Honesty is the best policy and take responsibility in the mistakes you made.

When you are starting a lawn care or any business, The most important thing a client or customer wants is to be honest with them.This could me more then doing a perfect job. Of course you do your best for them but if you happen to make a mistake or do something wrong,Tell then first before they find out. I do lawn care for several years and I can say that I am pretty good in what I do I am not the best but I do the best I can.If I make a error I tell them first. There was accidents broken windows from pebbles whipped from a lawnmower or weed eaters I told the person what I did and took care of it right away. Its sucks when these things happens but when you prove to your customers that you will make your mistakes right they will trust you more and they will feel more secure and you will have a good chance of them using you again next season.

Lets recap doing the best job that you can do is very important.Be honest and responsible even if you do something wrong you will prove to your clients that you are a good lawn care provider and they will trust you more and will use you more often. I hope my thoughts will help you if you are first starting out take care and God Bless

Should I add landscaping in your lawn care business and vice versa

If it was me I would do it. Of course do the landscaping jobs that you can do but doing this will give you best of both worlds.With landscaping jobs you will have the opportunity of making more money per job. for example a tree trimming or removal you can make $100-$500 and other bigger landscaping projects you can make a bit more.the drawback on landscaping is that projects are for the most part one time and the job is done. with lawn care you make less money per job but you will get a lot more jobs to do and for the season you will be doing weekly or bi-weekly the job will not end because the grass will always keep growing until the season ends.If you do a little of both chances are you will have plenty of work. You can do mowing in between landscaping jobs that way there is a good chance you will have money every week.

If you mainly do lawn care you can do smaller landscaping jobs like tree trimming,trimming bushes, putting in stone for someone,mulching around trees and flower beds, weeding and other things you can think of. I hope this post will help you if you are first starting out in this business take care and God Bless

landscaping out doors
landscaping tips
lawncare ideas

I can do this blog by phone:-)

Wow this is cool yes I know I am whay behind the times and I am trying to catch up. Soon I will figure out how to put pictures on this blog we'll take care,have a great day and God Bless

The BIGGEST Risk in Lawn Care getting PAID!

In all my years in lawn care one of the concerns is getting paid after the job gets done.When you just get starting out,it may be hard to ask for the money because you have to deal with the drama of getting money that you have earned.Now for the most part the majority of your clients or customers and good honest people who will pay you. People go through hard times or are busy and you missed them from time to time.

There are people who are out there who are scum and will take advantage of you in a second.The chew you down to a price so cheap that it is almost not worth doing the job and when you do get done they will not pay,bounce a check or won't be around when you come.

How do you solve this the most full proof way to solve this problem is to get the money up front or on big landscaping jobs get 50% up front.people may not like this because they are taking the risk of you running off and not do the job. I heard complaints from my customers on what happened to them in the past. What I do is mow in good faith and collect payment at the end of the job.Yes it is taking a risk but I am 80-90% sure that the clients will pay me.

The last resort that if people owe you a lot of money you mow there yards for months and they didn't pay you you can take them to court or go to collections if you tell them this, they may get scared and start paying you.

getting paid

I could not find too many links but I hope this will help take care and God Bless

Can you make money in Lawn Care??

Yes you can. It does not cost too much money. When  you first start out you can buy used equipment from Angies List boo koo or the local yellow pages around your area.If you have more money you can invest you can go to your local Walmart or Lowe's and buy a new mower. A snapper or Bolens push mower will work just fine you also need to buy a weed eater and a blower get some cheap yard tools if you want to do small landscaping on the side. You will be good to go until you make enough money that you can afford better and bigger equipment such as commercial mowers riders,walk behinds and zero turns. For now lets say you just have the basic set up. There is still money to be made word of mouth is the best form of advertising knocking on peoples doors works too.

You can do this full time or part time after work it is up to you and the situation you are in but if you can mow 1 or 2 yards a day after work are around $40 per cut that is $80 a day times 5 days which is an extra $400 a week $1600 a month even if you figure $200-$400 for gas and maintenance you still make an extra $1000- $1200 a month If you do this full time you could make around $24,000 per year.

