Get Organized

Everyone hates clutter and disorganized lives, but it seems that most everyone has these problems. What can we do about them? For clutter the only thing to do is set aside certain days and times to straighten up your desk, work truck, computer files, etc. Slow times are a good time also, but it is hard to do something like that when you feel like you are “off”. So a set time is the best way to go. I despise cleaning out my box truck so it is always a mess. I even offered my kids some cash to clean it each week. They must hate it more than me because $$ did not work. But when I do clean it out it is always refreshing, just like a clean house is more relaxing to live in.

Now organizing your schedule for work is different. It is vital that we keep our schedule tight and show up to estimates when we say we will. One of the best things I have ever bought is Gopher, which is a scheduling and invoicing program specifically for the Green industry. It has made my business much simpler to operate. I recommend Gopher but there are many others to choose from. I use Quickbooks Pro for my accounting but there are some open source programs out there for free that you can grab if you like.

Late,

Shane

Georgialawncare.com

To order weed killer email me tinman23@alltel.net (2.5 gal. concentrate for $60) Will deliver within 30 miles of 30558.

Biz Names and Logos

What is in a name? Plenty if you ask some. Others think it does not matter if you pick Razor Lawn Care or M&M Lawn Care. I’m in the latter camp. The thing that makes the name recognizable is the company’s consistency, customer service, dependability, competitive pricing, etc. Reece’s Buttercups aren’t loved because they picked a great name, but because they taste great and have been around a long time. I would say that a catchy but not too gimmicky name or logo will help jump start a lawn service business or any business. There is a pest control company in my area that uses Volkswagen Beetle’s as company cars….get it Bugs … Pest Control? And I have seen stories about company cars being hot pink or bright green to catch the client’s eye. These ideas work well to get initial attention but if the work is not good it will only be easy to point out which service sux. I do think that having a nice clean logo on anything you advertise on is a good plan. It may not lead to direct calls, but people will get your logo in their mind over time. It may even take a few years, but I assume you plan on being in business 4 years from now so have patience. I get very few calls from people who see my truck (rolling billboard) and want service right away. But most everyone knows who I am by that truck & signage. So when the need arises they are likely to call on me for help with their lawn or house washing. Logos should be simple and easy to put on shirts, signs, letterhead, postcards, etc. You can even get a logo made on ebay!

Late,

Shane

Georgialawncare.com

To order weed killer email me tinman23@alltel.net (2.5 gal. concentrate for $60) Will deliver within 30 miles of 30558.

Lawn Care Equipment

When I first got into the lawn service biz (part time) I used a crappy home owners riding mower that lasted about a year and a half. I rarely sharpened the blades and never changed the oil or air filter. That may be why it did not last long! Not really, things just broke on it as it was made to cut one lawn ever week or so, not 5 or 6 each week. I finally got a commercial ZTR (Dixie Chopper) and man what a difference. I cut my work time way down and my body felt better using good equipment all day. I was still part time at this point so the mower did not get used as much as it was designed to. I did sharpen the blades every 10 hours and changed the oil regularly but neglected the air filter. The reason,,,, I did not know where it was! Knuckle head! It finally bit me one day when it would not crank and we had to wench it up on the truck. The carburetor needed adjusting, I assume from the filter being totally clogged. Needless to say I am a little better now about maintenance. You learn by doing and it is hard to forget how to change a belt when you have done it in 95 degree heat close to a fire ant mound! I would recommend anyone getting into the lawn business to take a small class on small engine repair etc. Or they could just work with a friend a couple days to get the feel of things. It will definitely pay off. Oh yeah and don’t forget to grease the spindles and other grease points on a timely schedule.
Interesting lawn stories
robot mowers , .
mower burns down home
organic lawn care

Late,

Shane

Georgialawncare.com

To order weed killer email me tinman23@alltel.net (2.5 gal. concentrate for $60) Will deliver within 30 miles of 30558.

Multiple Streams of Revenue

It’s a good idea to have more than your main service bringing in some money for your lawn service business or any business. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket as they say. This year’s drought is a good lesson in that. My mowing revenue has been down for the first time since I went full time into lawn care. Actually it is about even with last year but by the end of the season it will likely be a bit lower. The extreme heat in the last 2 weeks has crushed the fescue lawns with no rain to help. I offer pressure washing which helps out when things are slower in the mowing department. But the pressure washing is not as reliable as the mowing, hence the fact that mowing is my main business and not pressure washing. I make much more per stop & per hour washing houses but it is hit or miss and the customers are likely only to use that service once and at best every 2 or 3 years. Mowing is done weekly or bi weekly and the client base returns for the most part every year if your service is up to par with them. I do some pine straw sales and installation with does well in the spring time. I also mulch leaves in the fall although it is not a popular service in my area (I hate doing it also!).

The best option is having a side business that requires little time & effort (too good to be true right). That way you can run the main business and not get bogged down in being everything to everyone. You could keep an ad running for pine straw delivery only (no spreading) and deliver a certain day every week or weekend. That would require little planning and not much work. Just have plenty of straw on hand and you are good to go. Unfortunately seasonal businesses like lawn care need to have extra ways of making money since the winter is generally slow at least a couple months in most regions. Here are few things that you can offer in addition to your mowing services: Pressure washing, painting, junk hauling, mulch / pine straw sales, mower maintenance and blade sharpening, etc. And you just might have to get a (ugh) job for the slow times. So be prepared to do what is necessary to keep the bills paid in the slow season. Most of all save your money when times are good!

