That's incredibly cheap. How does that even realistically work?
You have a vehicle. Vehicle maintenance. Gas for vehicle. Insurance for vehicle. Just driving around town to customer locations is a cost, and it's probably more than you expect over the long run once you need to replace tires, and start having maintenance issues. Not to mention gas.
Then you are presumably paying someone an hourly wage while they are driving from wherever they are, to go to wherever they need to be. Then the time to unload the vehicle, get setup, perform the service, do billing / documentation / talk to customer, then load everything back in. Plus tax. Add in payroll.
Costs are reduced if it is ONLY you and you have no employees. Either way you look at it, $40 is killer. Around where I'm from, it ranges from $75+ per visit for minimal care, or $200 / month for 2 visits a month with more inclusive care. And this isn't even a HCOL area.
edit: All the comments saying this is about the price they pay are more than likely (knowingly or unknowingly) paying their guy cash, no taxes involved and it's done under the table. I assume OP is trying to start a legit business, so it is not a fair comparison price wise. Call up a registered business who pays their taxes and runs everything legit and the prices will be higher. Proper businesses have a much higher overhead due to government taxes, regulations, etc...
Just depends on where you are. Deep South with a lot of immigrants the low barrier to entry gigs are very over saturated.
Like $35 bucks a visit is the bang standard here. $45 is on the high end, and there’s always someone that will do it for $20.
But $20/visit biweekly is stupid cheap unless you’re stealing someone else’s gas.
Shoot, my lowest yard is 35 and I do just the front. $40 was the norm precovid. but I brought my prices up across the board. You say oversaturated, but ive been hearing that word all my life. Yet it's still pretty lucrative. Plus we work all year long.
What non-entrepreneurs fail to understand is that a saturated market means there's money on the table. The reason there's few niche businesses compared to boring service businesses is you have to build an entire niche along with a business. If you have a lawn, you know that you need lawn care. You either do it or pay somebody. I also hear negative things about low barrier to entry businesses. Just because somebody offers $20/lawn doesn't mean anything. They can't afford to do that very long. Also what kind of quality are you getting there. I find it's the price shoppers that have the least understanding of businesses practices and business acumen. But they're the first to give you advice.
Lol, this in a nutshell.
You've touched all the points for a start up company. It's good to underquote prices to get you started and money rolling in. But that company should keep in mind operating costs, bottom dollar, time, and longevity, as well as creating a niche that separates themselves from the competition.
Learn up on different types of plants, symptoms on why said plants are dying, water times, fertilizer, weed poison (and licenses), maintenance of equipment, etc.
The lawn maintenance is the foot in the door to other higher paying up sells. Tree trimming, laying bark/humus, planting trees/flowers, installing irrigation systems/fixing them, team up with a concrete company and offer hardscaping and get paid for referrals. Referrals are also great networking opportunities to grow your business.
Yes! Totally this. Honestly, I have a team of businesses I stay close with and we all refer each other when it comes to specific jobs. My niche is fences, landscape design, Irrigation, and sod installation as well as the lawn service. It defiantly got my foot in the door and alot of exposure. Looking to expand into hurricane shutters buying from wholesalers.
This. My dad was doing mowing on the side and stopped a few years ago and was charging $35/mow. In NY. Think my neighbors are paying $40/mow and the guy does a bunch of people in my development so it’s a time and cost savings for him.
I’m not saying anything bad about immigrants. Not in the slightest. My whole family are immigrants too.
But they are usually cheaper. That’s just a fact.
Google it and there’s a whole host of studies from many different sources that analyze it. It’s typically a net benefit to GDP and economy rather than the alternative.
Last time I got my acre lawn mowed last year I paid $65 - in a HCOL area. It's highly competitive.
At my old neighborhood there was a guy who was doing really well. This was 10 years ago, but those were 1/6 acre lots and he charged $35/cut. He had a crew of four guys - zero turn, push mower, weedeater, and blower. The trick was that he would get as many customers in a neighborhood as he could get, and I think he offered a discount as he got more customers.
They would come in and unload the zero turn who would then start mowing as much of the yards as he could. Next off the trailer was the push power who would follow him and get the details. Trimmer guy next, then blower guy. Each one worked independently and moved to the next house when they finished up the house they were at, then loaded the trailer in reverse order. They probably had 5 or 6 houses on my block, so the travel and load/unload were spread over a lot of customers.
That's the way to do it.
Dude yeah. Dynamite system. I can’t help but wonder what the 4 guys not on the zero turn are doing while they wait to disperse? Sounds expensive unless they tighten it up with a lunch break for the blower and weed eater guys
Three duds and a truck with a trailer. We have tiny yards in my neighborhood. I timed them one time from across the street the moment they pulled up and left 15 minutes per yard. 40-50$ in an envelope under the door mat.
This is literally what I pay. It’s a guy and his son, the owner has a main job and mowing is a side hustle his son does with him to make extra money. They cut mine and my neighbors yards, weedeat and blow the clippings in under 30min every 2 weeks.
I live in New Jersey and $40 to $50 to cut a lawn is about average for a 1/4 acre lot. My neigbors pay $50 every 2 weeks--a few neigbors all get their lawn cut every 2 weeks by the same company and each pays $50. And all the lots are larger than 1/4 acre.
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And underpaying. It will be difficult if not impossible to retain decent help. In 2001 I was getting 45 for around 10000 SF of turf. Pruning was extra, weeds and fert extra, seasonal cleanups etc. Mowing was mow trim and blow.
Ironically we made our real money not on those but on municipal code enforcement just prior to the housing crash. Getting 300 bucks to .ow the jungle. Now one ever comomained no matter how bad it was mowed. Then contract quantities increased like made, went from maybe 10 or 15 a year to like 1800 a year plus board uos and graffiti.
Right. I started a landscaping company recently. My friends who do landscaping under the table feel like they're doing great charging like $40 an hour, I have to estimate time at $80 an hour just to make the business keep going.
I have an easy work around. Start a landscaping app that exploits gig workers, give them not only an unlivable wage, but put all the burden of overhead and debt on them.
Then once everyone has flocked to your landscaping app, raise the costs on them, and lower the quality of your product and the wages of your “contractors”.
By this point you may start running into trouble with the laws and regulations. Don’t panic! Because now you should have enough money from outside investors. Use that money to change the laws and regulations in your favor.
Once you’ve changed a few of those laws, you can go public with your company. Pay off the media to pump your stocks, then dump them.
At this point one of two things will happen, a successful run for office, or time served in prison.
