How To Start A Lawn Mowing Business

How To Start A Lawn Mowing Business

Tired of working inside?  Like working in your yard on weekends and after work?  Have you ever considered doing yard work for other people and getting paid to do it?  Well if you have, here’s how to start a lawn mowing business.  But before you run out and buy a new lawnmower, let’s think about this a bit.  Let’s face it, if you had a really good job, you wouldn’t even consider mowing lawns for a living, so we’ll say right off the bat, you want to quit your job, for whatever reason.  However, before you do quit, let’s make lawn care into a part-time-make-some-extra-money type of job that you can quit at any time, that takes the pressure off and will make it more enjoyable.  After work and weekends, you’ll have to go out and mow a few lawns, edge and clean up, (and get paid!), so if you think you’re up to that, let’s go a step further.

lawn mowing,self employment ideas,lawn service

You'll Need Something Better Than This!

Tools And Advertising

I’m going to say you all ready own a lawn mower, edger, rake, broom or blower,and a truck to haul them around in, otherwise why would you even think of this as a side business?  There are hundreds of other things you can do if you don’t have these tools all ready, so let’s say you do.  You can always upgrade your equipment once you start making money, but for now, if it’s good enough for your yard, it’s good enough.   Now you need some lawns to mow.  The easiest place to start is the Web.  The greatest thing about the internet is the free advertising you can do on it.  The first thing you’ll need is a catchy name for your new venture, so once you get that decided, head to Craigslist  and place your first ad, check out the other gardening ads and make one of your own that’s similar.  Save it in your computer’s Notebook and you can re-install it weekly in minutes, just copy and paste.  If you’re active on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, put out a weekly ad on those sites too, eventually you’ll start getting some responses.  You shouldn’t forget the other free tried and true methods of advertising to get some customers, most grocery stores have bulletin boards that housewives love to check out, put up a flyer there or go door to door putting flyers under door mats(no mailboxes, Federal laws you know!).  If you aren’t concerned about letting people at work know what you’re up to, spread the word there as well.  Some cheap business cards are a must, hand them out everywhere you go, especially the hardware store.  Sam Walton was a shameless self-promoter and look where he ended up, in other words, don’t be shy!  Make sure you return all the calls you get and be extremely polite, customer service is where it’s at,  just look at what John Nordstrom accomplished if you don’t believe it.

While your new advertising campaign is starting up and before you get a couple lawns to mow, will you know how much to charge for your service?  Probably not, so here’s what you do, have your wife(or yourself) call a couple Lawn Service companies and ask for an estimate.  If they insist on coming over, let them, be polite, and pick the guys brain while you’re talking.  Find out his monthly rate, how many times a month he comes over, will he weed the beds, trim the bushes, etc.(I’m betting he charges extra for those last two items, make sure you take note of how much extra!) take his card and say thank you very much.  Now that  you know what the competition is charging, will you underbid them or charge the same rates?  Well the beauty of working for yourself is, you get to decide.

lawn mower,lawn service,self employment ideas

This Would Still Do The Job!

License And Insurance

Eventually you are going to need a business license and some liability insurance.  Now don’t panic, it’s affordable, but if you start off mowing lawns for people you know, you can probably let it slide for awhile.  If business starts to pick up, you’ll need to act.  Apply to your town for a business license, it shouldn’t cost more then $50, good for a year, use your home for the address, and remember, no chemicals will be stored at your house!  For the insurance, a million dollar liability policy will run you approximately $100 per month.  The agent will tell you how much you need, maybe not that much, just follow his/her advice.  As soon as you get these two things, make sure you change your ad to include, “Licensed and Insured,” people love that!

Educate Yourself!

So you’re mowing this guys lawn and he asks how much to trim his rhododendron bush, or his roses.  What do you say?  If you have never trimmed a rhodie, you had better tell him that.  Those bushes can be very expensive to replace, so you don’t want to kill it by a bad prune job, and the same goes for roses.  Ask him if he knows how they should be trimmed and if he would show you, so you can do it for him next year or whenever.  Here’s a side note: a good resource to keep in your truck is Sunset’s Western Gardener’s book(there’s a Sunset book for every area, get whatever applies to where you live.)  The soft cover editions are pretty cheap and if you buy last year’s edition, really cheap.  So you’re a year behind, they don’t discover new plants every year anyway, and it covers over 8,000 different plants. so anything you come across in the average garden is going to be in this book.  Back to the prune job:  If you can go to your truck and pull out this book and look up Rhododendrons, just to show the customer how careful you are going to be with his plants, you’ll automatically get a gold star by your name in his eyes, and probably a referral to a new customer.

lawn mower,lawn service,lawn cutting,self employment ideas

What A Beauty!

