The great pricing debate 🤣 When I started I did hourly rate and i quickly realised its not going to work because I'd go and look at a job its just some weeding of that flower bed perfect thats £18 per hour no expensive tools, petrol, no waste to take away great. Then the same customer says could you cut that 20ft hedge down to 6ft and take everything away. Thats a different ball game entirely but they now think you are going to do that for £18 per hour.
It is hard to explain to some customers why you don't charge by the hour. One phrase I use is "I've invested thousands of pounds in equipment that allows me to work quickly and efficiently. Why would I charge by the hour?" Also, our work is very diverse in terms of the physicality - no way you can charge the same for an hour's deadheading roses as an hour up and down a ladder reducing a leylandii hedge.
Brilliant Rob. Im coming up to 19 years trading, mostly by myself as a one man band, occasionally using casual employees. Now I've taken on my 1st permanent employee on contract Your explanations are spot on in my opinion and are similar to my own. My longevity and repeat, word of mouth business speaks for itself and has done for many years now. So i only speak in language of quality, reliability and trust these days. If people want those things, they will pay you for it. The hard years were spent earning that right. Trust in your own integrity, honesty, dedication and commitment, humility goes a long way too. And then your customer base, income and job security will look after itself. If you take the piss out of it, it will come back to haunt you. Good luck to you and anyone else out there with the genuine personality and character it takes to survive and make a success of their business, whatever it is.
I’m down in cornwall Rob, and the hourly rate trap has landed me in the shit, end up cutting massive lawns for £20 because it took me less than hour then expect me to take there grass cuttings away aswell .. i never took into account travel to the next job, ectI love this job mate and I’m learning.. thanks for the tips Awesome channel😊🎉
This is exactly the same as myself, I’m 21, currently work at a garden maintenance firm, already have my Pa1 and Pa 6, chainsaw cross cut and currently doing a level 2 Hort course. Also have weekend customers, can’t wait to get going on my own 😆
Great advice Rob, I'm 7 years in and older than you. I don't earn as much as you but charge around £35 per hour - its a guide. However I am RHS trained and do more horticulture than mowing, which I see as a specialist skill. I also turn down a lot of work as I'm on my own using casual help. The additional advice to the young person would be give it a try within your spare time, a couple of evenings after work in the summer or a Saturday morning, take them as cash and see how rewarding it feels to touch the money. It will help grow your confidence and understand your local area and how to negociate with customers. Good luck to him/her.
I hate having to justify my cost to clients. We all need to make a living and after tool purchase, maintenance , insurance etc etc we only make a bit above supermarket staff (after holidays, sick pay and pension contributions are taken into account it could even be less for self employed) Its mad that people will be happy to pay a hairdresser £20 for 15min work but get upset when you charge £25 for an hrs hard gardening work (I am speaking from a qualified rhs point of view) where i have had to pay for training and qualifications on top of that
Hey Rob, your pricing is pretty spot on for a one man band!! I always say as soon as my machines are out of the van its £60 - £75 per hr depending if there's 2 - 3 of us.....but its not a rate you put out to the customer its just the speed you work at that determines the price!!
I don’t say it out loud when I’m there but when I’m looking at a garden and what it takes, 30ph is also what I go off rob. What I’ll tell them though is per visit it’s 30, and hopefully be out of there in less than an hour.
Your advice is sound Rob - I can vouch for that with 40 + years in horti trades and having made all the mistakes especially on pricing. I'm retiring this year, knees and hand problems, but will still enjoy watching your videos.
Hi Rob - I used to charge by the hour, the reason I stopped it was because clients would ask for two hours here four hours there then whinge about waiting two weeks for you to finish off. What did finish me off was a customer that wanted to pay me six hours forty five minutes for a seven hour hedge cutting job, three and half metre high Leylandii fifty meters long one side on the road.
rob I just want to say I agree with all your videos, to the point i’m actually going to point certain customers in the direction of them. With me, my hourly price is £60 as in that time we can cut a large lawn… we of course don’t tell the customers this on the phone as they will then more than likely say no, however if we price by photos using the same method we generally more often than not get the job. Hope you’re charging them enough 💪🏼
Hi Rob, been watching your videos for a while. I'm 64 been in the trade for 40 years, our work is mainly commercial grounds maintenance, we don't do fencing or hard landscaping. Have a few high end domestic customers. Our work is all price work and is priced on a 12 monthly basis IE The customer is given a price to include everything they want doing and they pay a fixed monthly price each month EG £1200 for a years maintenance they pay £100 each and every month. This is an easy way to get a high hourly rate, we will average at least an equivalent of £65 per hour on domestics and £100 plus on commercial work. I know you didn't get on well with commercial work but that's where the real money is. It's not for everyone and you have to be committed, no chance of more than 3 days holiday a year if you don't turn up It's game over.£30 doesn’t seem enough after tax and NI at 30% thats £21 to pay your fixed and variable costs which I appreciate are different for everyone .
Hi Rob, that hourly rate comes up again. Most customers ask and I try to avoid answering. But if I have to I try to explain all jobs are different, £10 an hour might be ok for pruning your roses but I'm not digging, weeding and doing tree work for that. Most have a window cleaner, most get their car washed and are happy with what they pay, gardening is far harder work. Break it down to a minute rate for them and they soon understand they are paying the other trades £60-£90 an hour and are happy. So why would they not be happy to pay you £30 an hour for much harder work. Be lucky mate.
£10 per hour is below national minimum wage if your over 20. I recently did a rose Pruning job where the climbing roses were 20ft up the front of a house , I remember thinking I thought this would be a lot more fun and easier to do whilst contorted at the top of a ladder LOL
@@pablo9364 £10 was just hypothetical, but I do get customers thinking that's still the going rate. I did two large rose arches at a pub a while ago, a bugger to get into, really not easy work!
@nickhumphrey1313 I know what you mean. Generally speaking never has there been a group of skilled professionals who are so undervalued as gardeners. I can't think of any other profession more undervalued than us 😕
I ve seen it all and been self working in different trades over my years. These trades have always been , as I class them " need to be done " as opposed to " want them done " , and there lies the problem ! They want hair , nails , pond , tuned up engine etc etc and will happily pay any price .... where as it needs to be done gets the reply " how much !!!!! You're a bloody ripoff merchant !!
Pretty much spot on. I started 2 years ago on an hourly rate and slowly moved to job pricing. the same jobs I started with being an hours work now take me 25 minutes due to investing in better equipment and being more efficient. I will still price the odd big job by the hour as it wouldnt be possible to complete in a day by myself and the customers are happy with that and happy to pay on the go as such. I also find customers who demand an hourly rate are those who clock watch and will trying to get you to do more for less money
I couldn’t agree with you more. If a customers first question is what is your hourly rate, they are usually a poor customer. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I'm 57 at the end of November so I can relate to what you say. I generally work four / five hours a day. Start around 9.30 finished for the day by 2pm. I could work and earn more. But for me it's about finding the balance between earning a few quid, resting and having time with family or just generally away from the job. But I fully understand people wanting more ££ so work longer hours.
Very interesting, I'm a self employed window cleaner, my target is £200 a day which I achieve most days. If I'm pricing a bigger job, something like a large conservatory clean or gutter fascia clean, I will estimate how many hours I think it will take, and work out a price based on £40 for domestic and £50 per hour for commercial. I may then add a little for diesel if its a bit of a drive, or if I have to get up early on a Saturday morning.
Yes Rob, each job can have varying factors with almost no two the same. If you needed 30-mins to load the van, 15-mins travel time to a small garden and then did the work in 30-mins, then another 15-mins travel time, that's 1 1/2 hrs of your time, but the customer could say you were only working for them 'on site' for 30-mins. So half of the £30 a hour price guide = £15. Hence your need for a minimum charge and price each job factoring in the surrounding circumstances. Different equipment needed, travel time, easy/hard access, the difficulty of work involved, costs of rubbish removal etc.
Well explained Rob. I would add that you need to account for your machines. They'll only last so long then it's £800 to replace a lawnmower. Good rule of thumb is to charge £2 per hour for machines
Hi rob I have been following your content for a while. Starting my gardening business full time this year. I must say the power washing has been a real bonus for my business. I have had some £300 plus jobs from it which is good money and not to hard on the body either. People seem to value that as a service a bit more than the garden maintenance work and willing to spend the cash on this service. A petrol machine should be on your list of tools for next year. I went for a Hyundai machine. Has served us well only thing I would say is there is a bit of vibration off it into your hands so think I may go for a better machine next year. Probably done about £4k in Powerwashing jobs this year alone 😊
The only time I mention hourly rate is when I have to explain to a customer that a few hours weeding or a few hours hedge cutting are not worth the same and that’s why I price per job. I have a few on an hourly rate because it works out better that way and they keep me going through the winter, paying off over the long term. Other than that I give them a price and it’s either a yes or a no. I have so much work on at the moment that I don’t mind if a job isn’t accepted because I know full well the following week one or two jobs will be. Hope you’re well Rob 😊
Hope your well Rob.. Everyone is different when it comes to what to charge, it goes on what your out goings are. The area you live in, what you business needs to run daily, the cost of your personal out goings etc. Being efficient and investing will generate more money.
