The SECRET to BIG MONEY in Mowing (It's NOT Pricing)
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
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Starting a lawn care business can be challenging. You can use a basic setup to start your lawn business without spending thousands of dollars on the best zero turn mower. In this video I'm showing you the basic lawn care setup I used in the beginning to keep costs down and make money right from the start.
Mic drop. 🖐 🎤
If you're serious about making big money in your lawn mowing business this is how you do it. I'm so sick of people saying, "there's no money in mowing, do landscaping." If you're not making good money mowing you simply have not executed the strategy I'm sharing in this video.
Searches you can use to find this video:
How to price lawn mowing service
How much to charge for mowing
How much to charge for lawn service
How to start a lawn care business.
My Story:
In 2016 I had been in law enforcement for almost 7 years.
I was not in control of my schedule, I was hardly making any money, and I was away from my family working nights and holidays. I was capable of more,, and I was silently suffering. I knew I was selling myself and my family short.
I started Florida Turf Pros as a side hustle in 2016 before going full time in 2017.
My lawn business changed my life. I control my own schedule, my own income, and I am proud of what I have built.
On this channel you will learn the steps I have taken (and am still taking) to have a lawn care business that serves ME and my family’s needs.
We are a small owner operated company (2 full time mowing trucks/crews, and now a sod installation division).
If you are interested in starting a lawn care business this channel will provide the direction.
This really is a great industry to be in…
And I hope that by documenting my journey it will help you too.
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I’m able to do 10 yards in an 8 hour day by myself with a Scag 30 inch walk behind and basic weed eater and handheld blower. Just out of the bed of the pickup truck. Avg 45$ per lawn I made 450$ a day on small yards my first year. This is the way to start a business if your a beginner. My total startup cost was less than 3000$ for truck and all equipment (used mower & truck, new weed eater & blower).
That's awesome man. That' the same way I started. $450 a day is great money. Stick with it!
Hey Alex, what size yard do you charge $45 for? .25 acre? .5? Thanks!
good and its scaleable at that rate
I approve this message
Just saw this today....instant follow! The small residential lawns without many obstructions is my target. It's hard to pass up a $45-$50 yard that takes 20 minutes to cut, edge, blow and go. This video gave me the juice that I needed. Thank you!
I’m placing bids on 25k of small business properties this year. “IF” I got all those I could have them done in one day/week by myself. It ends up being around 12 acres. About 11,000 feet of trimming to do. Insurance is bout $75/month mower payment is about $179 gas will be bout 9 gallons maybe a little more per day Trimming line not to sure let’s just say $3-5 per day. Truck payment is $500. That bid is for 28 weeks. Or I could work homeowners and make $350-450 per day
My average yards are $45-$60 yards I have 40 clients mow them all myself. Route density is key. Getting 3 to 5 yards in the same neighborhood is key.
I’m at 15-20 clients and looking to double up, this is my second season.
@@Smokeyfilms_ sounds good best of luck to you this season
This is why this man runs a successful business. He knows his numbers. You Have to know your numbers. And yes gross matters but net is more important Profit margins and money at the end of the day in your hand after expenses. That’s it
Appreciate the feedback. Thanks for the visit today.
This video seems to be confirmation for me! I was just talking about this same concept today with a friend who does handyman work so he understands how valuable it is to break down work by the hour and even down to the minute. I have a lot of large commercial/residential lawns that just aren't as profitable as those $45 lawns you're talking about. I plan to finish out the season where I'm at but I'll start timing lawns and using your formula (from a different video) on breaking down what I'm making per man hour at all my lawns, then drop the ones that aren't allowing me to max out my profit. Thank you sir!
Great advice!
Also; smaller lawns put less pressure on your body and equipment.
The counter argument though, is with smaller gardens you need a lot more customers - more people to deal with. I think all sizes of property have their place in a balanced weekly round.
Good points.
I couldn't agree more! Small yards are without a doubt the most profitable yards in my business resulting in the highest man hour rate of all. Thanks Jonathan. Keep those great videos coming!
Great video. Absolutely right.
Have been saying this for years! 3 $35-40 lawns next to each other total acreage of like .8 acres sure beats doing the .7 - 1.0 acre type lots for 70-90. Quicker times=higher per man hr on smaller lots. Tough balance when making decisions as you grow when you have quality people you've been servicing for years that fall outside that ideal area/size.
You're right on the money, the only good thing about the big yard customers is the spring and fall clean up and mulch install make some extra thousands but yea small yards stacked up is great for lawn mowing no doubt. You did it again dropping factual knowledge
This is why I love your channel you have so much information, experience and we really value your opinion. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Great video. Small yards are the way to go.
