Calculating Job Costs?

[Zack]

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Did you notice how they placed production above everything else. Route scheduling, mowing times, payments, all done for maximum efficiency.

You can crunch on this while you ponder these life mysteries.

BTW Shlepper, The owner of JustCuts drives a red sports car, kinda like the one you like to show off except much nicer.


http://www.justlawns.com/




Edited by - zack on Jul 09 2002 8:10:21 PM

[Matthew W. Morgan]

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<font color=red> Well, I missed 2 pages of dialogue when I last posted and that is why my last post seems out of place, but it is still good info.

Zach, if you are doing residential lawns with 2 men and 21" mowers in 10 minutes, you are doing poor quality work.

Folks, you get what you pay for and Zachs clients are not paying much nor do they expect much.

I happen to agree with Scaper on the subject and have done the numbers myself. Zach, care to elaborate on your system, or are you afraid the IRS or another government agency is lurking who may catch on to the fact that you probly don't have insurance, pay employees cash, get paid with cash from your little old ladies and don't claim it or you may not even file a tax return. If you are not legit, you can profit from low prices. If you are legit, you will pass like the breeze.

BTW, do you get all these clients right in a row by hiding in the bushes and waiting to strike with a "lower than the other guy" price??

Matthew</font id=red>

[Scaper-S2k]

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OOOOhhhhh, a web page, it must be for real and he MUST be a millionaire!!

Zack buddy, you crack me up. Are we talking about you or not?? Tell us how YOU make money doing 26 lawns a day for $20 each. Oh wait, you couldn't, so you raised production to "easily 40 lawns a day with 2 guys".....Get real!

Oh, and yeh you could make $1.00 per lawn and buy a "red sports car"...Of course, you need 7000 lawns to be cut each week!! Yipppeee, sounds like fun! Ohhhhhh, a red one even! Big whoop, hope the savings account is bursting too!

I'll do it with a 100 thank you. No stress! No worry about what happens if it rains, or God forbid one of the employees needs to take a bathroom break!!

40 lawns in 7 hours with 2 guys!! EVERYDAY!! GET REAL! You aren't talking to a bunch of idiots here!


ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US ABOUT THOSE $20 LAWNS?????


OR ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?? How are YOU doing, YOU are the one that said YOU do all of this!

Oh, and that $18 any lawn site is a joke. Just like the "If you find a better deal, we'll give you $1000!" "Any lawn is $18.........well, any lawn under 1000 sqft is $18" SWEET.

That method brings in money, but very, very, very little profit. If you can't see that, YOU are nuts.



I know companies that will cut for $18....Guess what, they too are wasting their time, they have nothing. Oh, and they have been at it around here for 15 years too (just like the '$18 a cut' dudes!)

SHOW US USING NUMBERS how you can profit with 2 guys and $20 lawns. Oh, and in real terms, not drought conditions and 75 sq ft lawns that happen to all be touching each other!!

YOU KEEP AVOIDING THE QUESTION!! This is getting old, it's obvious you aren't getting it.

&lt;&lt;Don't Fear the Green!&gt;&gt;

Edited by - scaper-s2k on Jul 09 2002 9:31:09 PM

Edited by - scaper-s2k on Jul 09 2002 11:10:16 PM

[dancom]

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the only way you can cut 40 lawns in 7 hours is to pull into a complex full of condos with small yards and cut them all. but 40 lawns in 7 hours is 5.7 lawns per hour not possible to do and do a good job, not with push mowers any way, i imagine there is no trimming involved in these yards. i have a trailer park that i cut the vacant lots in, most of them are next to each other. We cut 120 vacant lost in 4 hours with two zero turns and 2 people triming but i would never tell someone i can cut 30 lawns an hour because its not the same.

Dan Comer
Comer's Lawn

[Bryan]

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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
these min. wagers can pump out at least 40- $20 lawns in a 7 hr shift. No drive time, no breaks.




<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Where can I get a couple of these guy's??

Green is good !!

[Scaper-S2k]

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They probably aren't guys, they are 11 year old children from China working for $1.00 per day and 2 slices of bread. If they get the 40 lawns cut in 7 hours, they get a quarter bonus and a slice of bologna for the bread........MMMmmmmmmmm Protien!

&lt;&lt;Don't Fear the Green!&gt;&gt;

[zephyr]

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I think it would be pretty exciting if we pitted Zack and Scaper in a boxing match for 3 rounds. We'll let Zack get his minimum wage lawn monkeys to mow the boxing area for cheap and we'll strap on the 16 oz. gloves and see who comes out victorious. If that doesn't sound good to you guys, we'll get one of scaper's cabovers that Zack loves so much and that will be the ring. I think that may be an unfair advantage for scaper though so that may be a longshot. Anyway, just throwing around some ideas. By the way, just kidding guys.

[nohhousefire]

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Its just obvious that Zack is the best time manager, route maker and master motivater that posts on this board.
Speaking for myself, I could not do it but I did notice all his equipment is the same color.

[Zack]

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$30 Going Rate for "Professionals"

Same size lots.

10-$20 lawns-side by each or close enough for no load unload in 1 hr. 30 min. (Summer cuts, min. trim & little or no blow, mulched)

4-$30 lawns in 1 hr 30 min -8 min. drive time, 2 min load unload, 12 min. cut, trim, *edged, blow) *every 2 weeks.

1 hr 30 min.-10 lawns-7 with app. program.

1 hr 30 min.- 4 lawns-3 with app program.

(add in fuel costs for bloated cabover for 24 min. drive time over 1 hr 30 min.)

