By David Serville - founder of Crewcut lawn and garden

---

So you want the direct path to wealth and happiness in the lawn mowing industry ? 

With 30 years now in this industry, I have seen almost everything on the subject of profitability for a residential lawn mowing business. While I mowed lawns predominately in Auckland (most of that within a lawn mowing franchise system), I have also mown lawns in many New Zealand cities and a couple in Australia. I have bought and sold hundreds of private and franchised lawn mowing businesses and advised many lawn mowing owners how to improve their businesses. These are the key habits and tricks to making better money than your competitors. 

Most of these tips are either good tips to improve operational efficiencies or habits that need to be formed to improve profitability. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. In my experience, it's failing to practice these simple habits that stop hard working lawn mowing franchisees and operators from realising the true potential of their businesses. 

1. Start early, finish early

This is especially important for running a lawn mowing business in main urban centres to avoid traffic. The early bird catches the worm, so find the lawn suitable for early starts. Usually it's a commercial client that will not impact on late sleeping clients and neighbours. Finishing early means you have more time in the evening to get your admin sorted as well.

2. Sell excess lawns to develop a compact lawn mowing run

You don’t get paid for travelling between lawns. A little known fact is that your body tends to get stiff and cease up the longer you sit in your vehicle in-between jobs. The shorter the travel time, the easier it is to keep your momentum moving forward. At Crewcut we buy back excess lawns to facilitate less travel for our franchisees. This means you can really condense your patch of clients into one or two key areas and boost profitability. 
 

3. Pricing for profit

This is a whole article in itself, but it's not hard to work out that not all lawns are as profitable as others. My advice - during spring, put the price up for the twenty percent of your 'less than profitable clients'. This will groom your clients annually to improve your profitability. If you do this in spring you will be less likely to lose clients. 

4. Not all types of mowing are profitable

The main types of mowers you'll see are catch, mulch and side-deliver. In a perfect world we would side deliver, side throw (or a Crewcut mower) on all our lawns. These types of mowers are by far the fastest and easiest. Next is mulch mowing. It's both quick and very good for most lawns. So it's a great environmental solution. Catching is one of the slowest and even if you start charging more, it's always harder to recoup all your time and effort. The best catcher is a Reel Mower but this is really for the flat lawn that will be kept in the best shape. Again you will have to charge a premium. By encouraging your clients to mulch you will be both fast and environmentally friendly. Just remember that the client is always right, so do what they want, but it doesn't hurt to sell and promote mulching. In the end, it does grow a healthier grass, which is something all clients want.   
                                                               

5. Mow in the rain

Do a weather check each night and unless it's a flood or your lawns are far too soft to walk on, then commit to mowing in the rain. This is more about work ethic and motivation than anything else. But lawn mowing contractors that are unstoppable make more money. Customers like knowing that no matter what, you'll give 100% to their lawn despite the weather.
 

6. Have a strict payment policy and system

All Crewcut franchisees have a well developed client Terms of Trade form which is printed on the back of each client statement or invoice.  Train your clients to pay monthly or every two lawn cuts. Cash flow is the life-blood of your business and good cash flow will mean that you never have to worry. Remember that planning customer payment methods is far easier than trying to claim their debts - it just gets too messy for what it's worth.
 

7. Mow early in the height of the season

Every week or 10 days, change clients from fortnightly to weekly for the growth season. Often they will agree for short periods of time. Not only does it increase your chances of profitability, but it will make your customers feel like your schedule is based on their lawn growth - one way to make them feel important!
 

8. Run your equipment like a Formula One pit crew team

At the end of each lawn mow, check your line trimmer cord and top up all machines with gas. Your flow and rhythm is essential to good, profitable days. It's also a good idea to check under your mower and clear out the clumped grass - it will help you mow a bit faster. 
 

9. Walk fast all day

This might seem a bit of a basic tip, but lawn mower operators that make the most money always walk fast. Your profit is connected to your average speed. 
 

