lack of time .
Rock on, super inspiring. I too, started mowing at 12 years old and built a business through high school and college. Burned out and ran the business into the ground after college. Took a 4 year hiatus in a different field. Now I recently started a new lawn care and landscaping business in a new town after starting a family.
Awesome! When I got done with college I chased volume because I thought that's what made a business! I learned there are better ways to grow and do this!
Great video Kevin. You are a rock that can hold everything together. Don’t get overwhelmed with all the work you do and remember family needs you to. I worked 7 days a week for over 20 years and missed out on a lot of family time. Remember one thing money isn’t everything I know you need money to live. But don’t kill yourself making it. I enjoy watching your videos and you are a very smart family man. Praying for your business to Grow and be very productive. Thank you
Thank you! We don't normally work this much, but right now the work is there and if we don't get it someone else will! One of those things, get it while the getting is good
Great business plan! I’m glad it’s working out so well for you, you’ve earned it! The trailer and all that equipment is awesome! It’s interesting to me you make more doing the extras (tree trimming, edging, etc.) than the actual lawn mowing but obviously, that has to be your core service. Keep up the awesome work!
The yards are the bread and butter and the core work for the week! But per hour and return on our time the other jobs pay way better, but you wouldn't get them without the core business of the yards!
It's become my Sunday morning ritual that I've even got my wife into. Morning coffee watching the two new weekly updates.
Question- what's better about the Echo edgers o er the Stihl. I need to but new and haven't used a Echo. Only Stihl for 20 years.
Thank you so much! I have always had good luck with Echo when it comes to edgers, trimmers, and bowers! I do like Stihl for anything that cuts trees though!
Nothing smells as good as freshly cut grass. As a young girl I loved mowing my grandparents property and of course my Dad left it to me to do our property too a chore he called it but I loved it. To this day, many many years later, still mowing, trimming, edging etc all for my own property. To me its more satisfying with visual results than if I cleaned house all day🤣 Best Wishes For Continued Success👍🇺🇲
It's instant gratification for a job well done!
Kevin what do you use to haul away tree limbs and debris I haven't seen a open trailer.
At the moment we use Phils trailer for that work! But we are looking to get a dump trailer to help make that job easier in the future!
@@OffThePathWithKevin love your 2 channels
If you have an account that you really want but the mower doesn't fit through, you should offer to expand the gate with free labor if they pay for parts. Or even potentially just do it completely free of charge to get in the account. You will be more productive with the larger machine anyway. And the customer will be astonished that you are willing to expand their gate size for them free of charge.
It would have to be a very good account to widen a gate to do a job! We mostly mow properties with acres and no gates so we don't really even target neighborhood homes!
Great video, Kevin, well done for setting up this beautiful trailer and your well rounded business!! Love quality over quantity!!!
Thank you!
Enjoyed hearing your story!!! Happy that your business is doing well!!!
Thanks you!
Great video mate!! great business model!!! thanks for taking the time to make the videos.
Thank you!
Way to pivot in your families journey. Life throws curves, and some people adapt. Some don't. Well done, Kevin.
Appreciate it!
Smart, smart, smart! Your company looks like it services high-end clients, who appreciate quality.
It wouldn't surprise me to hear a national company has tried to buy you out or hire you in management. My cousin did that. Working for a national company just wasn't what he thought it would be. He eventually went to work for his son, who started his own lawncare company.
Very interesting video!
Dude you’re a maniac with the 50 yard weekends when you were in college.
I mowed growing up, went to UCF, worked for the Orlando Magic for a decade. Then started Seans Lawns and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I love it, even in the 100+ degrees weather in the summer. I’m at 96 yards a week solo, 68 of them are Monday-Wednesday. I don’t recommend packing your days full, it’s stressful and exhausting. I charge the most out of everyone in my area and some people have no problem paying it. My clients love that I’m the person doing the work. They can text or call and get effective and efficient responses. Also, they don’t have felons or drunk old men angrily using power equipment in their yards for $14 an hour. There are people who prefer this, and the majority of them I never hear from because there yards look great.
Route density is the second most important besides price point. Driving 5 miles for 20 yards will always crush driving 20 miles for 5 yards.
I have an enclosed trailer, yours is ridiculously nice. Congrats you got a new subscriber and supporter.
Thanks I wanted the trailer to be setup perfectly for how I intend to work! I am solo now but will take on an employee next year! that being said I will always be the one doing to work as that's what I belive they are paying for!
