Hi this is Russell with Gwinnett Lawns. I am a solo operator in North Georgia that primarily focuses on lawn maintenance. Since most of what is in this area consists of Bermuda and Fescue grasses, that's what I specialize in doing. My goal is to make customers lawns look the best in the neighborhood. I serve Gwinnett County with parts of Walton and Barrow as well.
This is very good advice, I think people that have very physical jobs think the last thing they need to do is more work/ exercise but it's actually what will save your body if you have a smart fitness routine.
L turned 80 last winter. ive been doin lawn care for 27 years. i started part time while workin nights as a diesel mechanic at a caterpillar dealer. went full time after i retired from cat. had employees in the past, but now solo an have cut back to 40 properties. legs are starting to slow me down since people tell me i work like im fighting a fire.
I’m 53 year I run my own landscape business and company and I cut weekly and do brushes and I do fall clean up and spring clean up and I do gutters cleaning and do mulch and I do weeding
Im all for a kid starting their own business, but dont take food off of my table to support his business if you are happy with the service im providing. I wouldnt have taken him back.
Here in Canada on the prairies, our leaf season is short and intense. They start turning around Sept, and pour down like rain in Oct. Nov is snow. I borrowed an idea from Countryside, and got all my clients on weekly leaf cleanup (mostly mulching). It's a good system because it allows me to extend my regular route for another month at an increased rate, with very few huge piles to deal with. The nice thing is to make it seamless with no down time between grass and snow.
Cool to hear, it's different everywhere. All my yards are micro-tiny compared to what you do. Like $35 for 15min total incl loading/unloading. Everything weekly, cutting mostly northern Kentucky Blue. We have 2 rivers in my city, so those are the only sloped yards and I don't take them. Everything else is board flat. I don't seek corner lots either because they salt/gravel the streets in the winter, and that gravel always piles up on the corner lots when they plow the streets. A big "pet" peeve is places with backyard dog poo. My ideal yard is one with a 38" gate (or no backyard mowing at all), very small, and good pavement for snow clearing in the winter. Cleaning uneven cobble is such a pain with a snowblower. Also no driveways, just walkways and garages in the back. I'm one of the only people in my area who uses a walk behind with no trailer. 99% use a push mower, which gets tiring and beats you up in the heat. My own 21" is an 80v kobalt battery mower, because most gates are 26" here with tiny little back yards. Fav days are when I can do all the places that don't require the 21" and leave it at home.
thanks for the quick turnaround, now I’m curious at your price point, how many people go forward, vs not? 3/10, 8/10. Etc. I’m in metro Atlanta area as well, solo, I only take on quarter acre lots or less, and I’ve got a decent presence online, and I feel like I get beat out all the time by guys charging less than what i charge, and I charge less than your minimum. Whats your take on volume/route density at a lesser cost vs charging more, but possibly not taking on as many yards because of a more premium cost. Thanks again.
Yea I have some vids coming out on pricing and how to close the estimates for max profits. I am near the top price and beat out the lowballers often. The vid coming out on the 23rd will give you a MASSIVE head start on doing that.
My idea of the perfect lawn is very similar. I live and service a small, fishing town on Matagorda Bay at the Texas Gulf Coast. Most of mine are vacation homes. I wish i could get anywhere close to $89 minimum! There are about a half dozen retired gentleman just like me that mow a few lawns to supplement our retirements. $50 is a minimum for a small lawn with very little weed trimming. Some of these guys were doing $20 lawns!. Makes it hard to charge much mire than they do. We have no sidewalks or curbs. I don't even own a push mower so 17:41 if my zero turn won't do it. I'll pass. Mine are broke down into bi-weekly, and every 3 weeks. Only 2 have any type of fence at all. A $50 lawn is one that takes me less than 30 minutes total. I know i could drive to the nearest bigger city and make a lot more however i am a volunteer firefighter and by staying in our first run district that enables me to simply kill the mower, jump in the truck and respond to calls. I only do 15 lawns so I split them up into 2 mornings during this hotter weather. Some of mine about 1/2, leave a check for me the day, a few i send a text message and they send a check at the end of each month.
