Posts Tagged business

Start a Lawn Care Business – Spring 2015

Spring lawn care 2014 Make Money

Spring Lawn Care

Start A Lawn Care Business with Spring Lawn Care. Make Money in 2015.

Though the nights are still chilly and there might be a couple more snowfalls in our near future, spring lawn care time is already here.

As the housing market continues to take hold and home owners are once again taking pride in their lawns and landscaping, 2015 looks to be a great year for anyone with their own lawn care business. There is a tremendous amount of money to be made in 2015 and if you want to make more money in your lawn care business, you better get started right away.

The most money in lawn care comes from smaller residential lawn care customers and larger year-long mowing contracts. We recommend a healthy mixture of these two types of clients. The most important thing, however, is getting your pricing right. If you underestimate your jobs, you are going to lose money. Our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software will help you price your jobs correctly and make more money than you could ever imagine with your own lawn care company.

So, don’t wait until it’s too late. Start today by getting residential customer and large scale lawn mowing contracts. We will show you how.

For more information on our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software, visit our main webpage below:





Start A Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Estimating Software.

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A Rake! A Rake! My Kingdom for a Rake!

leaf raking business for money

Leaf raking means extra money for lawn care companies.

Leaf raking season is upon us. Make lots of money raking leaves for your lawn care customers. Summer lawn mowing season is slowly winding down and we find ourselves on the cusp of a huge leaf raking season.

Most of the country (especially the eastern half of the United States) had plentiful rainfall this summer. Plentiful rainfall means lots of green grass and high growth all summer. I hope all you guys made lots of money mowing lawns this summer.

Abundant rainfall also means abundant foliage on all the trees in your area. Every tree in every yard I drive by seems to be burdened with a ton of leaves. This year’s autumn leaf raking season promises to be one of the best in recent memory for leaf fall. Lots of leaves means your lawn care customers will be calling you for leaf removal and leaf management services.

Is your lawn care business ready for autumn leaf raking services?

I have said in other blog posts that you can make a tremendous amount of money during the autumn months. Customers are willing to pay big money to have their lawns raked and their grass maintained during the months of September thru November. However, many lawn care companies do not know how to properly price their leaf raking jobs. I have seen many lawn care operators dramatically underprice their leaf raking jobs. Too many lawn care companies lose too much money on leaf raking.

This is the time of year when lawn care operators should bank a ton of cash to last them through the winter months.

Do you currently own a lawn care company and you want to know how to make tons of money this season….or….have you not yet started your lawn care company and you want to know how to get customers and price leaf raking jobs?

We have developed a lawn care business guidebook and estimating software that will help you make great money providing lawn care and leaf raking services.

The business package is on sale this month. Click below to order:





Lawn Care and Leaf Raking Business Guidebook and Estimating Software

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How To Buy a Lawn Care Business Vehicle

lawn care business truck van

How to buy a lawn care business van

A lawn care business vehicle needs to fulfill the particular needs of your lawn care business.  A specific truck or van that is perfect for one lawn care business might not fit the needs of your lawn care business.

In my lawn care business, I have used vans, large pickup trucks, and small Ford Rangers.  None of these individual vehicles fulfilled all the needs of my lawn care business.  Vans are good work vehicles because you can lock your weedeaters, leaf blowers, and other equipment inside the van.  Trucks are versatile in their hauling capacity.  Small pickups can be kept looking nice and they offer gas mileage that helps with running around town doing mowing estimates.  All my vehicles have been rigged with tow hitches to facilitate pulling a trailer.

I have been shopping for an additional vehicle this summer.  I need versatility in hauling capacity but this vehicle is not going to haul particularly heavy equipment.  I also need this vehicle to get good gas mileage and be able to keep my gear safely locked away.  Also, since this vehicle will not be a “heavy work” vehicle I need it to look good and offer a comfortable ride.  One more thing, I have a limited amount of money to spend.

In my search, I found a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Although this style of van is normally for passengers, this particular van has been outfitted as a utility vehicle. 

lawn care equipment van

Lawn Care Equipment would be protective with an inner cage.

The seats and carpeting have been removed and a protective inner cage has been installed that will help protect any equipment and gear locked safely inside.

