Tony313
Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 2:37 pm Post subject: cutting grass for a beginner, how much to charge per lawn? |
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Hey everyone im kinda new to this lawncare business. I have been looking to get a job for a while now and i realized that cutting grass could earn me some good money if i do it right. I was wondering if anyone could help a beginner. SOme questions i have are how much do i charge per lawn, what type of people would usually appreciate getting their lawn cut, and what tools do i need to do a proper job.
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Allison
Chicago
Posts: 32
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:00 am Post subject: lawn care |
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Also try your local town hall --many keep lists of people willing to do such work.
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mjames2412
New York
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: |
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i have a list of people that will do it in NYC if that helps...
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Trackerway
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:52 am Post subject: |
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How much to charge... a good rule of thumb is $1 per minute. Seriously! If the yard takes you 15 minutes to mow, charge $15. If it takes you 30 minutes to mow, charge $30.
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dvmcmrhp52
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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The questions you've asked are very general and tough to anser for a variety of reasons.
What to charge is based on your local market and the local economy. What a service provider charges in market "A" is not neccesarily the same as market "B".
My suggetion to you would be to work for an established lawn care provider for a while and learn the business before jumping in.
Equipment varies greatly, but commercial grade mowers will last a long time with good maintenance. Stay away from "homeowner" equipment if you can, as it will not last very long with the rogors of doing many lawns each week.
Applying fertilizers and particularly ferts with pesticides needs licensing in most areas, and you should look into that as well. The fines for applying without certification can be quite stiff.
Good luck to you.
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LAWNCUTTER
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:57 am Post subject: Re: cutting grass for a beginner |
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Hi..I started a biz of cutting grass a year ago...I started with a small pickup lawnmower weedwacker hedge trimer chain saw leaf blower all bought at flea market and pawn shops spent around $600 to $700 not including truck...then I bought a rake shovel push broom and a barrel at walmart...what I did to promote was I drove around my neighborhood and whatever house I saw with a tall grass I left them a flyer...
Here in northeast where I live I charge $40 for 1/3 acre 1/2 acre $60 that include mowing weed wackin edging and for initial full yard cleanup is from $200 and up and for fall we do leaf removal and charge $5 per bag of leaves
My first week I made about $300 that was a year ago now I am generating close to $1600 a week cutting average of 4 lawns a day
For helper I only have 1 guy
Never charge by the hour put a price to your labor not your time
Charging by the hour would scare your customers away trust me...example, if someone wants to know how much I charge to do their yard and I think in my head well I would probably take 2.5 hours then I give him a price ($5o)thats $20 an hour but if you tell them I will charge you $20 an hour they dont know how long you would take and thats what scares them away
plus the faster you work the higher the hourly rate would be
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dvmcmrhp52
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: Re: cutting grass for a beginner |
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| LAWNCUTTER wrote: | Hi..I started a biz of cutting grass a year ago...I started with a small pickup lawnmower weedwacker hedge trimer chain saw leaf blower all bought at flea market and pawn shops spent around $600 to $700 not including truck...then I bought a rake shovel push broom and a barrel at walmart...what I did to promote was I drove around my neighborhood and whatever house I saw with a tall grass I left them a flyer...
Here in northeast where I live I charge $40 for 1/3 acre 1/2 acre $60 that include mowing weed wackin edging and for initial full yard cleanup is from $200 and up and for fall we do leaf removal and charge $5 per bag of leaves
My first week I made about $300 that was a year ago now I am generating close to $1600 a week cutting average of 4 lawns a day
For helper I only have 1 guy
Never charge by the hour put a price to your labor not your time
Charging by the hour would scare your customers away trust me...example, if someone wants to know how much I charge to do their yard and I think in my head well I would probably take 2.5 hours then I give him a price ($5o)thats $20 an hour but if you tell them I will charge you $20 an hour they dont know how long you would take and thats what scares them away
plus the faster you work the higher the hourly rate would be |
4 lawns a day and averaging $1600?
That's $80/ lawn.
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