Go The Extra Mile When Placing Bids
Placing bids on commercial lawn care projects consists of much more than simply sliding a number across the desk on a piece of paper. This part of the process can make or break your plans for landing the account, so its wise to take it seriously. Make sure that you get your bid in professionally by following the basics: have a good website, good looking company optics , and the proper proposal.
Do your homework, so you know exactly how low you can bid before youre paying out of pocket and get information on the competition and how many others are bidding so you know how competitive you need to be in your pricing. Some good questions to ask yourself include:
- How many competitors are submitting proposals?
- Will you need to buy new equipment or hire more team members for this account?
- What are the upsell possibilities?
- How long has the prospect been in business?
- How often do they switch landscape contractors?
Get Your Lawn Care Website Ranked On Google
You need robust SEO, so youre not steamrolled by your competitors. Ensure youre sending the right SEO signals by prominently displaying your branding and logo on your site.
Your site also needs to be mobile-friendly. Thats because more than half of all local searches are mobile searches.
Keywords
Choose the right targeted keywords for your business. These are the ones that are going to be the most profitable. Its better to focus on long-tailed keywords because theyre easier to rank for.
You need to understand the intent behind using the keyword. This is why a user is searching for that particular term.
For example, if a searcher types lawns into the search box, he could be looking for all kinds of things. Several that come to mind include the history of lawns, how to take care of a yard, or why my lawn is better than my neighbors.
But if he typed in best lawn care near me, you know hes looking to hire somebody to do his lawn.
This will be a potentially lucrative keyword for you to use.
Business listings such as Google My Business are essential. A GMB listing can help you rank on Google and snag new customers for your lawn care business.
Thats why you need to optimize your GMB profile and keep it updated.
Local backlinks are important too. Ask business partners, local business directories, and local news outlets to link to your business.
Google Ads
One of the most fantastic things about it is the ultra-specific microtargeting you can do.
Choose How To Structure Your Business
Youll need to choose how you want your business structured. There are four main types:
- Sole proprietorship: a business run by a single individual
- Partnership: An agreement between two or more persons who run the business together
- Limited liability company: a hybrid of partnership and corporation
- Corporation: a group of people authorized to act as a single entity
Sole Proprietorships
If youre just starting out, youll probably want to be a sole proprietorship. Most small businesses are sole proprietorships because this is the easiest and cheapest way to start a business.
In a sole proprietorship, you and the business are one and the same. A sole proprietorship is unique among business entities because its the only one that doesnt have to register with a state.
Starting one is easy.
All you have to do is:
- Come up with a name for your lawn company and decide where you want to be located
- File for a business license with city hall
- Set up a business checking account so theres a separation between your business and personal cash
If you plan to sell taxable things, youll need to register with your local taxing authority.
Sole proprietorship advantages include:
- Easy startupno complicated business structure
- Controlsince youre the only owner, youll have total power over every aspect of your company
- Use of lossesbecause youre including your business income and losses on your personal tax return, you can use them to offset personal income
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Mowing Yards For Money How Much Can I Earn And How Can I Start
We all know lawn mowing services are an important part of modern civilizations. Most homes and businesses have grass on their property. Therefore, its necessary to ensure its properly taken care of to maintain a fresh and healthy appearance. Some people mow their lawns, and others pay to get it done. However, life is getting very fast-paced, and the world has become busy, so people dont have the time to mow their lawns anymore. This allows you to start your lawn mowing service to earn some extra money.
Mowing Yards for Money, how much can I earn? And how can I start?
In general, mowing yards for money is an easy and successful way to start your own business. If you have your lawn care equipment, you dont need to invest much to start. As an extra, all you will need to add is a trailer to your vehicle to carry your equipment. The average price for mowing a lawn is between $40 to $50, meaning if you mow 5 to 6 lawns per day, you can earn up to $1000 per week. Initially, this is a good income as a side business, but with time and reinvesting, your profit wisely. You can shift your solo business to a whole new level and start your own lawn care company.
