Successful Lawn Care Business Essay, Research Paper
How to Make A Successful Lawn Care Business
What do you think you need for a successful lawn care business? Do you think it s as easy as finding as many of people to work for and getting the least expensive equipment? To run a good small business you need equipment, a way to get customers, the cost of your services and the number of people you should work for.
First find out who you are going to work for and what kind of terrain such as big hills or long flat fields. The amount of time a lawn takes is a product of this and the amount of work put into it. The amount of time it takes to mow a lawn determines how many lawns you can mow. The length you have to travel can be a burden or a blessing on the job you have. If it takes too long to get to the job sight you will use more gas and waste valuable working hours. The perfect job in a perfect world would be within 5 miles, long flat field, in which you will spend 8 hours working.
How many people do you work for? It is very simple. Have about 30-35 work hours a week so you can still have free time while making a good amount of money. Free time is important for one reason only; it keeps your sanity. Although it is good to make money and work it is also good to have fun in life and use some of that money.
After finding out whom you will be working for and the hours you will be working you will be able to decide the type of equipment to use. If there are jobs to keep you busy for a good amount of the week and you will be using the equipment a lot you will need a bigger more industrialized lawn tractor and weed whacker. Even if you have mostly big jobs it is still smart to invest in a small push mower for the hard to reach places on someone s property. If the jobs that you are planning on doing were mostly small areas it would be smart to buy sturdy but lightweight equipment. The one thing you should never do is sacrifice quality for price.
When the equipment is bought the all and ever-important factor comes up; what will be the charge. Will you charge per hour or per job? If you have a job that takes you under 2 hours it is wise to charge per job. If a job takes more than 2 hours you should charge by the hour. A reasonable price is between $15-$20 an hour. Prices may also vary according to location of the job. For example lawn care businesses charge around $20-$30 per hour because properties are smaller and need more care than a big field. Also it would not be worth working on a small area for 15 minutes and walking away with only $5. You have to transport the equipment and it costs money to do that. If it costs almost as much to get to a job site as what you get paid you re missing out.
After running your small business for one season you will start to realize why you made the decisions about which type of lawn mower to buy and whom you chose to work for. It might seem different now when you are just starting out but hang in there-it will all work out in the long run. Also, if you ever need help there are plenty of organizations that will answer your needs. Jabara states The increasing interest of students and the growing number of graduates who are moving relentlessly into private enterprise continually rekindles our enthusiasm and determination to develop new programs and goals that more clearly address their needs in a changing business arena. She also says Something must be right about a democratic system of government that not only guarantees the widest latitude of political freedom but also ensures the broadest possible participation in a marketplace that welcomes such a vast number of new entrants each year. There are plenty of jobs out there and if you take certain steps to get to those jobs this country will reward you with a good life.