Hi just came across this video very well explained, I’m in a different job self employed decorator for over 30 yrs the best advice I could give to someone starting up on there own is don’t under value yourself it’s very easy to take on every job be working 6-7 days a week then in a yrs time find you haven’t earned much or anything at all and the business is running you instead of the other way round , being selective in the customers you take on is very important being known as the cheapest in town is not a good thing being known as not the cheapest but being reliable and trustworthy is by far a better option .
Great video, I get sick of trying to explain how it works, especially when the public think oooh 60 bins at @£3.50 a bin...also with the pressure washing !
You and me both! Good luck with your business. A quick question, if I were to buy a pressure washer to start cleaning the odd driveway, what would you recommend. Thanks in advance.
Been self employed for 18yrs and qualified.I charge per job as biggest part is taking the waste away.You are spot on with pricing as you have to average things out.
Hi Rob Love your honesty, and you’re spot on. I price per job with the hourly rate in my head of what I want to earn taking into account overheads. £30ph for lawn cutting £40ph hedge cutting plus waste. Remember, a waste licence is required by law to remove customer waste. That’s approx £100 per year just for the licence. I’ve taken my level 2 pest management courses to keep me busy throughout the winter. There is plenty of work out there for this service, and isn’t weather dependent! My advice to people that ask me how I get round the bad weather and winter is to have a back up plan if you need to earn all year round. Especially when you start up. I now do as much pest control as I do gardening and have cut my garden service to lawns, hedges and garden tidies only. Many of my customers have pest issues in their gardens, so the two services I offer work well together. Pest control is a lot less labour intensive, and at my age (54) is most welcome. Something to think about for you and others maybe? Have a great Saltex mate.
Hi Rob Always appreciate your thoughts. It can get a bit lonely on your own and it’s nice to know someone else is going through the same head scratching process. I’m £30 hour with a few customers left to break the news to before the 2024 season starts. Some of my customers are far too nice to inform this year but it has to be done! Please keep sharing your thoughts. Many thanks Simon
nice work Rob. The most important aspect of our business is know your numbers. The hourly rate calculated is for the business not you as an individual. To be true to your business your hourly rate should be such that you can replace yourself and the business keeps going ! The rate is based on so many other factors other than your wage , when you add up all your running costs and replacement costs from your spade to mower and even your vehicle .And of course PROFIT!!!!’ The billable hours you mentioned is spot on , I am lucky to get 1000 hrs a year so in Australia the average salary is around 75k so there’s 75 an hour before we add the running costs and the most important factor is profit … Many gardeners here are between 100 to 150 and hour for there working figures . Love your honesty and humble approach something a lot of utubers should learn off you
Great video Rob, im just coming to the end of my first season self employed. I've been coming up with my 2024 pricing system today. To keep it simple I've come up with a day rate- then divided that up to formulate standard charge for 1/2/3 etc hour jobs. BUT have of course included travel time plus lunch and a tea break in the equation to make sure 6 1 hour jobs will pay the same as a day job (8 hours in one garden). I then added some things I want to charge more for including clients living further afield (25 mins and 35 mins plus) and hard ground work/landscaping jobs which a tough on the body. I'm yet to decide what I'll charge for waste away. Some of the prices I've heard to pick up a pile of green waste from local recycling companies blows my mind! So think I'll be charging significantly more this year. Cheers
This year has been the worst for me, the weather has really affected my work load, I mainly grass cut but it’s either been too wet or people are tightening the belts and reducing the amount of cuts. New enquiries are few and far between
Good video! I have tried to explain this "billable hours" thing to many people. In my trade i do charge by the hr. Very rarely i do get 8 billable hrs but that could be a 10 hr shift! Most days i can do an 8 or 10 hr shift with probably only 4, 5 or possibly 6 billable hrs by the time ive done jobs on the van, tidied workshop, collected materials, office work and the list goes on! Great content. Keep it up!
Great post Rob. I’ve never had and never will quote an hourly rate. Every job is individually quoted, hourly rates are outdated and fraught with problems. I start to accumulate winter work from the beginning of the season, I only work half days at the end of mowing season and don’t work at all in January unless a regular customer has an issue.
Yes, rob you know you inspired me I've said it before.(im not the boy hes on about) Thank you. I have mentioned it in my first video! Been a long-time viewer. I would love to do the jet washing but a family member already does window cleaning and jet washing and hes the man for the job down south! There are so many variables with quoting for work NO hourly rate for me. price work all the time. I may give an time estimate per visit but it's not set in stone due to differing waste bills etc. I'm on my 2nd year and still make the mistake of just paying myself an average wage and not taking my expenses into account killer!!! PRICE INCREASE inbound for next year! I also took on a full-time employee this year.
Proper talk give me a different idea how to work out my own income I am involved in more hard landscaping bricklaying pointing etc.. but great vid I have just subscribed 👌 take care pal good luck 🙏
This is how I do it! Glad I'm not the only one. People look at me as if I'm not right in the head when I say I charge by the job and not by the hour. I like to be finished by 2pm most days.
Great video. Well explained and good advice to the young guy starting out…although if it takes a lot of explaining maybe the chap just isn’t a business head? Paying your taxes, yourself a decent wage, a reasonable profit for the business, necessary annual budget for replacement or upgraded equipment and covering your running costs in that order is the way to think and calculate annual gross income required. What do you need a week on average during the season (32 weeks), to cover a decent wage for 52 weeks of the year. If you’re not at least matching the wage of an hourly paid 40 hours a week job then you’re risking a lot just to be self employed. If you enjoy self employment and can make a good living fine, otherwise keep the day job whether you like it or not. Hope to see you at Saltex on Wednesday… sounds like you’ll have a lot of us to meet? Keep up the good work.
I am in the process of leaving an IT job in the NHS, I have a year on you Rob at 57 😮. I took over a couple of gardens from a previous gardener who charged 17.50 an hour so as this was a few months before officially retiring I kept the rate the same but intend to push it up next year to £20 per hour. Watching your video it looks like I am very cheap. Love the videos and the honesty keep it up 😊
I started in late 2020, charging £15/hour. Currently charging £20 to £25. I've got a couple of jobs that are weekly - and they will be £25/hour in 2024. The rest will be going up to £30/hour and they can decide if they still want my services at that point. I have lots of potential customers waiting (being a one man band you can't fit everyone in but they are happy to pay £30).
This lads absolutely spot on, most informed video I've see in a long time. When I started, made the fatal mistake of going on an hourly rate. This was based on using my clients equipment. Once I got more established, my own gear and more switch on. Begin charging per job and quoting clients a day rate. Some did fall away as others came on board. Then you realise suddenly your not running daft trying to please folk. Your actually working to live not living to work.
Brilliant, you are 100% correct in everything you say. I get the same all the time about how much I charge per hour and when I say I charge for the job not the hour they can't compute! 😅
32 weeks a year ? That’s 5 months off from the main job ! Grass tends to need less regular trims almost any month in mild weather. Also, a quick once over with the blades set high will clear leaves, mess and general winter detritus. Nice to see a neat lawn 12 months of the year, weather permitting.
Thought there was a window of opportunity today with the weather in Wallsend dry. Wrong!!!! Every lawn I looked at was so sodden underfoot that the Weibang would have disappeared up to its petrol tank. Then got the van stuck! Yes Rob time to draw a line under the season in Wallsend I think. A bit of leaf blowing this afternoon I think! Do well Rob. Spike
Hi rob just watched your video on hourly rate im in the same position as you im self employed been doing the job 15years started with my dad but he sadly passed last year so on my own now and its right what you said about realising that your worth alot more than we all charge as the customers are requiring your services but sometimes dont work out how it should but aslong as your enjoying your work and getting paid that yourhappy with just keep rolling and it will work out ok many regards Darren
I charge roughly what works out to be £1 per minute with grass cutting..every area is different north and south etc (sounds alot if i tell a customer £60 per hour but i can get a small garden cut within 15 mins so £15 once a fortnight isnt so bad) once taken into consideration 20 mins travel time £5 fuel tax etc..youre paying for the years experience and high quality tools that lets you do a job quickly
Rob I fully agree I have a mental hourly rate but I do not share that with my clients. I share with my clients I am trying to make a profit otherwise I would get a job great topic mate. Damien from Cork City
Im 60,,self employed carpenter/ home maintenance/ odd job. Your about spot on for my job too, except i can work a little bit more through winter. The actual work and tools may be different but ill bet general experiances are pretty much the same. My body is wearing out so contemplating a paye job... Oh the shame of it... lol.