Very informative video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights on your journey
Thanks for watching!
Awesome job. You are a hard working guy and it shows.
Thank you!
You inspire me so much this year was my first season too as a 17 years old people always think im not that professional and all that stuff because they think im doing this just for the money and I really appreciate you doing this kind of video because it will help settle on how to grow properly from an experience mind and I really thank you for that. I just listen to this video and last week the video of you starting and it really help me make decision for the next year.
Take it slow and get the right customers! Don't chase volume chase quality! You will make more in the long run and won't be working so much to do it!
@@OffThePathWithKevin I know but it’s more costy to go with quality
I really enjoyed your video. I love hearing success stories like yours, and learning about how much thought and preparation went into starting up your business. It was very interesting! Are you a one man show or do you have employees now? Thanks.
At this moment we hire out help on days that it is needed! but the mowing side it is just me!
Kevin, congratulations on this HUGE STEP! It takes courage to “step” without knowing what is on the next step down. Like the new channel name, like the all black trailer and decal and naturally I LOVE that Ford. Hope you and the family are getting settled in say from RV Life. May God bless your paths and continue to open doors for you and the family. If you see this message and read it, check out a guy I met and been following for some years. He puts out great content and if you have any questions he is very helpful. The channel is Blades of Grass Lawncare in Savanah, GA and his name is Johnnie.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I will give his channel a look!
Great message! That set up you have is def cleannnnnn.
Thank you! We wanted to make it perfect!
I had the same start as you Kevin, I grew up in a mobile home park and something about a kid walking with a push mower, plug in weed whacker with a a 100’ extension cord drew people in. I was 10 years old making $10 to $15 a yard and did great work. I had some customers give me their old mowers to fix, led me to fixing and selling them, along the way building my skills. Long story short, in Michigan we get snow which led me to shoveling and snow blowing the same customers and gained more customers, if they had salt I would do that as well. Work ethic was instilled and hard work builds a person. In the long and short I saved up the money and paid for my first 2 years of community college which earned me my welding certificate. Looking back it was the best job ever and I still miss the heck out of it. You definitely are in the right path, volume is nice but higher pay foe higher quality at a lower volume is better. You have the skills and equipment for a better return. Keep up the great work and keeping the inspiration coming. 👍🏻👍🏻
Edit: Great return on your investment Kevin. To have the equipment payed for in the first year is awesome, in 2 years you could have it all paid for and invested in a few more things and then save to pay for replacement equipment while putting profits in the bank. You are on definitely a smart guy and studied your market before you jumped in, knew what you wanted, got the equity you needed to do what you wanted, and the best part is not spending money on advertising but getting the best advertising ever: the customers word of mouth. The saying goes a good job gets far less than a bad job.
Thank you so much for the compliments! I also walked around my neighborhood with a mower and plug in weedeater and blower! Those were to good days, makes me appreciate the equipment I have now!
I have owned a lawn business now for going on 7 years. This is my mato great video, really, I always say nothing. Good is cheap. Nothing cheap is good, are quality of work speaks for its self
Great motto! We mow by that we go after the right customers that way we never have to sacrifice quality!
Have you thought about tilling veggie gardens and hauling in compost/soil as a supplemental job income?
At this point we are just sticking to yards! But perhaps in the future we might do that sort of thing
Do a lean to on that shop for the trailer and gravel that area and you have more parking and trailer storage.
That's the plan to have a spot to park it to the side of the shop!
The Diboll/Lufkin area is a great area to offer tree service, giant trees everywhere. Also, the yard season in Texas is longer than states not in the south. And when the grass ain’t growing, some of those trees make leaves that need to be dealt with. 😁
There is no lack of tree work in this part of Texas!
I like your communication skills and your ability to explain yourself concisely and with simplicity! I didn't hear one single vulgar curse word, nor any poor English! College benefitted you well!
I was also impressed with your equipment, and the fact that you care about your public appearance and appeal!
American certainly NEEDS men, as well as women, like you: ambitious, intelligent, diligent, goal-oriented, and just plain old-fashioned down-to-earth!
Bless you sir!
Thank you!
Love it. I started and love this… going to copy your setup. This is what I want
Awesome! It really is a very user friendly trailer
Great video, buddy. Like you i am a property maintenance company also. There is a lot less headache and a lot higher profit margin. It also keeps other "green" companies off of "your properties. Sweet setup!
