Lawn Care Career Guide and Counseling

Question: How do I get lawn care accounts from banks or real estate companies? Hi, my boyfriend owns a lawn care and home repair business in south florida. Im trying to find out how to get work from banks or real estate companies. I need to know who to contact and what to say. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: He needs to schedule appointments with the managers, dress appropriately. This is to introduce himself and his business to potential clients. Having a picture album of his work would help. Plenty of business cards and a firm handshake will help. The thing is he must present himself as a professional. A mailing will just end up in the trash.

Question: lawn care>? i am in ma. my lawn is in pretty bad shape. when should i seed? when should i put down the scotts product that prevents crab grass? in which order?

Answer: Competition is the key. ( Had the same problem ) Regularly spread plenty fresh new and good seeds here and then ( don't keep your bag for next year or the seeds won't be as good ). If it's pretty in bad shape, cover potions of your land with 2-3 inches of top soil, spread the seeds, dont walk for +/- 2 weeks and it will be all green ... with some crab grass indeed but just remove them. The fundations are there.

Question: How do I start a lawn care business from scratch? I am 18 and I'm getting into lawn care with two other guys. None of us have much money and between us we have a couple of mowers, a couple of blowers, and a few weedeaters. We don't even have a trailer to haul all of this around so to start out we will have to stay local. We do have 600 business cards that we will be passing out soon though and ten clients all within our local residential area. Help me out. What kind of things should I do?

Answer: do a good job and start with a low rate, you will soon have all the work you need , after you establish plenty of work than you can start slowly raising your rate to be more inline with your competition.

Question: How to report an unlicensed lawn care company in Wisconsin? I know someone who has a lawn care business, does landscaping, building, and remodeling also. He is not licensed in lawn care, fertilization, or building of any sort. Can he get in trouble for not being licensed, and if so, how do I report him?

Answer: Landscapers are not contractors of any kind and so do not require licensing.

Question: How do I start a lawn care business? I would like to start a lawn care business from the bottom. What equipment will I need? What will startup costs be? What are some unique options for advertising? Any advice is welcome.

Answer: Get a lawnmower, knock on the door, negotiate a price, and start cutting. If you do a great job, she will tell her neighbor. Keep a record of your a. new customers b. expenses c. income Start out simple and work your way up. You will know what to do as you go along.

Question: What it the average day like for a person in the lawn care business? My husband and I are planning to start up a lawn care business and I was just wondering what types of things we should expect through out the day. For those who use a lawn care service, what types of services do you expect? Ex. mowing the lawn, trimming, etc.

Answer: Mowing, using a gas trimmer, and gas powered blowers are the typical day. You may do edging monthly and fertilizing seasonally. Other services like lawn repair, planting, and mulching may be possible. Businesses and apartment complexes will want you to do it all. If you want to succeed don't shortcut like leaving weeds along a back fence or mowing over dead spots each week that could be fixed in a few minutes. Don't forget to plan ahead for fuel costs!

Question: Is it legal to charge me sales tax on my lawn care bill? I have a lawn care service and every month on my bill, an additional amount is added on for sales tax. Texas does have sales tax, but is it legal to charge sales tax on a service like lawn care?

Answer: It's not only legal, it's REQUIRED.

Question: What classes do i need as a lawn care owner for applying fertilizer legally in Indiana? I know that you have to take a class for owners of lawn care to fertilize and use chemicals on lawns if it is for profit. I just cannot find the website or any information about where to do this in indiana. Please someone that has taken this class or who has the certification help me out?

Answer: It's more about pesticides and herbicides than fertilizers. In general, they are much more toxic than fertilizer. What you're looking for is called Pesticide Certification. http://www.btny.purdue.edu/ppp/PARP/ http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgAnswers/story.asp?storyID=231 http://aec.army.mil/usaec/pest/cert-in.html

Question: What do Chemlawn and other lawn care companies do to your lawn that can't be done yourself? What do Chemlawn and other lawn care companies do to your lawn that can't be done yourself? With products from Home Depot Lowe's etc?

Answer: Rip you off. We are in the process of cancelling our service with TruGreen (Chemlawn) because we are very unhappy. Our yard looks horrible! My husband feels that if their corporate office is in Ohio, they no nothing about our Texas lawn! I have heard that 13-13-13 (known as triple 13) is one of the best products, at least here in Texas.