Further Lawn Business Ownership Reading

• How to start a lawn mowing business in 12 easy steps

• Grow your lawn mowing business like a pro

• Be found on google with a Crewcut business
  

10. Do not run extra staff in your own vehicle

This is unless you have a business designed to take them, and you have some experience in how to manage them. In a residential lawn mowing business, often two people in the same vehicle don’t make double the money, as you have to pay them while you're travelling from lawn to lawn. That said, it can be suitable if you use casual labour for gardening as these jobs are typically longer at one address.
 

11. Always own good quality, well maintained equipment

Do not hold onto old equipment as it's a false economy. Equipment, like anything else has a life. Budget for replacement. Depending on your maintenance and care, often equipment will need to be replaced every 18-24 months.  
 

12. Set you van truck and or trailer up, well

This is about flow and process and making sure everything works well when it comes to access, storage and speed. 
 

13. Wear good protective footwear

Unfortunately the jandals have to stay at home when you're mowing lawns. Make sure you wear comfortable AND protective footwear. Not only will they make you faster, the'll prevent any risk of injury from mowing over your foot or getting cut by the grass. 

 

14. Pre-plan for the next day

Order your run at night for the next day and prepare equipment so you're ready to go! This might seem simple enough but it's one habit that will make you money every day. Generally when you first wake up it can take time to get your brain into second gear. If all you have to do is jump in your vehicle, look at the first lawn job and get mowing, this will mean your day will flow much better. Simple ways to prep your equipment include cleaning your gear and filling the mower and line trimmer with petrol.
 

15. Claim your petrol tax

You don’t pay for money on any petrol machines that aren't being used on the roads. This is free money and for a residential lawn mowing operator, this can amount to quite a bit of coin. 
 

16. Have a back up plan for when things go wrong

Especially during the warmer months, your equipment and vehicle will be going gang busters. It's often the worst timing, but things can break down. Organise a supplier that will lend you loan equipment while they repair yours. Preparation for these events will minimise your down time. 
 

17. Buy a Crewcut lawn mowing franchise

Many independents will read this and ask why. The simple fact is that we supply our franchisees with a steady flow of qualified leads. Which means we continuously attract people who want our mowing services and pass them on to our lawn mowing franchise owners. This is a huge advantage over a private business. Marketing takes experience and time which many lawn mowing independents don't have. So maybe they have bought a lawn run and it's all they need, but again how do they condense travel time and develop the business further? The selling back process and personalised marketing package each Crewcut franchisee gets insures that their business will always improve in profitability and revenue. 
 

Finally along with the above, at Crewcut we live with a set of company values. By following them we always succeed, no matter what the situation is.

Be your word- We do what we promise
 

Create raving fans - We care about our clients happiness
 

Stick top the plan - We follow the Crewcut system to success 

If you or someone else you know might be interested in a Crewcut lawn mowing business, be sure to contact us on 0800 800 286. Check out our list of available lawn mowing franchises for resale as there may be an opportunity in your neighbourhood.

---

Related Articles

By David Serville, Founder of Crewcut Lawn & Garden

---

In my view, a lawn mowing business plan should be kept simple. Once written, it should provide you with clarity and should be easy to follow for any reader. 

 

So who are you writing your lawn mowing business plan for?

1. A bank

2. A business Partner

3. Yourself

These are in order of complexity. Before you write one for a bank or a business partner you need to address one thing; What sort of security and resources do you have to bring to such a venture?

The bank will likely want to see equity in a property or home. You will need to fill out a financial statement of position form. This tells the bank everything you own, your current outgoings, your debt and the equity you have at that point of time. The bank will want 3-6 months of bank statements (if it is a different bank or lender to who you normally use).

If you don’t own a property with a good amount of equity, in other words unencumbered home with little debt, then don’t bother even calling a bank as they will not be interested. One advantage of a Crewcut Franchise System is that we can overcome some of this as long as you have enough money for the vehicle, equipment and a small deposit. It is key that you don’t start any business with more debt than the business can handle in the start-up phase.

I would recommend in any scenario that you always start with your own plan. I mentioned what is required by the bank only to save you time. The place to start any plan is with your personal business plan. A business partner will at the very least want to see this if they are investing time and money into the venture, unless it is your wife or a trusting relative. In my view, you should alway start with a one page plan.