Late,

Shane

Georgialawncare.com
To order weed killer email me tinman23@alltel.net (2.5 gal. concentrate for $60) Will deliver within 30 miles of 30558.

Entertainment at work

How do you keep from getting bored while mowing? I listen to my mp3 player all day everyday. I rarely listen to music, which I have plenty, instead I listen to podcasts (google it if you do not know about it). Basically podcasts are talk radio without the radio. They update daily or twice a week and can be downloaded with a pod catcher (software...free ones are available) automatically. I like music but hearing the same things over and over get old. I could not listen to the radio long since I hate commercials also. I have satellite radio in my personal truck & love it. I wear hearing protection with my ear phones in my ears & have no trouble hearing my equipment in case there is a problem and the sound is very clear from my ZEN (mp3 player I have). It has been a while since I mowed a full day with no player in my ear. I would be bored to tears! Some lawns I have mowed for several years and could almost do blindfolded (don't try it) so I need something to keep my mind busy. I listen to a few podcasts and the links are below. All are free except Rome's. What are some you all listen to??
Free Talk Live
Jim Rome Show
HDTV
Geek News Central
Dave Ramsey Show
DSC (sometimes)
Jersey Todd (sometimes)

Need weed Killer? email me at tinman23@alltel.net. I deliver within 30 miles of 30558.
Late,
Shane

Trends in Lawn Service

Have you seen the articles about the bikini Lawn Services? Google it & you'll see how big it is getting. It is hard to find men that will cut grass much less women, much less young good looking women. I can't imagine they do much weed whacking or those pretty legs would be cut up. About every 4th blog alert I get emailed to me involves some version of this service so it is getting amazing run (attention).
Another trend that I see is organic lawn care. Check these links if you like , , . Organic ,
natural lawn care .
These companies use all natural fertilizer and weed control. It is not as effective as the normal methods but over time it is said to get good results and that is good enough for those concerned with chemicals on their property. So called "Green Companies", companies that are planet friendly, are gaining popularity everyday. Inc and Fast Company magazine have profiled many different green companies and some are very cool. If you can spot the trends in this or any other business you have a step on your competitors. Better yet just set the trends yourself!

Late,

Shane

Georgialawncare.com

Lawn Store

Beat the Heat!

Man it is hot. 98 – 99 here all week. I start as early as possible & it is still hot by 10 am. I start at 6:30 pretty much everyday,,,,, well not from tomorrow on as school is back & I am the school bus for my kids. I drink nothing but water all day & keep a wet towel around my neck when I feel really hot. I usually pour cold water inside my cap & that helps a little while. It also seems like the hotter it is, the dirtier I get. I guess since my clothes are soaked the dust sticks to me more! Anyway…. Keep cool…. if you feel like you are getting too hot just stop and at least take a break in the shade or go home for the day. If you die you can’t do the lawns anymore so one day late is better than nothing. All for now. Comments below. Also let me know what kind of articles you would like to see linked to here each week.

Late,
Shane
Georgialawncare.com
Lawn Store

Pet Peeves

What are your pet peeves about your lawn business? I have a few, but they are nothing major. I don’t like sharpening blades. This is not a bad task; it is just the fact of having to do it after the real work is done and on the weekends. So it is more inconvenient than hard to do. I have even thought of offering a a blade sharpening service because I know everyone hates doing it and I am very fast at it now after sharpening hundreds of blades over the years. Another pet peeves is cleaning out from under the deck on my mowers. It is nasty stuff & draws flies & yellow jackets. It needs to be done though because the quality of the cut goes down if it is full of clumped grass. I am always thinking of a way to do it without scraping. I’ll hopefully invent a product for that & retire from cutting grass! The last thing is greasing the spindles and other points on the machines. This is not as bad now since I got an air powered grease gun but the old way was awful. The grease gun would never pump out consistently without taking it apart and getting it primed again.
I am going to be posting more frequently with the main blog still on Wednesday & Sunday. The new posts will be mostly links to relevant articles and maybe even some message board threads. Email any thoughts to tinman23@alltel.net. And leave comments below.

Late,
Shane
Georgialawncare.com
Lawn Store

Selling your business

I got a call from a guy I know this week wanting a price for my business. He does it part time & wants to jump to full time. It was easy to price my equipment, but the accounts were more difficult. I have zero under contract and most are residential. So this makes it harder. There is great risk for the buyer as there is nothing stopping the clients from dumping him like an annoying girlfriend after he takes over. So this gives the appearance of little value in buying clients. But if I can make the transition seamless & make sure all the work is done the same I believe it could work. I would work with the buyer for a few weeks until he was able to take over & serve my customers exactly like I had. There would be a few drop simply because they did not choose the new guy, like a new GM firing a Coach whom just happen to be there when he arrives.
I had read a few posts about selling accounts for 2 months gross, which I found ridiculously low. I would just end the business with no one buying them before I did that. We work hard to get & keep good clients so we should not just give them away. Now some have suggested that the buyer could pay some at the start then a percentage for each client that stays for a year. This moves the risk to the seller. If the buyer does not do a good job or goes crazy & runs off with his high school sweetheart the seller has been screwed. I priced my biz high to the guy because I am in no hurry to get out. When I get in a hurry I will get a decent price or I will let someone work it while I get the work and basically run the business. We can’t sell ourselves or our business short.


Late,
Shane
Georgialawncare.com
Lawn Store