This article will learn how to start your own lawn care business and create a profit with a minimal initial investment. You will also learn some tips on how to increase your customer base and how to create a profitable and successful business.
Contents
Youve Figured Out How To Get Lawn Care Customers Fastwhats Next
Getting your first few clients when youre a new lawn business owner can be hard when no ones ever heard of you. But you can increase your odds of success by focusing on the right mix of .
Just make sure that in your rush to get new customers, you dont forget to take good care of them and treat them all like VIPs. The only thing better than getting new customers is having lifelong, satisfied customers.
Once you figure out how to get lawn care customers fast in the beginning, itll be easier to focus on expanding your services and slowly investing in your long-term growth.
From then onwards, youll also need to send professional quotes and invoices, track important job details, communicate arrival times, and make it easy for your clients to pay so they can become repeat customerswhich you can accomplish with lawn care software like Jobber.
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Work With Us For Your Professional Lawn Care Needs
Working with Yard Smart is, well, smart. Here are top reasons to hire our professional lawn mowing services:
- Save time and money. Lawn care often requires serious commitment and time. Get your weekends back for more exciting activities! Plus, you can potentially save money by avoiding buying expensive landscaping tools and equipment.
- Leave it to the experts. Our team has experience working with different grass types, climate conditions and all types of landscapes. Your lawn will be in the hands of experts who are knowledgeable and experienced.
- Get consistent care. Regular lawn mowing is important to optimize the health of your lawn. By hiring us, you are guaranteed that your yard will be well taken care of consistently.
- Your yard will look its best. Your yard is the first thing people will see when looking at your house. Ensure it looks its best and maintain your property value.
Get Experience And Have Fun
Just a fair warning: youâre going to make mistakes and thatâs okay. Remember to cut yourself some slack . Youâre the one out there grinding and working hard. Youâre the entrepreneur that is showing ambition and building something for yourself. Even though it can be stressful at times, it can also be extremely fun if you let it be. Way to go. Seriously, way to go.
If youâre looking for a way to alleviate some of the pressure of running this wildly successful business youâre building, take a look at our app that helps you get organized, increase efficiency, and get paid faster. It also does some of those fancy things I mentioned above like tracking time and generating a daily route. You can sign up in less than a minute and use the free version forever if you want. Iâll leave that up to you 🙂
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Step : Register For Taxes
You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.
In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!
You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.
Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.
Small Business Taxes
Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation .
You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:
There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.
Step : Define Your Brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
If you aren’t feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we’ll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.
Recommended: Get a logo using Truic’s free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.
If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.
How to promote & market a lawn care business
Promotional signage on the truck used for the business is important. If possible, when the truck is not in use, park it on a street with lots of traffic in a place that is highly visible. Using door-to-door distribution of discount promotional flyers to residences and business is also an effective way to advertise your business. Hand out your business cards to everyone you meet. If possible, put a promotional sign on all the lawns that you maintain that has your contact information on it. Make sure you have an attractive website that uses the best practices for search engine optimization to have a good rank on the search engine results page for local searches.
How to keep customers coming back
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Tip 2: Manage Your Equipment Spending
We understand you may want to go out there and buy the best equipment you can find. However, you dont need to get yourself too far in debt before you even have routine customers. If you already have some handy lawn equipment, learn how to make do with that. Having every piece of equipment you can think of isnt that big of a deal your clients are only going to care that the job is getting done theyre not going to size you up based on the equipment youre using.
As you start bringing in money, put money to the side for equipment breakdowns and yes, new equipment. If you dont set aside a certain portion of the money you make, you might find yourself stuck with broken equipment when you need it the most. Imagine having a lawn mower that wont work when you need to mow a couple of lawns that day that certainly isnt going to be good for your business.
How Much Does It Cost To Start
Generally, a lawn business can be relatively cheap to get up and running. If you already have an appropriate transportation vehicle at your disposal, then the starting business cost can be as cheap as $755-1,360.