Thanks man!
Thank you for the video no matter what our feelings think numbers do not lie
Great content! I’m sure this helps so many guys that haven’t gotten it figured out yet.
Thanks Jonathan 💪
Thanks for the time that you took to provide this information God bless
From my experience , the smaller yards to profit more on mowing yes. BUT the larger yards seems to have much much more upsells on other services. I will also say the larger properties tend to have more wealthy owners and from my experience they are the cheapest when it comes to paying for services. But yes I LOVE the 15 min yards at $45-50.
Thanks, just getting equipment together to start business and learning all I can
Thank you so much and may God bless you.
also my argument with this is you have to choose large or small properties large properties in my market are right for me because I have large mowers and can get done a 1.5 or 2 acre property in a little over 1 hour these are country large lawns that are wide open no sidewalks just trees to go around
Very good video and advice. Glad to see you posting more lately.
Thanks!
Small residential is definitely where it's at, the profit margins are way higher. With our current density and a 3 man truck we can cut 40 plus in a day 5 days a week per crew with an average price of around 45 per property. I wouldn't advise running at max capacity though unless you have the proper systems in place in case of multiple rain days, thankfully we've already made those mistakes and created solutions for them. Anyway, keep up the good work Johnathan..great content as always..👍
Yes, running at max capacity is a recipe for disaster in my market (rain). We do the 4 day mowing week to help combat this.
Yes this is very true. Also depending on where you live take in account trees etc. Leaves can help you through the winter months if mowing is limited and not year round even at a reduced rate.
thanks for the infomation. it was very helpful!
You're welcome!
Your AWESOME!!!
I just price the lawn for the time I am mowing if I charge $45 for a lawn that takes me 15 minutes, then I and going to charge at least $175 for a lawn that takes an hour. I also charge an extra 50% for biweekly. I have a couple of big $100+ lawns which are nice to have because you can make more money without any drive time. I don't close on a whole lot of big lawns, But I am not going to undercut myself to land a job. Especially when you don't know if the customer is willing to pay the price you are charging. You can always ask the customer what price they would get on the schedule for and if your too far apart then you don't accept the job. When I started I would mow a 20 minute lawn for $35 and then go mow a 90 minute lawn for $55 because that is what I thought people were willing to pay. IF I mowed 4 $35 lawns instead or just told the guy with the 90 minute lawn that it was going to cost $150 I would have made a ton more money. Maybe the guy would pay it maybe not, But to charge him less would be undercutting & undervaluing yourself.
Small yards and dense routes 👍
Thank you for being so transparent
You're welcome.
Jonathan the last couple years I have figured this out on my own I started 23 years ago working in a mobile home park The Lawns are tiny I was only getting 10 to $15 per cut back twenty years ago my price now is 20 but I'm able to knock out for Lunds in an hour by myself I work full-time third shift and now I have 60 ones and that one community and there's a modular Park 55 and older a mile and a half away which I'm starting to build another whole route over there I have several yards outside of these two communities that are half acre to three quarter acre and I've noticed the same thing thanks a lot for back in the information up though keep the videos coming love your content
You rock brother, thank you!
Appreciate you hanging out!
This reminds me of the video of yours I saw a few years ago. You gave your mathematical equation of how you knew your most profitable yards. Time and money over an hour spent. Great vid as always
The right equipment for the yard is essential. I could mow an acre in 15-20 minutes and days with help the help i could start blower while trimmer finishes up when i had a diesel front mount zero turn. But yes, in areas with urban sprawl it is possible to do 30 small properties a day and even at lower rates that adds up quick.
Good info. I can get $35 out of those small yards that take 25min solo. Those are the good ones because the yard is small enough for an extra minute to mind the details, or go faster in a rush if you have to.
The video might give a false standard, because 20+ yards in a day can be a Lot of work in some cases. Even if you start with 6 and go for lunch to cool off, you're still living the good life.
One tip I have. If they brought the bins to the curb on garbage day, and you find them empty when you arrive, take the 30 seconds to put them where they belong by the garage and guaranteed the customer will notice. I also like to blow the snow off their car in the winter if the snow is light with the blower going. Literally takes 15 seconds and it's a huge boost to customer appreciation for long-haul.
It’s amazing when you really do an analysis like that.
I'm pretty simple minded and like to just run it out on paper. Always provides clarity.
Great info !!!
Thanks for watching!
New sub here and your advice is spot on. Thanks
Welcome!
