Lawn care as a job or side hustle?

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to SV reX :

'This thread is 43% people saying it won't work, 43% people giving examples of how they or someone they know are doing it (but still won't work), 4% people amazed his grass has to be cut 3x a week and 10% saying if it works for others, it can work for you. 
 

The 10% took the stairs :)

FTFY. 

I am just amazed he has to cut the grass 3x a week. 

z31maniac said:

Steve_Jones said:

z31maniac said:

So that works out to less than $25/hr per person, ignoring the truck/trailer/maintenance/etc. 

Is $25 an hour now considered a bad wage?

I like that you conveniently ignored, all the infrastructure it takes, like I mentioned. So the truck, trailer, equipment, fuel, maintenance, some how don't exist?

When you account for all that, taxes, etc. No I, don't think $25/hr + expeneses is a good wage. 

The guys cutting your lawn are ok with the wage, if you're not, why not pay them more?

You conveniently went from 2 guys take 45 mins for $50, to somehow it's $50 an hour. You also said your lot has "a TON of edging"  Based on your first statement it's actually $66 an hour ($33 each) doing a bigger job than what the original guy asked for. Is $33 an hour - expenses not enough? Where's the cut off?

The OP is looking to cut small lots for side money, with existing equipment. People here keep telling him why it won't work because he somehow now needs commercial equipment, insurance, and employees. He's cutting lawns on his street, what truck and trailer does he need?

Someone is currently getting paid to cut the neighbors lawn, he wants them to pay him instead. He has a lawnmower, he has the time, he knows what it'll pay. 

All he needs to do is take the stairs, people here are telling him why the elevator is broken....

Steve_Jones said:

z31maniac said:

Steve_Jones said:

z31maniac said:

So that works out to less than $25/hr per person, ignoring the truck/trailer/maintenance/etc. 

Is $25 an hour now considered a bad wage?

I like that you conveniently ignored, all the infrastructure it takes, like I mentioned. So the truck, trailer, equipment, fuel, maintenance, some how don't exist?

When you account for all that, taxes, etc. No I, don't think $25/hr + expeneses is a good wage. 

The guys cutting your lawn are ok with the wage, if you're not, why not pay them more?

You conveniently went from 2 guys take 45 mins for $50, to somehow it's $50 an hour. You also said your lot has "a TON of edging"  Based on your first statement it's actually $66 an hour ($33 each) doing a bigger job than what the original guy asked for. Is $33 an hour - expenses not enough? Where's the cut off?

The OP is looking to cut small lots for side money, with existing equipment. People here keep telling him why it won't work because he somehow now needs commercial equipment, insurance, and employees. He's cutting lawns on his street, what truck and trailer does he need?

Someone is currently getting paid to cut the neighbors lawn, he wants them to pay him instead. He has a lawnmower, he has the time, he knows what it'll pay. 

All he needs to do is take the stairs, people here are telling him why the elevator is broken....

You love to make up numbers, you're literally the most confrontational person on this board, even more so than me. 

I said $50/hr for two, that's how I came up with $25/hr per person. I didn't realize this was that difficult.  
 

In reply to z31maniac :

You said you paid $50 a showing. You then said it took 2 guys 45 mins for your place. I'm using your numbers. 

You might not think $25 an hour is worth it, but obviously the guys doing your house think it is. I'm telling the original guy to do the math and see if it's worth it to him, others here are telling him why it won't work instead. Some people see an opportunity, some people make excuses. 

I'd rather see Octavious post next year how he made an extra $10k mowing lawns and now he's got a cool car, is coming to the challenge, etc. instead of him posting how he'd like to come but doesn't have the extra money. Is that wrong?

Toyman! said:

I charge $130/hr. That gets you one man, a truck and tools, assorted parts, and knowledge. 

At a guess, there is a good reason all the lawn care crews around here speak very little English. A hand full of border jumpers probably cost a good bit less than what I pay my guys. 

 

Handful of border jumpers? Can you clarify what that means?

As far as I can tell this is a great way to show your child the basics of business and the value of hard work. 

Both extremely valuable skills. I would focus on smaller lawns as I think that's a good niche. The small model to me has 3 major benefits.

-less commercial operator competition 

-you can complete all work with a propelled push mower and trimmer(keeps cost low and you can have a cheap backup for each piece of gear)

-I would also focus on nighbours closest to you. That way your son will be able to tackle jobs on his own once the basics are learned. 
 

this model may not work in your area but that's where I would put my efforts at first. 

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to z31maniac :

You said you paid $50 a showing. You then said it took 2 guys 45 mins for your place. I'm using your numbers. 

You might not think $25 an hour is worth it, but obviously the guys doing your house think it is. I'm telling the original guy to do the math and see if it's worth it to him, others here are telling him why it won't work instead. Some people see an opportunity, some people make excuses. 

