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So i borrowed my brothers zero turn mower, and I have a push mower, a weed-eater, and a blower, and im wanting to get some extra money mowing lawns. Nebody know how i would go about getting started?? I was thinking about going up to ppl's houses who's yards are grown up some, and telling them that I was trying to make money for college, and i was seeing if they had ne one to mow their yard....nebody got ne advice
Do you know your neighbors well? If so, find the oldest people on the block, and charge them $20 or $25...they'd probably jump at the chance to have someone else do it. Just tell 'um you're trying to make some extra cash for the summer...maybe you could pass out flyers in everyones mailbox? Girls do that for babysitting, so whats the difference.
You're just a little late...
It's already august, and lawns are drying up- In New England, it's down to maybe 2 more mows plus fall cleanup before the year is over. Anyone who hires a lawn service has already done so.
People whose yards are overgrown may be offended by you being too bold. An ad in the paper in springtime would be a good place to start, or on a local bulletin board.
You may want to look into setting up accounts for year round services though. Work on some clientel for shoveling snow, then keep their buisness w. spring cleanup into mowing.
A big factor is word of mouth. From your very first client, give them a free mow/shovel if they can hook you up with just one of their friends and so on.....
Good Luck!:D
I pay $30 a week to get my yard done. Best $30 I spend all week.
Print some flyers and hang them on doorknobs. Stinky is right though, it's a little late to be starting this year.
I have my ex do it- he owns a lawn care company. $25 for a mow every 3 weeks ( I'm not psycho about perfect grass). He started out mowing lawns when he was like 10, with a crappy old push mower. He's got very loyal clientele as a result, and is the only successful one-man operation in town. The other companies fight and undercut and steal customers from each other, and there are rumors of equipment sabotage among them (something to be aware of- lawn care is CUTTHROAT!!!), and he has stayed FAR away from all that because of his grandfathered lawn jockey status.
LMAO!:DQuote:
Originally Posted by stinkyattic
What can I say? Isn't that what exes are for? :D
don't gotta lie about it or anything... (i.e. you don't have to tell 'em a reason, it rarely helps anyways no matter how sad the story might be :p)
me and my brother used to do it almost everyday... and have a party everynight... we'd go around early in the mornings (about 7-8 to catch those who go to work and what not) look for yards that looked in bad shape, make sure there wasn't any lawn mower or anything in sight, knock on the door and ask if they'd be intrested...
from there it usually goes to either a no, or talking over the details... then later that night (bout 5-6) we'd go around again, to catch those who we missed in the mornings and find out who wanted it and who didn't...
we'd take a note book, right down the adress, and price agreed upon, then the next day go out and do the yards we got.... after a few days we had a nice schedule going, pretty much had yards everyday.... making 100-200 bucks a day...
it also highly helps to go to the 'old people' neighbor hoods (where there are alot of retiree's and such... every town has that neighborhood... lol i live in an extremely small town and even we have one) they're the ones most likely to have it done.
but you can always just go door to door prepared to do it right then.... we just prefered the whole schedule thing so we could keep a steady flow of cash coming.
$25 per "MOW" every 3 weeks? just because your man believes that, doesnt mean WE do!;) lol
no seriously that's how it is. No sex (he's still hopin' though, lol). It's all good. I'm set with that... shall we say that I have moved on to um bigger and better things? :D
lol my grandpa built his own buisness on lawn care... 5-6 customers per day every day going back every once or twice a month (depending on when they wanted him to come back) we lived off him soley mowing yards for a long time (he was very successful in it o.0)
now he's got like 5 customers total... and only a single push mower and a weed eater going to each one about once every 3 weeks...
lol he refused to get a real job after he got fired from the plant cuz he couldn't just pop open a beer while working as a cashier or short order cook or something (And thank god he didn't become a short order cook.... ~SHUDDERS~) i think i'd rather eat a pubic hair and pus sandwhich then have him within 10 feet of my food..
Poor bastard!:DQuote:
Originally Posted by stinkyattic
PS: I'd cut your grass for free;)
Sorry to jack your thread brotha!:D
Did you get you Q's answered?
yup..and acctually..i went around today looking for yards..the first two houses i went to..nobody was home and the third one the lady wanted me to mow it. I told her 25 to mow and weedeat. THen i started and the fucking zero turn wouldn't work right..so i pushed mowed the yard and she wrote me a check for 35. But she said this would prolly be the only time i'd have to mow it cuz they usually do..it's just been too fucking hot.
Nice! It'll be a pain in the ass to get going, but as long as you sell yourself (not like that!) to your customers than they should have no problem helping you out with a good reference.
Heres how: Do a good job on the lawn
Make "friends" with your potential clients
Ask them in a non pushy way "it would reaaaaly HELP ME OUT" if you could give me list of 10 friends or family that have lawns! Maybe call 1 or 2 of them right now?
give it a try and I'll bet you can pull it off!:D
i just grab the lawn mower... and maybe a weed eater, and walk around town, and knock on doors and ask if i can mow their lawns... and do it right there on the spot...
ahaha i mow my 2 neighbors grass so i got money to buy my grass