Mazda 3 and Lawn Mowing :)

[black_CG2]

Buddy and I started a small business this summer. We did not have any truck so my little Mazda worked quite well. One mower fits easily. Two mowers fit easily too once the rear seats are down. That is how we transported all our tools. We both have full time jobs now but I do see potential. I'm going to look into it more seriously. I did enjoy this because it was like a therapy.

Just wanted to share with you folks.

 

[J_F]

excellent

I know some very successful landscapers that started out that way
there is no end to the opportunities of separating city people from their money

 

[Trials]

You doing snow removal this winter?

 

[sburns]

You doing snow removal this winter?

That would be interesting a M3 with a snow plow.

 

[black_CG2]

excellent

I know some very successful landscapers that started out that way
there is no end to the opportunities of separating city people from their money

Would love to speak to some. Still very new at this.

You doing snow removal this winter?

That would be interesting a M3 with a snow plow.

LOLL...I would need a 4x4 truck for sure. I looked into it but the snow removal insurance of $8k/year turned me off. I would still do it but only after we build a good clientele base.

 

[Mad Mike]

All home services businesses can be cash cows no matter how simple if you have good customer service skills and deliver quality service.

 

[Mad Mike]

Would love to speak to some. Still very new at this.



LOLL...I would need a 4x4 truck for sure. I looked into it but the snow removal insurance of $8k/year turned me off. I would still do it but only after we build a good clientele base.

You don't need a truck, a decent ATV with a plow can earn $60/hour or more. A kid around here charges $10 to remove the snow furrow from a driveway, $20 to clear it.

 

[J_F]

Would love to speak to some. Still very new at this.



LOLL...I would need a 4x4 truck for sure. I looked into it but the snow removal insurance of $8k/year turned me off. I would still do it but only after we build a good clientele base.

just need to build up your grass business
do good work and treat customers fairly
show up when you're supposed to show up

within a short time period you should have enough business to get a truck/trailer and 6 mowers
hire some students to do the work and you can manage the selling and scheduling

lots of opportunity for yard/garage cleanups too
hedge clipping, flower and shrub planting, gutter clean outs
where there's dirt, there's dough

winter is a tough nut
snow removal is very cutthroat
and as you've discovered you need liability coverage out the wazoo for slips and falls

the guys I know that are really good at this work their azz off in summer
take the winter off to avoid the low margin/high risk snow business

and they're generally not big on networking
there is zero dough in networking

 

[kwtoxman]

I totally agree @black_CG2, compact hatches are really impressive cars haulers

, totally underestimated for their size. I have a Golf R as a daily and it's excellent. Comfortable 4 adult seating... and I can drag and drop a 5 foot cat tree into it without breaking a sweat; plug and play.

 

[GreyGhost]

I'm not going to lie, I was slightly disappointed by the pic. I was hoping for a 72" mower deck mounted under a Mazda 3.

How's the Ryobi battery stuff working for you?

 

[Trials]

...
LOLL...I would need a 4x4 truck for sure. I looked into it but the snow removal insurance of $8k/year turned me off. I would still do it but only after we build a good clientele base.

np. Get a Gravely walk behind with dual wheels, mower attachment, plus the blade and blower attachments perfect for small business, no insurance or plates required in Ontario. You'll need a tiny trailer for the Mazda.

 

[Joe Bass]

As said earlier, can be easy to make $$ off people that have money and are lazy.
I used to do some landscaping/ property maintenance with a few people. My first gig when I was 16. Mow and clean plazas. Guy even let me keep his truck to use. Lifted Ford with 33" tires. That was a fun time.

Anyway, one of the guys I worked with made almost as much money putting up and taking down Christmas lights as he did mowing lawns. Take the lazy People with money and add heights = $$$$$$$

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[nobbie48]

It's all wonderful until something goes wrong.

It's fine to make a few bucks as a sideline but when you decide to make it a full time business they start to screw you. The first in line to screw you is the government. Insurance companies are next.

Licenses, WSIB, rules and regulations, certificates etc. IIRC Oakville requires landscapers to be licensed. Other municipalities will follow.

WSIB rates are brutal with handyman businesses.

Just mowing is probably OK but spraying chemicals is getting more legislation bound every year.

Liabilities: If you aren't incorporated and something goes wrong all your personal assets are on the table. If your buddy makes a mistake you, his partner, share in the liability.

Snow clearing is a tricky game. If you work by the job and there's little snow you make nothing. If you work by contract and it snows a lot you do a lot of plowing for not that much money. Part time using a trailer and a walk behind gas blower would make you side money in the winter with little investment, a trailer and blower and maybe upgrade to an AWD. Do you have a place to store the extra equipment?

The transition to a full time business is a huge leap. You give up your known secure source of income while buying into a business that is weather dependent.

Bill Gates didn't make billions because he could write programs. He got where he is because he knew how to run a business.

Employees: You can only make so many dollars per hour and work so many hours per day. To get beyond that you need employees. If you have 10 employees and make $10 an hour off of each you're making $100 an hour just handling the money.

I was talking to a paralegal and he commented that a lot of landscape and roofing workers are ex-cons because it's the only work they can get.

Joe Bass is right. People are lazy and there's a ton of 20 dollar bills just waiting to be picked up by the local handyman.

 

[Trials]

Bill Gates didn't make billions because he could write programs. He got where he is because he knew how to run a business.

Bill Gates had horseshoes up his yin-yang, he acquired the rights to a scummy little piece of software at the right time and place where IBM needed something in a hurry.

 

[Roadghost]

There's no end to opportunities with a Mazda. Zoom zoom.

 

[Mad Mike]

It's all wonderful until something goes wrong.