 

Answer these questions

How will you financially live or get by for the first 6-12 months as you build you business? 

If you purchase a lawn mowing franchise, this is less relevant as you start with a ready-made own business with only a small development cost, if any. This depends on the package.

 

What is the cost of the equipment? 

• 2 Lawn mowers of commercial quality for residential or commercial use.

• One straight arm loop handle of commercial quality line trimmer

• One blower

 

What vehicle or trailer will you use?

• Your current Vehicle with Trailer or Van or Truck - Vehicles need to white for a Lawn mowing Franchise.

 

 

Read more lawn mowing business tips:

• Can a millennial own a lawn care business?

• Be found on Google with a Crewcut business

• Grow your lawn mowing business like a pro

 

What is your marketing budget and how will this be implemented? 

This could be a monthly cost and strategy which is outlined in just a paragraph or two. A big unique benefit to a Crewcut Lawn mowing franchise or business is that you get your own web page and digital marketing package when you start along with dedicated marketing to insure your business always develops and grows. With an in-house marketing team, the national marketing plan is being constantly developed.

 

What number of lawns will you need and how long will this take to develop? 

If you are considering starting as an independent, you need to consider this and at least write yourself some targets. It may be crystal ball gazing, but it is an essential number as this is the thing that will be the difference of survival or not. I would estimate the average lawn price in Auckland is about $30 while this may be more or less in smaller cities. Based on Auckland lawn mowing prices, when your business has grown to 40 lawns a fortnight, it will have a revenue of $1200 or $600 per week in summer. This is still only a part time business. As a Auckland Lawn mower contractor, you will need grow your business to at least 80 lawns a fortnight with additional property maintenance so that you could earn revenues of $1500 per week. At Crewcut we like to introduce someone that is not mowing fit with about 60 lawns and then grow the business rapidly from there. This gives enough time for a lawn mowing franchise operator to orient themselves to all aspects of the business while their business gets to 80 lawns in the following weeks. Some lawn mowing franchises nominate to have larger businesses however, the only requirement at Crewcut is providing a top notch service to your client base. You could eventually have 140 or more lawns and this is determined by the franchise owner.

 

Will this be part-time or full time? 

A part time business may not need much funding, and could be started with just one 21 inch catcher lawn mower of commercial quality with the ability to mulch or side deliver. A line trimmer straight arm loop handle and a blower and trailer. However if you want to be working full time, then purchase a small private round or a lawn care franchise and get cracking.

Put all this in writing on one pager 

If it is for the bank with a position of statement form, it will be a two pager. Keep a copy to look back at and celebrate certain milestones. If you buy a lawn care franchise you can start any time of year. If you choose to start a lawn care business from zero, I’d advise you to start in spring. That will give yourself the best chance for your marketing to work. I can’t stress enough that you should always write your goals down and add them to your plan at the start of each year. People who do this have a written plan to look back at and have mentally prepared themselves for success each year.

Other things to consider are your plans for a lawn mowing health and safety policy, a trading name that is memorable also to use for the business bank accounts, selecting a good reputable accountant and taking advice. You can also get your tax returns done for as little as $500 if you are organised and shop around. If you are purchasing a franchised business you will need a lawyer as well. For professionals, always get a quote. A lawyer will prepare any sale of purchase agreement for you and or advise you on a Franchise Agreement. 

Now you have considered all this, don’t procrastinate. Start! 

If you're looking for my advice before starting your career as a lawn mowing business owner, check out some more lawn mowing business tips here.

---

Related Articles

By David Serville, Founder of Crewcut Lawn & Garden

---

A picture of me back when Crewcut was the
new lawn mowing franchise on the block

I worked as an independent lawn mowing contractor for about five years before I started the Crewcut Franchise Group. During this time I was building lawn lists into scalable lawn mowing businesses and then selling them off. 

So when considering building your own lawn run, what is the cost? Your time is definitely worth something, so how much of it do you have? 

