DON'T Let FEAR of FAILURE Enter Your Mind When Starting & Growing Your Landscaping Business 

So awesome

We are implementing the same sort of thing I think with our lawncare. 12 month payment plan and for us a 3k minimum for a customer. Shooting for 3500-4500 average per customer per year and 25-30 customers on a full service plan. Thats spring/fall clean, aeration, dethatching and 26 weeks or so of mowing that we get. We will bill out at the beginning of every month starting in April. We are leaving irrigation to irrigation guys, trees to tree guys, spraying etc.. The only thing that we have come up with that might be an issue is when to start taking payment. Ultimately we are thinking its best to start payments for everyone at the beginning of the season and if we get customers mid season then we will pro rate the services and payments to align with our payment schedule for the rest of the season. Keeps everyone on track that way and you don't need to keep track of when you started each customer. You just know that the next April(for us) it starts all over again. Our worst case scenario with this is starting someone in the winter on payments and then failing to be able to render services for whatever reason. i.e. injury or other unforeseen circumstances. If you haven't saved money in a rainy day account to pay them back you're in big trouble. So I'm just kind of sharing what we have thought of in terms of potential pros and cons. Not sure if this is even the route you're going. We also got some pushback in the beginning while sharing our plan with existing customers. they didn't feel comfortable paying ahead of time like that. Starting at the beginning of service season makes sure the customer gets everything they paid for by the end of season and allows them to pay for it over an extended period. It is a win win and it took us 5 years to figure this out. We spent all last season running as fast as we could cutting lawns and fitting people in for one time services. 50-60 hours a week and at the end of the summer we had nothing to show for it. This plan also simplifies billing and saves you more time and therefore money. As well as simplifying billing it also makes things go a lot more smoothly schedule wise. We know what were doing and when every week every month all year. So do the customers. No more trying to squeeze in an extra this or that and pulling your hair out with scheduling and constantly being on the phone scheduling or rescheduling. Trying to keep track of tons of one time service customers is a thing of the past. If everything goes well we should hit 100k this year for 6.5 months of work. That leaves the winter to relax, work on yourself or perhaps another business idea. Weve done snow removal too but you cant count on it. Always wondering how we will make it through until spring. Good luck with your irrigation business

@@platinumlawnservice First off, thank you so much for taking the time to explain the detailed version of your plan, I really learned a lot. I am greatly appreciative. I've done sprinkler design/ installs, as well as thousands of service calls in the Seattle/ Tacoma area for the last 25 years, well since around 1999. I work with/ for my dad, who was a barbarian in the labor industry, a hard-working savage who got his money. We did walls, patios, sod, water features, you name it. I kind of took over the sprinkler aspect of things and I tried to keep up with him doing everything else, lol. Well, he passed away January 8, 2023, from liver cancer. I've only worked once since then. In his final words he told me I could have the trenching machine. As well as the 2 vans and the old 1-ton flat bed. Our business had too much debt for me to take it over, so I am starting over from scratch. I have no business or entrepreneurial experience, so I am like a lost sheep. I've got a data base of about 500 of our clients' addresses, less than half with phone numbers. I had several hundred 5 start service call reviews but google wiped us clean with no explanation about 3 years ago. My point is everyone loved me. So, I hope to sell some of them on the fact that if they want to see me be around for 10 plus years, then purchasing my Platinum plan will insure that. I also have a gold and silver, which have less services for a smaller price. This adds up all of my annual services and divides them by 12. I love your idea about pro-rating the late comers, because I really was stuck on that exact dilemma for several days and just had to move on temporarily. My wife and FB friends keep telling me that I'm gonna do fine, but I feel like my dad is laughing at me, like, you little b****. Lol. My plan is to work smarter not harder. At 47, I don't want to build block walls in freezing weather to pay bills in the winter, plus, I'm not even a contractor, I will probably end up paying them to work in their yard. lol. I stay awake and worry (I mean think) until about the time my wife goes to work at 7am. Then I rest a few hours. Then I'm back up, trying to figure this all out again. I got my LLC about a week ago and I'm waiting on my business account debit card to star soliciting work. It is supposed to come any day now. I don't have any money yet for any bells or whistles. Sorry if I went so deep here, with my response, I just don't have much good stuff to say yet, and I feel as though I owe you a respectable response, since you gave me so much useful information. Major good luck to you my friend✌

@@vortexmodettv9666 I just wrote you a long response that got deleted. The basics were to keep good communication and know your numbers. Overhead and such. LMN software is great for this and its free to use for estimates and budgeting. It takesd a minute to setup right but its well worth it. We were charging over 100 an hour less that we should have been for 2 of us and equipment overhead etc. Im sorry to hear about your Dad. I dont know what thats like but I know it cant be easy. It also sounds like you know what your doing in this business which is more than a lot of us can say as a start up. Keith has videos explaining how to use mass email or text programs to get the word out to your customers. Saves a lot of time when you have hundreds. Try to narrow your focus and maximize profit from it. Dont complicate more than you have to. I still get anxiety everyday wondering if Ill make it but thats normal. Eventually a routine will settle out and maybe that will subside. Another thing is to use your equipment as long as you can. Buying new stuff is fun but unless its needed its better spent on your family or retirement account.

Awesome! Thank you!

I’m in your spot bro I’m trying to start mine but struggling to figure out how to find customers

I do