These figures are just estimates you can make more or less depending on the situation you are in and what kind of job you work. For me I have basic equipment and do this part time and work a part time job. I remember 2015 I payed the majority of my bills with the money I made doing lawn care.

The bottom line is there is money to be made in lawn care you just have to be willing to work hard for it and be in pretty good shape. If you need some more information in starting a lawn care business go to you tube and type in lawn care or starting a lawn care business and you will find several fantastic you tube channels that deals in lawn care.I also have some links that can help you as well
Take Care and God Bless

lawn care help
lawn biz
dont let the name fool ya

Things are starting to get going in 2017

Did a couple of yards today and looked  at some more to place bids. Hopefully we will have a very busy year! I was going to send some pictures but i am still trying to figure it out.I will do this before the end of the season I hope lol to all the ones that have a landscaping or a lawn care business I wish you the very best Take care ,God Bless and make lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Should You get general liability insurance for your business??

When you are just starting a service business like lawn care or tree removal,is  getting general liability insurance a good idea? Yes especially if you are not a L.L.C.When you mow yards there is a high risk of a rock going through a window of a house or cars and trucks outside and if you mow for local stores like Dollar Generals,Wendy,s and other places like these there is a rick of a rock or pebble hitting a vehicle while on the road which may cause an accident.If you are a sole proprietorship or partnership you are 100% responsible for paying all the damages that you have done and if someone gets hurt the you will have to pay all the medical bills.

If you are doing tree work, getting insurance is a must because the risk is so much more.If you make a mistake and a tree falls on a house or car that,s tens of thousands of dollars or more coming out of your pocket. I would not even think of taking a tree down with out getting  insurance. When someone calls me to take a tree down I would partner up with a tree company let them to the bulk of the work and I would do the job that I can handle like cleaning it up. When you place your bid you add the cost of the other tree company and a little for what you can do. Yes you will not make as much money and the bulk of it will go to the other company but at least it is better owing somebody the rest of your life and maybe going out of business.

I hope this will help you make the best decision here are some links on general liability insurance
Take care and God Bless

Insurance bee
.progressive
nationwide
netquote
2.gainliability

I am back home!!

I am back home in Missouri ready to kick off the 2017 lawn care landscaping season. We got a lot to do. I will be talking with new lead generation companies and will let you all know the results.I also started a J&R Enterprise page on face book. I will also getting my equipment ready for this season.What I really need to focus on this year is marketing and learning more about the internet. This is the wave of the future I will also do old school marketing as well like knocking on doors and passing out flyers. It is Important to keep the help working because they need to make money too.

I will add new strategies for the season but I will also continue to give people the best service  I can for a fair price.These are my thoughts for this entry I hope everybody has a great year and to all the people who are into landscaping and lawn care may it be your best year ever

Take care and God Bless    

In Japan now

We left Vietnam 12 hours later because I thought it was 11.55 am but it was pm lol. Once we got to the Nanida airport we had to take the bus to the Narita airport we will be flying of. Japan looks pretty cool like the big cities in the U.S  When I get back to the U.S I will be posting more have a great and God Bless

Heading Home

It has been fun being in Vietnam.My wife family and friends treated me well while I was there but now it,s time to go home and begin the 2017 season.I will post something after I get home.

Take care and God Bless  .

Here are some Great Landscaping Websites

JOBBER WEBSITE
MY LANDSCAPE WEBSITE
THE TOP 5
REESER LAWNCARE AND LANDSCAPING
WARDS LAWN CARE

These are only a few website they have a lot of information which you can learn from.

What is the best name brand push mower to buy??/

In my 6 years of mowing I been very lucky to have my good buddy(RIP)  repair lawn equipment for a hobby. he take junkers and fixes them and sells them to me at dirt cheap prices. If you are in a situation like I was and you are first starting out this would be ideal. I got equipment this was for most of doing lawn care.

But when I did raise some money and wanted to get a new push mower I took went went to Lowe,s and Walmart spending a little extra time and looking are all the brands carefully to determine price and quality you want to deal with is not a bad idea.