It's the best way, offer everthing and take care of all thier needs!
This is exactly how I handle my landscaping business. I just haven’t taken it to the next level yet, but that’s what I’m working on.
When you do it this way you can take your time getting to the next level!
Sometimes I wonder about you sharing to much info about your business. But u are a smart man and can work circles around most men, so that eases my sincere concerns for you and the family.. Alisha has your back with all you do and she is a strong woman who knows the importance of that and she knows her worth as a wife, mother, caregiver, etc, etc, and confidante … love your channel, have been following you since you left the oil field.. Ps.. just to add more to your plate…lol. Just by painting the trim black on your pole barn/rec center….❤ could unite the property and set it off even more..❤. But I’m sure you have already thought about that…take care..
That's the beauty of sharing, anyone can go out and do this if they want! If someone steals my customers, I wasn't doing a good job or they weren't the right customer!
This is my exact business model. Great video !!!
I've done both versions quality and quantity. I will say life is a little easier when you have the right customers and not just any customer!
@@OffThePathWithKevin For sure does !
I wish we could clone you and have you in Florida. Awesome Kevin. ❤
Florida has that good grass also!
Yes it does. 😂
@@sheilacaine what part of Florida are you saying needs a good guy/company? I'm coming to the Ocala area come late October actually.
Citrus county
That’s how I run my show too. One stop shop, quality work = money!
Exactly! Provide them with everything and they will continue to call you back for more!
Great video man, new sub here. Starting my own company in late October in Florida which seems to be off season... Also want to grow with quality not quantity.
Thank you! I started mine late in the season and had no problem filling my schedule! If you go for quality and nit quantity you will find the right customers!
Love both of your channels!!!
Thank you!
Great videos, keep them coming.
Thank you!
Sure wish we lived in your area because we could sure use your services!😊❤️
If you were close we would make it happen!
What do you recommend to use in the sprayer to control weeds on a lawn?
We use roundup to spot spray! you can't put that on the whole yard as it kills everything!
“I’m gonna tell you the shortest story ever, that’s probably gonna be super long.” Haha sounds like me.
You can bet your dad was tearing up to himself, as you were out there mowing those yards. He’s definitely proud of you…
every time I tell a short story it's not going to be short!
My husband mowed yards as a kid, bought his first Lawn Boy Mower when he was 13. He mowed, got a real job, and kept going. Years later, he sells mowers and fixes them for others, still mowing. I lost my job and picked up the eBay lawn boy mower selling. We made $$$$. We did good with the mowers. You picked a good business. People don't want to do the work. They will pay you.
If you show up and do a good job you will never have a probelm finding work!
I've cut grass for over 30 years. We cut every other week and they don't care about quality. I run three 72" Kubota zero turns and one 60" Toro grandstand. I would suggest trying a 72" mower before buying one. The cut quality isn't as good as a 60". The size of the deck has more rock to it leaving an uneven cut to a good eye. The grandstand will also out cut the zero turn on a 1 to 2 acre property. They track hills better and can turn a lot quicker without tearing up the ground.
@@Tx.1987 What I meant was my customer doesn't care about quality. I cut empty pieces of property that are waiting to be built on.
That is a big consideration going larger! My 60 inch deck does a good job but even on some of my properties it can mess up an area quick if your not careful about how you mow! The 72 would be worse in those areas!
Good job. It’s nice to ramble.
Thanks!
Now that entrepreneurship and living the dream in America
All you need is the drive to want it!
Hey Kevin, what product do you use for the bug sprayer? Where do you get it also?
It's called suspend.
amzn.to/4egJQeC
As a female, I watched the whole video and loved it. You were spot on for why you did certain things .
Have you considered purchasing a dump trailer, and then a skid steer or mini excavator? It seems like your target customer demographic being homeowners with acreage, it seem like some equipment would be right up your alley? I don’t do landscaping full time, I have a 9-5 at a plant as a maintenance and fabrication manager, and I rent out trailers, but I have a hedger cutter and a weed eater and a I’ve made a little money with them doing junk hauling for customers with my dump trailer they’ll ask me to remove weeds too sometimes. I paid $11,750.00 for my 14k dump trailer, I paid it off in 3 payments only took 4 months doing it late in the day and on the weekends.
I have our future plans include a dump trailer and maybe a Skid steer!
Looking forward to more landscaping content.