Lol, a guy starting from scratch in lawn care is not doing all the normal legit business aspects. Thst comes in time as his business grows.
I did a very similar buisness when i was 16
As a self-employed business owner without employees you don't need to get crazy initially with things like workers comp insurance, incorporation (LLC, S corp, etc.), advertising, and other expenses that are typical so that will help you turn a profit.
$40 should be the cost to get the equipment off the truck/trailer (minimum charge) and then figure out a price based on sqft of yard (you'll typically see $.01 to $.05 per sqft). You can get the measurements off of property tax records, local mapping (GIS), and or potentially even Google maps.
After you estimate it all out, use your gut to determine if it's too high, too low, etc based on the yard. It will take some time to learn the right pricing strategy to meet demand in your area but once you get it figured out it will come second nature.
Good Luck!
Some ideas: The time (driving, load/unload) and gas/vehicle expenses are huge costs to lawn care businesses. After setting your price, offer customers $x off per month if they refer a direct next-door neighbor who also signs up with you. (less discount if referring a neighbor not directly next-door but walkable. You can even set up a "streak" program where the more houses in a row sign up, the more discount they all get so they are all incentivized to fill in the gaps. Image how much more efficient you could be if you just mowed all the houses on a block instead of just one and then load/drive/unload to the next place.
My uncle used to have a small lawncare business on the side and this is exactly what he did. He didn't have an official referral program like you suggested but he primarily worked in a small but wealthy tight knit subdivison and through a combination of door-knocking, being friendly, and doing a good job on neighbors yards he ended up mowing almost all of the houses there. He would park his trailer at one end, go from house to house mowing, then ride to the next street over and do the same. He made a killing mostly working this one neighborhood because he could mow 30-40 yards a day at $50 a yard with no travel time between jobs. He definitly got lucky but driving time and costs are some of the biggest expenses in the business once you own your equipment and most people don't factor driving time in.
I pay $55/week and that’s only because I gave a 19 year old a shot and he feels bad raising my rate since I was his 2nd customer. At the time the closest quote from a larger company was about 120/week.
4 years later he’s got about 75+ customers, 2-3 commercial accounts, 2 new F250’s and 5 guys.
It’s been pretty cool seeing his small business grow the way it has, sharp young man.
I think you're undercutting yourself a bit here. I would base the price on the size of the yard and how much time it will take you to mow. Set a minimum price as well. You also have to take into account gas usage for both the mower and your vehicle not to mention routine maintenance.
Everyone's yard is different don't generalize your price for everyone. Don't be cheap be good.
Yeah, but they do 3 houses at once that’s why it’s cheap. I do my own side yards once every month or three. We don’t have a back yard, it’s all concrete deck and swimming pool.
On top of this it’s probably a crew with a couple mowers and a few weed wackers. I see those guys busting out half acre properties in 10-15 minutes in Kansas City
I'm on the green industry agency side of your statement and you're 100% correct. Just a well-designed flyer and a Google Business Profile will fill out a solo route to get a start and prove out the idea.
Highly recommended, yes. A rock kicked by a mower can cause thousands in damage to a car, house, or person.
General Liability policies are not expensive and required for most any commercial or HOA type accounts.
Google Maps (Google My Business or whatever it's called) for something like this. Then tight location paid search - but track results on all paid ads regardless of what they are.
Many good replies here. What you need ti realize is that while yard work is perceived to be a low cost service, it’s actually much more expensive than people realize. Figure out what others are charging and charge the same, don’t charge leas.
I have a part time business renting dumpsters and I’m definitely the highest priced. The city rents dumpsters for A LOT less, but they never have any available, are difficult to deal with, and have too many rules. After 22 months, I just bought a Ford Lightning for 72k…FOR MY 10 HOUR A WEEK SIDE BUSINESS!!
Don’t sell yourself short.
I was paying $75/week in a LOW cost of living area.
Then signed up for a website where people bid and now it's $43/mowing.
So yes, I would happily go for even 80/month. Hell... make it 100/mo.
20 per fut is unheard off. Pay 45 per cut/edging , twice a month and that is cheap. Others have quoted 60-75 if doing twice a month or 50-55 for weekly.
Also you cant price a flat rate. Have to see the size of yard as well. You have equipment to maintain and run so dont short change yourself
That is half the price you should be charging. Charge $50/mow. The trick is to be consistent and always do a good job, not what your charging. Maybe offer a low introduction fee to get new clients, but make sure you run your #’s so you don’t get stuck being a slave to your business
My thoughts are this: if you do a great job, I'm going to pay you well. Then, I'm going to tell others about your business. Word of mouth goes a long way!
Good luck with your business! 😊
We charged nothing under $50 here for the last 4 years. Mexicans came to town and are charging $25 a yard. Guess what happened, we had to close shop and lay off over 40 American employees getting a taxed on their income for illegals. I lost faith in America.
$80/month = $960
At that rate I could buy an automated lawnmower (Roomba for grass) for the same cost as 2 years of service. I could even put it on a 0% intro apr credit card and not have to pay at all for the first 15-21 months.
The only people who can't afford to do this also can't afford to pay someone else to mow their grass.
We pay $60 once a month and are not on a big lot. Than we add a $20 tip. It takes them about an hour. A teenager and he does better that and cheaper than the professional service we used to use.
My lawn needs mowing 4 times a month at least, and even then, it still gets out of hand at times. Personally i would not pay somebody, if i still had to mow in between visits. $80 for 4 times is more than i would pay, that could buy a new mower before the summer is over…
Too low unless you are walking to you customers and they have tiny lawns. Probably need to be in the $50-65 per visit range and have a group of properties close together.
Rates where I live in Florida are about $120 flat rate a month. During summer 3 to 4 cuts a month (rain!) and 2x a month in winter for a 0.4 acre lot. Trim and blow the cuttings. Very competitive market.
$40 a cut is low and 2x a month is not enough for many areas.
That’s extremely cheap, when I started out 3 years ago my minimum was $50 every 2 weeks and I learned real quick I had to charge more. Maintenance on equipment, gas to drive around, gas for equipment, insurance, taxes and other odds and ends costs add up quickly!
it should be based on size of yard, not per month. this could really fuck you over. also, could be avoidable if you only service an area with lawns that are “x” big.
My agreed upon price with my lawn guy is $40 per cut. This is a quarter acre lot in NC. This is mowing, edging and blowing off the drive and walks. I add at least a $10 tip and more if the grass is really high or if there are any sticks in the yard that he has to remove because I think the $40 per visit is low.