To build a lawn mowing business, you must have free time. How much is your time worth? If you’re working in a highly paid job that you want to leave, building lawn lists full-time may not be the answer for you. You may want to consider purchasing a private lawn round or a lawn mowing franchise, because building a lawn list has an actual cost, and it's not cheap. 

But if you have lots of spare time and are up for the challenge and commitment, then building a lawn client list could be a good solution. The cost is pretty simple to work out. To keep it simple, let's just put a cost for a month of your time. If you decided your time is worth $30 per hour, then one month of constant work is worth $5200. If it takes you three months of full-time work to build a small chunk of work, then the cost is $15,600, less the cost of the work completed and invoiced for. 

So how many months will it take to build a lawn list? This will depend on the marketing skills you have. You may already have the knack of marketing along with a great network, like being an active member of a local sports or community club. This will help a lot in growing interest in your business. But practically getting the first cluster of clients is the hardest. I would, however, set your own goal and establish a forecast and an actual number you hope to achieve per month. You may need to consider how to supplement your lawn mowing startup with a part-time job.

Five Necessary Skills

To be a successful independent lawn mowing business owner, you will need these five skills:

1. Sales - Be willing and enthusiastic to improve your selling skill. (see sales skills)

2. Marketing - This is essential, and some basic understanding is an absolute requirement. Do a lot of reading online before you start your business.

3. Good health - As long as you don’t have old injuries or ailments, then becoming mowing fit takes 6-10 weeks.

4. Record keeping - You need the discipline of record taking

5. Organisation - As a business owner this is essential to be able to balance your time between mowing lawns, marketing, sales, and bookkeeping.

 

Start before Spring!

One bit of sound advice I can give here is time your start well. To maximise your business building, you will want to be ready just before the highest growth season, spring. Do all your research, make your lawn mowing business plan, and consider all the issues that may arise. The people that do well in business always do thorough planning.

Again, have this plan completed in winter so that you’re all ready to start in the high season, Spring. In New Zealand, I would have the preparation and planning stage completed by the end of August. That includes marketing materials, policies, your vehicle, and all the equipment. 

 

Now we have established a start date, let’s consider
a timeline to get to the first milestone.

Stage One (part-time)

Residential lawn mowing is different in every town. In small towns, the land packages are large, and in large urban areas the land size is small. At Crewcut, we have some small towns (Bay of Islands) where it is a requirement for everyone to have a ride on mower. That said, most of this article is written for the average start-up in large residential areas. 

So let's say you want to initially build a part-time business of say 20 regular lawns to cut per week. Based on the fact that most lawns get cut on a fortnightly basis, that is around 40 clients. Let's say the average lawn cut is $30, you could plan to have a revenue of $600 per week. A lawn may get cut about 22 times per year, so in regular lawn cutting terms that’s $26,400. You would or could also do other property maintenance work. So let's say through referral and off that client base, you could earn an extra $4000 with some preparation for slow months. In total you could earn $30,400. 

The point I’m making here is that you need to establish your goals. Do some back of napkin planning. Do you need to keep your current job for a while until you can go full time? Obviously, if this is your retirement project, you are going to view it differently.

Stage Two (Full Time)

Let's say full-time businesses start at about 80 lawns. In Crewcut, we start franchise owners with 60, but that is to get them mowing fit. Newbies to lawn mowing businesses need to get their line trimming skills up to a speed that can accommodate 80+ lawns. A skilled lawn operator can mow more than 100 lawns on their own. I have known operators that do far more than 100, but this is all about skill and experience.

80 residential lawns is a sweet spot, and a great goal for a lawn builder or lawn mowing business start-up. We will assume you have gotten to 40 lawns already and now you are planning to build a revenue of $60k and upwards. The thing to consider is getting slowed down by winter. In New Zealand, there are dramatic differences between the South Island and the North Island. It obviously slows down to a holt if there is snow on the ground. Again, make a winter plan. 

In some parts of Winter, you will have little more than seven hours of light. Before you drop off in income, consider broadening your service offering. This can backfire though as people will want these tasks done at the height of the season. Tree lopping, gardening, hedge trimming, gutter cleaning and water blasting, to name a few.

