I been in business for 3 years and you and Spencer's lawn care have kept me from taking any losses and I have avoided many pit falls. So I thank yall so much.
3 biggest mistakes I made starting out. I started in 1988 as a teenager. Mistake 1 was buying equipment I didn't need. Take your time and grow slowly. That leads to mistake 2. Having them payments, I became desperate for more work so, I started cutting prices. In that move, mistake 3. I was running all over the place, sometimes in the same subdivisions 2-3 per week. Key point is be careful because 1 goof up can lead you down a rabbit hole that's hard to climb out of.
I started my own lawn care business here in Texas at the beginning of 2020 while working full time at AT&T as a technician, just doing Lawns on my days off. Your channel and a few others have been a great sources of information and knowledge and I hope to go full time on lawn care within 2 years. Cant put a price tag on the info that you and the others have shared, and I am grateful for what you do man. Hope you and your family have a happy and successful 2021, you deserve it. Oh, and my biggest hurdle this year was learning how to price my services. Lotta competition in DFW and I had to learn how to compete through quality because I just couldn't beat their pricing and be profitable. But man, I learned that most customers will pay more for a quality job and I ran with it. I may not move as quick and the 4 dudes across the street, but I'll be damned if my work doesn't look better. Cheers man, thanks for all you do.
This was great to hear about. Perhaps you can make a Playlist of "mistakes" videos. Maybe organized by the categories of: "starting out", "summer", "fall", "winter", "spring ".
Man I’ve been juggling a side lawn care business for a few years now in my head, I have a feeling you are the guy to motivate me to get it going already and make move to pay off my house decades early lol
Wow brother very clear and calm Amen 🙏 I just started i landscaping business and kinda having a hard time but it all get better with learning, and your good at teaching. I pray you channel grows.
Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video because I am thinking of starting a lawn care business and you saved me from making a lot of mistakes
I used to be a licensed lawn technician for commercial company, four years in Tennessee. As a owner now going full time I just want to focus on mowing and the basics with no chemicals. A lot of money can be made with chemicals but when accident happen an they will. It could be very costly! God Bless!
Appreciate all the good advice that you and Brian give, I'm subscribed to yours and Brian's channel and watch the videos daily, getting ready to get back in the lawn care business in April, something I used to do in the past and enjoy it very much and I believe that's where my passion is. Time to stop working for the man and become the man and work for myself. All the videos that you and Brian put out are very inspiring, thank you and keep it up .
Been a long time viewer Johnny . Just binge watching all of your videos , I finally bit the bullet and decided to start my own company I’ll have my official LLC in 30 days
He’s absolutely right about spraying without a liscense. When I spray there is paperwork for every property that I spray. Can’t spray if the wind speed is 10mph or more . You have to get a liscense. You will get fucked if you screw soemthing up and get turned in. You have to update your liscense and take a class in some states . Just get the liscense
Good video! I've learned a wealth of information from your videos. Thank the ALMIGHTY for your efforts and freely sharing your knowledge. My biggest mistakes were under charging. But its something I think many of us must go through in order to learn how to price properties. Now, I can walk a property and provide a very profitable and competitive estimate. And we stick to the price. There is no negotiating my labor. I can't say what the future holds, but right now, we stick to our guns with estimates. Pop Smoke!!
I follow your content to the letter! The only mistake I made was not finding the videos sooner! I started out charging people $25 per mow, but when you start driving farther than you want, you lose money lol. Never again. Know your wealth, know your skills, let your work shine!
Absolutely right, they do share their information. I’ve almost lost business due to cutting prices, the best thing to do is charge the same or a bit more . It happened with the rich folks especially . They think bc they have money they can adjust their own prices . Don’t do it . Stand strong, inform them we are here to make a honest living in a crooked world. It doesn’t take but one little incident to cost us money !
Awesome 👏 good job at first and second good amount of knowledge! I want start my lawn care business in Europe (Poland) and I see many many useful tips! Keep going and bless you!
Brian's lawn service cuts in the same area I do in Michigan and we know each other. Brian's pretty smart on the business side. I give discounts to neighbors to try and get more in the sub because if you cut a large group you're overhead isn't as high because of traveling gas,labor etc. Great video and tips.
i just want to start the business as a side hustle because my time is tied up somewhere else, so this information would be helpful in the long run, might hire somebody to run the business when things get tough.
@@Bladesofgrasslawncare one more thing Johnny when I do my hedging I usually cut it wrong just wondering what’s your advice when cutting straight thanks.
Great advice. The things that helped me most were watching your videos and building an extremely efficient setup, keeping up on reviews, getting high up on Google as fast as possible, and mapping out efficient routes. Always charge good, gas and fertilizer only go up. My mistake was not charging a cleanup fee. Also, a huge one is that there are going to be customers who are bored and or retired and want to talk when you show up for service. If it's not about service, cut the conversation very short. That one is key.