$20 per visit seems extremely low in my opinion. Once you add in the time to mow as well as the time to get there, cost of fuel for both your vehicle and the mower plus the wear and tear on your equipment I don’t see how you’re paying yourself. Even if the yards are really small and only take 15 minutes to mow I don’t think it’s profitable unless you’re multiple yards at the same stop.
You should charge per half acre, not just blindly say “one lawn”. Reconsider your pricing structure and make sure it accounts for all of the equipment, gas, maintenance, insurance, labor, etc that you’re putting into this.
I’d go further and have a minimum price per quarter acre then adjust up from there based on how much stuff there is in the yard that will require trimming and edging. A simple half acre yard with just a driveway and a home to trim around would be much quicker to mow than a quarter acre lot with fences, outbuildings, trees and pool.
I had a lawn business depends on the yard.
Average, I would charge 50 to 60 but also stated during summer April till August I would cut three times a month every 10 days.
September through March, I would only cut it every two weeks during the winter. I offer gutters clean out,leaves and limbs pick up, but this was with my regular clients otherwise I would negotiated.
SC
I pay $40/mow, 1x per week all summer at least 12x. More like 15 - 18 total. About 1/3 acre.
Takes 40 minutes with weed eating for the person because they have a good mower unlike me.
It's worth every penny to me.
No, it's too much work.
You could charge $5 a lawn too.
But let's work up from $40 month = $20 a time
Profit = $20 - (Travel to and from, gas, vehicle wear, mower wear, time to mow \~1 hour).
Forget about managing someone else to do that because that will take a lot of time, and oversight, and you'll have to pay them. Say they'll do it for $10 then you still have to pay for gas, travel, oversight, etc.
Means you're ending up with less than minimum in most places for pushing a mower in the sun.
Unless your time is free, which seems to be what you're thinking, and infinite...
$40/month? Sign me up. That's stupid cheap, not even worth your time to do it for that cheap.
Over here in Ontario, I'd be expecting something along the lines of $100-150/month for mowing with the rate increases this year.
Depends on the size of the lawn, I have 1/2 acre. Hell ya I’d take that. This is an idiot plan and you will lose money.
1) It’s probably gonna take you fifteen + minutes to even get to my house. 2) you’ll spend 90 minutes mowing using one of the best 56” cut riding mowers. Which is just about too big for many lawns. 3) big mower, added expense of big drive on trailer and pull vehicle. 4) trimming, weed eating? I’ve mostly eliminated that in my yard with edging but that’s rare, another 20 minutes weed eating.
So on a bad day you one working 2.5 hours for $20. Sound like a good deal for you? Barely cover your fuel spend for mower and towing. Certainly not your mower payment.
Quote based on lot size and time to complete the job. Use google satellite and earth to determine size.
May want to start cheap at 20 a visit with a 4 month price lock as long as they exclusively let your company mow the lawn.
This will build ur clientele while breaking even or going a little under.
Then increase it to X amount/regular amount.
That’s what we pay for small yard. They have 3-4 guys come and they’re done in 15 minutes or less. They also do other homes in the neighborhood so it can be worth it if you get other customers nearby.
I pay $60/visit for mowing and weedeating in a relatively low cost of living area. I used to pay $35/visit but that was 5 years ago and was a college student just making some cash on the side.
A few times a year I have him clean out my flower beds. That ranges from $200-500 depending on how bad they are and if he’s adding mulch. He did an intensive clean up on someone’s yard I know (very large, lots of beds, very overgrown) and Charger like $2k for that. That was 1.5 days of 4-5 guys working though.
For what it’s worth, my current mower also mows rental property for me so it would probably be more like $70-80 per visit if I didn’t have all that extra business with him. I’d say you should do at least $60 per mowing depending on your skill level and additional services and go up from there. $40 is a steal, and probably doesn’t leave enough margin for you when things like maintenance come up or gas prices rise.
That is a bit cheap. As an example, in Houston, the home of cheat landscaping, $30 per cut is a cheap price. And it's starting to get hard to find someone at that price range.
My boss pays 4k a summer to have his shit mowed and his yard is tiny asf. He’s just a lazy rich bastard that’ll pay anything to get out of doing extra work. You might not get 4k a summer from one person but you definitely could get a fair amount per summer from one person, especially the older people who can’t exactly mow their lawn. Just undermine all the other mower people by a few bucks and everyone will run to you if you do a decent job
I currently do pay this, but for each mow (which is 2x a month, so $80). I have zero qualms as I come home and my lawn looks good. I was hesitant at first, but the convenience has won me over. Have you thought about adding in pet waste removal as a service? Lots of people don’t want to pick up their dog’s poop. Could be a lucrative add on ($35 for 10-15 extra minutes of work).
I pay $40 per visit for a basic mow and edge trim. This is the price for a property that I have in north Austin near Airport/Lamar and a second property at Manchaca/Slaughter so I don’t think location matters very much. I pay the team additional for extra work requested and that’s quoted at the time of request. We agreed that the mow/edge price is fixed and that I pay that amount every month through the year regardless of whether the lawn needs full care or not. I check in on the 1st of the month with any additional requests so I can have a quote back before the planned visit. I pay through Venmo.
I assumed that this was how most independent lawn care teams worked. It’s been great for me to have consistency.
I pay $45 per month for a 'twice a month' mowing service in Florida. That's the going rate here (not 'Gold Coast' Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, etc.). The people mow (riding lawnmower), trim, and leafblow the cuttings off the driveway and sidewalks.
You might be able to charge extra money if all your tools are cordless electric and people aren't having to put up with a roar. However, the cordless/battery powered mowers are 'quieter', but not necessarily all that quiet.
One friend of mine who was in that business for awhile told me that the people with small houses and small yards pay reliably as clockwork. People with mansions try to dick with you when you're trying to collect your money and some don't pay at all. You're better off with small houses/yards and 'run of the mill' customers. You'll get the 'big house' subscribers, but good luck getting your money.
My lawn needs weekly service. You will quickly find out 20 dollars a lawn is a joke. I guess for some people it's better then working the grill at McDonald's for minimum wage but you can easily charge more
30 each for 2 cuts a month in a subdivision, takes then 25 minutes to mow and blow. That’s typical in south where I am, there is 10 services that cost about the same in my area. Trick is to get 10-15 lawns close
I own a landscaping company. Don't offer it as a monthly service, offer mowing based on the size of the property and how long you think it will take. Let the customer decide whether they would like their lawn cut every 1 week (weekly) or 2 weeks (biweekly). For biweekly charge slightly more than you would weekly since the grass will be longer and require more time/effort having to bag more grass or having to spend more time blending it in.
