Real estate agents are cheap bastards. So are HOAs. It’s an easy business to get into so competition is intense. A ZTR ride-on mower is almost essential if you want to make a decent profit.
A better idea might be pet waste removal- almost zero initial investment and not so many people are willing to do it.
Mr. Duality speaks wisely. Pay attention to his words.
That works for big yards without much in the way of trees or shrubbery. I guess there are a lot more places like that than I tend to notice.
In my yard, there are places where someone on a 48" deck would be able to double their speed as well as their swath; other places they’d be lucky to do any faster, and still other places, they’d need to pull out their 22" mower.
Finally, a lawn tractor that mows a 48" swath is also dependent on the smoothness of the yard. Such a big wheelbase can straddle minor undulations that wouldn’t bother a 22" mower, and literally cut right down to the ground. I speak from hard experience on this - multiple prospective yard outfits have done so in multiple places in my yard, and what’s worst is they don’t even notice. As a result, I confess I’m quite biased against lawn tractors: they fuck up and do lasting damage to my lawn. From this customer’s POV, no amount of speed can make up for that.
Maybe the owner of the lawn care business would, but I want a guy who can see what he’s doing while he’s doing it, and doesn’t blithely ride on past that place where he just cut a 1’ diameter bare spot in my lawn. Whether he’s ON a good machine - and from my POV, the ‘on’ is part of the problem; you’re further from the lawn, and you don’t see what you’ve just done like you do with a push mower - or whether he’s pushing 5 mowers simultaneously and, again, doing more than he can really see - either way, he’s a very fast fuckup.
You make some reasonable points.
But note that the big benefit to a ZTR mower is how it combines fast speed with ease of fine work. You can rip along through open areas, and easily maneuver around (and close to) trees and shrubs. To be sure, there’s a limit to how small a space you can fit through.
And I think you’re describing a level of service and attention to detail that lawn service providers either aren’t going to provide, or for which they’ll have to charge a significant premium. I’m guessing the OP’s prospective clients are interested in a more basic level of service.
So as long as he has a cell phone the only downside is all the beer and free sex? Sometimes you have to do what you normally wouldn’t to survive in such a cruel world.
As for the OP a lot of men do well with these types of small businesses in Texas. Lawn care is a friggin’ sport down here, so just about every guy that picks up a lawn mower walks away with a pocket full of cash.
I think that you’re over estimating your marketing target.
I used to be a real estate agent-I couldn’t care less if some lawn got mowed or not! Of course, I did want a property to sell, but, once I got the listing, every thing after that ate into MY profits. The real estate guy doesn’t want to whip 40 bucks on you per week; he’ll want the homeowner to pay for that. The homeowner just wants the house to sell. You will not get too much help from the real estate person, unless you give him something to give to the seller, and you have no reason to think that the samesman wants to work to get YOU business.
Lawncare is a good business, tho, from what I’ve seen.
Good luck on it. I just wanted to let you know that I think you have a wrong picture of the marketing scene!
Best wishes,
hh
OK, I think you’re misunderstanding the niche involved. The lots where ZTR mowers are useful are already being taken care of by people much better capitalized than I am. I’m looking at lots too small, too oddly shaped, or whatever to be practical for those guys.
Well, I appreciate the viewpoint but what started me on this line of thought was being approached by two different real estate agents inquiring if I could provide that service, or knew someone who did.
The area in question is an older city where lots are small and any property perceived at abandoned is broken into and stripped of plumbing, wiring, appliances, etc. which, as I’m sure you know, drastically lowers the sale value of the property. If $20-40 a couple times a month can prevent tens of thousands of dollars in damage to a property it might, in fact, be worthwhile to a real estate agent.
Perhaps your area is different.
Wow! I’ll say my area is different!
Good luck!
hh
Yes, I think that many people in ordinary housing developments forget about the way lots are laid out in older towns.
At my old house, our front lawn and our back lawn measured 22’x22’ each. And there would literally have been no way to get a riding mower on to the front lawn. I had an electric lawn mower on an extension cord.
So while getting better/faster equipment will definitely pay off, if there are a lot of similar lots in Broomstick’s area, there may indeed be a niche there.
I can see how you might make some money, but to be honest, the first thing I thought when reading your idea was: you are proposing to compete on price in an industry dominated by undocumented immigrants who work cheap. I may be wrong, but I think you’re going to find it tough to survive if your strategy is to undercut on price. (or, as Jack Donaghy put it, “I could never pay an English speaking person that little. They’d starve!”)
Ok, so here’s a few tips for what you’re doing…
spend a few extra bucks and upgrade to a self-propelled lawnmower. Front or rear drive, high-wheel or not, doing this all under your own power sucks. I have done it, and the move to a self-propelled mower definitely makes a difference.
Get a good sharpening kit that will fit on your drill, and a set of clamps or a vice to hold the blade. Also get a wrench that will allow you to remove the blade. Depending on how many lawns you mow in a week, you will be sharpening your blade regularly. Don’t trust the local hardware store or other places, as they can and will muck up your blade.
Get a spare blade. Hitting a rock in the middle of a job day and messing up your blade will cost you a day’s work while you run to the store to get a new one. They run about 20 - 25 bucks.
For most mowers, once a year is all you need to change the blade and the oil, but that figures 30 - 40 mowings. In your manual should be the recoomended HOURLY change schedule. Follow it. You’re talking about a few bucks each time, but it is worth it.
I agree that, from a business venture, you’re unlikely to pay yourself much above minimum wage.
The one thing about empty lots - they tend to be a place where dog owners let their dogs poop.
Check these lots for this before just to get an idea. I have a friend that cuts lawns and nothing sucks more than having a dog poop fly out. If the lots are vacant, nobody else will clean it so it’s on you.
I agree. You price it based on showing up plus your time. example: $20 + 15 per hour.
Other thoughts:
-2 feet of grass height isn’t mow-able, you have to use a power sickle or one of those giant weed eater mowers (can’t think of what to call them). A really small lot could be hacked down with a bladed weed-eater.
-a push mower SUCKS for any lot with a grade. Look for a used self propelled mower and familiarize yourself with engines. Popular engines are easy to get parts for and work on. My preference is a multi-speed rear propelled mower.
-even sorta-high grass is a problem because it can hide mower-killing objects.
Broomstick, I think you have a good idea. I’ve just started mowing myself and it seems we are following each other in our struggle to recover from job loss.
Not really sure what the big deal is, especially if it’s not your lawn. My biggest problem is when my dear wife doesn’t get the poop, I get in into one of the tires. I’d rather have it fly and integrate with the lawn then get in one of my tires.
I can’t say- I don’t mow my lawn and when my friend does, I make sure all is clean. He’s mentioned that it sucks because it can fling anywhere. He does keep his mowers really clean, so maybe it’s that.
Yeah- I don’t know what is worse. With a lawn mower running over a fresh sloppy dog shit which goes everywhere (and nothing sticks to clothing like dog shit) or an old white dry dog turd which explodes into a mushroom shaped cloud of dog shit dust which you inhale.