Where do I start?

[lawndreamer]

Hi, I'm new at this Forum. I'm glad to have found it. It's kind of like finding the nationally syndicated, Dave Ramsey show. In other words it is a much needed find. I Plan to start a lawncare business. Is there anyone that could give me some suggestions on where to start? I can get equipment, (tank, pump, electric hose reals, and truck seperate but cheap.) I want to do this thing debt free. Is there an amount of money I must save to be able to do this thing? How long does it normally take for folks to pay, 2 weeks - or 30 days, or worse? I have so many questions I desire to see answered but I'll be patient can someone give me some suggestions?

[Scott]

unless your a CPO, you won't need the tanks and hoses. The basic beginner package could incluce:
- backpack blower, a major here would recommend that you get either a stihl 420, echo 650/750, redmax 7000 or a shindaiwa 630
- trimmer, the straight shafts are perferred and stick with the same manufacturers that are listed for the blowers
- Edger(some say optional, I wouldn't be caught w/o one) same as trimmers
- some type of mower, the less expensive way to go would be a walk behind in the size from 36-48in cut and a two wheeled velkie. Exmark, toro, and scag are very popular brands
- you'll need some way of transporting you equipment to the job sites, truck, truck and trailer, cabover, or whatever you deem professional
- maybe a hedge trimmer if you offer that service
- a rake, shovel, pruners, lopers, trash can w/lid


You'll need a company name, insurance and most importantly licensed if required in your county.

Payment- my customers normally pay within 15 days of billing.

Try lining up a few customers prior to buying anything. That way you'll know if you need anything else and you can at least get an idea of what size mower you'll be needing.
Are your customers requesting their bushes trimmed right away? If not you can hold off on the hedge trimmers. etc...

Let us know how things go and good luck.

[lawndreamer]

Thanks Scott for replying. I'm sorry I wasn't clear I want to get into pesticide and fertilizer applications. That is what I have experience at, and that is my desire. I need to find out about products to apply, applications, how to get new customers, pricing, all kinds of questions.

[Scott]

sorry my bad,
since we just went to this new forum style I forget to look at the main subject. all I read was "where do I start".

[bobkessler]

You can start by contacting your local County Agriculture Extension office. All states have them because they get federal funding. They may actually handle the testing and licensing, but maybe not. I'm betting they will help you find out a lot about what you're getting ready to do.
Welcome to the business.

[Phil Nilsson]

"How long does it normally take for folks to pay, 2 weeks - or 30 days, or worse? "

Suggestions ....

Get set up to offer charge cards ...
Offer a prepay discount ...
You need a pesticide license ...

Learn more about lawn care applications at this link:

https://www.plcaa.org

You'll see my name plastered at the plcaa site ... I'm a member

Good luck?

[McBillNLex]

You probably will have to pay for your materials out front and carry your clients for 30 days. I'm not sure about the others experiences, but since 2000's market decline, alot of our wealthier clients have been slower to pay. Most of the suppliers like Lesco, and United Horticultural will extend credit terms to you after your first year. They however can sometimes be a little stingy when it comes to bumping your limit.

We usually find, as Trugreen does, that you won't have a whole lot of luck signing clients outside of the dandelion window. This period in my region runs from valentines day to Derby day. Most other clients that come to you later have probably already fired someone ( probably in a white truck with green lettering, So they might be a little demanding at first. However Mr Nillson's suggestion about blanketing new developments would be a good way to circumvent this limitation. A decent looking truck(one of the best looking around here is a restored 64 ford 1 ton, owned by an excentric tree spray guy. Thats not really fair though as he is so busy that his company name doesn't appear on his truck, only his license # on the tank) You can buy tanks that are skid mounted new or used. If you want a deal, ask around town about mergers. Many of those companies will have decent used equipment sitting around due to duplication. Put a pump rebuild kit in it, change the oil and your ready to go.

Lesco sells a nice new well balanced 80lb spreader complete with side sheild and a plate on the rear to keep most of it out of your boots. You'll need one for granular apps in the fall.

Can I add one piece of advice that no one ever seems to hear?
We have a client who's property is 4 acres, I happen to love treating it, but it is bad for us. We charge the lady 565 for a chemical application round or about $3.42 per thousand sq ft .
I am not kidding about loving it, its out in the country, nice lady and family. She drops about 12k into our coffers every year. She had us spend the last 9 months preparing a field to hold a tent for the wedding reception of her oldest daughter. This work was done at an additional charge. She doesn't care that someone else is getting a better price as long as the quality is high. Last weekend our guys put a stripe on 10 acres of the property worthy of a major league baseball grounds crew. It took eight hours but even we were impressed with the resulting 3 way stripe. Nuff said, we love her place, she loves us!

It takes about 4 hours to treat this property using a boom sprayer mounted on a modified Walker Mower that includes a JRCO 130 lb fert spreader. Saves an incredible amount of walkingand about an hours worth of time.

We charge $30 as a minimum on our residential lawns up to 3,000 sq ft. now it takes me about 7 minutes to pull out the hose, treat, fill out the paper work, flag it hang the application sheet and move on to the next. Computer generated preprinted application sheets would save about 2 minutes per application, but I can't use them because we have no printer suitable to generate them. Most of the time in my routes it takes about 5 minutes to traverse from one property to another. This would give about 5 applications per hour so that 4-5 hour window translates to 20- 25 apps @ $30 a piece equals $600 - $750. We haven't even discussed what happens when I have 2 maybe 3 in a row.

When you look at those $30 checks they don't seem like much in comparision to that 12k one, but boy can that be deceiving. I first discovered this during the summer of 1999 when working for that behemouth, in a rural route. I treated a lawn that was 2k sq ft in a housing project. This lady was paying $28 dollars from her fixed income to have her lawn treated. I got a demanding treat or i'll cancel call, from a millionaire , living on 60 k sq ft paying $180. I didn't invent the concept, I just try to use it to make a living.

Now I think i'll have some brochures printed and try out Mr Nilson's Idea. Maybe I could develop some 8 outta 10 streets in brand new subdivisions!