Check on Water Restrictions before Using

If you are on city water it is wise to check before pressure washing or watering the lawn. It would be nice to just check the local govt website for daily updates but the bureaucrats must be too busy pushing papers around to get to it. So a phone call might save you a fine. I am not for begging permission to use the water you pay for every time. I just know that there are a ton of snitches who would love to report you to the "authorities". They must like being a good little servant since there is no pay involved in this action. Some water supplies are doing very good in Georgia while others are struggling. So different areas are under varies restrictions.

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Water Restrictions Loosened

Some areas in Georgia are now loosening the water restrictions with the recent rains filling up some smaller reservoirs. That is good news for lawn service companies, pressure washing companies, and other services dependent on H20. Now does this mean we should go out and run sprinkler systems all day everyday? Of course not. We should conserve as much as possible so we don't have a shortage due to wastefulness. Shortages due to no rain can not be controlled but using water unwisely can be stopped.
This drought has affected my lawn service business and also my pressure washing service. The lawn care obviously slows when it it dry & really hot, but I do not do sprinkler systems or plant installs so I did not have to constantly check on local restrictions. But using water for pressure washing was / is a constant effort in calling each city to see what their restrictions are, and checking often. I went to get a one day permit in Winder about 5 days after I checked on requirements only to arrive at the water department and find out the requirements had changed and NO permits were being issued. It takes a lot of effort just to find out what is ok and not but I think the companies left standing after this past season will do well in the next couple of years as many small businesses have fallen by the wayside.

Tell your local officials about water concerns

If you want to use your sprinkler system this summer you better round up your neighbors and get to every local government meeting you can attend. If you do not, the draconian water restrictions will go on way too long. We have seen a good deal of rain this winter and local reservoirs are doing fine now. But government moves slower than a snail with rock salt poured on it so they will be in no hurry to change things back to normal. Does this mean we do not care about our water supply? Of course not, we should conserve as much as possible. This means running sprinkler systems in the late evening or very early morning instead of running them in the heat of the day. And checking to find out how much you should be watering per week. There is no need to water every day. Three to four time a week is fine and if things get really dry again just cut back more. But to not use these sprinkler systems that cost thousands of dollars is ridiculous.
If you think your local government knows what is best just consider this story of government waste from my area. Link. Jefferson officials approved tax payer money to be spent on a new radio station as part of a recreation center. The station had a new technology but produced a weak signal and could hardly be picked up by anyone and the internet stream it ran was rarely listened to according to the stations own data. This information from the story says it all, " From July through December, Radio Jefferson only generated $9,190 in income, but had expenses of $151,400. In December, the station had no income and expenses of $6,050". These are the type of people in charge of your water.

Another Lawn Care Side Service

I've been reading a lot about waterless car wash products lately since the drought has hit Georgia. I have yet to try these products but am anxious to do so. Just google waterless car washes and search youtube for video demonstrations. This would make a good side service in good time and in hard times. You could fill in slow times with mobile car wash and use the wash as a cash cow in good times to save for the future slow times. No water to haul around or a pressure washer to use. But you will need plenty of the microfiber towels and plan on doing a ton of laundry and have a helper to do the car washing as it is physically demanding.

Lawn Care Services Without Machines

Are there services you can add to your lawn care business that can be done without machines? Sure, but you better be willing to work or have the employees in place to do it. A simple shovel only costs $20 but can be used to plant lots of shrubs which adds up to a good deal of cash and backaches. Spreading pinestraw also requires virtually no tools but is hard work. Gutter clean outs can be done by hand with only a ladder to help. These are simple jobs that can ad to your bottom line and provide work in dry times and in the winter months. They don't require you to spend a ton of money to get a machine to do the job either. Just remember when you are doing manual labor it takes longer and is harder on your body, so prepare accordingly by having help available in the form of workers either full time or part timers.

How to Beat Your Lawn Care Competition.