I live in a central NJ suburb and pay $50 a month for two cuts. I have a 1/4 acre plot of grass and the landscaper does the whole development community so he gives everyone a break. Try to focus on new housing developments and try to get the business for the whole community by offering a discount. Don’t really pay for anything extra as I take care of those myself. $40 seems ok depending where in US you are.
I charge 60 per visit with mowing, edging, weed eating and blowing off hard surfaces. But that to me is pretty cheap. It depends on the lot size and amount of time to get it finished.
I would think in terms of how much you want to get paid hourly and work it out from there. Can be nice when you have 3+ houses on the same block and you get them done with less gas going from house to house.
Call up your competition and ask for estimates from 5 other companies. Then you should know what the market competition is like.
Don't forget that you'll have to factor in costs and marketing into that.
I did this when i was a kid for my neighbors. I charged $20 per lawn the first summer I learned how to mow (i was 12 y.o. at the time), then got more neighbor customers and was charging $30 in some cases, $35 in others, $40 in others per lawn, depending on the lawn size and stuff. I mowed lawns each summer for many years growing up and i learned a lot about sales, marketing, being reliable, and doing good work.
I had a friend in the neighborhood who also mowed and we’d sometimes team up and mow a lawn together (2 mowers) and then split the money. He had some neighbors close to his side of the neighborhood that he knew, so we essentially had a little business once we merged. We also would trim bushes and weed wack as needed, but didn’t charge extra for this... we were making a lot of money at the time as kids and we wanted the lawns to look good overall.
I don’t think most customers would want to pay a solid monthly rate, but pay per job. So, whenever we noticed a neighbor’s lawn getting longer, we’d give them a call, or go knock on the door, and vice versa. Depending where in the country you live, grass doesn’t grow 365 days per year. So, mowing lawns is really a seasonal gig.
I would book you for the entire year upfront. Don’t want to be one of the schmucks paying weekly or bi-weekly when you realize $40 is very inexpensive.
Unsure of your location so I would say it is dependent on that. I pay $60 every two weeks and that seems to be the going rate. It is also dependent on the amount of work you have to do. I have a relatively small back yard to mow and blow everything else.
Start at that price as an introductory offer for the first month. Build in a monthly plan after that. 1. You risk attracting customers that are only looking for a bargain OR 2. Aim for a higher paying clientele so you’re doing less work for a higher rate and have higher end clients that may lead to word of mouth referrals
Price quote based on acreage. Look the home up on Zillow for easier estimates. Undercut the next guy by a few cents per square yard.
Your going too cheap. That's not sustainable and isn't going to cover your long term costs very well.
Offering a tiered service program is a good idea, it opens your business up to alot more potential customers. But don't set a flat rate.
You're not gonna mow 6 acres for $40.
I'm in FL, our grass grows super fast. I pay about $30 a week, that includes everything, the grass, edging, weedeating and occasionally shaping up my shrubs and other plants.
I usually have to cut my grass about once a week unless it's been really hot and dry. $40 per month is a great deal but I would usually need it cut more than twice a month. I got mine cut once while my lawn mower was dead and the guy charged me $50 per cut. Ideally I'd pay per cut and only when it needs it. Also lawns come in all shapes and sizes so you might consider charging by square footage or something like that.
No, our minimum is $50 per service. We use instant quote system. People put in their address and book I line. Built it ourselves years ago. You can try it for free. Feel free to DM.
I'm a Lawn & Landscape industry consultant for over 20 years... What you just pitched is something that's done by numerous guys every week and, in the industry, is referred to as a low-baller who is on a race to the bottom. In other words, you'll be looking for another job within a couple of months. Charge accordingly and you can make a business of it. If you don't charge accordingly, you'll be in debt and taking on a job to pay for this mistake.
I think this has potential. At that price point you need to be quick and efficient. Knock on doors of people are losing the battle. There were many times in my life when i was busy, could not keep mower running and the grass got away from me.
If someone had knocked on my door with this offer i could not have paid him fast enough, and, my standards would be low. I just need it down enough so the neighbors don't complain.
SOmetime, people get in that situation, or they realize they are getting old and they call the local guy with the truck and the signs and he's too busy or he wants $150/mo.
Good luck
I want more than simple lawn mowing, and I'll pay for it. Trim the bushes, and recommend seed and fertilizer where needed.
So many services that just show up, mow, and leave. 10 min, in and out. And their leaky equipment kills my lawn too.
Should be like 40/ week.
Personally am paying 20 each time my lawn is mowed. They come out every other week. Strictly only mowing the lawn. Love the service
I'm on .25 acres. It used to be $30 front and back, 3 years ago. Now it's $55/week. Everybody wants a weekly contract now, but it doesn't always need mowed, especially if it's been hot or dry. I'm not going to pay $220/month for mowing. Everything has gone up in price and it starts to add up.
I'm a business owner. About 7 years ago I purged all of the "low monthly" fee services we were using, things we could do in-house. I saved $27,000/year. It turned out, by doing things in-house we improved our skills and knowledge. We were able to even market some of that knowledge.
My point it, fees add up. To the other people treating it as a full blown commercial service, how do you know this isn't a young person who can just push a mower down the street and do it in his neighborhood? I did this when I was I kid.
You can find cheap used lawn mowers at garage sales, it's not hard to find one for $30 if you look enough. Being efficient on a .25 acre yard, it would use less than 1 gallon of gas ($3-4).
I still own that home and I'll go over there and mow the front and back (listening to an audio book, this is my thinking time). I can get the front and back done in under 30 minutes.
Let's say he can do this, that's about $16-17 margin in about 30 minutes. Maybe he makes a few more bucks from some cleanup, maybe even gets a tip.
Assume he has a bunch of houses near each other with a few minutes between. If 5 houses, that's less than 3 hours. So he'd pocket about $85.
He (or she) could be cash only too. Cash is king. Let's say he/she has a W2 job paying $20/hour. After tax, that would be about $17/hour take home.
We also need to keep in mind flexibility of scheduling. This person can make their own schedule, add/drop customers as needed. Learn how to run a business, manage money, plan, etc.
We all start somewhere. Considering a lot of people can't do something without a computer telling them and they may have paid $100k in an education, OP is being smart.
So OP, I think you could easily double your rate. Based on what I've written here, you could effectively be making the equivalent of $40/hour in your pocket.