Pretty much the same that I do Rob, charge set prices but I think £30ph is a good rate to work off... With the specialist jobs come at a higher rate (hedge cutting, lawn care etc) Be good to meet up saltex and actually say hello!
Yes I’m just in the process of winding down for the winter, just put an order into my Stihl dealership for consumables; spark plugs, oils, chainsaw bars and chains etc. , so that I can get my kit Upto scratch for the spring during my winter hibernation. I also think it’s wise to stock up on consumables as I am envisioning supply issues looming on the horizon. We have a longer growing season down here on the south coast, so much so that I can still be cutting upto Christmas and start back up in March. Normally I limit myself to a bit of fruit tree pruning, tree and hedge work in the winter but I only do two or three days a week as I don’t intend to retire (I’m 58) and want to keep going for as long as possible, so don’t want to work myself into the ground any more. Most of my customers are pensioners and/or on disability so they don’t have much money to chuck around, so I keep my jobs in the lower range, although I do charge more for heavy work like hedges. I don’t actually need an awful lot as all my mortgage is paid off, i’m single and have no debt, so I fill a niche for those few people who were lucky enough to find me when I was in the mood for taking on new customers. The only job I charge a decent rate for in the £30 ball park is for the local Community Centre as they have a budget for such things. I am also diversifying into wood carving and drift wood products and projects that I have a few ideas for, to keep me busy when the weather dictates indoor work.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices I started off whittling clothes pegs gypsy style (from a RUclips vid) with some peeled willow out of a neighbour’s garden, as I wanted the bark for it’s medicinal and rooting properties and had some lovely straight and shiney sticks left over. Then bought a spoon carving set and did spoons out of loppings and off cuts, as I had always fancied doing spoon carving when I worked for the Forestry, but had no clue how to go about it in the pre RUclips and internet days. Slowly developed the skills, taking many cuts on the way, but did learn how to stop the bleeding quickly with a spit poultice of plantain (ribwort) wrapped up with toilet paper and electrician’s tape when I forget to put my special cutproof gloves on. Then I got an adze and started doing bowls and bigger spoons with carved designs and some funky sculptures. I particularly like putting spirals down the handles and I have just carved my first kuksas. Living on the coast I like to beach comb along Chesil beach for random bits of wood on fishing trips. I have made some nice side tables that are at armchair height so the base slides under the chair, out of some old shelving planks and some drift wood for the uprights. I haven’t sold anything yet as most of it goes as presents or gifts to family, customer’s, friends and relatives. It can take a few hours to carve a nice spoon or bowl with knives, spoon hook, axe and adze and don’t think I am quite ready to go commercial, as if you applied a reasonable hourly rate you could be looking at £120 for a wooden spoon! I do however get a huge amount of pleasure developing my skills and turning random bits of firewood into items that people treasure.
Rob I think you are bang on here mate, I do exactly the same. I look at a job, think how long will it take me, then work out what I want to make on it….generally it’s £25-£35…..so I’m around the same as you on average. Where it changes is as you say, one day you have a decent round, you may do less gardens that pay more, other days you have more gardens that pay less…but you have to look at it at the end of the week and see what you’ve made, you can’t really go by each day as they do vary. I have one day I do £160, another day I do £185….yet the £185 day seems easier…🤷♂️ The rain is killing me at the moment, I haven’t cut a lawn in 2wks in Essex. All the best mate
We are so similar. It’s too wet to mow here in the North. To be honest I am enjoying the break. The winter tidy ups start soon. All the best and good luck.
I love the bare bones look at the realities you have learned. I have little acumen for the disciplines of business but this video was well worth watching. Let's hope some of your advice sinks in. I just know it will help if I also make the effort.
Hi Rob another great video. Rob, i have one lad on my books, I pay him £70 a day after stoppages. This means i charge £370 a day for what ever job we take on. Stump grinding, hedge trimming, lawn mowing, and we do fencing. I would never do an hourly rate. Plus on the hour the customer will stand and watch you. Hope that's of some help to you or your subscribers. I'll be looking for you at Saltax. Cheers Garry Solihull 0:06
Hi Rob charging is a mysterious science and definitely not exact. As you say depends on the location. How hard to access gardens and conditions. Also to be blunt some customers are willing to pay more not to say rip them off but if they're willing then I don't turn my nose up at it 😂. Thirty pounds is a fair estimate. Are you talking about factoring in fuel. Wear and tear of equipment?
I have been Gardening in Australia for the past 11 years and I do not charge an hourly rate because sometimes you feel like you are being ripped off and I don’t try and give any discount or do a job cheaper because the client asks and says so and so only quoted xyz for a similar job. Again if you price match and end up taking longer and you feel you are not getting what you are worth.
As soon as machines come I think you've got to be charging between £20-30 an hour. Anything lower and you may as well be doing something else. Then if you're doing something more specialist like hedge cutting, ladder and chainsaw work that gets bumped up again.
Am with you rob, I’ve underpriced most of my gardens this year but worked towards 30 plus an hour towards the end and got quite a few, 30 minimum next year.👍
I don’t do hourly rates simple as, just price per job, i always price between 30 to 40 pound per hour, I know in my head how long a job will roughly take. I’m earning £200 a day and I’m done between 1-2 o’clock every day. I could do more hours and cane it, but I’m happy with that, it’s all about balance 👍🏻
I charge £12.50 per hour. and have done for 5 years. That's going to change because as you may understand I hardly make anything, and it's hard work. More fool me.
@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices Rob if you could write down the complicated bits of the business such as how to schedule customers and method of payment I would buy it off you as a course or information leaflet what have you.👍👍👍👍🎉
Rob, you are correct it is a business. Saying that, I believe your prices are still too low. We aim for 70 Euro an hour. All mow jobs are quoted by job not the hour. A legitimate business owner needs to calculate taxes, gas, insurance, credit charges. CRM's etc. That is not all free. Dont forget, you may even need to be setting aside money for retirement as well. Once all that is paid you thrn pay yourself, and others if you have help. Actually a better method is using the profit first method by Mike Michalowicz where the Profit First formula is: sales - profit = expenses
Deffinitly aim to get a minimum of £30ph for work carried out ... like you same some days are better then others .. 🤠 make sure you check the bags on them weibangs
What did you all think of Saltex ? Personally thought it was very poor. Concentrated more on sports fields than gardening. Hayter man had no idea on how long their new battery mowers last on one charge - v poor. Couldn’t find stihl at all. Were they there ? Other stands just had badly made Chinese equipment. TBH waste of a 4 hour round trip.
Hi Rob great vlog well explained ....we've lost lots of commercial contracts due to being priced too low (not by me) and clients expecting the world. for nothing
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices 100% mate going in cheap is worst thing you can do ...price them fairly for work done if they don't like price walk away as just not worth the hassle.
Well explained.I now do jobs by pricing them up .I only do oap on hourly rate 20 per hour.And yes2 out of my 8 hour are unpaid per day travelling from job to job .And pricing jobs up i try to get 30 per hour.Your videos are helping me out i only started this summer.
@@pablo9364 defo you go the house its huge house and a new car and then i think you can pay the going rate but to late i said 20 per hour and then i end up doing loads of digging for that so above may change.
you have the right idea in my eyes Rob there is no answer for hourly rates but working to £30 per hours is a good area i would say i will be at saltax on Wednesday also so hope to say hi and have a chat if see you there mate. all the vest Shane
You’re right about jobs being very different. I charge 20 per hour but I feel that will have to change. 1. I’m getting more work than I can manage and 2. I think doing a hedge or a more skilled job is simply worth more money and I ought to start quoting for those sort of things at a higher rate. I end up doing small trees and hedges and think how much a tree surgeon would charge and here’s me up a ladder with the skills getting 20 quid. It’s a bit silly. I also have the problem of just popping round to look at new work and then realising it’s taken an hour out of my day for which I haven’t charged. How do you get around that one?
Increase your prices from 20 to 30 for existing customers. Yes you may lose a few. New customers charge £40. If your getting all your quotes your too cheap. Good luck.
It depends on the job some jobs small hedges take 30 mins can charge 50 quid big hedge job takes a day 2 of you can charge 375 big tree job takes a hole day 3 of you and a chipper 650 it’s diffrent how easy is the job how is the customer does she seem tight or do they like to spend on the garden
Hi Rod, started my business in September I have a van, tools etc, Ihave put flyers out i have had two jobs from them not setting the world alight. What could I do to get more work as the weather is wet grass cutting season is nearly over i can get by for another two months before i need to start earning. I Have thought about pressure washing but i don't want to buy a washer for it to sit around As you say price per job not by the hour is what i had done makes it easier get in get done get going. I hope you don't mind me asking, keep the great videos coming.
