Hey everyone im kinda new to this lawncare business. I have been looking to get a job for a while now and i realized that cutting grass could earn me some good money if i do it right. I was wondering if anyone could help a beginner. SOme questions i have are how much do i charge per lawn, what type of people would usually appreciate getting their lawn cut, and what tools do i need to do a proper job.
The elderly are always on the lookout here for people to cut their grass for them Tony as are young mums with small children. There are also many commuters who don't have time to spend in their gardens and who would appreciate someone keeping their lawns in order for them. You'll, obviously, need a good quality lawn mower and I would suggest a lawn edger too. Maybe even have some Weed and Feed (or similar product) for combatting any weeds in your customers grass. A garden fork will also come in handy for keeping the lawn well ventilated - much cheaper than an aerater - it just needs more physical effort!! However, if your clients are organic there are other ways of removing weeds - just Google and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. I don't know how much is a fair price to ask for cutting grass though as it would depend on the length of the grass and the size of the lawn.
How much to charge... a good rule of thumb is $1 per minute. Seriously! If the yard takes you 15 minutes to mow, charge $15. If it takes you 30 minutes to mow, charge $30.
The questions you've asked are very general and tough to anser for a variety of reasons. What to charge is based on your local market and the local economy. What a service provider charges in market "A" is not neccesarily the same as market "B". My suggetion to you would be to work for an established lawn care provider for a while and learn the business before jumping in. Equipment varies greatly, but commercial grade mowers will last a long time with good maintenance. Stay away from "homeowner" equipment if you can, as it will not last very long with the rogors of doing many lawns each week. Applying fertilizers and particularly ferts with pesticides needs licensing in most areas, and you should look into that as well. The fines for applying without certification can be quite stiff. Good luck to you.
Re: cutting grass for a beginner Hi..I started a biz of cutting grass a year ago...I started with a small pickup lawnmower weedwacker hedge trimer chain saw leaf blower all bought at flea market and pawn shops spent around $600 to $700 not including truck...then I bought a rake shovel push broom and a barrel at walmart...what I did to promote was I drove around my neighborhood and whatever house I saw with a tall grass I left them a flyer... Here in northeast where I live I charge $40 for 1/3 acre 1/2 acre $60 that include mowing weed wackin edging and for initial full yard cleanup is from $200 and up and for fall we do leaf removal and charge $5 per bag of leaves My first week I made about $300 that was a year ago now I am generating close to $1600 a week cutting average of 4 lawns a day For helper I only have 1 guy Never charge by the hour put a price to your labor not your time Charging by the hour would scare your customers away trust me...example, if someone wants to know how much I charge to do their yard and I think in my head well I would probably take 2.5 hours then I give him a price ($5o)thats $20 an hour but if you tell them I will charge you $20 an hour they dont know how long you would take and thats what scares them away plus the faster you work the higher the hourly rate would be
No, LAWNCUTTER wrote $1600 a week, so a week has 7 days, not 5, so he (or she) averages about $60/lawn. Seems fair, when taking into consideration each lawn needs about 2 hours to complete (off-loading, trimming, cutting, blowing, loading, time to drive to next location) as well as covering share of liability insurance, truck/trailer insurance, truck/trailer licensing, maintenance, price of gasoline, oil, wear and tear on equipment, wages, WSIB, etc...list goes on.
Get yourself a good mower, one that you sit on and drive (forget what they're called) not a push mower, you will literally die of heat stroke! And a hat with a wide brim so you don't get a sunburn. You'll also need a weed whacker and a edger, a leaf blower, a plastic rake and a good pair of gloves. Shovel too probably.
