As a new lawn care business owner back in 1992, I remember the day when things started to change for my lawn care business.
My partner and I had been mowing residential lawns for almost 6 months. We were continuously picking up customers and were beginning to make decent money. However, we just weren’t growing the business to the extent I knew we were capable.
An epiphany happened to me that first summer. As I mowed a customer’s lawn, I saw two Navy fighter jets fly overhead. They were practicing for an upcoming air show and were flying low and fast. Even through my hearing protection the noise of their engines made me jump. I stopped my work long enough to watch them make several passes overhead. It was an impressive sight.
For the rest of the day, two words kept going through my mind; performance and efficiency.
Jet fighters scream performance. It is thrilling to watch a jet blaze by at 600 mph 2,000 feet above the ground. This is performance at its utmost. Fighter pilots’ lives depend on their jets.
Fighter pilots also demonstrate the ultimate in efficiency. Every move must be accounted for and no move is wasted. If a pilot needs to steer 15 degrees to the right, he moves his controls only enough to make the turn…no more, no less.
I used these ideas to analyze my lawn care jobs. I quickly discovered that I was being tremendously inefficient in my business. My route planning was inefficient and my mowing patterns on customer’s lawns was inefficient. I was wasting effort at every level of my business and the reasons behind my inability to grow my business became clear to me.
Additionally, I took serious looks at my equipment. It did not scream performance the way a fighter jet screams performance. We started our lawn care business on a shoestring budget. Because of this budget, we purchased inexpensive, slow, non-powerful equipment because it was all we could afford. After taking hard looks at my budget and my equipment, I took swift action of a systematic upgrade of all equipment.
By the end of that first year, I was operating an efficient lawn care business. My routes were well planned. My mowing patterns were designed in such a way that no move was wasted. And, my lawn equipment? Yes, my lawn equipment was hard-core commercial equipment that screamed “PERFORMANCE.”
If you are struggling with your lawn care business because of similar issues that plagued my first year then you should take a look at our Lawn Care Business strategy guidebooks.
We developed this program after 17 years in the business to help newbies and those that need help getting more customers and making more money.
As indicated above, we spend considerable time in the program helping you learn how to be more efficient with your lawn care business. Route planning and mowing patterns are only two of the concepts we discuss.
We also show you which type of equipment to buy. Purchasing the wrong equipment can hobble your business and prevent you from growing as you should. With our guidance, you will be able to purchase mowers that will propel you in your business and scream performance.
The lawn care business strategy guidebook and software program is available from our main website. www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com