Typical starter expenses include:
- Registration costs $75-400
- Basic flyer marketing $10
But more advanced businesses might require further expenses, such as trucks, additional equipment, and more sophisticated marketing.
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Offer Package Discounts For Scheduled Lawn Maintenance
Fertilization, aeration, dethatching, mulching and tree trimming, rather than mowing, tend to be your money makers in the lawn care industry. The trouble is, many homeowners want a nice lawn, but not if it costs a lot. Paying to have your lawn mowed is one thing it removes a strenuous, time-consuming and often unpleasant chore from the homeowners honey-do list but many homeowners will simply fertilize their own grass, or skip fertilization and other less regular maintenance chores altogether.
Take some of the sticker shock out of lawn fertilization. Offer package discounts for homeowners who sign up for lawn fertilization, aeration and dethatching package. Youll get more customers willing to shell out for the extra service, and thatll be more money in your pocket.
How Can I Get A Grass Cutting Job
The qualifications that you need to get a grass cutting job include the ability to work outdoors, the skills to operate a lawn mower, and the ability to communicate with clients to ascertain what services they need from you. You also need to maintain your lawn mower and other lawn care equipment. If you work for a landscaping or lawn care company, you usually need a high school diploma or GED certificate, and if you work as a contractor, you need liability insurance. Depending on where you live, you may also have to register your business.
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What Are Grass Cutting Jobs
Grass cutting jobs involve mowing lawns and conducting basic lawn maintenance services. Depending on the type of employment, your responsibilities can include performing other landscaping or lawn care tasks, such as a spreading fertilizer or grass seed, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, or raking leaves. Your duties can vary depending on the needs of each client. You can work independently and provide mowing services for clients on a contract basis or work for a landscape or lawn care company. You can work with a push mower, a self-propelled mower, or, for larger projects, a riding mower.
Lawn Mowing As A Business
As mentioned previously, starting a profitable lawn care business doesnt require a lot of investment. If you have a yard, then you are likely to have most of the necessary equipment. The essential equipment needed includes a lawn mowing machine, Weed Wacker to remove tall weeds, a gas can, extra mower blades if the older blades can not be sharpened anymore. Hand clippers, hand tools for emergency repairs, oil, gloves, and safety glasses.
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Can I Make My Own Lawn Care Website
Yes, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money upfront working on your website, you can start one fairly easily. Be forewarned there is a big learning curve. You can use WordPress to build a lawn care website rather affordably.
Starting your lawn care services website is a great way to expand your business and get new customers. This infographic by SitePoint does a great job of laying it all out! Be sure to check out our blog for lawn care pros for more great info.
How Should I Design My Website
You should layout your website with a clear presentation of your services as well as a direct call to action that directs your potential clients to reach out to you and sign up for service. You should also keep the design simple and user-friendly while offering a bit of a modern element so that users don’t feel like it’s still the 1990s.
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Start With The Size Of The Lawn To Be Mowed
The biggest factor for quoting lawn mowing jobs is obvious the size of the lawn that needs to be mowed. The size of the lawn is essentially the lot size, minus the house size and any patios, driveways, walkways, landscape beds or other large obstacles. You need a minimum cost to show up to a property and then be able to determine the lawn size and an associated cost. Simply put, larger yards will take longer and cost more to mow.
Length of the grass can not only result in a much longer mow-time, but it will also put more strain on your equipment. Youll need to sharpen your mower blade more often when mowing 10 inch grass vs 5 inch grass. Longer lawns also are notorious for causing clogs in certain mowers and machines, so account for that time before it happens!
If a property has too many obstacles, it will affect your time and efforts. Some obstacles like sprinkler heads can also increase your risk of damaging the homeowners property, resulting in costs to you for damages. Its best to price it out to ensure you have enough time to be cautious of these obstacles and replace them if something were to happen.
