Hey everyone,

I am new to the Lawnforum. I am 15 years old looking to start my own business, i have been trying to start my own business for the last 2 1/2 years now. I first started out with a Lawnboy and went to these different houses in the same area to ask if i could cut their lawn. i had a few jobs, then i loaned my lawnmower out to someone who put stright gas in it and it seased up. So then i was saving to buy a new lawnmower, in the meantime i was working for a lawn care company full time then it cut to part time then i quit due to safety problems etc... I finally got enough money to buy a Toro 20013 Mower this spring and i began to cut lawns, i got one job after the other about an hour away from where i lived, but i had family there so i could stay with them. I had 7 lawns to cut everyweek then the one lady i was cutting for desided she wanted to play a game with NOT paying, so i had to let her go, then i moved away to even farther and i just knew i had to let my lawns go at this time due to gas prices and what not. So i let them go, by this time i had a used blower, i bought a brand new Echo trimmer, and i had fuel cans from before and stuff like that. so when i moved, i had a guy i know"my cousins husband" who also has a small lawncutting business store my lawncare stuff at his place for a while, that was at the beginning of august. So then i started looking around here for lawns that were not cut on the regular basis and it turns out people already have that covered. Went i went to a family reunion i realised that my trimmer and stuff was being used without my permission......oh well. Then i went to pick up my equipment where it was just yesterday and it turns out some of my stuff has been stolen(fuel cans full, 3 bottles of 2 stroke oil, a bottle of lawnmower oil, and some string trimmer string) Which didn't make me very happy at all. So i took my trimmer with the gas it had left in it and keeping it at my place. I have talked to alot of people over the past few months and asked them if they would be intrested in having me cut their lawn once a week next year, i'll say 65% of the people said yeah, so that makes me happy that i am able to get a few jobs here and there, but i do plan on learning about pestisides and stuff like that, i wanna get in to landscaping. I am looking to buy a used truck for next year"hopefully a 02+ Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L Cummins diesel" --"by then i should have my license" and 2 walkers with a vacuum deck and a side discharge deck. When i was working for that guy, i loved using his walker, it was a 1998 20HP Walker with the small hopper.... Which totally attracted me to it. Not only did i like using it, i liked the way it cut, it didn't cut like just a regular Lawnmower, it cut like a professional lawnmower.
I have had a guy work for me because i was preatty busy with the size lawns i had and only transportation was walking. I am hoping to turn this in to a full career for my self by the time i'm 19 or 20, i might as well start early and get ahead of people at my age.......Most people i know who are 15 are wanting to drink and do drugs and lay around all the time. Not me, i am ready to work. If there is anyone intrested in selling a Walker or any lawncare equipment in the Ontario area, could you let me know. Thanks for reading my long boring story. lol

Tristan

I too am new to this business, not the mowing and trimming of lawns but being in business for myself. Its rough getting started, I started part time this year as I have worked the construction business for 20 years and familiar with a lot of lawn and landscaping techniques. I lived in a pretty large county, with a lot of competition, but it is pretty easy to get lawns, I started the first of June and have to date 10 yards at 35 and 40 dollars a lawn, I mow 2 each day after work and already making more part time than I do with my other job full time. I am planning to go full time next year. The problem with people in my area is they don't like the commercial mowers on their lawns whether their afraid they will turn over or they just don't like them I don't know, crazy I know but it is a little hilly and mountianous around here, but anyway I bought a TroyBuilt Super Bronco Riding Mower an excellent machine, 2 Troybilt 4 cycle trimmers, a Still Leaf Blower. I have a 10 foot trailer with racks for trimmers, I just have a Mazda B3000 pickup truck and it handles everything fine. I am trying to keep my overhead down for now until I get my business built and secure in my area so people will know who I am. I said all of this to say You can do this business your on the right track its an excellent way to make a living. You don't have to have the best commercial mower or trimmer to start with, theirs some excellent riding tractors out there for a fraction of the cost that will hold up under everyday mowing know matter what people say. Im just saying try not to start with to much overhead start with decent good looking and working equipment commercial or not and build on that and pretty soon youll have more than you can handle

Sounds like you are full of spirt to make your business a great success. This sight will help you alot. I am also trying to get my business going more and this sight has helped me alot. I would also like a bigger truck to pull my trailer, but for now,I am updating some of my equipment. I would advise spending alittle more advertising then on a truck at this time. An older truck is cheeper on ins. and on the pocket book than a newer on.

CloverHillLawnService, Thanks for the write up, i'll stick around for a bit and learn more about business here.

truckhl, thats cool, where are you from ?

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TristanA -- Toro 20013 Mower, Echo trimmer.......

East tennessee

Well hello to all,
My wife and I , made the leap into lawnmowing and gardening about 8 months ago and things are going quite smooth.After working in orchards for awhile,maintaining 1 acre of gardens of our own,being caretakers of a farm and running various businesses for other people.We took the plunge and have never looked back.
At the moment we are trying to generate more business and we would appreciate any advise?.I personally am learning pool maintainance.So then we can advertise ourselves as the complete outdoor maintenance package(as we clean windows aswell).
We live in a small town in New Zealand with a population of 5000 people.The other day I counted 7 lawn mowing franchise , 2 independent operators and about ten thousand sheep so competition is tough.Thanks for any advise from us at Cut Price Lawns,Gardens and Windows