Jonathan keep these videos coming these are the type of videos that I need I'm still working full-time third shift I'm doing my lawn business during the day doing exactly what you've been saying without even knowing it thanks for the information keep them coming great video as always
More to come!
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it
This is good stuff!!!!!!!!!!!
Appreciate you watching.
Great Video. you should talk about the easy and stress free of mowing vs stressful high profit landscape work
Great suggestion!
Where are these $45 per cuts!? That’s unheard of in my county, small town central Florida. Max for a small yard here is $30 a cut or $90 per month for weekly mowing.
I need to move where these $45 plus cuts are. 21 years in the business with 200 accounts and only accounts that pay well are commercial and HOA’s.
This dude is so good
Wow! Thank you sir for this video. I have another lawn maintenance guy who told me this and I did not really see his point. NOW, I do see his point. Man. That is a lot of money to miss out on!!
Time, price, and volume are the variables we can manipulate for maximum profits. Find which one makes the most sense to change. Good luck.
Thanks for bringing more content. 👊 Definitely the best lawn care guy on RUclips.
Be sure to check out Mike Andes! He delivers a ton of valuable content.
@@abclawnworks9127 Mike Andes is great as well 👊. I have learned lots from his online course.
@@abclawnworks9127 Mike is my favorite. One of a very few I watch.
@@FloridaTurfPros amen! I saw you interviewed by him. I was the 3rd interview he did. Think it was March of 2021.
Route is everything
You’re a genius
I sometimes take on small little jobs because its so quick and the profit margin is better. Ive done really small brush job for 30 dollars. It took me 10 min
Exactly what I've been dealing with. We're easily over $3 a minute on small properties. We'll dip as low as $2 a minute on small ones. The big properties we'll dip as low as $1.50 a minute. I have one where they just installed a pool. Now, it dropped to the infamous a dollar a minute. I was going to raise the price, but the people that installed the pool ran over and killed their dog. Will raise the price next season tough.
Best video yet
If this doesn’t smack lawn guy in the head nothing will
U give nothing but solid advice
Appreciate the feedback!
U should right a book or put together a course
Monetize your nuggets of gold
I like 1/4 acre max, preferably no sidewalks. I can deal with fences, thanks to my 36” stand on.
Here in Pittsburgh I found the same thing to be true with our Friday list. I'm starting over from scratch this season and after a 5 year moratorium , I feel poised and confident, even though I'm faced with starting with nothing.
I just love your stuff my man it's so relatable. I heard you mentioned that you cut for 8 months in Florida. I have no idea what it's like in Florida I just assumed that it was a year round thing where you cut lawns.
Yes, I'm in the Panhandle of Florida and it still gets really cold here... cold enough to shut down warm season turf grasses. The guys in Central and south Florida mow year round.
My aunt lives in Florida and they offer 8 or 12 months. Only once-twice per month on the down months. But she usually only ends up with 7.5 months regular service and about 2-3 more cuttings after that, she says she saves bout $400 by not having them come by those down months but it does get long, the people on 12 months pay $110 per month she pays $160 for 8 months or something, but she might not be that good at math either so idk what it is on that
@@FloridaTurfProsI lived in northern Arkansas and depending on the year we could end up mowing all year. I currently live in Wv and in the Ohio river valley, the last two mowing season were cut short done by sep so I only had 5 & 7 months, but the previous years ran early march to mid December, 3 years ago I cut in February. This year I project an early start.
That is wild. I get $50 per quarter acre.
In our area we increase the small properties for $55 We used to charge $40 just for a small lawn and now that the year has changed and during inflation that’s our base of rate for a small lawn
Ya, we're going up on prices this year as well.
Wow I have seen this but over the year that’s crazy
Yes, it really puts it into perspective when you start adding it up.
I am one man, my highest peak so far has been 75 clients. My yards range from .25 to 1 acre. Every account earns the same rate. My market, is retired individuals on fixed income or working class with under $30k. Bring value to the table. Learn not to price yards based on size. Best thing anyone can do as a lawn care landscape business owner is to realize what it is we are actually selling. It's not services. Services is the outcome of what's being sold to consumers. What is it we all sell? TIME. The one single variable that never changes. How does it translate to pricing? If you start selling time, you can realize how to price to not have such a varying degree of profits across the board. Or even loss of profits. Selling time negates all these variables and provides consistency based on time worked therefore creating a stable rate.
Very true. Well said.
The last two minutes of this video are crucial to pay attention to! Well said thank you brother 🙏
should higher one more guy.👏🏻
Up here in Michigan we run 60in mowers, makes us productive on big and small yards. I totally understand Florida has a lot of gates so y’all run the 36s and 52s. Not gonna be as productive on big yards. Great video Jonathan!
im south of detroit so running 52 and 36 is the god combo. 60s are just overkill and rarely fit in back yards unless you start getting closer to monroe
Yes, so many narrow gates in my market.