I'm a solo owner/operator in Maryland..
Also, are you solo in your lawn care business, and if so do you plan on staying solo or having crews/employees?
I am solo now for a majority of the time! I have help on big projects and plan to grow into a fulltime one trailer crew next year!
It's easy to think of your mower as your fourth most profitable, however, it opens the door for the rest of the service. Think of it as a loss leader (minus the loss of money) the way the big box stores do.
I look at things the way you do. I don't want anyone else in the green industry stepping foot onto any of my clients properties (other than the squirt and fert guys, I don't want the headache of that license). Like you, I started a business in a market with zero lot line subdivisions (Tampa) and moved to a rural area. Even in Tampa, I provided full service.
Really nice set up.
Thank you! Yes mowing is the least profitable vs. time invested! But without mowing you don't get the rest!
Great video! Thank you. What chemical do you use for spraying for weeds?
We use round up and spot spray driveways and flower beds
Another great video. And I sit here wondering, how does he have time for all this? Are you still farming too? I really enjoyed the farming videos but I can’t imagine you have time for that anymore.
I am still working at the ranch, but it has been a very flexible schedule so when I need more time for mowing I take it and when I have more time for ranching I do that!
Would you mind sharing how you keep track of clients, do you use an app? What do you use also how do you keep track of money coming in and money going out. Not asking what you make or spend just asking how you keep track of it all. Maybe might help me or others out. Different options
We use and app called Jobber you can check it out here
go.getjobber.com/offthepath
Trust me, it'll work. I put the stuff on my trailer too. It's an eye catcher. You'll have so much work pretty soon. You won't know what to do with it.
That's the truth!
There's not much more startup businesses that you can make the kind of money that it brings. Ive had a part time landscape company for 14 years with 16 yards. My full time is law enforcement. Keep up the good videos! And who's "we" that you keep referring to?
Thanks! We is myself and anyone who has been involved with us!
Nice set up! What brand of trailer do you have?
th-cam.com/video/u0gTh3weUDk/w-d-xo.html
My grandson did the same thing. He mowing when he was 12 and continued through high school into college where he joined the family business.
I did it for a long time almost till 25 years old! then I took a 15 year break in the oilfield and now I'm back!
Great business philosophy 😊 take care my friend 🙏
Thank you!
You are doing a great Job
Thank you!
Look's awesome Kevin, let me know if you need any help spinning up a website and advertising! would be happy to help here
Awesome thank you!
Great story and breakdown
Glad you enjoyed it
How much do you charge per lawn residential and commercial?
That depends on the job!
@@OffThePathWithKevin$35 to $50 regular houses
Very impressive video!!!
Thanks!
Love the Company name.. great name for that work lol
Thanks! We try to cut that edge sharp!
Looking Good!
Thanks!
What are u using to haul of everything you cut down ?
We have an open trailer for that!
Kevin, do you have to be licensed to spray chemicals in texas?
You do for some chemicals!
What about the mosquitoe control. I know several states require you to get training and a license. Do you have to do that in Texas?
New Sub! I like the business model, I’ve always been a fan of quality over quantity. Have a great day Around the Yard!
Quality over quantity works better for us!
Nice trailer and setup
Thank you!
Great breakdown
Thanks!
Nice setup.
Telescopic pole saw, chainsaw, and weedeater are the three most valuable tools.
If it cuts trees it is a money maker for me!
That's how I started in the late sixties and early seventies until I went into the military after graduating high school. I resumed landscaping as an owner-operator up to the present day.
Good stuff!😎👍👍
Thanks!
Make sure you have inland Marine Insurance on all that equipment. Would be a bad day to get T-boned or fire without it.
We are properly insured!
Would your neighbors consider going battery operated an upgrade? These companies exist. A quieter operation would be welcoming by your clientelle. I don't know why most neighborhoods are switching to commercial equipment instead of doing it themselves with a battery or manual mower. Did you at least put a muffler on your mowers?
For one you can't make a profit on your investment going electric! My mower cost $14,000, the electric version is around $35,000! Not to mention the rigging in the trailer to be able to charge batteries! Solar alone will not support a full days of work! So I would have to run a gas generator to charge my electric equipment! We are also in Texas where not a single person is offended by the sound of gas lawn equipment!
I'd would like to see you mowing too
Maybe soon!