As a self employed person who has had to buy and maintain all his own equipment and run his own vehicle not to mention look after the most important machine of all - you! -how could anyone even think of charging any less?
Hey rob i’m 23 years old Its curious how low you’re hourly rates are in the UK. 30£/h - your expenses (machines, van, fuel, waste, taxes). I would wonder if its even worth all the hastle when you’re getting paid a little bit more than when employed. My hourly rate is 45€/h in belgium but machines waste kilometer charge, etc are not included How i started calculating is how mutch i wanted to earn net profit with taxes deducted and with 8 billable hours on a day. So i could get an idee of how mutch i should charge. Also isn’t it frustrating that a mecanic, electrision, plumber gets a higher hourly rate than us gardeners when our job is more physically demanding but i guess that the main difference is that we can’t charge as mutch products like cables or fittings or parts Greetings
I worked for the council for a few years. I was driving the crew cab truck and dropping all the lads off on the areas.. then jumping out, straight onto my FS400 Stihl strimmer and flying around like a maniac cutting along the lamp posts, fence lines and curbs etc.. then straight onto the blower to clean the paths.. and it was donky work for peanuts. So I jacked in and set my own Grass Cutting business up and to tell you the truth I was only charging £10 an hour so I was only averaging £60-£70 a day.. and out of that I had petrol to pay for, spare cord, maintenance fees if my strimmer or grass cutter broke etc. Then there was the weather.. and I live near you ( Consett way ) so the weather up here is pretty wet and I didn’t like cutting in the wet because it just makes a mess, it flattens the grass because it’s nearly impossible to cut wet grass.. so it slows the jobs down. Then there’s the dog sh*te that lies waiting in the longer grass lol.. not nice when it goes all over your face and clothes. I jacked in after 4 years because I got a bit sick of none paying customers and just the wet weather, I was like a dog waiting to go out for a walk.. just looking out the window all day waiting for it to dry up. Some folks just expect you to cut their grass for a a fiver or so.. because they don’t really understand that you have to make a living out of the job.. and I agree with what you said, it’s not charity work 👍
i guage the market rate for the area then undercut it to provide the customer with a good deal. generally i find the market rate to be excessive so its easy for me to get work. short jobs ie half an hour or an hour its fair to charge a bit more because you've got travel to consider and getting all your equipment set up and packed away. on the other hand, longer jobs can be more physically demanding. i just guage a competitive rate overall for the job, taking everything in to account. i would never price any work based on what i want to earn for the year - its always based on the market rate for the area.
money doesn't matter to me because it flows in easy. i do the work because i enjoy it and take pride in good service and satisfaction. everyone is happy.
Hi Rob. I run my tiny garden and lawn service in California, and have noticed that my numbers line up pretty closely with yours. What I am wondering is, can people in Brittan live comfortably on 20,000 pounds per year? I make about the same as you with my business, with a 1/3 profit margin, however, that wage doesn't get us very far here in the states. Also, I believe other gardeners charge significantly more than I do. I believe on average, other bigger companies are charging between $50 and $60 per hour. Could your cost of living be that much better there? Thanks very much; I really appreciate your honest commentary!
£20000 equals £1650 per moth take home salary , that the same as minimum wage take home salary. You might as well work for someone, get holiday pay etc. I hope that helps.
Hi Rob, another brilliant video. I’m currently a Gree sleeper and have been for the past 9 years. I have my pa1, pa2 and pa6 along with my chainsaw certificates. I’m trying to go on my own now down in Cornwall but I was wondering if you have any advice on pricing certain jobs. I charge £30 for a strim and a cut along with taking waste away and then if I’m doing hedge work it’ll be in hundreds. Any advice on someone just starting up and how they go about doing it along with a full time job. All the best. Matt
A great question, get your marketing right. Google business page, Facebook Business page, website etc. Watch lots of you tube channels, take the good advice, ignore the nonsense. Get as many clients as you can before you leave full time employment. April the 6 th, the new business year is a great time to start. Good luck.
I'd say never give customers an houly rate. Most will not understand that there aren't 8 billable hours in a day's work and have no idea about overheads. They will give your rate to others and that's you stuffed. Charge for the service because hourly is for employees not self employed service providers.
Ive always charged per job. Why would i charge per hour when i may have invested heavily in equipment, long reach trimmers, poles saws, tripod ladders, larger faster more powerful mowers, chippers. I can do the same job in an hour it might take someone else 3 to do because my equipment is better. So going by the hourly rate logic id actually be better off not investing in the equipment to do a more efficient job. Before folk say well you have more time to make more money. Well if the hourly rate is still the same your not making anymore money, infact time you pack up etc your losing time and money. I got to a point where if a customer asked my hourly rate id explain to them i charge per job and if they wernt satisfied by my previous explanation of investment etc id just walk away, not worth my time or hassle. It took me a few years to get to that point but you dont get as busy as me by doing a bad job. Always said if i get paid to do a job ill do it to the best of my ability, always honest with folk. Its the best way.
Hi Rob, I've just done a job which I charged £50. I cut the front and back grass along with a strim and also two hedges that needed shaping. The customer has come back and said that's way too expensive. Is she right?
The great pricing debate 🤣 When I started I did hourly rate and i quickly realised its not going to work because I'd go and look at a job its just some weeding of that flower bed perfect thats £18 per hour no expensive tools, petrol, no waste to take away great. Then the same customer says could you cut that 20ft hedge down to 6ft and take everything away. Thats a different ball game entirely but they now think you are going to do that for £18 per hour.
Very wise. We all learn the hard way.👍🏻
It is hard to explain to some customers why you don't charge by the hour. One phrase I use is "I've invested thousands of pounds in equipment that allows me to work quickly and efficiently. Why would I charge by the hour?" Also, our work is very diverse in terms of the physicality - no way you can charge the same for an hour's deadheading roses as an hour up and down a ladder reducing a leylandii hedge.
Brilliant advice.
Brilliant Rob.
Im coming up to 19 years trading, mostly by myself as a one man band, occasionally using casual employees.
Now I've taken on my 1st permanent employee on contract
Your explanations are spot on in my opinion and are similar to my own. My longevity and repeat, word of mouth business speaks for itself and has done for many years now. So i only speak in language of quality, reliability and trust these days. If people want those things, they will pay you for it.
The hard years were spent earning that right. Trust in your own integrity, honesty, dedication and commitment, humility goes a long way too. And then your customer base, income and job security will look after itself.
If you take the piss out of it, it will come back to haunt you.
Good luck to you and anyone else out there with the genuine personality and character it takes to survive and make a success of their business, whatever it is.
Thank you . Enjoyed reading your comment. 👍🏻
I’m down in cornwall Rob, and the hourly rate trap has landed me in the shit, end up cutting massive lawns for £20 because it took me less than hour then expect me to take there grass cuttings away aswell .. i never took into account travel to the next job, ectI love this job mate and I’m learning.. thanks for the tips Awesome channel😊🎉
We have all made those mistakes as we go along on our journey. Good luck going forward.👍🏻
I think the whole £15 per hour thing for gardeners needs do one already.... Seems to be hanging around!
Your so right. Thanks.
@@HM.Hatchet205 haha maybe £9.99 sounds more appealing
This is exactly the same as myself, I’m 21, currently work at a garden maintenance firm, already have my Pa1 and Pa 6, chainsaw cross cut and currently doing a level 2 Hort course. Also have weekend customers, can’t wait to get going on my own 😆
leave the maintenance! its boring and repetitive. you say you have cross cutting? go into tree surgery. shorter days. more fun. different days!
Good stuff! All the best with it.
@@RJC9658 the next course I do will be small tree fell 😉
Great advice Rob, I'm 7 years in and older than you. I don't earn as much as you but charge around £35 per hour - its a guide. However I am RHS trained and do more horticulture than mowing, which I see as a specialist skill. I also turn down a lot of work as I'm on my own using casual help.
The additional advice to the young person would be give it a try within your spare time, a couple of evenings after work in the summer or a Saturday morning, take them as cash and see how rewarding it feels to touch the money. It will help grow your confidence and understand your local area and how to negociate with customers. Good luck to him/her.
Thank you , great advice.👍
I hate having to justify my cost to clients. We all need to make a living and after tool purchase, maintenance , insurance etc etc we only make a bit above supermarket staff (after holidays, sick pay and pension contributions are taken into account it could even be less for self employed)
Its mad that people will be happy to pay a hairdresser £20 for 15min work but get upset when you charge £25 for an hrs hard gardening work (I am speaking from a qualified rhs point of view) where i have had to pay for training and qualifications on top of that
I agree with you, it’s mad.
Hey Rob, your pricing is pretty spot on for a one man band!! I always say as soon as my machines are out of the van its £60 - £75 per hr depending if there's 2 - 3 of us.....but its not a rate you put out to the customer its just the speed you work at that determines the price!!
I agree. Thanks.