Sometimes you can go to the clearance section and get lawnmowers,weed eaters etc that;s ether been used once or twice and returned or old or discontinued lawn care equipment that had been on display.
the price if you go this route can be reduced 10-50% or more. That is what I did I sow they had a bolens  21" push mower on clearance for around $50 the clerk told me it needed a carburetor so I took it to repair shop got it fixed for $70 and I must of done around 75-100 yards with that mower last season.

What is the best name brand push mower to buy? Any name brand mowers are good the more money you spend the better the mower. Its really is the preference of the individual like in cars you have people who like fords better then Chevy or saying that Dodge is number 1 it is the same way with mowers.As for me in my opinion and experience I would go with bolens when you are first starting out because it is a cheaper mower to buy and you can get the most value for the money you spend.

I left a link of reviews of the top  mowers Take care and God Bless
top mower review

Landscaping in Ho Chi Min City???

Still in Vietnam on vacation. It will be winding down soon we just took my wife niece and nephew to the air port they will be heading back to Wilmington North Carolina. My wife and I will go back to Missouri on 3/16/2017 on the way to the air port I saw people cleaning up the leaves that had just fallen from the trees. you can,t mow over there because it is all concrete but if you had a blower/vac you can suck up the leaves and some small bits of trash. Just thinking to myself and this is a lawn care blog so I have to stick to the theme lol

Take Care and God Bless  

w2s vs 1099

This is and interesting thought lets say that you been in business for a while. There is so many clients that you heed extra help in getting all the jobs done.Thinking to yourself should I pay under the table? if the work is sporadic and he makes not to much money then it is ok to do this once in a while but remember if you want to run your business legally then you should check with you accountant and see how much money you can give to your help under the table.My  accountant told me its $600 per year per person before you would have to issue a 1099.

You are now making a lot of money in your business the work is now steady and you can not do all the jobs by yourself.Its now time to go to the next step so what should I do hire employees or issue them a 1099 this decision is up to you.

A 1099 is a  tax form you give people at the end of the year who helps you weather its mowing,landscaping or what ever. the people who receives a 1099 are not employees,they are independent contractors.The only thing you have to do is pay them when they complete the job.They get no benefits and you never have to pay work mans comp.When you do this you may run into a situation where some of your help would only work for you if you pay under the table. because they do not want to pay the taxes because taxes are high in self employment.

A W 2 is a tax form  you give people at the end of the year to people who helps you with your business but instead of being independent contractors they are now a part of your business they are employees.they work for a wage or a salutary and have benefits and depending on which state you live in once you reach a certain amount of employees you must provide them with work mans comp.
it is insurance to protect the employees on the job that if something goes wrong and they get hurt and have to go to the hospital that there medical bills are covered.When you do decide to hire employees, it is best to get a good accountant There is a lot involved, you have to pay quarterly your with holdings you take out of employees checks and other fees and deductibles

It is you to you in what you want to do and how much your company has if you are really slow parts of the year or you can not give your help at least 15-20 hours a week. it would be better and keep it simple and go with 1099 on the other hand if you start getting big contracts and  you are busy every day and you can give them 20+ hours then it would be best to hire employees.Like I said it depends on you and your situation.You can also do both hire a few employees and on some of the big jobs when you need more help you can bring in 1099 people you help finish the job

I have a link below if you are ready to hire employees

SBA info to hire employees

I hope this helps you take care and God Bless

other lawn care tips

spring tips

just learning how to post links here is one that I found that will be helpful

I knew I should have payed more attention in English class

Sometimes its around 1 or 2 in the morning when I post and lazy to edit at that time and my grammar is not the best lol If you find anything that needs editing you can let me know at jandrbusiness@yahoo.com Thank you for your help

Starting a Landscaping Business with little capital

For those who want to start a landscaping business with out raising a lot of capital here are my thoughts. What I would do is start out with lawn care first and as your experience grows and you start to make money you can  add landscaping projects later on.