From 80 lawns, it is very easy to build to 100+ as the referral work from a solid base should be quite steady, as long as you are a good service provider.

Learning to quote and price lawn mowing

This is pretty straight forward, so consider what hourly rate is expected by the market. Some suburbs and towns have lower lawn prices than others. You may decide that you want to achieve $50 per hour when mowing lawns. You will be pricing lawns against competitors, so you will soon learn where you’re positioned. You may lose a few potential customers until you grow in confidence.

Sales Basics

At Crewcut, we teach you basic sales skills to convert clients. First Impressions count for everything. It amazes me how independents and franchise owners alike get this first sales tip wrong. But it’s key to basic sales. The first three tips are all about that first 30 seconds you have to leave an impression. Get all of these right and you are 80% of the way there.

1. Turn up on time as agreed. You have your work cut out for you if you don't keep your word. In a busy world, a customer’s time is valuable, so don't fail on this one.
   

2. Be presentable - Clean, tidy, fresh, and smell nice- uniforms and brand help build credibility, and demonstrates that you can easily be found and are accountable. If you turn up in an unmarked shirt and shorts (even if it’s tidy), you are deemed as a nameless person that can easily hide if something goes wrong. Look like you mean business.
   

3. Smile and make eye contact. Let them know you’re keen to help. A smile and friendly greeting are free. Before you leave, give them a genuine compliment.
   

4. Listen carefully to their requirements.
   

5. Up-sell if you can and advise them of additional work they may want to consider.
   

6. Then ask for the business.
   

7. To close the sale, remind them that you can do the lawn immediately. If they hesitate, throw something in for free. Remember you should have extra time to do this. I never used to leave the property until I closed the sale.

 

Sales recording client details

This is your database. If you have ever sold Amway or Insurance, then you know what to do here. Make a list of all your friends and let them know yours in the business. They may end up mentioning it to someone. Use your social media and mention it from time to time. You have a community, but you have to let them know. If you don't want to do this then sadly building a business from scratch is probably not for you. Maybe you're more suited to buying an established mowing business.

 

Read more lawn mowing business advice:

• How to write a lawn mowing business plan

• How does a lawn mowing operator cope with extreme weather?

• 10 common mistakes when starting a lawn business

Marketing Tools

Very few Traditional Marketing techniques work anymore, but here are a few tools that you may want to prepare before starting your lawn round. 

 

Business Cards (essential)

There is no point in printing these if you forget to give them out. It may seem like a small point, but get into the habit of keeping them on you at all times and giving them out. For most people, this has to be practised. 

Web Page - This does not have to be expensive but is really important.

How to market

When I started my first lawn mowing business years ago, it was all traditional marketing. Distributing pamphlets, placing adverts in local news papers and advertising in the Yellow Pages. It's pretty safe to say these are all dead, apart from networking. 

Marketing is all about digital. If you want to be found, then you must have an online presence. A web page does not have to cost a lot, but is your most important tool. Apart from choosing your name and getting a simple logo designed, I would advise this page to be designed, written and online as early as possible. You should have this is completed months before you launch your business. There is a real art to writing, but you may enrol a friend or well-priced copy writer to help build the content on your webpage. 

Images are also really important. My recommendation is that get some good help from a small webpage and SEO company. How much will this cost? Depending on where you go and what you want, this could cost as little as a few hundred dollars to many thousands. Working on your web page is something that should be done regularly. Focus on the locations and details that will build your lawn mowing business in your geographic area.

 

Book Keeping and accounts

If you don't send an invoice then you won't get paid. Certainly in the beginning, you will want to be paid at the time you mow a lawn. But as you grow, this is pretty much impossible. You have to develop a good rhythm for sending out accounts. Usually, people don't like paying small accounts on a regular service. When you’re setting your terms of trade policy up, I have found that if you mow twice and get paid from a two cut monthly invoice, then everyone is happy.