It comes with the 3.6L engine that Dodge puts in some of its heavy duty vehicles.  Though 3.6L Dodge engines have some issues reported online, this engine seems to not have the rattling that affects other engines.  In addition to the positives, this van is affordable enough for immediate purchase.

When I started my search for a new vehicle, I never thought I would consider a Dodge Caravan.  I started by looking for a standard work truck or work van like I have purchased in the past.  However, I believe it pays to be flexible and purchase the equipment and vehicles that “fit” into your particular need.  This vehicle will fit nicely and perform the “non-heavy duty” tasks that will be asked of it.

In your lawn care business, how do you make purchasing decisions for your lawn care equipment and vehicles?  Do you simply purchase whatever comes along at the cheapest price or do you have a structured plan in your purchase strategy to help you make purchases that “fit” into your lawn care business?  I see many lawn care business owners purchasing the wrong equipment and the wrong vehicles.  This costs them money in the long run and negatively affects their business.

If you would like to learn how to make better buying decisions in your lawn care business, our Lawn Care Business Strategy Guidebook & Estimating Software package includes a very handy equipment buying guide that will help you buy the RIGHT equipment for your lawn care business.





To learn more and purchase the program at this month’s sale price, please click here: 

Start A Lawn Care Business

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Father’s Day: Help him start a lawn care business.

Father’s day this year is June 16, 2013. Instead of a boring necktie, how about helping Dad start his own lawn care business so he can make money to buy the things he really wants?

Here is a secret lots of men don’t want you to know. Cutting grass is actually fun. It’s a chance to work with machinery, accomplish a task, and be alone with you thoughts without people bothering you.

What would make cutting grass even more enjoyable?…getting paid money to do it and not have to go to a job every day. Even if he only wants to mow a few yards each week, he can make good money in a short period of time.

If this sounds like the man in your life, help him start his own lawn care business right away.

We started our lawn care business in 1992 and we know what it takes to own and operate a successful lawn care & landscaping company. We have developed a comprehensive lawn care business program which includes manuals, bidding tutorials, equipment guidelines, and estimating software.

For more information and to order the lawn care business program, click this link:





Lawn Care Business Information and Estimating Software




Here’s a fun song our friend “The Singing Nurse” made for Father’s Day. See….cutting grass is really fun.

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Leaf Mountain – Leaf Raking for your Lawn Care Business

leaf raking business

Leaf Raking for your Lawn Care Business

Welcome to Leaf Mountain

With a few days to go before Christmas, many of your lawn care customers will be having Christmas parties and relatives over to visit. Because of this, they will want to have their lawn and landscaping tidied up one last time. This is a perfect opportunity for you to contact your customers to see if they need any yard work performed. You will probably be surprised how many customers will give you some extra work right before Christmas.

I paid a visit to the leaf dumping site our community public works department uses to dump all the leaves they collect from residential yards. The area fans out and is about 250′ wide X 200′ long. It is probably about 100′ deep. The leaves are left to decay. It looks like a leaf mountain. Our public works requires home owners to rake their leaves to the curb and not bag the leaves.

Lawn care customers pay good money this time of year to have their leaves cleaned up. So, if you own a lawn care business or if you are just looking to make extra money around the holidays. Leaf work can put great money in your pocket. Many lawn care companies do not know how to properly estimate leaf cleanup jobs. So, we have developed a special lawn care business tutorial and estimating software package.





Read more about it here: Start A Lawn Care Business

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Lawn Care Worker Killed

Hi Everyone:

I just want to share a story I read this morning about a lawn care equipment operator that was killed by a tractor trailer.

According to WITN.com news station, an employee of a lawn care operator contracted to mow along highway 64 was struck and killed by a tractor trailer. The driver of the tractor trailer was initially charged with reckless driving and other charges. The mower operator worked for a private contractor and was not employed by the Department of Transportation.

Lawn care business owners and equipment operators face many challenges and dangers on a daily basis. Though many dangers such as out of control tractor trailers are beyond the full scope of our control, there are many opportunities we can take advantage of to help ensure our well being.

One of the most effective safety practices, for lawn care operators that are working close to traffic, is to increase visibility. Whether mowing a small lawn close in a residential neighborhood or mowing on highway right of way, informing drivers of your presence is essential. Warning signs, high visibility vests, and even flashing lights will help make you apparent to motorists.