The reason why it is best to have lawn included in the landscaping business because people will always need there lawns done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis on the other hand many of the landscaping projects if you do a good job will only be one time or once a year so you may never get called back once you complete the job and if you just starting out it may be a while before you get another landscaping job. when you add lawn care you will still be able to make some money doing yards until you get another landscaping project.Once you get big enough and have a lot of jobs to do then you can stop doing lawns.If it was me I would still do both.

Like lawn care if you do not have a lot of money to spend start out small maybe weeding somebodies flower bed, trimming bushes,adding mulch and other small landscaping projects. Some basic tools that you may need for small landscaping jobs are a spaded shovel,a pick ax,a garbage can, a rake,clippers,pruning saw and other tools depending on the job you will be getting into.like in lawn care if you do now have a lot of money to buy new you can get some used yard tools on Cregs list or boo koo if you are lucky you may find a deal where somebody has a bunch of yard tools they want to get rid of for around $30.00

Remember it is always best to start out small and as your expirence grows and you are able to buy better equipment then start doing bigger jobs. In landscaping you will need a truck you can only do so much with a car especially when you start to do bigger jobs.what you can do is when you start making some extra money around $100 to $150per month you can go to the bank and apply for a small loan around 2 to 3 grand enough to get a used truck I know at the credit union I get a resonal loan for about 3 grand and the payments are around $100 per month to get it insured if you break it down per month would be around $80 per month depending on with state you live and your driving record.

As in any business if you start out legit you can take many expenses off your taxes at the end of the year I hope this will help you if you are just starting out in this industry

Take Care and God Bless

Can you start a lawn care business with a shoe string budget??

The answer is yes. if you only have a car and a couple  hundred to spare it could be do just go to Cregs list or your local classifieds and yard sale websites like boo koo to find used mowers and weed eaters and other used equipment for sale for sale. On the average you can get a used push mower for $50-$100 a weed whacker or weed eater will run you about $25-$75 blowers $25 and up.bungees around $4-$12. It is always better to get new equipment even if you get cheaper brands it may still cost you around $1,000 for a basic set up. I understand that you may have a lot of bills to pay and that spending that kind of money is out of the question for now. so you have to settle for a cheap set up for around $200 around $20 bucks for fuel

Ok when you see the equipment that you want to buy make sure you have them start it up so you know it is running ok that the blades cut half way decent and the weed eaters and blowers work ok
remember you are buying used so the equipment won,t  be perfect but you want to mow as many yards that you can to save up money to buy new before the equipment starts to break down. you can make on the average of $30-$50 per yard depending of what stat you live in Once you start making enough money start buying new because new equipment will last longer cut and preforms better and last longer also if you have a legit business you can take it off your taxes at the end of the year.

A truck you be the best vehicle but if you only have a car you can put the lawnmower in the back of the trunk a secure with bungie straps

You need to advertise but can not afford to pay for ads, tv or radio even printing flyers is too much money the answer word of mouth and knocking on doors. Talk to your friends and family tell them what you do.When you are at work tell your co workers what you do. I got several clients just by doing this its 100% free and you have a captive audience. drive around sub divisions if you see grass overgrown knock on there and tell them what you do I made over $135 by doing this I was on my way in doing a yard when I saw a yard overgrown grass was around 4' high I knocked on the door and took them my name and what I do. They were so happy that I came because the realiter was getting complaints and the yade had to be mowed as soon as possible.

this is your basic setup in how to get started with little money but what if you don,t even have money to buy used equipment. You just have to be cerative you can tell people that you provide the service using there equipment. many people have lawn equipment but they just do not have the time or feel like mowing the yard on the only day off. You can do the task for them it is best to charge less money because you are using there equipment but this is one way you get generate money to buy lawn equipment.

I hope this advice will help you in what you want to do starting a lawn care business is not impossible it may not be pretty at first but if you stick with it, it is a good chance that you will grow and be successful I wish you well in your venture take care and God Bless    

Need to Master this Blog

Its been a long time since I was blogging .Once I figure how to post pictures and videos I will be a lot more exciting lol

On Vacation

My wife and I are on vacation seeing her family in Vietnam. We will come back to the states on the 16th and I will be ready to go mowing on the 18th. It looks like the lawn season is beginning early in Missouri!  

