attn. spotremix

[steve-o]

today i gave an estimate on a yard for mowing. i drove up and like you, knew my price b/4 i got out the truck. small yard that fits my min. price of $35. i gave the woman my price and she gave me the cut. even though i knew the price and got the job, what do think i did b/4 i left ? MEASURED THE LAWN WITH A MEASURING WHEEL......... 5100 sq/ft.

steve

[MASTERMOWER]

Wow...harsh.

What's gotten into you Steve?

[spotremix]

today i gave an estimate on a yard for mowing. i drove up and like you, knew my price b/4 i got out the truck. small yard that fits my min. price of $35. i gave the woman my price and she gave me the cut. even though i knew the price and got the job, what do think i did b/4 i left ? MEASURED THE LAWN WITH A MEASURING WHEEL......... 5100 sq/ft.

steve

good for you . you also offer services that require the measurements. if i were to do mulch jobs, or do fert/weed apps i'd want the measurements too but since i don't do those things i don't need the measurements. on most of my accounts i mow, trim, blow and go. i offer edging, pruning, FCU's and SCU's. you'll argue that i need measurements for edging but i'm very comfortable charging the edging the way i do. FCU's and SCU's are based off of time so no need for measurements there and my pruning is/was done by the bush (a friend suggested i start charging by the hour not the bush so i'm gonna be changing that) no measurements needed there whether i do it by time or bush.

Wow...harsh.

What's gotten into you Steve?

no it's not so harsh. everyone runs there business there own way. i personally do not measure things unless the job i'm doing calls for it. since i am primarly a mow, trim, blow and go there's no need for me to measure the property or the mulch beds (i don't do mulch). if he wants to measure things for his business more power to him it is after all his business. he can stick to his ways and i'll stick to mine

[MASTERMOWER]

Well....I'll put in my 2 cents.

You only know half the info if you don't measure.

A buddy of mine runs his own lawn care operation. He doesn't measure a thing.........not for fertilizing a lawn......not for mowing.........not even for seeding!!

Well how the hell does he know how much fertilizer to apply....how much seed to bid the seeding jobs on?

Yeah, anyhow, he wouldn't even know the average size of lawn he mows....in fact he asks me (all the time I might add), "what is the average size lawn?"

This would also be the same guy that submitted a $1000 weekly mowing bid for a apartment complex with 4 acres of turf to mow. I asked him if he knew how long it'd take to mow that property. He just said, "Well a long time....you saw the place....ITS HUGE." (so how can you prepare a competitive bid with just the 'its huge' measurement?? Management laughed at him when be turned in his sky high bid BTW) I chimed in it was 177,000 SF and would only take no more than 5 man hours to mow with the right eqt. He was left puzzled....mostly I believe because he hasn't been dealing with measuring out properties........

[spotremix]

Well....I'll put in my 2 cents.

You only know half the info if you don't measure.

A buddy of mine runs his own lawn care operation. He doesn't measure a thing.........not for fertilizing a lawn......not for mowing.........not even for seeding!!

Well how the hell does he know how much fertilizer to apply....how much seed to bid the seeding jobs on?

Yeah, anyhow, he wouldn't even know the average size of lawn he mows....in fact he asks me (all the time I might add), "what is the average size lawn?"

This would also be the same guy that submitted a $1000 weekly mowing bid for a apartment complex with 2 acres of turf to mow. I asked him if he knew how long it'd take to mow that property. He just said, "Well a long time....you saw the place....ITS HUGE." (so how can you prepare a competitive bid with just the 'its huge' measurement?? Management laughed at him when be turned in his sky high bid BTW) I chimed in it was 177,000 SF and would only take no more than 5 man hours to mow with the right eqt. He was left puzzled....mostly I believe because he hasn't been dealing with measuring out properties........

i will measure commericial and large residential propertys along with any aerating jobs i would have to do. average lawns around here are 1/4 to 1/2 an acre. all that stuff you mentioned in red are things i don't do. i just started my business last season and it was late at that. i wanna focus on mowimg, string trim, and blowing. then i plan on possibly adding the fert/weed apps.

