Posts Tagged fertilizer

Make more money offering environmentally correct lawn care techniques.

A healthy lawn and green grass

Proper mowing leads to a healthier lawn.

Mow it low and go.

Arghhh…how many customers do you have that want you to show up to their property every two weeks, mow their grass as low as your blades will allow, and go away for another two weeks until the grass is, once again, two feet high? 

While the money is often good with these types of basic lawn care customers, there is something unfulfilling about performing the lowest form of lawn care services demanded by some customers…mow it low, and go.

It is springtime right now and many of you who are just getting started with your lawn care companies are looking for any customers you can find.  I understand that you probably don’t care if you have 100 “mow it low and go” customers…you just want to be mowing grass and making money.

However, as you are acquiring customers this spring, I want to challenge each of you to attract as many customers as you can who want to care for their lawns in a proper, environmentally responsible fashion.  We’re not talking about customers who want to apply lots of fertilizers and pesticides and expect a perfectly manicured lawn each week.  We are talking about customers who will let you raise your blade to a proper height, practice integrated pest management, install water gardens & natural areas, and build good soil by leaving well-mulched clippings on the lawn.

Attracting a few customers who are keenly interested in having healthy lawns will teach you a tremendous amount about proper lawn care and they will give you tons of ideas and healthy lawn care management practices that you can spread to your other lawn care customers.

The benefits of building beautiful lawns with environmentally correct lawn care techniques are far reaching.  Yes, you will be proud of the lawns and landscaping (and make great money from those customers) but also, great lawns generate amazing referrals.  And if you acquire the right customers and bid your jobs correctly, you should be able to build a list of top-notch customers who are willing to pay you handsomely to maintain their lawns and landscapes.

Do you want to learn how to operate a successful lawn care and landscaping business? Visit our main webpage to learn more about our “Start A Lawn Care Business” guidebook and software business package.  This is a HUGE business toolkit which is perfect for anyone just starting in the business or anyone who is looking to expand a lawn care business.

Make More Money With Your Lawn Care Business
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: , , , ,

Lawn Care Do-It-Yourselfers

As lawn care professionals we are often faced with prospective residential and commercial clients that would rather do the work themselves.

I came across a new article recently proclaiming residential customers can save money by fertilizing their own lawns.  Since a spreader is only $24 and a bag of fertilizer is only $15, the cost is about $40 vs. $65 for professional fertilizing:

http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/is-landscaping-taking-a-hit-2

The news article failed to mention three key components of hiring a professional perform lawn care work.

1) Time benefit:

Visiting a garden center, choosing correct fertilizer, reading instructions, donning protective gear, readying equipment,  fertilizer application, and equipment clean all take time.  A home owner can easily spend 4 or 5 hours trying to save $15.

2) Knowledgeable Application

Knowledge of fertilizer types, timing of application (weather), spreader settings, and dispersal densities all increase the efforts needed for correct fertilization of a residential lawn.

3) Professional Material Handling:

Being in the lawn care business since 1992, I have received dozens of calls from homeowners who have tried to fertilize their own lawns.  A typical caller asks if I can come fix their lawn because they either over applied fertilizer, accidentally broadcast lawn fertilizer into flower to shrub beds (killing their plants), or spilled a pile of fertilizer onto their lawn when they knocked their broadcast spreader over or the fertilizer bag split dumping contents into a pile on their lawn.

$15 Savings?

Is all this hassle really worth the $15 a home owner might save by doing it themselves?

Next time you are faced with a do-it-yourselfer let them know they are only saving a few dollars versus the tremendous amount of time, energy, and money they will expend attempting to get professional results.


Start Your Own Lawn Care Business

Have you ever wanted to start your lawn care business or are you hoping to expand your current business?  Our Lawn Care Business program can help you achieve a more successful business.

Check out our home page by clicking the
“How To Start A Lawn Care Business”
link toward the top of this page.

Tags: , , , ,