I'd rather see Octavious post next year how he made an extra $10k mowing lawns and now he's got a cool car, is coming to the challenge, etc. instead of him posting how he'd like to come but doesn't have the extra money. Is that wrong?

I shared an example and you took it as an afront to your existence.

The same way you just took a E36 M3 at Toyman, maybe get off the internet for a bit.

In reply to z31maniac 
 

You seem to be reading a lot into what I posted  

if calling out someone for posting racist E36 M3 is E36 M3ting on them, I'll do it every time. You're ok with "border jumpers"?

In reply to octavious :

I like your idea. I would do it myself (and still may). I am Uber confident that I could build a solid business out of it. 
 

Hope it works well for you. Just wanted to say that before the inevitable lock to this thread. 
 

Good luck!

I had no idea lawn mowing was such an angst filled topic.

As for the OP, I could definitely see this being a great thing especially for your son. It requires no travel, not a lot of time and no upfront costs plus you already have a market that wants to give you money.

Keep it small, keep it local and do exceptional work and it'll do nicely

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to z31maniac 
 

You seem to be reading a lot into what I posted  

if calling out someone for posting racist E36 M3 is E36 M3ting on them, I'll do it every time. You're ok with "border jumpers"?

 

I have no idea what your agenda is, it's seeming more and more like you're a lonely troll.

I explained my numbers and never said someone should or should not do it, I provided an example to help put things in perspective.

Then you went back to taking a shot at Toyman.

Here's your internet star bro, you earned it.

It feels like this cocktail party is winding down.

Cooter said:

It feels like this cocktail party is winding down.

When one guy calls a group of people "border jumpers" and another guy doubles down defending it, reasonable people leave. 
 

I was not aware Toyman and Z31 were such bigots. Shame. 

I knew a kid in high school that had his own grass cutting business. He completed engineering school with me, got a decent job and then quit to take his growing landscape business full time. He ended up selling the mowing portion of the business to focus more on the landscaping/hardscape stuff because it was supposedly more profitable. He had around a dozen guys on his crew when he was doing mowing and the landscaping stuff. He's down to half that now, but does reasonably well for himself doing what he enjoys instead of taking orders from somebody else or sitting in a cube.

There's definitely money to be made. I think it's a great job for a young person that might have lots of free time during peak growing season to build the business out. Not sure I'd want to tackle the startup stuff on top of all of my other responsibilities these days, but there's not much to lose if you want to try it out since you've already got the equipment to handle small scale stuff.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

The good news is we already knew about you. Your spots never change. Once a troll, always a troll.  

Toyman! said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

The good news is we already knew about you. Your spots never change. Once a troll, always a troll.  

 

I'd rather be considered a troll than the bigot you've turned out to be. Hopefully the "border jumpers" don't take your jobs, right?  MAGA all the way in your house

I am shocked I'm the only one that has an issue with it. 

Steve_Jones said:

Toyman! said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

The good news is we already knew about you. Your spots never change. Once a troll, always a troll.  

 

I'd rather be considered a troll than the bigot you've turned out to be. Hopefully the "border jumpers" don't take your jobs, right?  MAGA all the way in your house

I am shocked I'm the only one that has an issue with it. 

Will you just admit in your desire to be a dick head you were the only one who didn't understand my post, then double-downed on calling Toyman and I bigots?

How early did you start drinking today, or are you always like this?

Oh wait, we already know that answer.

In reply to z31maniac :

Are you ok with calling people "border jumpers"? You didn't answer last time I asked. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

What does border jumping have to do with race Steve? If you went straight to race from that, I'm not the racist here. Did you know that all the races are found outside the USA?

The one guy I personally know is here illegally is white and from Canada. 

What we have here is your usual response when people disagree. And that seems to be troll city. No logic necessary. Divert the conversation. Call racist. 

I get it, you think lawn care is a great business. Then go do it. You better find a niche like Paul is suggesting. But I would suggest finding a salesman as a business partner. You probably suck at sales as much as I do. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Toyman is a grown man and can speak for himself. I don't need to confirm or condemn the words he used.

I'm interested why you felt it necessary to intentionally misrepresent my post, because that did what?

You're a sad troll, I wish Margie would put you under the patio. You obviously have no intention of bringing good vibes and helpful info to this board.

There are plenty of places on Facebook you can troll.

In reply to Toyman! :

Please clarify what you meant by

At a guess, there is a good reason all the lawn care crews around here speak very little English. A hand full of border jumpers probably cost a good bit less than what I pay my guys. 

those are your words. Was that not a dig at Hispanics? Please educate me on how you meant it.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

It's not a dig at Hispanics Steve. It's a dig at employers who take advantage of their unlawfully status to make a low margin business more profitable. Only you would be so obtuse to not see it.

I'm done with you. Grow up. 

What's happening here?

SV reX said:

What's happening here?

I think a nice conversation about entrepreneurship and making money from hard turned into something sad.