I don’t say it out loud when I’m there but when I’m looking at a garden and what it takes, 30ph is also what I go off rob. What I’ll tell them though is per visit it’s 30, and hopefully be out of there in less than an hour.
You and me both.👍🏻
Your advice is sound Rob - I can vouch for that with 40 + years in horti trades and having made all the mistakes especially on pricing. I'm retiring this year, knees and hand problems, but will still enjoy watching your videos.
Thank you Andrew. 👍🏻
Hi Rob - I used to charge by the hour, the reason I stopped it was because clients would ask for two hours here four hours there then whinge about waiting two weeks for you to finish off. What did finish me off was a customer that wanted to pay me six hours forty five minutes for a seven hour hedge cutting job, three and half metre high Leylandii fifty meters long one side on the road.
We have all been there. Price per job.
A quick tip. The higher the hedge, the higher the price.
rob I just want to say I agree with all your videos, to the point i’m actually going to point certain customers in the direction of them. With me, my hourly price is £60 as in that time we can cut a large lawn… we of course don’t tell the customers this on the phone as they will then more than likely say no, however if we price by photos using the same method we generally more often than not get the job. Hope you’re charging them enough 💪🏼
Thank you , very wise.
Hi Rob, been watching your videos for a while. I'm 64 been in the trade for 40 years, our work is mainly commercial grounds maintenance, we don't do fencing or hard landscaping. Have a few high end domestic customers. Our work is all price work and is priced on a 12 monthly basis IE The customer is given a price to include everything they want doing and they pay a fixed monthly price each month EG £1200 for a years maintenance they pay £100 each and every month. This is an easy way to get a high hourly rate, we will average at least an equivalent of £65 per hour on domestics and £100 plus on commercial work. I know you didn't get on well with commercial work but that's where the real money is. It's not for everyone and you have to be committed, no chance of more than 3 days holiday a year if you don't turn up It's game over.£30 doesn’t seem enough after tax and NI at 30% thats £21 to pay your fixed and variable costs which I appreciate are different for everyone .
Thanks for sharing your experience, enjoyed reading your comment. Food for thought.
Hi Rob, that hourly rate comes up again. Most customers ask and I try to avoid answering. But if I have to I try to explain all jobs are different, £10 an hour might be ok for pruning your roses but I'm not digging, weeding and doing tree work for that. Most have a window cleaner, most get their car washed and are happy with what they pay, gardening is far harder work. Break it down to a minute rate for them and they soon understand they are paying the other trades £60-£90 an hour and are happy. So why would they not be happy to pay you £30 an hour for much harder work. Be lucky mate.
£10 per hour is below national minimum wage if your over 20. I recently did a rose Pruning job where the climbing roses were 20ft up the front of a house , I remember thinking I thought this would be a lot more fun and easier to do whilst contorted at the top of a ladder LOL
@@pablo9364 £10 was just hypothetical, but I do get customers thinking that's still the going rate. I did two large rose arches at a pub a while ago, a bugger to get into, really not easy work!
@nickhumphrey1313 I know what you mean. Generally speaking never has there been a group of skilled professionals who are so undervalued as gardeners. I can't think of any other profession more undervalued than us 😕
Very wise.👍🏻
I ve seen it all and been self working in different trades over my years. These trades have always been , as I class them " need to be done " as opposed to " want them done " , and there lies the problem ! They want hair , nails , pond , tuned up engine etc etc and will happily pay any price .... where as it needs to be done gets the reply " how much !!!!! You're a bloody ripoff merchant !!
Pretty much spot on. I started 2 years ago on an hourly rate and slowly moved to job pricing. the same jobs I started with being an hours work now take me 25 minutes due to investing in better equipment and being more efficient. I will still price the odd big job by the hour as it wouldnt be possible to complete in a day by myself and the customers are happy with that and happy to pay on the go as such. I also find customers who demand an hourly rate are those who clock watch and will trying to get you to do more for less money
I couldn’t agree with you more. If a customers first question is what is your hourly rate, they are usually a poor customer. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I'm 57 at the end of November so I can relate to what you say. I generally work four / five hours a day. Start around 9.30 finished for the day by 2pm. I could work and earn more. But for me it's about finding the balance between earning a few quid, resting and having time with family or just generally away from the job. But I fully understand people wanting more ££ so work longer hours.
As always, wise words. Thank you Gary.
Very interesting, I'm a self employed window cleaner, my target is £200 a day which I achieve most days. If I'm pricing a bigger job, something like a large conservatory clean or gutter fascia clean, I will estimate how many hours I think it will take, and work out a price based on £40 for domestic and £50 per hour for commercial. I may then add a little for diesel if its a bit of a drive, or if I have to get up early on a Saturday morning.
Sounds brilliant Steve. Good luck with your business.
Yes Rob, each job can have varying factors with almost no two the same. If you needed 30-mins to load the van, 15-mins travel time to a small garden and then did the work in 30-mins, then another 15-mins travel time, that's 1 1/2 hrs of your time, but the customer could say you were only working for them 'on site' for 30-mins. So half of the £30 a hour price guide = £15. Hence your need for a minimum charge and price each job factoring in the surrounding circumstances. Different equipment needed, travel time, easy/hard access, the difficulty of work involved, costs of rubbish removal etc.
Your so right. Thank you .
Well explained Rob. I would add that you need to account for your machines. They'll only last so long then it's £800 to replace a lawnmower. Good rule of thumb is to charge £2 per hour for machines
Great tip. Thanks.
Hi rob I have been following your content for a while. Starting my gardening business full time this year. I must say the power washing has been a real bonus for my business. I have had some £300 plus jobs from it which is good money and not to hard on the body either. People seem to value that as a service a bit more than the garden maintenance work and willing to spend the cash on this service. A petrol machine should be on your list of tools for next year. I went for a Hyundai machine. Has served us well only thing I would say is there is a bit of vibration off it into your hands so think I may go for a better machine next year. Probably done about £4k in Powerwashing jobs this year alone 😊
That’s brilliant. Congratulations. It’s something I am looking at.
The only time I mention hourly rate is when I have to explain to a customer that a few hours weeding or a few hours hedge cutting are not worth the same and that’s why I price per job. I have a few on an hourly rate because it works out better that way and they keep me going through the winter, paying off over the long term. Other than that I give them a price and it’s either a yes or a no. I have so much work on at the moment that I don’t mind if a job isn’t accepted because I know full well the following week one or two jobs will be. Hope you’re well Rob 😊
I like your plan.
Hope your well Rob.. Everyone is different when it comes to what to charge, it goes on what your out goings are. The area you live in, what you business needs to run daily, the cost of your personal out goings etc. Being efficient and investing will generate more money.
Before you can invest you need to get to a point where your able to give yourself a wage 12 months of the year. Pay tax etc. Then upgrade. 👍🏻
Hi just came across this video very well explained, I’m in a different job self employed decorator for over 30 yrs the best advice I could give to someone starting up on there own is don’t under value yourself it’s very easy to take on every job be working 6-7 days a week then in a yrs time find you haven’t earned much or anything at all and the business is running you instead of the other way round , being selective in the customers you take on is very important being known as the cheapest in town is not a good thing being known as not the cheapest but being reliable and trustworthy is by far a better option .
Brilliant, I agree 100 percent. All the best.
Great video, I get sick of trying to explain how it works, especially when the public think oooh 60 bins at @£3.50 a bin...also with the pressure washing !
You and me both! Good luck with your business. A quick question, if I were to buy a pressure washer to start cleaning the odd driveway, what would you recommend. Thanks in advance.
You’re spot on Rob.
The cost of the Professional equipment needs to be factored in too.
Your right.👍🏻
Been self employed for 18yrs and qualified.I charge per job as biggest part is taking the waste away.You are spot on with pricing as you have to average things out.
Thank you Marc. Appreciate your support.
Hi Rob
Love your honesty, and you’re spot on. I price per job with the hourly rate in my head of what I want to earn taking into account overheads. £30ph for lawn cutting £40ph hedge cutting plus waste. Remember, a waste licence is required by law to remove customer waste. That’s approx £100 per year just for the licence.
I’ve taken my level 2 pest management courses to keep me busy throughout the winter. There is plenty of work out there for this service, and isn’t weather dependent!
My advice to people that ask me how I get round the bad weather and winter is to have a back up plan if you need to earn all year round. Especially when you start up. I now do as much pest control as I do gardening and have cut my garden service to lawns, hedges and garden tidies only. Many of my customers have pest issues in their gardens, so the two services I offer work well together.
Pest control is a lot less labour intensive, and at my age (54) is most welcome.
Something to think about for you and others maybe?
Have a great Saltex mate.
Thank you very wise.
The green waste licence is free. All the best.
Hi Rob
Always appreciate your thoughts. It can get a bit lonely on your own and it’s nice to know someone else is going through the same head scratching process.