[Scaper-S2k]

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Nohhousefire, we didn't see any of ZACKS vehicles or time management did we? Nope.


Zack, Nothing you typed makes sense. I know you are trying, but it doesn't make sense.

See, you said the lawns were all the same size. So, if you can do 10 in 1.5 hours for $20 each, why can't the competition do 10 of the "same size lawns" in the same time?? But they are charging $30.

Are you trying to tell us that all these $30 lawns being equal, your guys can do 10 while the comp. can only do 4??

Same holds true for the apps.

You are obviously NOT comparing the same size lawns here!!

Now if you would just SAY that, then we would almost agree. You initially said you are mowing lawns for $20 that the competition charges $30 for. MEANING THE SAME SIZE YARDS.

You are mowing $20 for $20, they are mowing $30 lawns for $30.

Now I am mowing $45 lawns for $80. Yes, I have to look harder to get them, but secure them with 2 yr contracts. Ah, then with the drought, I am mowing $45 lawns for $160-$240 each.

READ THIS CLOSELY....

<b>As for the constant excuse for gas prices in a cabover and driving.... At 17mpg, EVEN IF I put 170 miles per day on them, it would cost about $13.00 for the whole freakin day!! Whooooopiieeeee!! See, that's why we run cabovers, they go hundreds of thousands of miles with no problems, that's a fact.

Let's see, 2 guys in a cabover, decent travel time, but $900-$1000 per day. Hmmm, that $13 fuel is gonna be a real killer!!

2 of my crews (each with 2 guys) have made my business over $155,000 since April 01. Now I would say we could nearly pull trailers with Jags if we wanted. But I'd rather sock it away so I won't be roughing up the body at 50 yrs old, and retire. Oh, and they start at 9:30 and get home at 6:15. Salary and full benefits. All equipment paid for exempt leased trucks at $420 per month (ohh what a killer, $15 per day on a truck and $13 a day on fuel!!! </b>

&lt;&lt;Don't Fear the Green!&gt;&gt;

[Zack]

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Shlepper obviously you are new to this buisiness but I'll give you a little tip. Someone paying $30 expects more than someone paying $20 for the same size lot. Read MORE as in MORE TIME be it customer relations, clippings disposal, trim and or edge expectations & hard surface cleaning.
Production mowing residentials for profit is beond your limited grasp. Stick to underbid, high overhead commercials where you seem to excell.

[lawrence stone]

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If you are traveling 170 miles in one day you have a real density issue.

I try to limit my mileage per day to less than 25.

I think you are crazy for working such a wide area.

As a solo contractor I like to medium to large residential and sports fields in a 10-mile radius. I try to stay away for commercial work do to the liability of working in high traffic areas. It is much nicer spending the day in suburbia or at the ball park vs. commercial strip work.


Driving for work in three states is for the birds IMHO.

"The Frugal Agronomist"

[Scaper-S2k]

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I said even IF i traveled that far! And, what does it matter how far you go if you are bringing in $900-$1000 per day?? It costs $15 a day for the truck and less than $15 for fuel. Do I really have to say DUH??


Yeh Zack, residential is SO much harder to grasp than top dollar commercial accounts. Get real.

I did residential in all shapes forms and dollars for about 10 years. Commercial accounts threw me into the big time so to speak. My profit is now well into the six figure mark and much more than before ALL with LESS work.

Ohhhhh that drive time, Ohhhh how bad......Yeh, I get paid top dollar to drive around in an air conditioned truck while your guys are sweatin it out and burning up mower engines!!

Honestly, I don't care. I've done it each and every way. My current types of jobs hands down pay more profit....and I mean SO much more.







We mowed lawns today that have gone 3 weeks because of no rain. We landscaped instead of mowing and brought in good money. Then after 3 weeks, we go cut. Lets see, a 2 man crew doing 10-12 small lawns at $255 per cut ($85 * 3 weeks). How do those figures grab ya?? But yeh, I guess your 4 guys could tag $5000 in one day of easy work huh?? How many $20 lawns would they have to cut in one day?? Imagine my profit.

Whatever gentlemen! Almost sad isn't it?

&lt;&lt;Don't Fear the Green!&gt;&gt;

Edited by - scaper-s2k on Jul 11 2002 01:57:59 AM

[Green Giant]

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Ohhh,I'm going to hate myself for this but I have to agree with the Stone man. Keep it close to home.
The difference being that I HAVE a lot of commercial accounts.(No sports fields LS)
Good money in commercial Larry,give it a shot.
(No I'm not gonna' take a shot at you today)<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Dennis E.
Grasshopper Lawn
Mulberry,Fl.
(Green Giant is my truck!)

[Scaper-S2k]

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You guys are really missing the point here. So you would rather travel a total of 15 miles a day and mow 30 yards. Or travel 100 miles per day and mow 8-10 half hour yards??? Not to mention making MORE money?? Heck, why wouldn't you drive 3 hours each way to mow a 30 minute cut for $1000 (example)!!! Who cares, it's the days end that matters....fuel is VERY minimal of an expense when truely calculated per day. A leased cabover is about $15 per day

At the end of the day, if you have double the money of normal crews and only sweat for 4.5 hours and drive in the air conditioning the rest of the time, why would you care??

I am beginning to understand why my niche is so good.

Keep sweatin' fellas, I just don't get why this is so hard for you guys to grasp.

Uh, work SMARTER not HARDER??!!

&lt;&lt;Don't Fear the Green!&gt;&gt;