Under 5000sq, flat, no push mowing is ideal….. I’m in the same boat as you. A lot of hilly yards. I got a 36 walk behind for back yards and hills. I only take subdivision yards for the most part so the 36in walk and a 48 rider has been great set up. Think I would have rather went with a 52 stander though and refuse to push mow.
Help me out Russell. I have about 10 hornets that linger around the base of an oak tree on one of my properties. I’ve tried shooting them with Raid but unless I hit them, don’t work. I think they are eating the sap of the base of the tree. No hole or nest. So what do I do .
As far as taking the customer back, that depends. If they were fairly good customers before, I'd take them back, maybe with an understanding that they were a probationary period (that part depends on just how good of a customer they were ("We' give it a try and see how it works out")) I've got a few customers that I'd probably hold a cookout for to celebrate the event. (They probably would never have gotten into that position in the first place, though.) On the other hand, if they were a royal PITA in one way or another, not even if they begged. (I've got a "Oh Hell No! Not even if my life depended on it" former customer, too.) Have a fantastic day!
I’m just up the street from you in Forsyth county and I do exactly what you do for leave cleanups. If I can’t mulch it I don’t do it. I do only take weekly customers though. Alittle harder to find but if you have fertilized grass I refuse to do it biweekly with Bermuda. This year hasn’t been bad because of the lack of rain but rainy season is just too much work to do bi weekly imo.
@@GwinnettLawns I just have a policy if it’s a fertilized yard it has to be weekly. This year hasn’t been terrible because of the lack of rain but these fertilized Bermuda lawns with a lot of rain I spend so long double cutting and blowing clippings that I just refused to to it anymore
I do take them back , they just don't have de benefits of high quality service. Unless they stay for a longer period of time they will get the quality back. I get them back for an extra income helps out 👍👍
have you done a video on what your “ideal lawn” is? lawn size, location, sloped vs flat, fence no fence, corner lot vs postage stamp etc. also, could you do a video on how you detrmine your lawn prices? When do you decide increase customers cost? You seem very thorough with everything, I’d be interested to learn. Thanks.
Hi Russell, Keith in Snellville. Was wondering if you have ever used or demoed the Skagg 30 inch push mower? Thinking about buying one this winter to use next year on some of my yards.
Hi Keith, nope never tried the Skagg but if I was looking for a mower in that size I would take a hard look at the Ferris FW15. I like that mower but never used one yet.
Good points Russell on the leaves in our area!! Curious how you typically go about mulching various yards. The technique you use? Also, love the Isuzus, not worrying about a trailer is nice!
@@Rockstarlawncare I’ve never used X blades because the energy required to turn them is a little more than the FS 600 should be able to handle. The best mulching blades I’ve ever found are the Ballard ripper blades.
I just bought a Honda hrx select drive. Would've been nice to have the hydrostatic transmission and blade stop but not for $1,000 compared to $600. So far the mower has plenty of power and a nice cut . I have the speed just barely above minimum or else you'll be jogging behind it.
I always like when I get nice stripes. I have two old power reel mowers that have full with rollers. So when I'm feeling nostalgic I get nice stripes. Im up in PA and have Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Rye and Fescue mixed and my grass looks the same. I cut around 2 1/2"
I bought this mower in July 2024. As it sits in my garage it has 19.0 hours on it. It is the most badass mower I ever owned. I call it MadMax. In my part of NYS we have mostly farmer lawns. Almost everything and anything grows in them. We don't care. MadMax gets it done. One thing Gwinnett didn't cover is there is a lot of room to adjust the deck lower using the height adjustments/chains. I am a full half inch lower than what the handle marker says without touching the caster wheels. We know the Kawasaki 850 is boss. Wright mounted it on an equally boss mower chassis. I have no regrets. Paid $11,600 cash to get the discount.
First of all you can never bump to much Im always bumping my sundown's second only busters use a guard, lose the guard stop being a buster and crank them subs homie.
can you tap a new bathroom addition septic line to the riser instead of digging another 8 feet down to connect to original line that taps directly into the septic tank?
Why is the handler positioned to inner place (placed to right side) instead of. left side than should be better alighted and fitted to to left hand that holds it?