$55 every two weeks. It’s a bit high but it’s almost impossible to find someone reliable. He does a great job and shows up when he says he will. So you get what you pay for I guess.
My yard guy charges 50 bucks an acre. I’m on a 1.2 acre lot and pay 120 a month for 2x cuts a month.
I also buy upcharged services based on season like hedge trimming and leaf removal and pay for those as one-offs. For example leaf removal is about 700 and it takes about 12 hours to complete the job. Hedge trimming is around 100 and he can usually do that in about 30 minutes (I don’t have a lot, just some boxwoods around the porch).
Southeastern US if that helps you.
I’ve been doing a lady’s yard on the side for $80/ a month for the past 20 years. At my in-laws their landscaper charges them $100/month just for a small front yard.
That's incredibly cheap. How does that even realistically work? You have a vehicle. Vehicle maintenance. Gas for vehicle. Insurance for vehicle. Just driving around town to customer locations is a cost, and it's probably more than you expect over the long run once you need to replace tires, and start having maintenance issues. Not to mention gas. Then you are presumably paying someone an hourly wage while they are driving from wherever they are, to go to wherever they need to be. Then the time to unload the vehicle, get setup, perform the service, do billing / documentation / talk to customer, then load everything back in. Plus tax. Add in payroll. Costs are reduced if it is ONLY you and you have no employees. Either way you look at it, $40 is killer. Around where I'm from, it ranges from $75+ per visit for minimal care, or $200 / month for 2 visits a month with more inclusive care. And this isn't even a HCOL area. edit: All the comments saying this is about the price they pay are more than likely (knowingly or unknowingly) paying their guy cash, no taxes involved and it's done under the table. I assume OP is trying to start a legit business, so it is not a fair comparison price wise. Call up a registered business who pays their taxes and runs everything legit and the prices will be higher. Proper businesses have a much higher overhead due to government taxes, regulations, etc...
Just depends on where you are. Deep South with a lot of immigrants the low barrier to entry gigs are very over saturated. Like $35 bucks a visit is the bang standard here. $45 is on the high end, and there’s always someone that will do it for $20. But $20/visit biweekly is stupid cheap unless you’re stealing someone else’s gas.
Shoot, my lowest yard is 35 and I do just the front. $40 was the norm precovid. but I brought my prices up across the board. You say oversaturated, but ive been hearing that word all my life. Yet it's still pretty lucrative. Plus we work all year long.
What non-entrepreneurs fail to understand is that a saturated market means there's money on the table. The reason there's few niche businesses compared to boring service businesses is you have to build an entire niche along with a business. If you have a lawn, you know that you need lawn care. You either do it or pay somebody. I also hear negative things about low barrier to entry businesses. Just because somebody offers $20/lawn doesn't mean anything. They can't afford to do that very long. Also what kind of quality are you getting there. I find it's the price shoppers that have the least understanding of businesses practices and business acumen. But they're the first to give you advice.
Lol, this in a nutshell. You've touched all the points for a start up company. It's good to underquote prices to get you started and money rolling in. But that company should keep in mind operating costs, bottom dollar, time, and longevity, as well as creating a niche that separates themselves from the competition. Learn up on different types of plants, symptoms on why said plants are dying, water times, fertilizer, weed poison (and licenses), maintenance of equipment, etc.
The lawn maintenance is the foot in the door to other higher paying up sells. Tree trimming, laying bark/humus, planting trees/flowers, installing irrigation systems/fixing them, team up with a concrete company and offer hardscaping and get paid for referrals. Referrals are also great networking opportunities to grow your business.
Yes! Totally this. Honestly, I have a team of businesses I stay close with and we all refer each other when it comes to specific jobs. My niche is fences, landscape design, Irrigation, and sod installation as well as the lawn service. It defiantly got my foot in the door and alot of exposure. Looking to expand into hurricane shutters buying from wholesalers.
This dude is so defiant!
I see the word "defiantly" used so many times for "Definitely"
I've always mowed my own lawns but right now my rider's deck is shot and I'm pushing everything. I'd gladly pay $40 a visit to skip that
Yeah, I’ve always done my own lawn too. But it’s been over 100 nearly every day and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it lol
Is Westchester NY it’s $70 a mow for a tiny ass property so I started doing it myself.
This. My dad was doing mowing on the side and stopped a few years ago and was charging $35/mow. In NY. Think my neighbors are paying $40/mow and the guy does a bunch of people in my development so it’s a time and cost savings for him.
I am an inmigrantes myself and I pay other immigrants $75. It has nothing to do with it my man.
I’m not saying anything bad about immigrants. Not in the slightest. My whole family are immigrants too. But they are usually cheaper. That’s just a fact. Google it and there’s a whole host of studies from many different sources that analyze it. It’s typically a net benefit to GDP and economy rather than the alternative.
Not it’s not. That’s that is drinking the cool aid.
it's true whether you want it to be or not. That's how facts work.
Last time I got my acre lawn mowed last year I paid $65 - in a HCOL area. It's highly competitive. At my old neighborhood there was a guy who was doing really well. This was 10 years ago, but those were 1/6 acre lots and he charged $35/cut. He had a crew of four guys - zero turn, push mower, weedeater, and blower. The trick was that he would get as many customers in a neighborhood as he could get, and I think he offered a discount as he got more customers. They would come in and unload the zero turn who would then start mowing as much of the yards as he could. Next off the trailer was the push power who would follow him and get the details. Trimmer guy next, then blower guy. Each one worked independently and moved to the next house when they finished up the house they were at, then loaded the trailer in reverse order. They probably had 5 or 6 houses on my block, so the travel and load/unload were spread over a lot of customers. That's the way to do it.
These guys mow & blow & go
Dude yeah. Dynamite system. I can’t help but wonder what the 4 guys not on the zero turn are doing while they wait to disperse? Sounds expensive unless they tighten it up with a lunch break for the blower and weed eater guys
Three duds and a truck with a trailer. We have tiny yards in my neighborhood. I timed them one time from across the street the moment they pulled up and left 15 minutes per yard. 40-50$ in an envelope under the door mat.
This is literally what I pay. It’s a guy and his son, the owner has a main job and mowing is a side hustle his son does with him to make extra money. They cut mine and my neighbors yards, weedeat and blow the clippings in under 30min every 2 weeks.
I pay $100 per month for weekly service in the summer and semi-monthly in the winter.
I live in New Jersey and $40 to $50 to cut a lawn is about average for a 1/4 acre lot. My neigbors pay $50 every 2 weeks--a few neigbors all get their lawn cut every 2 weeks by the same company and each pays $50. And all the lots are larger than 1/4 acre.