I’m £30 hour with a few customers left to break the news to before the 2024 season starts. Some of my customers are far too nice to inform this year but it has to be done!
Please keep sharing your thoughts.
Many thanks
Simon
Thank you Simon. Good luck going forward.
nice work Rob. The most important aspect of our business is know your numbers. The hourly rate calculated is for the business not you as an individual. To be true to your business your hourly rate should be such that you can replace yourself and the business keeps going ! The rate is based on so many other factors other than your wage , when you add up all your running costs and replacement costs from your spade to mower and even your vehicle .And of course PROFIT!!!!’
The billable hours you mentioned is spot on , I am lucky to get 1000 hrs a year so in Australia the average salary is around 75k so there’s 75 an hour before we add the running costs and the most important factor is profit … Many gardeners here are between 100 to 150 and hour for there working figures .
Love your honesty and humble approach something a lot of utubers should learn off you
Thank you Geoff. It’s always great to read your comments.
Take care.👍🏻
Great video Rob, im just coming to the end of my first season self employed. I've been coming up with my 2024 pricing system today. To keep it simple I've come up with a day rate- then divided that up to formulate standard charge for 1/2/3 etc hour jobs. BUT have of course included travel time plus lunch and a tea break in the equation to make sure 6 1 hour jobs will pay the same as a day job (8 hours in one garden).
I then added some things I want to charge more for including clients living further afield (25 mins and 35 mins plus) and hard ground work/landscaping jobs which a tough on the body.
I'm yet to decide what I'll charge for waste away. Some of the prices I've heard to pick up a pile of green waste from local recycling companies blows my mind! So think I'll be charging significantly more this year.
Cheers
Sounds brilliant. 👍🏻
This year has been the worst for me, the weather has really affected my work load, I mainly grass cut but it’s either been too wet or people are tightening the belts and reducing the amount of cuts. New enquiries are few and far between
Sorry to hear that. Get your marketing right.
Google. Facebook. Website etc.
good luck.
Thank's for this Information. I've been charging a Pittance.
Glad I could help
Great Video. I reckon you're spot on with everything you've said.
Much appreciated
Good video! I have tried to explain this "billable hours" thing to many people. In my trade i do charge by the hr. Very rarely i do get 8 billable hrs but that could be a 10 hr shift! Most days i can do an 8 or 10 hr shift with probably only 4, 5 or possibly 6 billable hrs by the time ive done jobs on the van, tidied workshop, collected materials, office work and the list goes on! Great content. Keep it up!
Thanks for sharing!
Great post Rob. I’ve never had and never will quote an hourly rate. Every job is individually quoted, hourly rates are outdated and fraught with problems.
I start to accumulate winter work from the beginning of the season, I only work half days at the end of mowing season and don’t work at all in January unless a regular customer has an issue.
A great system.👍🏻
Yes, rob you know you inspired me I've said it before.(im not the boy hes on about) Thank you. I have mentioned it in my first video! Been a long-time viewer. I would love to do the jet washing but a family member already does window cleaning and jet washing and hes the man for the job down south! There are so many variables with quoting for work NO hourly rate for me. price work all the time. I may give an time estimate per visit but it's not set in stone due to differing waste bills etc. I'm on my 2nd year and still make the mistake of just paying myself an average wage and not taking my expenses into account killer!!! PRICE INCREASE inbound for next year! I also took on a full-time employee this year.
Pleased to hear that your doing well. All the best.
Proper talk give me a different idea how to work out my own income I am involved in more hard landscaping bricklaying pointing etc.. but great vid I have just subscribed 👌 take care pal good luck 🙏
Thank you. Good luck with your business.
This is how I do it! Glad I'm not the only one. People look at me as if I'm not right in the head when I say I charge by the job and not by the hour. I like to be finished by 2pm most days.
Sounds brilliant Harry. All the best.
Hiya Rob. Just wondered if you were going to do a video about saltex and what there is. I think it would be interesting. Thanks very much. Take care
I am not going to video it. I will discuss my thoughts and opinions. All the best.
Great info Rob. Nice of you to help the lad.
Thank you Adam.
Great video. Well explained and good advice to the young guy starting out…although if it takes a lot of explaining maybe the chap just isn’t a business head? Paying your taxes, yourself a decent wage, a reasonable profit for the business, necessary annual budget for replacement or upgraded equipment and covering your running costs in that order is the way to think and calculate annual gross income required. What do you need a week on average during the season (32 weeks), to cover a decent wage for 52 weeks of the year. If you’re not at least matching the wage of an hourly paid 40 hours a week job then you’re risking a lot just to be self employed. If you enjoy self employment and can make a good living fine, otherwise keep the day job whether you like it or not. Hope to see you at Saltex on Wednesday… sounds like you’ll have a lot of us to meet? Keep up the good work.
Thanks John. All the best.👍🏻
Thought for the cold damp mornings. Be like the river never turn back look forward😅
I like it , thank you.
I am in the process of leaving an IT job in the NHS, I have a year on you Rob at 57 😮. I took over a couple of gardens from a previous gardener who charged 17.50 an hour so as this was a few months before officially retiring I kept the rate the same but intend to push it up next year to £20 per hour. Watching your video it looks like I am very cheap. Love the videos and the honesty keep it up 😊
Thank you Shane. Good luck with your business going forward.👍🏻
I started in late 2020, charging £15/hour. Currently charging £20 to £25. I've got a couple of jobs that are weekly - and they will be £25/hour in 2024. The rest will be going up to £30/hour and they can decide if they still want my services at that point.
I have lots of potential customers waiting (being a one man band you can't fit everyone in but they are happy to pay £30).
This lads absolutely spot on, most informed video I've see in a long time.
When I started, made the fatal mistake of going on an hourly rate. This was based on using my clients equipment. Once I got more established, my own gear and more switch on.
Begin charging per job and quoting clients a day rate.
Some did fall away as others came on board. Then you realise suddenly your not running daft trying to please folk. Your actually working to live not living to work.
Brilliant Rod. We all go through that phase.
Brilliant, you are 100% correct in everything you say. I get the same all the time about how much I charge per hour and when I say I charge for the job not the hour they can't compute! 😅
Exactly! Thank you.
32 weeks a year ? That’s 5 months off from the main job ! Grass tends to need less regular trims almost any month in mild weather. Also, a quick once over with the blades set high will clear leaves, mess and general winter detritus. Nice to see a neat lawn 12 months of the year, weather permitting.
Great point
Thought there was a window of opportunity today with the weather in Wallsend dry. Wrong!!!! Every lawn I looked at was so sodden underfoot that the Weibang would have disappeared up to its petrol tank. Then got the van stuck! Yes Rob time to draw a line under the season in Wallsend I think. A bit of leaf blowing this afternoon I think! Do well Rob. Spike
It’s time to get a little winter work, leaf clearing, hedge work etc.
All the best for the winter months.👍🏻
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices you too mate.
Neil
Spot on mate with everything your saying
Thank you Ben.👍
Hi rob just watched your video on hourly rate im in the same position as you im self employed been doing the job 15years started with my dad but he sadly passed last year so on my own now and its right what you said about realising that your worth alot more than we all charge as the customers are requiring your services but sometimes dont work out how it should but aslong as your enjoying your work and getting paid that yourhappy with just keep rolling and it will work out ok many regards Darren
Sorry to hear about your Dad Darren. Your so right we should all charge what we are worth.
Good luck with your business.
Hi Rob thanks for the reply and for doing great videos keep up the good work and thanks for making us laugh big thumbs up 👍 many regards Darren
I charge roughly what works out to be £1 per minute with grass cutting..every area is different north and south etc (sounds alot if i tell a customer £60 per hour but i can get a small garden cut within 15 mins so £15 once a fortnight isnt so bad) once taken into consideration 20 mins travel time £5 fuel tax etc..youre paying for the years experience and high quality tools that lets you do a job quickly
A great comment, thank you .
Rob I fully agree I have a mental hourly rate but I do not share that with my clients. I share with my clients I am trying to make a profit otherwise I would get a job great topic mate.
Damien from Cork City
200 a day in laois Damo
@@strangerElmax 200 quid a day is a good throw anywhere fella👊
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts Damien. All the best.
👍🏻
Im 60,,self employed carpenter/ home maintenance/ odd job. Your about spot on for my job too, except i can work a little bit more through winter. The actual work and tools may be different but ill bet general experiances are pretty much the same. My body is wearing out so contemplating a paye job... Oh the shame of it... lol.
Thanks Alan. Respect to your trade. All the best.
Pretty much the same that I do Rob, charge set prices but I think £30ph is a good rate to work off... With the specialist jobs come at a higher rate (hedge cutting, lawn care etc)
Be good to meet up saltex and actually say hello!
Thanks Jordan. Looking forward to seeing you.