Just starting out,GO to You Tube!

If you are just starting out in the lawn care or landscaping business go to you tube.You Tube is by far one of the best ways to get information. There are people who vlog there life style of what they go through running a business on a day to day basis There are many vlogs out there on you tube here are some vloggers that I watch daily

Chants Daily Hustle a really good you tube channel to learn from.He has 5 businesses he runs from his shop. cell phone repair,photography the laundry mat and mowing landscaping. He has a lot of great information on mowing and he also does landscaping projects  such as pavers laying stone and much more.

Top Notch Lawn Care mainly focus on lawn service yard clean ups laying sod another great source of information.

Stan Dirt Monkey deals with landscaping,hardscaps excavating. He has the Dirt Monkey University
which will teach you step by step on how to start your own landscaping business

The landscaping  Employee Trap & Window Cleaning. Kieth Kelfas is one of the most inspirational person in the business. People who are having a hard time getting there business started go to his channel, he has loads of information and he will tell you like it is.He had gone through many struggles on running a business. He has 2 books out the Landscaping blue print and the window cleaning blue print.

There are many more great you tube channels you can go too but these are the ones that I go to on a daily basis Have A Great Day and God Bless

Lead generation companies good for the BUSINESS???

In any business you need marketing.this is a way for clients or customers to know that your business exist. There are several lead companies to choose from the 2 that I am using is Home Advisor and Thumbtack.

I been using Home Advisor for several years formally known as Service Magic.They charge a one time fee around $100. It could be more or less, it has been a while since I joined.  My experience with Home Advisor is that  they really do work but you have to make sure that you can afford there cost per lead.They charge any where from $12 for lawn care to $100+ if you are doing bigger projects such as roofing or home improvements. One thing that you have to be aware of is they will charge you for the lead weather or not you are able to land the job or not.If you are on a shoe string budget It would be best to get the cheaper leads to start out.

There are some big pluses. The leads you get you have a good chance of landing a job because the people are already looking for the service that you offer also once you do jobs from leads people can post on how good of job that you do.It is important you do the best job that you can It goes both ways.The best thing on home Advisor is they are all over the web Google Yahoo Bing yellow pages the list goes on.through Home Advisor you are on all the major search engines on the internet.They also advertise on TV

Thumb Tack is a company that I just got into it there leads are a lot cheaper and you have some control. How it works is you pay for credits for example $24.95 for 20 credits each lead they send you is around 3-5 credits.one thing I like is if you don't feel that a lead is right for you, you don't have to take it another good thing about Thumb Tack is it is free to sigh up. the only draw back with this company I found so far is everything is online if you need to contact them you have to fill out a form and wait of an e-mail back from them.

well this is my experience with 2 lead companies that I deal with in the next month I will try other companies and post my thoughts on them take care and God Bless

 

Hello there. My name is Joey and I own a lawn care / landscaping business in Saint Robert Missouri This is my second year as an L.L.C. The first year I survived. I learned many lessons that year.From placing the proper bids to having a business with a few employees and all points in the middle. I created this blog to help other people who just got started in this business. I also have a part time job working at the commissary. I am also a care taker for my good friend who had a stroke a wile back.

I started the Lawn Care /landscaping around 6 years ago when my wife's aunt passed away and the family needed someone to mow the property and remove bushes. I agreed and this is something that I really like to do. I had a T-shirt business but it was hard to compete agenst Walmart so I stopped for a while and got into lawn care. I did lawn care out of my car for many years before Jesus gave me a truck. one of the guys in church saw I was doing lawn care/landscaping out of my car so he offered me his truck he had to move away because of his job and he did not want to take the truck. I thought he was joking at first but when he called me to come to the D.M.V to give me the title I was in AW.

I go to you tube a lot there are several great you tube channels that deal in this field I will post the links in the next post. I just want to introduce my self to you. here I will post my adventures from this year and share with you some crazy stuff from last year hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to post your thoughts as well. here is my e-mail jandrbusiness@yahoo.com if you come across any problems
Have a Great day and God bless