At Crewcut, the software we use to distribute work to our franchise owners includes an online accounting package, but you may want to collect all your receipts and learn to run software like Xero. If you’re not organised and hate book keeping then you will need help here. 

The most important habit to learn is to keep your receipts and keep your expenses recorded well so that your book keeper or accountant’s work is easy. Make it easy for them and get a cheap bill from them. Make it difficult and it will cost you.

 

Health & Safety

Health and Safety are important and needs to be considered before you start your business. It also might seem complicated, but you will not attract any commercial clients without a thoughtful Health and safety policy. At Crewcut to make it easier for our franchise owners, we use a product called Safety Work Kits. Safety work kits is a templated system to help you start on this journey. While you still need to think carefully about hazards and how you manage these, it will give you most of the forms and polices to help you form the habits required. 

There are many other things to consider when building an independent lawn mowing business, but I have covered off on the key ones. Independent lawn building is well suited to people that don't follow systems and have some great marketing and business skills under their belt. At Crewcut Franchise Group, we enjoy great relationships with independent contractors. If your business proves to be successful, then please keep us in mind when you want to eventually sell your business. We purchase a lot of these, so this may be a viable and quick way for you to also exit the industry.

For more info on starting a lawn mowing business, please have a read of

‘How to start a lawn mowing business in 12 easy steps’ 

---

Related Articles

by David Serville, founder of Crewcut Lawn & Garden

After 30 years in the lawn mowing industry, first as an independent, then building independent lawn mowing rounds, pushing a lawn mower and then building  a national lawn mowing franchise network, I have learnt a thing or two.  I’ve also listened to a lot of lawn mowing contractors and lawn mowing franchise owners. There are two types of people that are attracted to this industry: Those that think it’s easy, and those that take a more respectful approach to starting in this sector. In my experience those that prepare thoughtfully and approach the development of their business carefully, increase their chances of success tenfold. Those that thought it was easy often don’t last. 

_________________________________________

Table of contents

1. Make a lawn mowing business plan

2. Start with some work

3. Pick a trainer and coach

4. Choose the right lawn and garden tools

5. Give yourself some slack, and be patient

6. Use your existing clients to build income

7. Collect payment routinely

8. Organise your schedule

9. Communicate with your clients regularly

10. Love your clients

11. Market your business

12. Measure

_________________________________________

Key to success in this industry is having the thoughtful reason for choosing lawn mowing as an industry. Many of the successful people I know say something like. “I always saw myself doing this one day” or “ I always wanted to leave the desk job and work outside”  People that explain their motivation in a related way are pursuing a dream and will often have the clarity to make this great business succeed. 

Hopefully by sharing this list, it will make your start in the lawn mowing business a little bit easier. This list will apply to you if you join a Crewcut franchise or go it alone. Before you decide if you want to join a franchise or be an independent lawn mowing operator, be sure to read this blog 10 reasons lawn mowing franchises beat start-ups.

Step #1:

Make a lawn mowing business plan

Most of what you read about planning is not appropriate, complicated and confusing. The lawn mowing business plan you write down on one piece of paper will be suited to focusing your attention on the right type of development path. There will be some simple ideas you can edit and adjust over time.

Answer some simple questions: What sort of money do you want from you business? What hours and lifestyle do you want to attain, and by when? Will you work in the weekends? What type of jobs will you do? What geographic areas do you want to work in?

By asking and answering these questions, you'll make your decision to buy a lawn mowing business a whole lot easier. 

Step #2:

Start with some work

Buying some lawns is important. You want to hit the ground running, and you want to buy enough that you know you can comfortably service. A common mistake is to buy a fully developed business then struggle to keep up. Clients get disappointed with a drop in service and they haven’t built trust with you, so if you make this mistake, expect to lose some of your client base. If you buy a lawn mowing franchise ask your franchisor to hold some of your clients until you are ‘lawn mowing fit’.  Buying a good franchise business will make your first year much more profitable. 

Tip: It takes 1.5 x to 2x’s longer to cut a lawn for the first time, and that’s when the grass is being cut on time. If you’re a little late to cut it and it’s the first time, it may take you 3 times as long. It’s about knowing each lawn. To get to a maximum speed, it will take until the third cut to get the timings right. If you have been trained well it helps. 