It's fine to make a few bucks as a sideline but when you decide to make it a full time business they start to screw you. The first in line to screw you is the government. Insurance companies are next.

Licenses, WSIB, rules and regulations, certificates etc. IIRC Oakville requires landscapers to be licensed. Other municipalities will follow.

WSIB rates are brutal with handyman businesses.

Just mowing is probably OK but spraying chemicals is getting more legislation bound every year.

Liabilities: If you aren't incorporated and something goes wrong all your personal assets are on the table. If your buddy makes a mistake you, his partner, share in the liability.

Snow clearing is a tricky game. If you work by the job and there's little snow you make nothing. If you work by contract and it snows a lot you do a lot of plowing for not that much money. Part time using a trailer and a walk behind gas blower would make you side money in the winter with little investment, a trailer and blower and maybe upgrade to an AWD. Do you have a place to store the extra equipment?

The transition to a full time business is a huge leap. You give up your known secure source of income while buying into a business that is weather dependent.

Bill Gates didn't make billions because he could write programs. He got where he is because he knew how to run a business.

Employees: You can only make so many dollars per hour and work so many hours per day. To get beyond that you need employees. If you have 10 employees and make $10 an hour off of each you're making $100 an hour just handling the money.

I was talking to a paralegal and he commented that a lot of landscape and roofing workers are ex-cons because it's the only work they can get.

Joe Bass is right. People are lazy and there's a ton of 20 dollar bills just waiting to be picked up by the local handyman.

That's a bit of a pessimistic outlook. You didn't mention the upsides: flexible schedule, liberty of self determination (no boss), lucrative tax writeoffs (vehicle, home, fuel, and others).

If you are prepared to work hard, learn how to do the operations side of a small business, and provide great customer service you can make lots of money in a small home services business. I know a several sole proprietors who pull 6 figures working 35hour weeks -- the successful ones do three things very well: scheduling, customers service, attention to quality.

 

[black_CG2]

I'm not going to lie, I was slightly disappointed by the pic. I was hoping for a 72" mower deck mounted under a Mazda 3.

How's the Ryobi battery stuff working for you?

Haha, its working really well.

It's all wonderful until something goes wrong.

It's fine to make a few bucks as a sideline but when you decide to make it a full time business they start to screw you. The first in line to screw you is the government. Insurance companies are next.

Licenses, WSIB, rules and regulations, certificates etc. IIRC Oakville requires landscapers to be licensed. Other municipalities will follow.

WSIB rates are brutal with handyman businesses.

Just mowing is probably OK but spraying chemicals is getting more legislation bound every year.

Liabilities: If you aren't incorporated and something goes wrong all your personal assets are on the table. If your buddy makes a mistake you, his partner, share in the liability.

Snow clearing is a tricky game. If you work by the job and there's little snow you make nothing. If you work by contract and it snows a lot you do a lot of plowing for not that much money. Part time using a trailer and a walk behind gas blower would make you side money in the winter with little investment, a trailer and blower and maybe upgrade to an AWD. Do you have a place to store the extra equipment?

The transition to a full time business is a huge leap. You give up your known secure source of income while buying into a business that is weather dependent.

Bill Gates didn't make billions because he could write programs. He got where he is because he knew how to run a business.

Employees: You can only make so many dollars per hour and work so many hours per day. To get beyond that you need employees. If you have 10 employees and make $10 an hour off of each you're making $100 an hour just handling the money.

I was talking to a paralegal and he commented that a lot of landscape and roofing workers are ex-cons because it's the only work they can get.

Joe Bass is right. People are lazy and there's a ton of 20 dollar bills just waiting to be picked up by the local handyman.

I totally agree with you and our goal is to expand more thus adding more security as needed.

That's a bit of a pessimistic outlook. You didn't mention the upsides: flexible schedule, liberty of self determination (no boss), lucrative tax writeoffs (vehicle, home, fuel, and others).

If you are prepared to work hard, learn how to do the operations side of a small business, and provide great customer service you can make lots of money in a small home services business. I know a several sole proprietors who pull 6 figures working 35hour weeks -- the successful ones do three things very well: scheduling, customers service, attention to quality.

Agreed with you on those 3 things. Not going to lie, I guess we are somewhat afraid to take a deep breath and jump into this full time. I could see it is possible if we can build a base of happy clients.

 

[sburns]

If you are prepared to work hard, learn how to do the operations side of a small business, and provide great customer service you can make lots of money in a small home services business. I know a several sole proprietors who pull 6 figures working 35hour weeks -- the successful ones do three things very well: scheduling, customers service, attention to quality.

Most of time is running a good business is "doing" what you say you will do, lots of turds out there can't get this right.

 

[Trials]

Incorporate, go with simple contracts, perform well, have fun I did

 

[nobbie48]

That's a bit of a pessimistic outlook. You didn't mention the upsides: flexible schedule, liberty of self determination (no boss), lucrative tax writeoffs (vehicle, home, fuel, and others).

If you are prepared to work hard, learn how to do the operations side of a small business, and provide great customer service you can make lots of money in a small home services business. I know a several sole proprietors who pull 6 figures working 35hour weeks -- the successful ones do three things very well: scheduling, customers service, attention to quality.

Tax write offs are joke. When you drive a company vehicles you get hit with a stupid "Taxable benefit" hit. It's called a standby charge. If you can get by with used vehicles that have dumped on the depreciation bit you're better off owning a vehicle and charging the company the government approved rate for your mileage, about $0.50 / Km.

If you overplay the home / business ratio does your house become subject to partial capital gain when you sell? I had an office in my home but never had anyone come to it but still had insurance issues because some twit underwriter saw it as a liability.

I agree there are benefits, the reason I ran my own business. However every customer is a boss.