Finding Help

This spring, finding help has proven to be a much larger challenge than in the past. In the past, simply putting up ads on craigslist has worked for us. This year we have had to go a little further. We have found that the quality of leads on craigslist is pretty poor. Have to filter […]

Commercial Maintenance Equipment

Currently, for each crew, we provide three different lawn mowers: 1) Primary mower Each crew has a primary mower which is a 52″ hydro Ferris. The favorites are the 52″ walk behinds (pictured above). We also have a Ferris 52″ ride on mower but the quality of cut isn’t as good. We have also used […]

Lawn Care Advertising

  Through my small businesses I have tried many different approaches to advertising. I have tried the following methods: Keep in mind that using more than one method of advertising has building benefits. I have read that a customer has to see 7 of your advertisements before they act on it. For example, people may […]

Bobcat for Landscaping

Last year, we purchased our first bobcat skid steer. We purchased a 1991 753 model. We bought it for $3000 but it needed quite a bit of work. It came with a trailer as well, so we did get a great deal. However, it had leaking hydraulic lines which had to be replaced. It still […]

Safety Training

Safety is starting to become important in our company. When we were smaller with only a couple employees, it was less important as there were less people in the field to get hurt. In 2014, we had 2 workers comp claims: One was for a hurt back, and one was for an eye injury. With […]

Management structure

As a company grows, you need to have some sort of structure which has become evident. Each position needs to have clear responsibilities so there is no confusion as to who is in charge of what. As it stands now we have me, who is in charge of the company. Working under me is our […]

Warranties on Equipment

It is important to track warranties on equipment since it can save you a lot of money in the long run. Especially this becomes critical when your company grows and you have more and more equipment to keep track of, as well as when you grow you have someone else in charge of the equipment […]

Hiring a Shop Mechanic

Last year was my first year hiring a mechanic. It didn’t go perfectly, but I learned a lot so am much more prepared to hire our next mechanic. Our first mechanic was a student at a nearby school. An extremely smart, talented kid. The only problem was he was part time; his priority was school […]

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an effective method of advertising. In the past, I have been less than satisfied with my response to direct mailings. They are THE most expensive way for us to obtain leads, but it is important to remember that it is not supposed to be a one time thing. People get frustrated that […]

Lawn Care Marketing in Newspapers

I love marketing, it is one of my favorite parts of running a business. Every year I like to try something new- In 2015 it will be newspaper stickers. These stickers go on the very front of the local newspapers in our area. I called early so we got perfect time slots. In the past, […]