Step #3:

Pick a trainer and coach

So you think you can mow a lawn, but can you run a lawn mowing business?  

My start-up hack is to give away 2-3 weeks with a couple of very capable lawn mowing men. 

Yep work for them, for free. The truth is that you will probably be slowing them down in the first week at least. Don’t do 8 hours mowing a day in your first week. Start with 5-6 hours a day for the first week, then only ever a maximum of 6 while you train. Then by the last few days you should be able to do 8 hours fairly comfortably.

Training with someone competent is essential. You just have to look at their rig and listen to their advice to work this out. Most people will need at least 3 weeks to build knowledge, but not many will want to work for free that long. I KNOW this will be one of the best investments you will ever make. You should learn the following in 3 weeks: pricing work, scheduling, equipment operation, quality of work standards, customer service and maybe even some admin and peer work if your trainers are generous.  This is just the start. Keep in touch with your trainer (this is your advisor).

Tip: keep in touch with your advisor even after you finish. Who knows, they may be able to share or sell their clients to you for a reduced fee. Who ever said that it’s who you know not what you know - really knew what they were talking about. 

Step #4:

Choose the right lawn and garden tools

Most people spend a huge amount of time here and this is almost the easiest part. Choose two mowers, as this seems like a correct balance to start with. 

Tip: Only buy new gear. Buying someone else’s gear secondhand has very little merit or value. If you get the gear for under 20% of replacement value and have the expectation to be buying newer gear in your first 3 months, then secondhand gear may be alright in this instance. If it lasts 6 months, that’s a huge bonus. But be sure to have the money to replace immediately if you have to. You don't want to disappoint clients by not turning up to jobs because your equipment broke down - it's not a great look.

The right number for a walk-behind round is probably two in the beginning. If you have too many mowers, your repair bills go up significantly.  Too little and you over-work your gear which will dramatically reduce their lifespan.

Buy a commercial quality kit and look to the the people who have been in the industry for years. 

Here are a few pieces of equipment you should definitely have:

• Catcher mower 21 inch

• Mulcher mower 21 inch or Side delivery

• Line Trimmer Straight arm loop handle 25 cc + plug in tools are handy like hedge trimmer Stihl

• Petrol Blower vac

• Pruner Clips

• Garden fages x 6

• 2X 20 litre petrol cans

Make sure you look after them, and budget for replacement. 

Vehicle and trailer

Make sure you consider your set-up and get a vehicle suitable to your requirements and demands of the business.

• Van - Go for a long wheel base

• Ute - Will need a trailer attached

• Lite truck

• Trailer - Consider the design. Single axel high sides with built ramps. Also on a wish-list is lockable cabinets, Stowage for lawn equipment on the cross bar with drop ramp.

Signage on vehicle and trailer is best loud and proud. Customers have mentioned that the Crewcut signage is recognisable and gives them comfort that their backyard is in good hands.

Step #5:

Give yourself some slack, and be patient

When you first start a lawn mowing business, you can have great expectations, but these can be set-back by the reality of the industry. The lawn mowing game can be a competitive one, it takes time to really build momentum. 

Tip: It can take 3 months to set up your lawn mowing business, depending on the season. This will obviously be more profitable in the summer period, but it’s short lived and you’ll be faced with the winter months. You also shouldn’t expect to make much money in the first few months. During this time you’ll be investing a lot in your equipment and gear. Plus you won’t have as many customers as you will in 12 months time. 

Step #6:

Use your existing clients to build income

While you can go out finding new customer sources, your best resource is your existing client-base. These are the people who will recommend you to their friends and family - a vital marketing tactic. Use all the options you have, whether it's handing out a few of your business cards, adding a message at the end of your invoice or offering a great referral benefit system. 