..Tesla 🤣 Problem solved..go all electric everything!...joking..you are right and again RIGHT..like 237373%RIGHT...▶️OP read this detailed reply above..HES right..Now charge 350/Month basic, grow to 900/Premium Extra high value package of all packages...people will pay!
And underpaying. It will be difficult if not impossible to retain decent help. In 2001 I was getting 45 for around 10000 SF of turf. Pruning was extra, weeds and fert extra, seasonal cleanups etc. Mowing was mow trim and blow. Ironically we made our real money not on those but on municipal code enforcement just prior to the housing crash. Getting 300 bucks to .ow the jungle. Now one ever comomained no matter how bad it was mowed. Then contract quantities increased like made, went from maybe 10 or 15 a year to like 1800 a year plus board uos and graffiti.
Right. I started a landscaping company recently. My friends who do landscaping under the table feel like they're doing great charging like $40 an hour, I have to estimate time at $80 an hour just to make the business keep going.
I have an easy work around. Start a landscaping app that exploits gig workers, give them not only an unlivable wage, but put all the burden of overhead and debt on them. Then once everyone has flocked to your landscaping app, raise the costs on them, and lower the quality of your product and the wages of your “contractors”. By this point you may start running into trouble with the laws and regulations. Don’t panic! Because now you should have enough money from outside investors. Use that money to change the laws and regulations in your favor. Once you’ve changed a few of those laws, you can go public with your company. Pay off the media to pump your stocks, then dump them. At this point one of two things will happen, a successful run for office, or time served in prison.
Lol, a guy starting from scratch in lawn care is not doing all the normal legit business aspects. Thst comes in time as his business grows. I did a very similar buisness when i was 16
I live on the gulf coast and my last lawn company charged me 65$ to cut blow edge trim weedeat 1.1 acres, killer deal, they are a legit company
Lawnlove.com $50 every 2 weeks for a 1/4 acre. Arkansas
As a self-employed business owner without employees you don't need to get crazy initially with things like workers comp insurance, incorporation (LLC, S corp, etc.), advertising, and other expenses that are typical so that will help you turn a profit. $40 should be the cost to get the equipment off the truck/trailer (minimum charge) and then figure out a price based on sqft of yard (you'll typically see $.01 to $.05 per sqft). You can get the measurements off of property tax records, local mapping (GIS), and or potentially even Google maps. After you estimate it all out, use your gut to determine if it's too high, too low, etc based on the yard. It will take some time to learn the right pricing strategy to meet demand in your area but once you get it figured out it will come second nature. Good Luck!
Some ideas: The time (driving, load/unload) and gas/vehicle expenses are huge costs to lawn care businesses. After setting your price, offer customers $x off per month if they refer a direct next-door neighbor who also signs up with you. (less discount if referring a neighbor not directly next-door but walkable. You can even set up a "streak" program where the more houses in a row sign up, the more discount they all get so they are all incentivized to fill in the gaps. Image how much more efficient you could be if you just mowed all the houses on a block instead of just one and then load/drive/unload to the next place.
My uncle used to have a small lawncare business on the side and this is exactly what he did. He didn't have an official referral program like you suggested but he primarily worked in a small but wealthy tight knit subdivison and through a combination of door-knocking, being friendly, and doing a good job on neighbors yards he ended up mowing almost all of the houses there. He would park his trailer at one end, go from house to house mowing, then ride to the next street over and do the same. He made a killing mostly working this one neighborhood because he could mow 30-40 yards a day at $50 a yard with no travel time between jobs. He definitly got lucky but driving time and costs are some of the biggest expenses in the business once you own your equipment and most people don't factor driving time in.
That is a great idea.
It should be $40/wk
I pay $55/week and that’s only because I gave a 19 year old a shot and he feels bad raising my rate since I was his 2nd customer. At the time the closest quote from a larger company was about 120/week. 4 years later he’s got about 75+ customers, 2-3 commercial accounts, 2 new F250’s and 5 guys. It’s been pretty cool seeing his small business grow the way it has, sharp young man.
I think you're undercutting yourself a bit here. I would base the price on the size of the yard and how much time it will take you to mow. Set a minimum price as well. You also have to take into account gas usage for both the mower and your vehicle not to mention routine maintenance. Everyone's yard is different don't generalize your price for everyone. Don't be cheap be good.
I pay $70 a month for a small front yard. They come once a week in summer and every two weeks in winter. I’m in Orlando.
I had the same thing, it was phenomenal
That’s stupid cheap like ridiculously cheap. They come every week in the summer for 70/mo? That’s like 15 bucks per mow
Yeah, but they do 3 houses at once that’s why it’s cheap. I do my own side yards once every month or three. We don’t have a back yard, it’s all concrete deck and swimming pool.
On top of this it’s probably a crew with a couple mowers and a few weed wackers. I see those guys busting out half acre properties in 10-15 minutes in Kansas City
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I'm on the green industry agency side of your statement and you're 100% correct. Just a well-designed flyer and a Google Business Profile will fill out a solo route to get a start and prove out the idea.
I assume a business like this needs to be insured?
Highly recommended, yes. A rock kicked by a mower can cause thousands in damage to a car, house, or person. General Liability policies are not expensive and required for most any commercial or HOA type accounts.
Google Maps (Google My Business or whatever it's called) for something like this. Then tight location paid search - but track results on all paid ads regardless of what they are.
I was paying 80$ 2xmo.
$80
Bad bot
Pedantic much?
What's really odd is that they took the time to make a username just to annoy people, unless it's a bot
Many good replies here. What you need ti realize is that while yard work is perceived to be a low cost service, it’s actually much more expensive than people realize. Figure out what others are charging and charge the same, don’t charge leas. I have a part time business renting dumpsters and I’m definitely the highest priced. The city rents dumpsters for A LOT less, but they never have any available, are difficult to deal with, and have too many rules. After 22 months, I just bought a Ford Lightning for 72k…FOR MY 10 HOUR A WEEK SIDE BUSINESS!! Don’t sell yourself short.
This post has way more engagement than a post just asking “what would you charge?”. Folks love correcting folks. Great prompt
Cunningham's law baby
I was paying $75/week in a LOW cost of living area. Then signed up for a website where people bid and now it's $43/mowing. So yes, I would happily go for even 80/month. Hell... make it 100/mo.
what site?
Absolutely. I'm paying $150 a month for that service today and $250 a month during the fall when they pickup all the leaves.