Yes I’m just in the process of winding down for the winter, just put an order into my Stihl dealership for consumables; spark plugs, oils, chainsaw bars and chains etc. , so that I can get my kit Upto scratch for the spring during my winter hibernation. I also think it’s wise to stock up on consumables as I am envisioning supply issues looming on the horizon. We have a longer growing season down here on the south coast, so much so that I can still be cutting upto Christmas and start back up in March. Normally I limit myself to a bit of fruit tree pruning, tree and hedge work in the winter but I only do two or three days a week as I don’t intend to retire (I’m 58) and want to keep going for as long as possible, so don’t want to work myself into the ground any more. Most of my customers are pensioners and/or on disability so they don’t have much money to chuck around, so I keep my jobs in the lower range, although I do charge more for heavy work like hedges. I don’t actually need an awful lot as all my mortgage is paid off, i’m single and have no debt, so I fill a niche for those few people who were lucky enough to find me when I was in the mood for taking on new customers. The only job I charge a decent rate for in the £30 ball park is for the local Community Centre as they have a budget for such things.
I am also diversifying into wood carving and drift wood products and projects that I have a few ideas for, to keep me busy when the weather dictates indoor work.
That’s brilliant,let me know how you get on with the wood carving. I wood love to be able to do such things. All the best.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices I started off whittling clothes pegs gypsy style (from a RUclips vid) with some peeled willow out of a neighbour’s garden, as I wanted the bark for it’s medicinal and rooting properties and had some lovely straight and shiney sticks left over. Then bought a spoon carving set and did spoons out of loppings and off cuts, as I had always fancied doing spoon carving when I worked for the Forestry, but had no clue how to go about it in the pre RUclips and internet days. Slowly developed the skills, taking many cuts on the way, but did learn how to stop the bleeding quickly with a spit poultice of plantain (ribwort) wrapped up with toilet paper and electrician’s tape when I forget to put my special cutproof gloves on. Then I got an adze and started doing bowls and bigger spoons with carved designs and some funky sculptures. I particularly like putting spirals down the handles and I have just carved my first kuksas. Living on the coast I like to beach comb along Chesil beach for random bits of wood on fishing trips. I have made some nice side tables that are at armchair height so the base slides under the chair, out of some old shelving planks and some drift wood for the uprights. I haven’t sold anything yet as most of it goes as presents or gifts to family, customer’s, friends and relatives. It can take a few hours to carve a nice spoon or bowl with knives, spoon hook, axe and adze and don’t think I am quite ready to go commercial, as if you applied a reasonable hourly rate you could be looking at £120 for a wooden spoon! I do however get a huge amount of pleasure developing my skills and turning random bits of firewood into items that people treasure.
Brilliant. Good luck.👍🏻
Think you gave good advice all round bud 👍 so many highs and lows going self employed and in this game aha would I recommend it hmm not sure lol
A fair point.
Spot on.
Thanks
Rob I think you are bang on here mate, I do exactly the same.
I look at a job, think how long will it take me, then work out what I want to make on it….generally it’s £25-£35…..so I’m around the same as you on average.
Where it changes is as you say, one day you have a decent round, you may do less gardens that pay more, other days you have more gardens that pay less…but you have to look at it at the end of the week and see what you’ve made, you can’t really go by each day as they do vary.
I have one day I do £160, another day I do £185….yet the £185 day seems easier…🤷♂️
The rain is killing me at the moment, I haven’t cut a lawn in 2wks in Essex.
All the best mate
We are so similar. It’s too wet to mow here in the North.
To be honest I am enjoying the break.
The winter tidy ups start soon.
All the best and good luck.
I love the bare bones look at the realities you have learned. I have little acumen for the disciplines of business but this video was well worth watching. Let's hope some of your advice sinks in. I just know it will help if I also make the effort.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Rob another great video. Rob, i have one lad on my books, I pay him £70 a day after stoppages. This means i charge £370 a day for what ever job we take on. Stump grinding, hedge trimming, lawn mowing, and we do fencing. I would never do an hourly rate. Plus on the hour the customer will stand and watch you. Hope that's of some help to you or your subscribers. I'll be looking for you at Saltax.
Cheers Garry Solihull 0:06
Me again Rob, I should add , we charge separately for stump grinding and fencing. But all other work as I said.
Cheers Garry
Blimey, £70 / day. I’m guessing he’s a rather young lad!
£70 in his hand, job and Finnish. Very rare we work more than 6 hours.
Thanks Gary appreciate your input.👍🏻
@garryedwards8451 thats mint tbh
Have a nice weekend matey
Thanks David. All the best.
Spot on rob.
Thanks Tim
Nice chatting to you at saltex today Rob ))
Steve
Thank you. Enjoyed your company.👍🏻
Hi Rob charging is a mysterious science and definitely not exact. As you say depends on the location. How hard to access gardens and conditions. Also to be blunt some customers are willing to pay more not to say rip them off but if they're willing then I don't turn my nose up at it 😂.
Thirty pounds is a fair estimate. Are you talking about factoring in fuel. Wear and tear of equipment?
I am taking in everything.
I would like to punch my average hourly rate to £40.
6 hours x £40 = £240 per day would be nice.
I have been Gardening in Australia for the past 11 years and I do not charge an hourly rate because sometimes you feel like you are being ripped off and I don’t try and give any discount or do a job cheaper because the client asks and says so and so only quoted xyz for a similar job. Again if you price match and end up taking longer and you feel you are not getting what you are worth.
Your so right. Thanks for that.👍🏻
As soon as machines come I think you've got to be charging between £20-30 an hour. Anything lower and you may as well be doing something else. Then if you're doing something more specialist like hedge cutting, ladder and chainsaw work that gets bumped up again.
Spot on.
Am with you rob, I’ve underpriced most of my gardens this year but worked towards 30 plus an hour towards the end and got quite a few, 30 minimum next year.👍
Good luck, keep moving forward.👍🏻
I don’t do hourly rates simple as, just price per job, i always price between 30 to 40 pound per hour, I know in my head how long a job will roughly take. I’m earning £200 a day and I’m done between 1-2 o’clock every day. I could do more hours and cane it, but I’m happy with that, it’s all about balance 👍🏻
You have got it spot on.👍🏻
I charge £12.50 per hour. and have done for 5 years. That's going to change because as you may understand I hardly make anything, and it's hard work. More fool me.
You need to be at £30 per hour minimum as a self employed person. Otherwise you earn nothing.
@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices Rob if you could write down the complicated bits of the business such as how to schedule customers and method of payment I would buy it off you as a course or information leaflet what have you.👍👍👍👍🎉
Rob, you are correct it is a business. Saying that, I believe your prices are still too low. We aim for 70 Euro an hour. All mow jobs are quoted by job not the hour. A legitimate business owner needs to calculate taxes, gas, insurance, credit charges. CRM's etc. That is not all free. Dont forget, you may even need to be setting aside money for retirement as well. Once all that is paid you thrn pay yourself, and others if you have help. Actually a better method is using the profit first method by Mike Michalowicz where the Profit First formula is: sales - profit = expenses
Thank you .
Deffinitly aim to get a minimum of £30ph for work carried out ... like you same some days are better then others .. 🤠 make sure you check the bags on them weibangs
Why check the bags?
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices ruclips.net/video/RJIhQR8SN3o/видео.htmlsi=UgvY_FIf7EyM-QPk
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices they really not that well made the base is quite thin and flimsy
Just watched your video and subscribed , thank you .
Spot on mate
Thanks
What did you all think of Saltex ? Personally thought it was very poor. Concentrated more on sports fields than gardening. Hayter man had no idea on how long their new battery mowers last on one charge - v poor. Couldn’t find stihl at all. Were they there ? Other stands just had badly made Chinese equipment. TBH waste of a 4 hour round trip.
I couldn’t agree with you more, watch this space video coming out soon. All the best.
Spot on. And.....some days you don't make jack! Whether it be Ma Nature, equipment issues, bank/accountant appointments, etc.😅
Absolutely. 👍🏻
Hi Rob great vlog well explained ....we've lost lots of commercial contracts due to being priced too low (not by me) and clients expecting the world. for nothing
Sorry to hear that. Replace with better quality clients, I appreciate not always easy.
All the best.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices 100% mate going in cheap is worst thing you can do ...price them fairly for work done if they don't like price walk away as just not worth the hassle.
Your spot on.👍🏻
Your spot on mate , some people are just shit at maths !
Cheers David.
Well explained.I now do jobs by pricing them up .I only do oap on hourly rate 20 per hour.And yes2 out of my 8 hour are unpaid per day travelling from job to job .And pricing jobs up i try to get 30 per hour.Your videos are helping me out i only started this summer.
Be wary many OAP's are richer than they first appear. I've had some falsely pleading poverty
@@pablo9364 defo you go the house its huge house and a new car and then i think you can pay the going rate but to late i said 20 per hour and then i end up doing loads of digging for that so above may change.