---

Read more on starting a lawn care business:

• How to write a lawn mowing business plan

• 10 common mistakes when starting a lawn business

• 10 reasons lawn mowing franchises beat start-ups

---

Step #7:

Collect payment routinely

Payment is one of the most important parts of a contractor and client relationship. Without it, you have no income, yet so many feel awkward discussing it. There are a few things to consider when thinking about payment:
 

• Training your clients with an invoice rhythm

• Trading terms

• Debt

• Collection rate

• Internet banking

This is something I could go into great deal about, but for the sake of this article I'll keep it short. Set out how you do payments within the first or second meeting with the client - that sends a message to them that you're organised, and they will need to fall in line. If you can't communicate this from the start, your clients will likely be lazy too. It's far easier to set a standard then try to recoup the costs from customers who don't pay routinely.

Read more: How to get payment on time, every time

Step #8:

Organise your schedule and prepare your equipment for the next day

After a full day mowing, the last thing you’ll probably want to do is prepare your equipment for the next day. But think again, this is an important step in ensuring you’re ready to hit the ground running in the morning. If you're not ready to go in the morning and end up late to your first mow - it will throw off the rest of your day and irritate your customers. This is especially important in those first few encounters with a client - make them unhappy at the beginning and they'll be lost forever. 

Step #9:

Communicate with your clients regularly

Don't be invisible. Be easy to get hold of and keep in touch. Many in the service and trade industries get marked with the label of ‘poor communicators’. Avoid this at all costs. Make sure to call or txt all your clients on a regular basis. It will show you’re being proactive and will make your clients happy. There’s nothing worse than not showing up to a mow and not telling your client. Always, always, always let them know if a part of your schedule changes and will affect them. 

Step #10:

Love your clients

Customer service is everything. You want to be friendly, with a ‘nothing is a problem’ kind of attitude. Many clients love to stop and chat with lawn mowing operators as it’s sometimes the closest and most regular form of interaction they get. Show your clients you’re glad to work for them - this will be so beneficial to you in the long-run. They may recommend you to their friends, or give you extra work. 

Tip:  Ask them for feedback on a regular basis. Ask questions and be curious. Customers like to have all their needs catered for. Showing you’re willing to go above and beyond will make them raving fans. Even if the feedback isn't always desirable, it will show your weak-points and areas to improve in. 

Step #11:

Marketing and growing your lawn mowing business

For a non-franchised business, this is a large task and only a few with some sales or marketing expertise will find this easy. Most people will need to have a suitable plan that will need to be reviewed regularly. 

This is probably one of the biggest reasons aside from support to purchase a well functioning franchise businesses. I hear some people ask; “Why even buy a franchise?”. Well this would be one of the compelling reasons. Marketers will do all your marketing, for a weekly fee of course. 

The marketing landscape has changed a lot since I started my lawn mowing business nearly three decades ago. Back then it was all traditional marketing like: Yellow Pages, local directories, letter box drops with advertising flyers, advertisements in local suburban newspapers, referrals through local communities and hubs such as sports clubs, churches and schools. All of these except referrals are pretty much out the door. But the old school strategy of building off your existing client base is still a good one to have.

The new era of digital marketing is here. Now you need to know something about developing a small web page or landing page and developing a Facebook page and getting 'clicks'. Does it sound a bit like mumbo-jumbo? To many it can be frightening to step into the wild world of new technology. While it's scary, it's even more frightening to think that all potential customers are using these technologies and could be going to your competitors. At the very least, you will need to set up a Facebook page to engage with your customers when you're not at their address.

Step #12:

Measure

Review and audit your lawn business every 4-6 months. Look at how your business is developing, and what things have changed since you last audited. Some things you can easily measure include: 

• Lawn numbers

• Average lawn price,

• Time spent on lawn jobs

• Travel time between lawns

• Debt collection rate

You'll be able to really tell how things are going by looking at these factors. Room for improvement? That's normal, besides it will have been the toughest 4-6 months you'll likely face in the business. 

---

As you can see, owning a lawn mowing business can be a lot of work and careful planning. If you're thinking of starting your own, perhaps consider the benefits by joining a well known, national franchise system like Crewcut. We have lawn mowing franchises currently available right around the country, so check here to see if one is near you! 

---

Related Articles