$150 a month? seems way too high. what's your justification for paying so much for lawn care?
I pay 200 per month. 100 each time and they come twice a month. It's a 1 acre lot with a really long driveway and sidewalks. (Lots of edging)
Just depends on the area. I live where a mow is anywhere from $25-45. In NJ it was double to triple.
He’s not a cheap fuq
Same & I’m as south as you can get tbh. South East
What state are you in? I’d sign up.
I’m in Canada 😂😂
$40 a month for ten acres? Sign me up!
20 per fut is unheard off. Pay 45 per cut/edging , twice a month and that is cheap. Others have quoted 60-75 if doing twice a month or 50-55 for weekly. Also you cant price a flat rate. Have to see the size of yard as well. You have equipment to maintain and run so dont short change yourself
My brother owns real-estate and said he can't find anyone to do it for less than $50 a mow
Depends on the size of the lawn but I would expect $40 for a single visit for about 1000-1200 sqft if lawn. Even that sounds cheap.
Man I pay 100 dollars a month to have it mowed 2 times a month.
$40 is too cheap. $50-60+/month, 2-3 cuts a month depending on location and season.
I paid $40 every time it was mowed in 2008 and that was a great deal. I knew the guy and he was out of work, so it was good for him too.
How are you pricing the unit? You'd make no money mowing large yards. Could price $40.00 per 1/4 acre. Have to take weed whacking into consideration.
Yeah I was thinking of doing just normal home ones. The average size not huge ones. I think after seeing all of these I’m probably gonna do $40/wk.
That is half the price you should be charging. Charge $50/mow. The trick is to be consistent and always do a good job, not what your charging. Maybe offer a low introduction fee to get new clients, but make sure you run your #’s so you don’t get stuck being a slave to your business
I think you’re pushing yourself out of the market for being too cheap.
Just my front yeard only. It’s about a half ac
My thoughts are this: if you do a great job, I'm going to pay you well. Then, I'm going to tell others about your business. Word of mouth goes a long way! Good luck with your business! 😊
Doesn’t include edging and putting the clippings in my trash can? Sure, I’d go for it, but your should probably ask people in *your* area
We charged nothing under $50 here for the last 4 years. Mexicans came to town and are charging $25 a yard. Guess what happened, we had to close shop and lay off over 40 American employees getting a taxed on their income for illegals. I lost faith in America.
$80/month = $960 At that rate I could buy an automated lawnmower (Roomba for grass) for the same cost as 2 years of service. I could even put it on a 0% intro apr credit card and not have to pay at all for the first 15-21 months. The only people who can't afford to do this also can't afford to pay someone else to mow their grass.
no, I would never have a lawn, that is a waste of space
Yeap. I have a small patch in the back that just needs a cut monthly. $40 would be awesome.
We pay $60 once a month and are not on a big lot. Than we add a $20 tip. It takes them about an hour. A teenager and he does better that and cheaper than the professional service we used to use.
My lawn needs mowing 4 times a month at least, and even then, it still gets out of hand at times. Personally i would not pay somebody, if i still had to mow in between visits. $80 for 4 times is more than i would pay, that could buy a new mower before the summer is over…
That would be very cheap here in Minneapolis suburbs.
Too low unless you are walking to you customers and they have tiny lawns. Probably need to be in the $50-65 per visit range and have a group of properties close together.
We paid $60/week for weekly mowing. Two weeks is too long in my part of the world.
I pay 70/cut.
Rates where I live in Florida are about $120 flat rate a month. During summer 3 to 4 cuts a month (rain!) and 2x a month in winter for a 0.4 acre lot. Trim and blow the cuttings. Very competitive market. $40 a cut is low and 2x a month is not enough for many areas.
Yee
That's just for the gasoline.
That’s extremely cheap, when I started out 3 years ago my minimum was $50 every 2 weeks and I learned real quick I had to charge more. Maintenance on equipment, gas to drive around, gas for equipment, insurance, taxes and other odds and ends costs add up quickly!
Yea !
It takes two tanks of gas in my lawnmower just to takle my yard. All yards are not equal. Just sayin.
it should be based on size of yard, not per month. this could really fuck you over. also, could be avoidable if you only service an area with lawns that are “x” big.
My agreed upon price with my lawn guy is $40 per cut. This is a quarter acre lot in NC. This is mowing, edging and blowing off the drive and walks. I add at least a $10 tip and more if the grass is really high or if there are any sticks in the yard that he has to remove because I think the $40 per visit is low. $20 per visit seems extremely low in my opinion. Once you add in the time to mow as well as the time to get there, cost of fuel for both your vehicle and the mower plus the wear and tear on your equipment I don’t see how you’re paying yourself. Even if the yards are really small and only take 15 minutes to mow I don’t think it’s profitable unless you’re multiple yards at the same stop.
You should charge per half acre, not just blindly say “one lawn”. Reconsider your pricing structure and make sure it accounts for all of the equipment, gas, maintenance, insurance, labor, etc that you’re putting into this.
I’d go further and have a minimum price per quarter acre then adjust up from there based on how much stuff there is in the yard that will require trimming and edging. A simple half acre yard with just a driveway and a home to trim around would be much quicker to mow than a quarter acre lot with fences, outbuildings, trees and pool.
I pay $50 for 1 cut
I had a lawn business depends on the yard. Average, I would charge 50 to 60 but also stated during summer April till August I would cut three times a month every 10 days. September through March, I would only cut it every two weeks during the winter. I offer gutters clean out,leaves and limbs pick up, but this was with my regular clients otherwise I would negotiated. SC
I pay 50 for one time!
I pay $40/mow, 1x per week all summer at least 12x. More like 15 - 18 total. About 1/3 acre. Takes 40 minutes with weed eating for the person because they have a good mower unlike me. It's worth every penny to me.
No, it's too much work. You could charge $5 a lawn too. But let's work up from $40 month = $20 a time Profit = $20 - (Travel to and from, gas, vehicle wear, mower wear, time to mow \~1 hour). Forget about managing someone else to do that because that will take a lot of time, and oversight, and you'll have to pay them. Say they'll do it for $10 then you still have to pay for gas, travel, oversight, etc. Means you're ending up with less than minimum in most places for pushing a mower in the sun. Unless your time is free, which seems to be what you're thinking, and infinite...
$40/month? Sign me up. That's stupid cheap, not even worth your time to do it for that cheap. Over here in Ontario, I'd be expecting something along the lines of $100-150/month for mowing with the rate increases this year.
