Secrets to a successful lawn care business in 2025
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Do you want to make sure that you are always getting the best result out of your lawn care business? Maybe you want to make sure that you are not making a critical mistake that could end up costing you your business. Either way, if you want some tips that will help you to get everything off on the right foot then all you have to do is take a look below.
Know your costs and forecast economic changes
One of the very first things you need to do is know your costs. You need to make sure that you have a system that will help you to track the equipment you are buying as well as a guide to help you know when you have to maintain it. You also need to take into account the true cost of your labor, including the cost of any fertilizer you may be putting down. Although costs like this may seem small, they can add up quite substantially, especially in a bad economy, so make sure that you are not overlooking them. Making sure that you have a detailed way to make decisions will help you a lot and it will also help you to make more informed decisions about your salary. This will help you out a lot later down the line when you begin to grow your business. It will also dictate how much equipment you buy as well, so be mindful of that if you can.
Improve the bidding process
If you know that your bidding strategy doesn’t use any information from your true job costs then you may end up undercutting your profit without even realizing it. You must know how much your competitors are charging for similar jobs and you also need to understand the total profit you can attain too. Having a system that helps you to predict how much a job is going to cost will give you a good idea of how much money you can generate so make sure that you keep that in mind. Be sure to spend as little time as possible when producing your bid too. There are tools out there that give you the chance to measure the square footage of a lawn by using satellite imaging and this can work to your advantage. You might also want to look into having a way to calculate costs based on the equipment you are going to need. Drafting your bids in advance and saving them as a template will also help you out. You can add images, CAD drawings and even cover letters if you want, so keep that in mind.
Scheduling jobs and becoming more efficient
Another thing you need to do is try and schedule your jobs properly. Every moment that your crew spends when driving to a job will be added to your total expenses. If you want to run a good business then you need to think of the drive time as being an expense and you should also look into the total wear and tear on your vehicle. Instead of scheduling your crew whenever they are available, you need to take the time to make sure that you do it when a job comes up, and that you also have a schedule that minimizes the amount of time you are on the road. If you can do this rather than booking your team as soon as they are available, you can cut down on your travel expenses quite substantially.
Monitor your crew and utilize GPS
Another thing you can do, if possible, is monitor your crew. Part of knowing your costs comes down to making sure that no jobs slip through your fingers. Know where your team is and take note of when they have finished their job. You also need a way to monitor your team via GPS. If you can do this then you will keep everyone in the know-how which will help you to offer a way better customer service. Having more accurate information about where your crew is will help a lot here, so keep that in mind.
Be mindful of the cost of holding inventory
You also need to make sure that you do not hold more inventory than you need. You do need the essentials, which include a leaf blower, lawn mower and basic gardening tools. With that being said, you probably don’t need to have a range of solutions to test soil PH and prune particular types of flowers. If you do have a job that requires tools like this then you can probably pick them up with ease. You can also charge the client for this, as that is the best way for you to make more money from the job. If the client isn’t willing to pay a little extra on their invoice to accommodate you buying the tools for the job then there’s a high chance that you would have made a loss on that job by simply keeping the tool in storage, so keep that in mind as it is a good way for you to gain perspective on a particular situation.
Handling leads efficiently is imperative
You also need to give thought to the way that you handle leads too. How you handle leads will have a huge impact on how your business grows. You need to make sure that you have a system that allows you to deal with things properly and you also need to make sure that you are sending automated emails to your clients where possible. If you can do this and if you can make sure that you are not losing out on potential sales then this will help you a lot. If you can’t reach the lead the first time you call them back, because you missed the call, then be sure to call back between 3 and 6 times. If you do this then you increase your chances of getting a sale quite dramatically. Having a system to help you handle your leads will help too, as it means you can see who is a returning customer and who is not.