Good stuff, thanks.
you have the right idea in my eyes Rob there is no answer for hourly rates but working to £30 per hours is a good area i would say i will be at saltax on Wednesday also so hope to say hi and have a chat if see you there mate.
all the vest Shane
Thanks Shane. Catch up soon. 👍🏻
You’re right about jobs being very different. I charge 20 per hour but I feel that will have to change. 1. I’m getting more work than I can manage and 2. I think doing a hedge or a more skilled job is simply worth more money and I ought to start quoting for those sort of things at a higher rate. I end up doing small trees and hedges and think how much a tree surgeon would charge and here’s me up a ladder with the skills getting 20 quid. It’s a bit silly.
I also have the problem of just popping round to look at new work and then realising it’s taken an hour out of my day for which I haven’t charged. How do you get around that one?
Increase your prices from 20 to 30 for existing customers. Yes you may lose a few.
New customers charge £40.
If your getting all your quotes your too cheap. Good luck.
It depends on the job some jobs small hedges take 30 mins can charge 50 quid big hedge job takes a day 2 of you can charge 375 big tree job takes a hole day 3 of you and a chipper 650 it’s diffrent how easy is the job how is the customer does she seem tight or do they like to spend on the garden
Brilliant, thanks 👍🏻
Your business is your business Rob who am I to tell you what you should or shouldn't charge enjoy Saltex next week buddy
Thanks Wayne. Looking forward to seeing you.
My pleasure as always Rob
Hi Rod, started my business in September I have a van, tools etc, Ihave put flyers out i have had two jobs from them not setting the world alight.
What could I do to get more work as the weather is wet grass cutting season is nearly over i can get by for another two months before i need to start earning.
I Have thought about pressure washing but i don't want to buy a washer for it to sit around
As you say price per job not by the hour is what i had done makes it easier get in get done get going.
I hope you don't mind me asking, keep the great videos coming.
This is a question that I have been asked a lot lately. Watch this space, I have a video coming out soon covering this topic. All the best.
Hope to meet you at saltex Wednesday Rob. Don’t take your credit card 💳 no more ornaments lol
Thanks David, great advice.
As a self employed person who has had to buy and maintain all his own equipment and run his own vehicle not to mention look after the most important machine of all - you! -how could anyone even think of charging any less?
You’re so right . All the very best.
55! Looking good
Thank you 👍
It's all economies of scale.
Every time I go out with the big mower and trailer, i need to gross £450 per day.
The numbers frighten me.
Pleased to hear that your smashing it Jimmy. All the best.
@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices not really, the mower, the trailer and the truck cost £100k and they all need replacing over time 🤣🤣
Hey rob i’m 23 years old
Its curious how low you’re hourly rates are in the UK. 30£/h - your expenses (machines, van, fuel, waste, taxes). I would wonder if its even worth all the hastle when you’re getting paid a little bit more than when employed.
My hourly rate is 45€/h in belgium but machines waste kilometer charge, etc are not included
How i started calculating is how mutch i wanted to earn net profit with taxes deducted and with 8 billable hours on a day. So i could get an idee of how mutch i should charge.
Also isn’t it frustrating that a mecanic, electrision, plumber gets a higher hourly rate than us gardeners when our job is more physically demanding but i guess that the main difference is that we can’t charge as mutch products like cables or fittings or parts
Greetings
Wise words. Thank you for sharing them. Good luck with your business. 👍🏻
I worked for the council for a few years. I was driving the crew cab truck and dropping all the lads off on the areas.. then jumping out, straight onto my FS400 Stihl strimmer and flying around like a maniac cutting along the lamp posts, fence lines and curbs etc.. then straight onto the blower to clean the paths.. and it was donky work for peanuts.
So I jacked in and set my own Grass Cutting business up and to tell you the truth I was only charging £10 an hour so I was only averaging £60-£70 a day.. and out of that I had petrol to pay for, spare cord, maintenance fees if my strimmer or grass cutter broke etc.
Then there was the weather.. and I live near you ( Consett way ) so the weather up here is pretty wet and I didn’t like cutting in the wet because it just makes a mess, it flattens the grass because it’s nearly impossible to cut wet grass.. so it slows the jobs down.
Then there’s the dog sh*te that lies waiting in the longer grass lol.. not nice when it goes all over your face and clothes.
I jacked in after 4 years because I got a bit sick of none paying customers and just the wet weather, I was like a dog waiting to go out for a walk.. just looking out the window all day waiting for it to dry up.
Some folks just expect you to cut their grass for a a fiver or so.. because they don’t really understand that you have to make a living out of the job.. and I agree with what you said, it’s not charity work 👍
Thanks for that. Good luck with what ever you’re doing. 👍🏻
£29000 iam deffo doing something wrong🥴 well done for grafting through that rain. i hoyed the towel in Tuesday morning 🌧️
Oh no! All the best from Low Fell.
Mate you look great for 55 👍🏻how about an updated van and kit video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👊🏻
Thanks. Leave it with me.👍🏻
i guage the market rate for the area then undercut it to provide the customer with a good deal. generally i find the market rate to be excessive so its easy for me to get work. short jobs ie half an hour or an hour its fair to charge a bit more because you've got travel to consider and getting all your equipment set up and packed away. on the other hand, longer jobs can be more physically demanding. i just guage a competitive rate overall for the job, taking everything in to account. i would never price any work based on what i want to earn for the year - its always based on the market rate for the area.
I disagree with you. You dictate your own market.
Price ten jobs , if you get four your price is spot on.
That is all.
money doesn't matter to me because it flows in easy. i do the work because i enjoy it and take pride in good service and satisfaction. everyone is happy.
Pleased for you .
Hi Rob. I run my tiny garden and lawn service in California, and have noticed that my numbers line up pretty closely with yours. What I am wondering is, can people in Brittan live comfortably on 20,000 pounds per year? I make about the same as you with my business, with a 1/3 profit margin, however, that wage doesn't get us very far here in the states. Also, I believe other gardeners charge significantly more than I do. I believe on average, other bigger companies are charging between $50 and $60 per hour. Could your cost of living be that much better there?
Thanks very much; I really appreciate your honest commentary!
Your welcome. 20 k definitely not.
All the best.
Sorry, I meant 20 k take home; what you pay yourself in wages.@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices
£20000 equals £1650 per moth take home salary , that the same as minimum wage take home salary. You might as well work for someone, get holiday pay etc. I hope that helps.
Hi Rob, another brilliant video. I’m currently a Gree sleeper and have been for the past 9 years. I have my pa1, pa2 and pa6 along with my chainsaw certificates. I’m trying to go on my own now down in Cornwall but I was wondering if you have any advice on pricing certain jobs. I charge £30 for a strim and a cut along with taking waste away and then if I’m doing hedge work it’ll be in hundreds. Any advice on someone just starting up and how they go about doing it along with a full time job. All the best. Matt
A great question, get your marketing right. Google business page, Facebook Business page, website etc.
Watch lots of you tube channels, take the good advice, ignore the nonsense.
Get as many clients as you can before you leave full time employment.
April the 6 th, the new business year is a great time to start.
Good luck.
👍👍👍
Thanks
I'm happy with £20 per hour it gets me by
Pleased your happy Kevin. All the best.
I'd say never give customers an houly rate. Most will not understand that there aren't 8 billable hours in a day's work and have no idea about overheads. They will give your rate to others and that's you stuffed. Charge for the service because hourly is for employees not self employed service providers.
Very wise, thanks.
Ive always charged per job. Why would i charge per hour when i may have invested heavily in equipment, long reach trimmers, poles saws, tripod ladders, larger faster more powerful mowers, chippers. I can do the same job in an hour it might take someone else 3 to do because my equipment is better. So going by the hourly rate logic id actually be better off not investing in the equipment to do a more efficient job. Before folk say well you have more time to make more money. Well if the hourly rate is still the same your not making anymore money, infact time you pack up etc your losing time and money. I got to a point where if a customer asked my hourly rate id explain to them i charge per job and if they wernt satisfied by my previous explanation of investment etc id just walk away, not worth my time or hassle. It took me a few years to get to that point but you dont get as busy as me by doing a bad job. Always said if i get paid to do a job ill do it to the best of my ability, always honest with folk. Its the best way.
Brilliantly written. Thank you.
😊👍
👍🏻
Have a good time at Saltex Rob, and take your debit card as cash is taboo at the N E C, nobody would take it last year !🤔
Thank you Jason.
Hi Rob, I've just done a job which I charged £50. I cut the front and back grass along with a strim and also two hedges that needed shaping. The customer has come back and said that's way too expensive. Is she right?
Certainly not. Charge what you want to earn, not what the customer wants to pay. Stick to your guns. Good luck.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices Thanks Rob. Been worrying all day about it. Thanks for the reassurance
Good luck.