@@PCGonline gotcha, after the video I’m kinda starting to wish I did a ton of gated yards. Sounds like you can get a premium and knock ‘em out quick w the 36. I’d never imagine a 36 making you more money hourly than a 60. Goes to show different markets have different secrets
Great statement… “Margin and Volume”.
Thanks. Yes, it really is that simple.
@@FloridaTurfPros I use the term “Lean & Mean” aka efficient and successful!
@@BillyGoatLawnService Sounds like a great title for a video...
Have you ever thought about running 60 in mowers for bigger properties? With a two man crew we can cover 2 acres in 20-30 minutes. Charge 60-150$ depending on client base. And weekly vs biweekly.. in my area half acre to 2 acre yards are ideal.
Ya, some guys do run bigger setups in my market, but I've found a 36 and 52 let's us cut any type of property we could want.
@@FloridaTurfPros that’s a great combo, we run 52 & 61... in my market I can make more profit off biweekly accounts too rather than weekly. I’ve learned a lot and your videos helped me a lot first starting out. I know my market inside and out. It’s a little different where I’m at, most the in town houses are cheaper than our suburbs areas. So we stick around suburb clientele. We got a few in town yards but we don’t have a metropolitan area like you guys where I’m at. I definitely to run a lawn business in a metro area one day. Maybe Columbus Ohio
Also- larger properties require larger mowers. Larger mowers cost more to purchase and more to maintain. This makes a significant difference in profit.
Example- Lawn care millionaire(Jonathan Potoshnick) started City Turf doing smaller properties just like this. I watched his business grow in Plano Tx. He did over 10 million per year mowing smaller properties. Ford ranger, 2)21” toros, 2 blowers, 2 weedeaters and 1 edger. 1 completed truck could be had for a little more than a commercial 72” mower. He also had some badass Mexicans that knew how to work…
great points.
How often do you do 5 arounds? Once per season? Once a month?
Where do you get your polos and long sleeves from?? Need to get some uniforms! Dope video as always!
I get them from a local shop. Try to go local if you can rather than internet. It's nice to talk to someone and have a relationship with them.
@@FloridaTurfPros Thank you! I live is south Florida also. I appreciate all your awesome content. Thank you for all the super helpful motivational videos!
Yes amazon will never refer you a customer
Hey man love your videos!! They have definitely helped me grow my business. I am in Florida as well and I don't take on any yards over .20 acres I stick with the same smaller residential yards in my home zip code. I'm curious to know what your summer pricing is? I'm solo and I'm in and out in about 15-20 minutes myself and I won't go any lower than $100 every 28 days which is $25/week in summer $50 bi weekly winter. What is your monthly pricing for weekly service for these type of properties? I find here $45 a cut for these properties people will not pay and I hear all the time my prices are way too high. I know I am not the cheap guy around here. I do balanced billing, no contracts. It has worked for me for the past 4 years but curious to know if your clients pay an average $45/cut for weekly service for the same small yards?
Oh I also upgraded my OG Gravely ZT HD 44 to the Prostance 48 and OMG man what a difference in productivity.
Thanks again for all the videos you put out it helps! :)
We don't do balanced billing, just flat rate per cut. we charge weekly slightly less than biweekly clients, but I've ran the numbers and we make more money by not doing a balanced billing approach
@@FloridaTurfPros I tried both approaches man and I do feel balance billing works for us at least down here. I know all areas are different. I tried $30-35 weekly cuts for .20 acre properties or smaller in the summertime in this area and people just look at me like I have 10 heads. I would not get responses back from the quotes I sent out. Those small .20/acre properties I average $100 billed every 28 days basic lawn maintenance no shrubs or weed control. Mow, blow and go (balanced throughout the year, no contract). I offer shrub or flower bed maintenance as well for additional fee. I find if you offer a good quality service clients will keep you in the winter and offer you more work throughout the year. The percentage that fell off in the winter has been nominal and usually from what I recall it was PIA customers. Again man love your videos they helped grow my business down here. I just saw your worst employee video and man that is why I stay solo brother. My buddy as well owns a lawn care business he has been in longer than me and he got me started in the business and the horror stories I hear about his employees. In the end it what works best for you and your business.