Your trailer looks like my husband’s tool barn, one side has all of these same tools hanging on the wall for our own yard. They all look alike to me but he says they all do different things. He isn’t a landscaper but he does play in the dirt, he owns an excavating company. He just likes good quality tools and likes to own every kind of tool for everything and anything he might need it for. The pole saws definitely come in handy often to trim very high branches on our trees. He keeps his tool barn and his tools /machines immaculate like you keep your trailer! Things last a long time when it’s taken care of, no doubt about that.
Everything has it's place and should be there when not in use! We try and put everything up semi clean and we do a deep clean at the end of each week!
Enjoy the video God Bless
Thanks!
Smart man
Thanks!
What do you do to sustain your income for the winter months ?
Here in Texas we don't really have a winter that shuts work down! We may slow down on mowing frequency, but then we pick up alot of clean ups, tree work, pressure washing and hardscaping work! Also having commerical contracts that pay year round helps as well!
@OffThePathWithKevin well dang I must have missed the part of you being in Texas being so caught up in the video. It is an extremely nice setup that you have I have subscribed and will continue following your journey. Thanks !
Work ethic
Hard work and showing up is part of our business plan!
I DID THE SAME EXACT THING WHEN I WAS GIVING A BLUE LAWN MOWER AT 12
As a kid there is no easier way to make money!
Quality over quantity
I agree!
i wanna c a video of u mowing the customers yard if u can i know not everyone wants there house/yard on camera
Working on it!
You need to add snow removal
I live in Texas! LOL
Do you give your customers a detailed invoice?
It's up to them! Some customers pay monthly and we invoice them others just pay each time we are there!
This was a very well constructed video man. Great business model there
Thanks!
UP!
TY
Awesome
Thank you
Weird man, I haven’t seen one of your videos pop up in my notifications or front page in a long time
You need to make sure you are still subscribed! Several viewers have said they have been unsubscribed from several of the channels they follow!
I’m 18 years old and I want to put a landscaping company but I don’t know if I will do good and I’m saving money to start one bc my brother has his construction company and it is successful I’m scared to start one
The first step is just get out there and start working!
What all services do you offer your customers?
Anything involving landscaping and yard maintenance!
Damn bro that’s wassup 👍🏽
Next, get a trailer of goats. Drop them off to do the ground work and pick them up when they’re finished. 😂
Now that's an idea!
So how are you getting customers. My phone ain’t rang all season.
I'm actually working on a video now about that! But if you are waiting on customers to call you it will likely never happen!
Well like my grand dad said he never needed a drill. But he did need a hole so he got a drill to drill a hole.
That's funny!
👍
Thanks
$41k investment in equipment tucked into a trailer being pulled by a dually. Not exactly a rough start, you should theoretically do more than fine lol
We did just fine! we were able to pay for the setup in just 5 months!
@@OffThePathWithKevin yes I figured so, that’s why I said you should do more than fine lol. Keep it up buddy
Man I’m pretty sure you live around the corner from my daughter. Your in Fletcher aren’t you.
We are in Lufkin Tx!
You have a copy cat in Ohio . Same name on trailer. Good stuff
Sounds like mowing isnt that great. unless you love doing it.
Mowing is really good! why would you think it's not?
@@OffThePathWithKevin Lots of labor, for such low pay, over saturated market, equipment is expensive. Looks hard to scale without employees, that want 20 an hour and most likely wont put in the work, and all the karen customers.
To be fair, most in my area are the DIY people.
It's not hard if you want it to work! All those thing's you listed are excuses on why you shouldn't!
@@OffThePathWithKevin Not lying at all. Im good at excuses, lol. I keep looking into other things, but yet keep coming back to lawn care, knowing I will hate the work. But I like the vids, and it seems ok, untill I look at the yard, and im like nope... I also hate the heat, and have sun damage so bad a blade of grass might rip my skin open. No joke. So idk if i would do it... But the money in landscaping seems legit...
If you want it, it will be there waiting for you
Unfortunately this will only work for so long... End of the day all people rich or poor care about money... Guaranteed customer retention will be less than 80% year over year
if I'm losing customers over price then I have the wrong customers! All business lose customers, but as long as you're are growing more than you lose you are doing the right things!
Hell naw it won’t fail you just need to know who your customers are mostly old people .
We have all kinds of customers!
@@OffThePathWithKevin I believe it - but , I figured you may have a success with handing out some business cards after church or somewhere or something like that . Because older people have money property and a lack of time .