And referrals are the main objective for your fledgling enterprise.  A good referral or reference means you’re doing a good job.  You show up when you say you will(on time), you return missed phone calls, you’re neat and clean and don’t smell bad, you don’t ask to use the customer’s restroom or pee in his yard, you get right to work, your clean up job is spotless(no leaves left behind), you don’t flirt with the wife or daughters(very important), in other words, you are the perfect yard man.  Eventually you’re going to be trimming hedges, pruning bushes and small trees, landscaping, repairing or installing sprinkler systems, aerating, etc., all these things are what good gardening services provide, so you need to do your homework.  The more you study that Sunset book, the more knowledgeable you will be about the plants you see when you go out for the initial estimates.  People trust people who know what they’re talking about, we can’t help it, so why not be the gardener who knows more then the other gardeners?  More knowledge means more business which means more money.

Following these steps should get you on your way, but eventually you’ll need more equipment.  Remember, start small and build slowly using your profits, you don’t want to get a loan(believe me, it adds too much additional stress!).  Find a good lawnmower shop and start giving them your business and ask them which lawnmowers they recommend, they usually have used ones for sale that they’ve fixed.  Just make sure they start easy, nothing is worse then getting to a job and the equipment doesn’t work, so test drive it before you buy it!  Doing physical work outside is the best, I’ve done it all my life.   It keeps you active and healthy and in great shape, so enjoy yourself and good luck with your new lawn service business.

RSS Employment News

RSS Actual On-Line Jobs Available Now!