💯
FTP what are size lawns that you're able to get $45 for ?.. I'm at $35-$37 for about 4000 sq ft and raising all of my prices $5-$10 across the board on mows .
quarter acre or so
👌
It’s not fun if u now small yards with a smaller yards if u got a 60 inch zero turn with a steering wheel mowing is suppose to be fun and fast but small yards are to small for riders
Its about billable hours at a good rate per piece of equipment per hour. such as all small mowers and labor like 80 per man hour. big mowers 150hr plus dump fees. plus commute charges for out the way jobs
snow plows 150,sidewalk snow 100 an hour. spraying is even more
Yes, sir. Getting your per man hr rate correct is key.
Awsome video to maximize profits find a good formula and saturate the market. In my area the sweet spot is $50-60 we can cut those in about 15-30 minutes with a 60in standar and a 3 man crew.
Good stuff! Appreciate you sharing. How many lawns are ya'll doing daily?
@@FloridaTurfPros 10-15
@@trmeriwether1216 i hope your not running a 3 man crew and only making $900 if you mow 15 yards at $60 a cut. Also if your paying your guys 120 a day that’s a total of 360 that’s means 40% of revenue is going to labor
@@xianmurk2496 hey, all of them aren't $60 yards we usually cut on one side of town for the day so I will add few lager yards between $65-140. I also have a 52in mower and I'm the third man.
Did you ever try to charge those customers $180 a month ? I have a day or two like this also where avg.10000sqft properties are 20/cut but 20000 sqft properties are only about 25$ a cut not 40$ .. I kinda want to try it and if they say no o well . But I'm curious if you tried to get $180 from the larger property customers? And how'd it go?
I have an honest conversation with clients who have larger properties and explain why my price is much higher on larger yards… “it’s because I could do 3 in the time it takes to cut yours”. Some still go with us
Need help with pricing desperate
👍
bam. its that simple.
thanks for watching
How many employee’s do you have?
Try to keep 2 full time, a couple part timers on standby, and I source labor for landscaping/sod wherever I can get it.
maybe I'm not understanding something I do love your content but the way I'm currently seeing it your losing 2080 monthly not weekly and so from there all the numbers change right ?
Correct, we were only losing 2,080 a month from that one underperforming Monday. But the point I was making in the video is that we would have been losing a total of 2,080 a week if my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday routes had the same revenue as our Monday.
gotcha sorry misunderstood
Here’s a question. On your typical day what’s your perfect lawn size you like to mow in sq footage?
The smaller the better.
Are you working on Fridays at all?
Yes, sir. We leave Fridays open to do hedge trimming (we use a separate trailer that doesn't have mowers in it), mulch installs, and other miscellaneous items that are bothersome while trying to mow. We do work Friday, but if there's a rain out during the week then all those special projects get pushed to the following week.
10-4. Great plan. Appreciate your willingness to share with our community
How do you even manage 25 yards a day/100+ a week? That just seems like a lot of customers to deal with. I'm still pretty small relatively speaking but have been considering some kind of software to help with the growing business. As of right now I just have a paper ledger and the majority pay with cash/check at the time of service then a handful of my other accounts I email an invoice at the end of the month. But even with my smaller size if can sometimes be a headache finding who still owes, who hasn't paid yet etc
You definitely need a software system in place or you will never grow anything of significance. A quality software like service autopilot or yardbook can really help you grow with less headaches if implemented correctly. Just a word of advice.
Software and systems! We do over 100 per day.
That's incredible. How many crews and what size crew?
@@abclawnworks9127 100 per day, per crew? That sounds impossible unless you're cutting commercial (entire communities, HOA,etc.) We cut between 40-45 a day 5 days a week ,3 man crews and that's maxxed out for us and we're dense with our routes. Obviously, we've been in the game a while and use a software solution along with a few office personnel to accommodate the amount of clients we service. If you're doing 100 residentials a day per truck we need to talk, for real.
@@FloridaTurfPros 4-5 crews depending on the day. We avg 23-25 per crew per day. Primarily 2 man crews. That being said, we do up to 125 in a day. Our density is high.
Same thing on the treatment side of the business. I make more per thousand square feet on little subdivision yards than the half acre and bigger yards.
Do a little bit of everything is how I see it
Nope, that's exactly the trap on how you lose money. ONLY do the most profitable type yards. Why would you do anything less than the most profitable type lawn?
@@FloridaTurfPros big estates always need something down from landscaping leaf removal and and of course grass cutting year around profits. Smaller properties have thier benefits as you mentioned the rate you can do then is insane that's only if you are efficient in your execution of them
I’m a sole operator I work 6 days a week and make no where near what you make .
Being solo is ok too, though. You don't have the employee headaches and payroll taxes I do either 😂