I heard a quote today: "You can beat 80% of the competition by working hard. You can beat another 15% by educating yourself in your endeavors. The last 5% is a dog fight"-Dave Ramsey.
This is a great quote. Anyone can work hard, even the slowest minded person. Hustle is always good in sports so it is in business. If you are up at 5 am reading business websites, blogs, or online magazines while your competitors are still asleep you get an edge in knowledge. If you spend Saturday afternoon printing out some flyers or researching clusters of lawns in your service area while Joe's Lawn Service's owner is at a cookout, you gain an advantage. There are lots of people out there with good ideas but few are willing to do the grunt work to make the ideas HAPPEN. In the Mark Cuban blog post about motivation I linked to last week he talks about all the boring manuals on computer software. I am sure that sucked but he got an advantage in his field and it helped him leap ahead of people not willing to go the extra mile.
Tips for getting the hard work in:
get up early, schedule reading time (maybe in the morning), set goals (very important).

Save 40% or More on Your Energy Bills!

Here's an article from a supplier that may help some of you with add on services. Everyone hates high power bills so here is a way to help your customers and yourself.

Save 40% or More on Your Energy Bills!

You may be surprised at how much money you can save by planting a few, well-placed shade trees. In fact, a simple shade tree may be your most cost effective, energy savings powerhouse.

Planting shade trees on the southwest side of your home can save you lots of money. According to a 1993 study, annual savings in a typical home ranged from 13% in Madison, Wisconsin to 38% in Miami, Florida. Estimates suggest that planting just three trees for every un-shaded home could save over $2 billion in energy costs annually! Utilities have actually started programs to give away trees to cut home energy use.

Planting shade trees also reduces costs on our environment. By shading homes and office buildings, trees cut our air conditioning needs up to 30 percent. Burning less fossil fuel helps decrease the greenhouse effect.

Planting trees also cuts the cost of fighting air pollution. They absorb pollutants like sulfur dioxide, ozone, and even particles released from burning fuel. These pollutants are some of the chief contributors to poor air quality. Over a 50-year lifespan, a tree will generate $31,250 worth of oxygen and provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control!

So planting shade trees around your home will most certainly save you money. But we also all receive the added savings in fewer costs to fight pollution and a better place in which to live.

Winter Blues

Depending on where you live in the lower 48 states it is cold now. Big shock right ,,, as it is winter time after all. So it is easy with a slower work load and less sunlight to get in a slump. Low sunlight affects your vitamin A level and there is an actual condition named after this (S.A.D), Seasonal Affect Disorder. I suggest taking a daily multi vitamin, exercising, and trying to keep a semblance of a schedule. Winter only seems like it lasts forever so do your maintenance on your equipment, do your off season work that interferes with mowing (pinestraw, mulch beds, clean up beds, etc) and you will coast into springtime. Oh yeah and watch as much football as possible!

Happy New Year

It's been a little while since my last post with the holidays and all. This will obviously be the last of the year. It has been a challenging year with the horrible drought, but things are improving with lots of rain in the past week. Hopefully the rains will continue and refill our water supplies here in Georgia. I look forward to next year and improving my business and helping new Lawn Service Start ups with this blog. I have two things that I'd like you all to read while you have time before the busy season starts. One is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand which is a fairly long book but a must read for motivation and inspiration. The other is a short read from Mark Cuban's blog about his early start in business. It is an inspiration to see hard work does pay off. Happy New Year.

Lawn Service & the Economy

Everyone I talk to lately says their workload is slow. No matter what business they are in they are not that busy right now. The economy is slow and has been for a while. Gas prices , especially Diesel ($3.40 here and was $1.50 only a couple years back), are a problem and the Drought in the Southeast has hurt this region. Landscapers have laid off crews due to slower maintenance accounts because of no rain and water restrictions have almost stopped plant installation. No one wants to pay a lot of cash for living things that need water and cannot be watered. Pressure washing companies cannot do anything in most areas unless using well water. I can only imagine the mower and power equipment dealers problems since it would be difficult to sell stuff that is not in use right now. Car washes are even suffering with Jefferson closing 4 car washes due to water restrictions. One company was even using 80% recycled water but the 20% regular city water caused him to be closed as well. What incentive does that give to anyone else considering doing something positive to save water? ZERO. Why would any car wash invest in equipment to conserve water when they could be closed down and not able to pay for the new equipment?
Things will pick up eventually but a storm must be weathered first. I have often read about the most successful companies are the ones that adapt to the environment the best. Now is the time to really adapt!