If you operate a lawn care business, please give safety your upmost attention.





For more information about operating your own lawn care business, take a look at our Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Software. Visit our main website page: [www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com]

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Lawn Care Business – Leaf Raking for November 2012

Well, October has passed and we are already well into November.

I am not sure where this year has gone but I do know where the leaves are going? They are collecting all over your customers’ lawns. It’s the time of year when lawn care business owners are busy making a TON of money by providing leaf raking and gutter cleaning services. Unless you are lucky enough to live in one of the warmer states, November and early December mark a final PUSH for lawn care business owners to make lots of cash before harsh winter weather arrives.

If you own a lawn care business or you just want to make money during this time of year, it is not too late to take advantage of leaf raking season. Your customers will pay you great money to rake their leaves and give their lawns a final spruce up before winter.

One problem we have seen is that many lawn care business owners do not know how much money to charge for leaf raking services. Our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software package has a special section dedicated to leaf raking. How to attract customers…how to estimate prices properly…how to perform leaf cleanup quickly and effectively.

For more information about our lawn care business course and to order the program directly from our website, please click the link above to be taken to the ordering page.

Best luck to you this leaf raking season. There are piles of cash to be made by raking piles of leaves.





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Leaf Raking Business – Last Week of September 2012

Autumn has arrived and has ushered in the Leaf Raking Season!

Though our daytime temperatures are still in the 80s and 90s, the nighttime mercury is dipping into the 50’s and 60’s. Autumn is here and in a few weeks fall colors will burst onto the scene. With those beautiful colors, leaf raking season will officially begin. Leaf raking season is a very profitable time of year for lawn care business owners.

If this is your first year running your own lawn care business and if you want to make lots of money between now and the end of the year, right now is when you need to be lining up customers for leaf cleanup.

We have found that there is often more money to be made between now and the end of the year than during the hot summer months. So, don’t neglect making the money you deserve right now with your lawn care business. The problem is; many new lawn care business owners do not know how much money to charge their lawn care customers when they are giving price estimates.

We have developed a comprehensive lawn care business (and leaf raking) strategy guidebook with estimating software to help you understand how to run your business right, get more customers, and price your leaf raking jobs so you can make more money.





For more information, visit our main website:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

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Yellow Jackets and your Lawn Care Business

Hi Everyone, this is Keith with StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Bees and wasps are hazards to every lawn care business owner and late summer through Autumn is a time of increased bee and wasp activity. I found this nest in a lawn recently. It was very easy to see the yellow jackets flying to and from the nest so I decided to put a camera on a tripod. I was able to film them for a few minutes and they did not seem to notice I was there.

However, they eventually became annoyed and attacked my camera.

Yellow Jacket - Vespula Maculifrons

Yellow Jacket – Vespula Maculifrons

The yellow jackets in this video are most likely Eastern Yellow Jackets (Vespula maculifrons) from the order hymenoptera(1). They are highly territorial and will aggressively defend their nest when they feel threatened.

According to the National Institutes of Health, deaths attributable to Hymenoptera account for more than 79 fatalities per year in the United States(2). Though most stings can be remedied through treatment at home, up to 10 percent of stings result in more extreme reactions requiring elevated care(3). This statistic is especially concerning for lawn care business owners who spend their days on lawns and in flower beds where ground burrowing hymenoptera like to build their nests.

What is also concerning to lawn care business owners is that some hymenoptera, especially ground dwelling vespid wasps such as yellow jackets, are particularly sensitive to the vibrations of lawn mowers and string trimmers. Given that a typical colony of yellow jackets can contain from a few hundred to several thousand individual wasps(4) it behooves anyone operating a lawn mower or other lawn care equipment to remain vigilant during late summer and autumn months when yellow jacket populations swell and become most active.

Although annoying, yellow jackets are beneficial to our ecology. They kill flies as well as caterpillars and beetle larva(5) which do damage to ornamental and vegetable garden plants. Yellow Jackets are also adept at scavenging fallen fruits from trees. And, since they eat raw meat they help clean up road kill and other dead animals. So, due to their beneficial nature, unless a Yellow Jacket nest poses a threat to humans or pets, I normally leave it alone until winter time. The wasps die sometime after the first few frosts and I can then dig up and destroy the nests without fear of being stung.