Question: What tools would i need to start a successful lawn care business? And how do i attract customers? I'm looking to start a business in lawn care and landscaping. I know all the tools i need and have them for concrete work. But im also looking to get into retaining walls, mulch beds, blue prints for landscaping, decks and patios, mowing, and of course any other odds and ends. I love doing the work, and im also unsure on how to attract customers without spending huge money on advertisting. Essentially im wondering what tools and equpiment i will need to run a successful business.

Answer: first you can go to Sears or tractor supply and get a whole truck full of supplies like weedeaters and bush clippers.then start out and do you friends lawn to make sure you do an awesome job then you send out flyers and get you friend to tell thier friends and soon you will have a business on the lawn.

Question: How much would it cost to start a lawn care business with the insurance and all? How much does it cost to start a lawn care and landscaping business dealing with: retaining walls, mulch beds, laying out landscape designs, lawn mowing, and constructions of decks and patios. And also what would be the grand total abouts with the insurance and all the equipment i would need? Thanks! :)

Answer: depends on what equipment if any you already have - for doing the landscape design portion - it won't cost much - at all for the lawn care - if you want to start with good equipment - you'll need at least one walk behind mower, and a good tight radius mower - figure about $6000 - $8000 a trailer - $2000 ? Pickup truck - used/new??? tools - rakes, shovels, etc..... $300- $400 chain saw - $300 trimmers- $250 ea for the deck building - unless you want to dig footings by hand figure on either renting a power auger for each job - or buying one - if you buy probably around $1200 then saws, hammers (manual - pneumatic??) levels , compressor, generator- etc... $300 - $4000 depending on how much you buy and you better have some operating cash as well - at least $2000-$3000 for your lawn cutting business - you should get paid weekly - or try to set up contracts where they give you a downpayment at the begining of the year - and then pay you monthly on your landscaping business - they should pay you something for the design - if they give you the landscaping job tell them you'll deduct the design fee off the cost of the landscaping job - for the landscaping you should get 1/3 up front - 1/3 after all the beds are prepped/top soil in and shrubs delivered - and then 1/3 when you complete same holds true for your deck jobs - 1/3 up front - 1/3 when materials get delivered - 1/3 when complete

Question: How much does it typically cost for a lawn care service in Canada? if I were to have them mow the lawn and rake the leaves or shovel the snow? what does your lawn care service provider provide? anywhere in CANADA. I just want to know how much you pay for typically

Answer: We had it done and the price for lawn care is 40$.

Question: How much should i charge to do lawn care? I live in a small town in PA. I am interested in starting a lawn care business for the summer. I would like to cut the grass, weed-whack, trim hedges. Basically anything the customer wants. What is a fair price to charge a person? Should i ask the person what they think is a good price? Should i make a set hourly wage? Help!

Answer: If you supply all the equipment then I would say $10 per hour would be fair. Keep in mind though if you take too long they may not call you back.

Question: What is a normal day like for a lawn care business owner? I am wanting to start a lawn care business next spring. I plan on starting off residential and growing fast to Commercial and HOA's. I am just wondering if it is a good business to get into. What is a normal day like and how much money do you make?

Answer: If you own your own business, you determine your pay.

Question: What is a good slogan that combines the idea of surfing with lawn care? We are starting a lawn care business called the Turf Surfers. Any Idea on a slogan that combines these ideas would be appreciated.

Answer: Turf Surfers: The Next Wave in Lawn Care

Question: Besides equipttment what do you need to make a good sturdy lawn care buisness? Ive got the equiptment,ive got the labor,and ive got the yards,but what i dont have is facts on the buisness aspects of it.(I.E. what kind of taxes are there on lawn companys,do i need any sort of license for anything in landscaping? Whats the most effective way to get the companys name out. What yards are targeted most in the field,and do you think pressure washing and lawn care will go hand in hand?

Answer: short and sweet! have pashionts! any business takes time to build! do a good job and word of mouth will take you a LONG LONG LONG way! if you plain to spray chemicals check with your states branch of department of aquaculture they will be more than happy to let you know what you need as far as licenses and all that they will take VERY good care of you! other that that do the best job you can as soon as you can and remember getting the job doesn't always mean you want it, you will be competing with people that do it part time and in some parts of the country illegal aliens willing to work and brake the law for nothing! tell them some one ecle can always do it cheaper but you acutely do it right and show you care and they will most often go with you and if they don't you dint want them, they'll always want more for less. be as honist as you can and dont go for the quick buck! People rember that! as far as presher washing the pumps you use for lawn care (lest in this state) call for low presher so a new pump might be in order, and your rig needs to be able to agatate the chemicals as your spraying to keep it uniformaly in the watter, (some of them settle out) but it shouldnt take much of a chaing over