theres a huge market in my city for mow and go businesses. a lot of people just want there grass cut. others actually prefer to have 2 guys, one that does the lawn and the other that takes care of the landscaping.

i deal with the lawn not the landscaping although i will prun bushes, but i leave the mulch jobs to the landscapers and i leave the lawn installed, seeding, fert/weed aps to the other guys (fert guys i guess you call them ).

heres a full list of what i offer
mowing
string trimming
blowing off sidewalks/drive way
pruning
fall and spring clean ups
edging
snow removal
weeding
aerating

[MASTERMOWER]

spotremix, all I'm saying is if you'd start measuring things out, you'll eventually become a very accurate estimator. Measure your small lawns....get to know how long it takes you to mow em. If/when you progress to larger props, you can then apply your experience to those lawns to formulate a very competitive bid.

.........attempting to bid a larger prop will be that much less intimidating.......

Heck, if you have no intentions at all to grow, then I'd just suggest sticking to your eyeball method.

Peace.

[steve-o]

spotremix, even though i can look at most yards and tell the price, i still measure so i can know exactly how long that yard takes compared to the size. that's how i have my pricing structure. even if it's a 3000 sq/ft yard i want to know how many minutes, not to mention if i aerate in the fall i already have the measurement. i have a little notebook that has everything i offer priced out based on measurments. if they want edging , i measure, look in the book at the price, calculate and give them a price that i know beyond a doubt is gonna make me $$$. it also gives me set cut off points on pricing. for me 0 - 9000 , 9001 - 12000, 12001 - 15000, 15001 - 20000. pricing for me also varies with the amount of trimming. there again i want accurate #s so i can know that i'm making $$$. if you keep good records and times plus measurements it is very easy to see if you are doing well on a yard or losing your butt.

steve

[spotremix]

spotremix, all I'm saying is if you'd start measuring things out, you'll eventually become a very accurate estimator. Measure your small lawns....get to know how long it takes you to mow em. If/when you progress to larger props, you can then apply your experience to those lawns to formulate a very competitive bid.

.........attempting to bid a larger prop will be that much less intimidating.......

Heck, if you have no intentions at all to grow, then I'd just suggest sticking to your eyeball method.

Peace.

spotremix, even though i can look at most yards and tell the price, i still measure so i can know exactly how long that yard takes compared to the size. that's how i have my pricing structure. even if it's a 3000 sq/ft yard i want to know how many minutes, not to mention if i aerate in the fall i already have the measurement. i have a little notebook that has everything i offer priced out based on measurments. if they want edging , i measure, look in the book at the price, calculate and give them a price that i know beyond a doubt is gonna make me $$$. it also gives me set cut off points on pricing. for me 0 - 9000 , 9001 - 12000, 12001 - 15000, 15001 - 20000. pricing for me also varies with the amount of trimming. there again i want accurate #s so i can know that i'm making $$$. if you keep good records and times plus measurements it is very easy to see if you are doing well on a yard or losing your butt.

steve

i'm not trying to say measuring is a bad idea, it does have its benefits and it is something for me to consider, i just don't do it as of yet. i wanna grow mm and i am learning from posts on this forum. i was just stating why i don't measure.

the one benefit i like from it is if i undertand you guys right, when i go to do a commericial, or larger property i'll know how long in hours it would take me based off the square footage, correct?

[steve-o]

i'm not trying to say measuring is a bad idea, it does have its benefits and it is something for me to consider, i just don't do it as of yet. i wanna grow mm and i am learning from posts on this forum. i was just stating why i don't measure.

the one benefit i like from it is if i undertand you guys right, when i go to do a commericial, or larger property i'll know how long in hours it would take me based off the square footage, correct?

i'm gonna come to indy and bust you over the head with my measuring wheel if that's what it takes to get you measuring. :laughing:

steve

[clclawn]

i'm gonna come to indy and bust you over the head with my measuring wheel if that's what it takes to get you measuring. :laughing:

steve

Steve, let me know when you come to bust him over his head, I'm in his area & I'll buy you lunch.