If you find it necessary to destroy a yellow jacket nest in the duty of your lawn care business, think carefully about a few things.

1) If you apply any chemical to a customer’s lawn or landscaping in the course of your lawn care business you will likely require an applicator’s license(6). Now, I know a lot of people laugh at this advice. Many people operating their own lawn care companies think they can purchase an over the counter wasp and hornet spray and use it to kill yellow jackets in their customer’s lawns. You might get away with it, but, technically, in many states, you should have an applicator’s license before applying any chemicals including wasp spray.

2) If the pesticide control board catches you applying a pesticide without an applicator’s license, you will face a fine which can amount to several hundred dollars. I even know of one lawn care business operator that was fined $5,000 for applying a pesticide without an applicator’s license.

3) If someone is injured while you are applying a pesticide to a yellow jacket’s nest , you could be held responsible for their injuries.
Also, please don’t ever pour gasoline or any other unapproved chemical into the ground. I have seen videos and blogs where people talk about pouring gasoline into yellow jacket nests. We know better, these days, than to do things like that. It pollutes the ground and, from a business standpoint, it sets you up for criminal and civil charges if you are ever caught doing it.

If a nest must be removed, have your customer call a licensed pest control management company to perform the extraction.
Knowing that they are a threat, there are steps you can take to avoid the dangers of yellow jackets.

1) Ask your lawn care customers to inform you of any yellow jacket activity in their lawns.

2) Be observant. Watch for yellow jackets flying to and from their nests. You can often see yellow jacket activity long before your lawn mower disturbs them.

3) Mark nest sites with marker flags. You can avoid the nests during the late summer and fall active months and then come back in the winter to dig the nests up and destroy them once the yellow jacket have left their nest.

4) Wear long pants and other protective clothing.

5) Know your sensitivity to stings and carry an epipen if necessary.

One of the reasons many of us enter the lawn care business is our love of the outdoors and nature. Bees and wasps are simply part of the outdoors and they are some of the creatures sharing our earth. It is unfortunate that they are so territorial and sting so violently when they feel threatened. However, that is just their way of protecting themselves. They are not actively seeking people to sting(7). So, when you encounter yellow jacket nests, do your best to avoid contact and leave them alone and avoid getting stung. They will be gone when the weather cools. If you can’t avoid yellow jackets, use an Integrated Pest Management approach and try to do as little ecological damage as possible.

Once again, this is Keith with StartALawnCareBusiness.com. If you are thinking about starting your own lawn care business, we have developed a professional and comprehensive lawn care business strategy guidebook and estimating software program that will help you start and operate a successful lawn care business. You can learn more about this program and purchase it through our main website: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com





(1) http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/occas/hornet_yellowjacket.htm
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22656661
(3) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bee-stings/DS01067/METHOD=print
(4) http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2284/F-7305webcolor.pdf
(5) http://espsciencetime.org/student_life.cfm?subpage=327295
(6) http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2010/february/pesticide-application-training-being-offered
(7) http://gregsnaturalhistory.com/623/yellow-jackets-hummingbirds/

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Starting a Lawn Care Business During Winter (December, January, February)

Hi Everyone:

This is Keith from SALCB.

If you have ever thought about starting a lawn care business or if you currently own a lawn care company and are thinking about expanding your business in the coming year, the next few months (December, January, and February) are target rich months for: performing winter cleanup jobs for your current customers, purchasing used and last year’s model LC equipment, securing new (larger scale) contracts.

Additionally, the customers you acquire during the winter months will be your first customers once spring rolls around. This will give you a solid customer base to grow your business.

Don’t ignore the next few months. You can still make a lot of money during the winter and you will be ready to go in the spring.

My company started our lawn care company 1992. We started small and grew rapidly. We have developed a professionally produced lawn care business guidebook and estimating software package. If you are having problems starting your business, acquiring customers, choosing equipment, doing the work properly and efficiently, and estimating your prices, visit our website to learn more about the lawn care business program.





Once again, our website address is: Start A Lawn Care Business.com

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