I'm going on my 21st year of lawn service when I first started there was no RU-vid I was with one of my friends who do the same work that I do he told me there is no way that I can do 9 lawns in one day I told him even though I'm working a full-time job it can be done you have 9 Lawns and they are close together like on the same street or within blocks of each other it can be done
Thanks Johnny great info i caught myslef about Spraying yards i didn't do it about to get the license you you are right got to have them license.Yep keep them yards close. ✌
Me and my little brother started doing yard work for side money. I'm 16 and he's 14 and honestly we charge cheap because we're using their equipment, ($20) but we did weed pulling and mow
😂 My thing was charging the neighbor _more_ and they find out what I'm charging the first customer, or getting ticked off because somebody I knew told her neighbor what I was doing her lawn for, and I was like 😳🤯🤯 "NOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't charge you the _everybody_ price. Don't share that information as my regular price..." 😂😂🤦🏾♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦♂️
Hey man it's Keith Kalfas. I'm trying my hardest to hit 100K subs before midnight tonight. And I'm not the type of guy to ask for help. But I figured it's worth a shot. 🥳 Happy New Years!
My mistake was traveling too far. At one point I had 4 towns and was cutting 12 and 15 small lawns 3 days a week and 3 to 5 large lawns 2 days a week. Did the numbers and was mowing the big ones for 60 and 70 each but was making nothing. Driving to far. HAPPY NEW YEAR.
It’s you I like and I like you just the way you are you make each and every day a special day by just your being you and the best person you will ever hope to be is your honest self! It’s such a good feeling to know your alive and well in this truly unique world and what a good feeling it is to know that we are truly life long friends and that there is no one else like you in the whole world and I like you just the way you are you made this day a special day by just your being you.
Am I the only person that answers the questions out loud during the video like John can hear my answers I learnt from what you said I made an equation to figure out a price based on the size an what area but I only knew because I watched your channel from day one you will still make mistakes despite all you learn insurance would be crucial to anyone starting out the best example ive heard on youtube is an ac unit damaged that will ruin you if you don't have insurance its fairly cheap real estates insist on millions but depends on who your clients are how much you need covering have a good new year everyone best wishes for the new year-nafe
Sometimes you have to give breaks to get the business. It's hard though when its a weekly thing and every week one of your customers feels like he's getting jipped.
Johnny, great content I love your vids. I’m curious how you made the transition from active military to your lawn care business. I plan to retire in 2025 and have aspiration to start my own lawn care business. I’m trying to plan my exit strategy so I can hit the ground running when that day comes. 💨✌️
Great video, I'm learning a lot from you guys. I'm still making mistakes, but I'm learning and my mistakes are get less lol. I'm driving 45 minutes to cut grass, lol. It's growing in that area. You mentioned that you have a video on how you calculate drive time. If you would be so kind to share that link I would really appreciate that. Thanks
Love the channel, that's deep grass in that gulley. Wonder if a push mower would've gotten through that section? But that was long looks like it had been wet. Your voice is very calm and soothing, good info thank you.
I would offer a discount based on the # of houses in the area who sign up. Everyone in the neighborhood gets cheaper service by helping you convince their neighbors to sign up.
I see you using that handheld battery-operated router I would have bought me one last year a Craftsman about a hundred forty-nine bucks faded even have it they had to order it and True Value the first day I use that I made my money back the first day I used it today made a hundred bucks like our is great man I've never would have thought to getting that until I seen you with it and I'm going to get one of Irving's grip or handle
There is a reason why people need licences for using chemicals. They are artificial products that are risky to use and damaging to the environment. In the UK you need to be properly trained to be licenced and costs upwards of £500. Lots of chemicals are banned because of the risks, thankfully. Just cut the weeds back regularly and eventually they will give up. Thanks for the video
I priced a big yard that needed a riding mower and couldn’t get to it in time I should’ve used the customers lawnmower and got to work 😂 neighbors talk thanks man
Hi, can you show us the breakdown of income vs expenses? How much do you spend on gas, marketing materials, business license, business insurance, taxes, etc.
I’ve thought about doing a $10 gift card referral program if they get you a neighbor that stays with you for at least 5 cuts. I wouldn’t really want to get in the habit of it but maybe do it as a first year only promotion.
Hey brother, I got some questions about initial start up on things no one makes videos about. Before you decide to conduct business are you getting a business license, insurance, etc or just starting off by only accepting cash? This is what’s keeping me from acting on what I want to do. I feel like that process will automatically put me at a loss before I ever pick up my first customer
I just simply refer customers to companies that specialize in weed control and fertilizing. Usually answer is but they are so expensive lol . My answer is that they are licensed and know what they are doing. l would pay for their expertise on my lawn.