  • Joomla 2.5 Easyblog problem - no notification emails are being sent - oDesk May 25, 2013
    We have upgraded our site to Joomla 2.5 and moved to a new server, since these two things (and upgrading easyblog) there are no notifications being sent to users when there is a new blog post. I am not able to use wget to setup cron jobs as the server won't allow it so i have setup a cron job using curl. I have also installed Komento to try and fix the […]
  • Quick PHP job - oDesk May 25, 2013
    I have a website with a lot of static pages that use an include file for the meta data. Currently the meta data is the same for every page. I want to change the include file to use preg_match on the website URL to choose the correct meta description to echo. The data would be in the include file like this: URL,title,description URL,title,description URL,titl […]
  • Create gravity form and WordPress.. Together. - oDesk May 25, 2013
    We need an expert WP developer who can create gravity form and WordPress..Together. -Must be able to work with minimal supervision. -Must be able on Skype while working. -must quote "i'm ready" on the first two words, and send example of WordPress gravity form that you have created before. Regards Project ManagerBudget: $10Starting On: May 25, […]
  • Computer Programmer (ASAP) - oDesk May 25, 2013
    I need to hire a computer programmer to get into my websites back end and upload the zipped file along with the instructions inside. I’d like to get it done tomorrow if possible. It looks easy, I’m just not a computer programmer so its not for me to do. I will create a new username and password for the contractor to get into the back end of my website as soo […]
  • openx setup problem - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Transferred my openx installation to a new server and the database connection isn't working. I've updated the config file but it still isn't working. Need someone with openx experience to update the config or other files as necessary to get openx working again correctly. Let me know if you have any questions at all. This should be a very quick […]
  • Facebook login/invite integration - URGENT - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Hi, I am running a site on YII. I want to configure Facebook login/invite feature there. More details will be shared to appropriate person. This is a bit URGENT job so please bid serious bidders only. thx PrasBudget: $75Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: May 25, 2013Posted On: May 25, 2013 02:23 UTCID: 202579368Category: Web Development > Web Programming […]
  • Few CSS and PHP tweaks in Wordpress - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Hi, I have a Wordpress site which needs some small CSS tweaks and 1 slider plugin installed / configured properly. More details will be coming to right person. thx PrasBudget: $60Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: May 25, 2013Posted On: May 25, 2013 02:21 UTCID: 202579362Category: Web Development > Web ProgrammingSkills: css,php,wordpressCountry: United […]
  • Responsive Website Designers - Lahore Pakistan - oDesk May 25, 2013
    We are actively looking for five individuals who are experts at responsive website design. You should be an expert at HTML5 as well as CSS3. We are only seeking those who can demonstrate, and prove, they have developed these sites. We wish for these individuals to be located in and around Lahore, Pakistan. This is a full time position. We have many sites tha […]
  • Drupal Video JW Player Setup - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Need assistance today setting up JWplayer for Drupal 7. http://drupal.org/project/jw_player Small task and should only take between 1-2 hours.Budget: $50Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: May 26, 2013Posted On: May 25, 2013 02:08 UTCID: 202579333Category: Web Development > Web ProgrammingSkills: drupalCountry: AustraliaHours Billed: 28.17click to apply […]
  • Finishing Setting up Affiliate System - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Hello, Our current programmer had to quit the project of setting up our affiliate system and we need to leave it up to another programmer or firm to finish up the work. The work is about 75% done, there needs to be the following done. Copying of the code from other test server to yours. - Fixing CSS placement issues - put all needed preferences to test the a […]
  • Require a Small Change to a Vendio-based Web Store - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Looking for someone that can make a small change to a free Vendio-based web store. The change is as follows ... When a buyer clicks on ANY of the 'Add to Cart' buttons, after the item is added to the Shopping Cart (which happens now), I want the buyer to SEE the Shopping Cart. That's all I need, because once the buyer Sees the Shopping Cart, a […]
  • EZ Realty EZ Portal Joomla Development - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Anyone have access to the software, will need it installed on my site and modified to suit my needsStarting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: Posted On: May 25, 2013 01:59 UTCID: 202579310Category: Web Development > Web ProgrammingSkills: phpCountry: AustraliaHours Billed: 0click to apply […]
  • Web Master - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Redo a website. Limited budget.Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: Posted On: May 25, 2013 01:44 UTCID: 202579283Category: Web Development > Web ProgrammingSkills: web-design,web-testingCountry: United StatesHours Billed: 324click to apply […]
  • oscomercemanager - oDesk May 25, 2013
    I have a few tasks to start long relationship 1. Recover MySQL password 2. Bring my www.vendiglobe.com site to live 3. Establish ssh securityStarting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: Posted On: May 25, 2013 01:41 UTCID: 202579278Category: Web Development > Web ProgrammingSkills: Country: CanadaHours Billed: 0click to apply […]
  • Wordpress coding expert - oDesk May 25, 2013
    I need a wordpress php coding expert to edit the backend of my themes files to make it do certain things I need it to. The site is puppyclassifieds.net.au and these are the jobs I need; 1/ On the add new listing page http://www.puppyclassifieds.net.au/add-new/ I want people to be able to select one breed to add their listing to, then be able to check a box t […]
  • Parse HTML into Django Model - oDesk May 25, 2013
    You'll be asked to write parsers in pyquery (or similar) to extract information from scraped web pages and xml. This will be placed into a Django Model class you will create which holds all of the information in the scraped page.Budget: $100Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: June 1, 2013Posted On: May 25, 2013 01:23 UTCID: 202579253Category: Web Develo […]
  • WordPress Help Needed! - oDesk May 25, 2013
    I need some help hacking together code for a WordPress theme I'm using. The theme is Portfolium. It's difficult because I need each image in it's own post, but this theme doesn't use standard WP posts, rather the images are hosted in posts contained in it's "portfolio." My current issue is that I want to automate a mass pos […]
  • Changes needed to pre-coded premium theme on Wordpress site - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Hi. I need some changes done (all are fully detailed on the word document attached) to my wordpress site www.unipadz.co.uk I bought a premium theme - Realestate 4 from contempo design - and now need to change some aspects of this theme and change them to my requirements. I've been told that the code is not very simple and is sometimes masked so may be m […]
  • Looking for good employee for modify websites - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Hi, We are looking for employees who can help us with modify websites. We have many projects (most of them Wordpress). You must have minimum knowledge of php and html. Sometimes we also like to let you make the whole website. Our budget is momentarily max 3 dollar/hour. But we will encrease if you we see some good work.Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: Pos […]
  • Domain Migration - oDesk May 25, 2013
    Looking for someone to transfer my wordpress.com hosted blog (www.girlmeetswod.wordpress.com) to a self hosted domain that I just recently purchased via hostgator.com (www.girlmeetswod.com). This could lead more opportunities in the future with wordpress, web design, and blogging projects.Budget: $25Starting On: May 25, 2013Ending On: June 1, 2013Posted On: […]