Vacation

Vacation is a good thing. I constantly think about my business.... ideas, improvements, problems, etc. And I may be worse than most because business is fun to me & enjoy reading about other businesses and current trends (inc magazine is a great place for this). I always have this grand ideas I am telling my wife about, which she patiently listens to, usually. Getting away from home a few days helps clear my mind and relax. So when I get back I can get rolling again with a fresh perspective. A great place to go is Destin, FL. The most beautiful place I have personally been. Even in a cooler season like now Florida is a good place to go to.

Late,
Shane

Drought Victim (Lawn Service)

Pike Nursery has filed bankruptcy , citing the terrible drought as a major reason. We did get some rain this week so every bit helps. Pike is just one business, all the small lawn servcie operations that have suffered this season are innumerable.

Complaining about low ballers (lawn service)

I see this all the time in forums I read.... lawnsite and thegrimescene.
Someone sees an ad in the paper or craigslist and cannot believe what prices are listed. I have to admit that my jaw drops sometimes when I see crazy pricing. Most of the time it is people just doing a bait and switch or just up selling a higher priced service. Or it is possibly some nut who hasn't a clue how to price hi / her work or they are just in a slow season and have free time that needs filling. Whatever the reason , you cannot get caught up in what the other guy is doing. Do quality work and find quality clients, who are appreciative of consistent service providers and you will not have to worry about low ballers. If you do find it necessary to compete with price cutters, be ready to deal with people who will not be ideal clients. They will usually be ready to drop you as soon as a better deal comes around, they will want an as "needed" service (not a consistent schedule), and they will expect freebies because they do not value your work.

Late,
Shane

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Books for your Lawn Service Biusiness

Books are essential to learning and what better to learn about than how to improve your business? I've mentioned Guerrilla Marketing before as it is an excellent read. It deals with advertising and marketing and shows different ways that a small company can market its services wisely. Another great book on business and freedom in general is Atlas Shrugged. This is one of the most important books I have ever read and ever will read. It is a fictional tale of business, government, and moochers. If you do not have the time to read either , I'd encourage you to download the audio book to your mp3 player and listen while working.

Late,
Shane

Competing with bigger and smaller companies

It can seem hopeless to compete with a big lawn service company or even so called "low ballers" who are smaller than your business. You think you can't be everywhere like the big boys or advertise as much as they do. Your prices can never match the guy with a push mower in the trunk of his station wagon. You are right of course so you just have to figure out what you can do that these other guys cannot or can't do well. The big guys cannot be as personable or accessible as you and the small guys cannot be as consistent or as dependable as you especially if they are working a full time job and doing lawn care in their spare time. Figure up your strengths and your competition's weaknesses and you will have a good battle plan.

Late,
Shane

Radio Advertising Lawn Services

Ever use radio to advertise your Lawn Services? I have yet to do so myself. It can be a little pricey but there are many benefits. Small stations are local so you can hit your favorite audience (people close to you). This keeps you from having people 90 miles away call you for an estimate for a small job. Radio also builds name recognition. If a person hears your business name over and over it is like a friend is telling them about your business all the time. And when they need a service that you provide they are likely to call you first. check with your local radio broadcaster and see if you can even barter (exchange services for radio time). This can give you a feel for it before jumping in all the way. A great book to help with this method of marketing and much more is Guerrilla Marketing.

Late,
Shane

Using google adwords

One new way to advertise is using google adwords. You log into your google account and set it up. i advise you to read any tutorials , as it is complicated at first. You pay for clicks to your website which is as fair a way to pay as I can imagine. I have gotten some work from this method and am tweaking it every week.

Late
Shane

Gopherhaul

Great software for lawn service biz and great marketing ideas for you. Do a search for "gopherhaul on youtube.com
Gotta get some sleep.....we got some goo rain btw. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Late,
Shane

Bushhogging

Any of you all get calls for bush hogging? Or is it a steady service that you offer already? I get a few calls per year without ever mentioning it in my ads. I have thought about offering it for a while now. I could use a tractor for stuff around my house anyway. I could also let my grandfather use it for his garden every year. So it definitely would be worth the money. You also have to think about hauling it around though, which requires a good truck and a heavy duty trailer. Things I thought of that a tractor would be useful in: bush hogging, light grading, plowing gardens.

Late,
Shane