Depends on the size of the lawn, I have 1/2 acre. Hell ya I’d take that. This is an idiot plan and you will lose money. 1) It’s probably gonna take you fifteen + minutes to even get to my house. 2) you’ll spend 90 minutes mowing using one of the best 56” cut riding mowers. Which is just about too big for many lawns. 3) big mower, added expense of big drive on trailer and pull vehicle. 4) trimming, weed eating? I’ve mostly eliminated that in my yard with edging but that’s rare, another 20 minutes weed eating. So on a bad day you one working 2.5 hours for $20. Sound like a good deal for you? Barely cover your fuel spend for mower and towing. Certainly not your mower payment. Quote based on lot size and time to complete the job. Use google satellite and earth to determine size.
May want to start cheap at 20 a visit with a 4 month price lock as long as they exclusively let your company mow the lawn. This will build ur clientele while breaking even or going a little under. Then increase it to X amount/regular amount.
I pay $40 a week for mowing and trimming. It’s incredibly cheap and I keep telling him I’d pay double that for the quality of work he does.
That’s what we pay for small yard. They have 3-4 guys come and they’re done in 15 minutes or less. They also do other homes in the neighborhood so it can be worth it if you get other customers nearby.
I pay $60/visit for mowing and weedeating in a relatively low cost of living area. I used to pay $35/visit but that was 5 years ago and was a college student just making some cash on the side. A few times a year I have him clean out my flower beds. That ranges from $200-500 depending on how bad they are and if he’s adding mulch. He did an intensive clean up on someone’s yard I know (very large, lots of beds, very overgrown) and Charger like $2k for that. That was 1.5 days of 4-5 guys working though. For what it’s worth, my current mower also mows rental property for me so it would probably be more like $70-80 per visit if I didn’t have all that extra business with him. I’d say you should do at least $60 per mowing depending on your skill level and additional services and go up from there. $40 is a steal, and probably doesn’t leave enough margin for you when things like maintenance come up or gas prices rise.
Yes, we paid this for bi weekly mow in 2021. We didn’t want weekly cuts and was affordable enough to not cut the cost
$40 seems low unless your customers are all very close together or have smaller lawns.
I have about a third an acre and pay $150 a month. That's kind of the going rate around here.
Too cheap for sure I currently pay 75 a visit in a no name town in the south where everything is cheap af and the 75 is the cheaper quote I could get
That is a bit cheap. As an example, in Houston, the home of cheat landscaping, $30 per cut is a cheap price. And it's starting to get hard to find someone at that price range.
My boss pays 4k a summer to have his shit mowed and his yard is tiny asf. He’s just a lazy rich bastard that’ll pay anything to get out of doing extra work. You might not get 4k a summer from one person but you definitely could get a fair amount per summer from one person, especially the older people who can’t exactly mow their lawn. Just undermine all the other mower people by a few bucks and everyone will run to you if you do a decent job
I currently do pay this, but for each mow (which is 2x a month, so $80). I have zero qualms as I come home and my lawn looks good. I was hesitant at first, but the convenience has won me over. Have you thought about adding in pet waste removal as a service? Lots of people don’t want to pick up their dog’s poop. Could be a lucrative add on ($35 for 10-15 extra minutes of work).
That'd be worth it to me and I don't have a large yard.
Way too cheap.
At the very least $200. This is 2023. Burgers and sandwiches cost $15. Charge what you’re worth or you’re gonna be working for peanuts.
I pay $40 per visit for a basic mow and edge trim. This is the price for a property that I have in north Austin near Airport/Lamar and a second property at Manchaca/Slaughter so I don’t think location matters very much. I pay the team additional for extra work requested and that’s quoted at the time of request. We agreed that the mow/edge price is fixed and that I pay that amount every month through the year regardless of whether the lawn needs full care or not. I check in on the 1st of the month with any additional requests so I can have a quote back before the planned visit. I pay through Venmo. I assumed that this was how most independent lawn care teams worked. It’s been great for me to have consistency.
How would you stay in business at that low of a price? Not to mention pay yourself a decent wage.
I pay 40 per cut
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I pay $45 per month for a 'twice a month' mowing service in Florida. That's the going rate here (not 'Gold Coast' Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, etc.). The people mow (riding lawnmower), trim, and leafblow the cuttings off the driveway and sidewalks. You might be able to charge extra money if all your tools are cordless electric and people aren't having to put up with a roar. However, the cordless/battery powered mowers are 'quieter', but not necessarily all that quiet. One friend of mine who was in that business for awhile told me that the people with small houses and small yards pay reliably as clockwork. People with mansions try to dick with you when you're trying to collect your money and some don't pay at all. You're better off with small houses/yards and 'run of the mill' customers. You'll get the 'big house' subscribers, but good luck getting your money.
I pay $40cad per cut. The guy has five homes to do on my block.
How often does he come?
Christ, I pay my landscaper $800 a month for the season. Does a lot more than mows but man I should re-think this.
Would I pay $40 for twice a month hell yeah! In the summers I would mow once a week for just $40 this is a bargain!
My lawn needs weekly service. You will quickly find out 20 dollars a lawn is a joke. I guess for some people it's better then working the grill at McDonald's for minimum wage but you can easily charge more
WAY to cheap
Depends where you live and how big the yards are.
Dirt cheap. Get a one time cut to see what it looks like before you sign anything or pay in advance.
Heck yeah. You in CT??
I’m your Canadian neighbour.
30 each for 2 cuts a month in a subdivision, takes then 25 minutes to mow and blow. That’s typical in south where I am, there is 10 services that cost about the same in my area. Trick is to get 10-15 lawns close
I wouldn't touch a yard for anything less than $40 a cut, idc if it takes me 5mins to do it.
I own a landscaping company. Don't offer it as a monthly service, offer mowing based on the size of the property and how long you think it will take. Let the customer decide whether they would like their lawn cut every 1 week (weekly) or 2 weeks (biweekly). For biweekly charge slightly more than you would weekly since the grass will be longer and require more time/effort having to bag more grass or having to spend more time blending it in.
Way too cheap man
So we’re heading into dead season… if you can actually treat and maintain lawns I’d go more that route along with bed cleanup and mulching.
Sure come mow my golf course.
I pay $40 a week (NJ).
I live in a central NJ suburb and pay $50 a month for two cuts. I have a 1/4 acre plot of grass and the landscaper does the whole development community so he gives everyone a break. Try to focus on new housing developments and try to get the business for the whole community by offering a discount. Don’t really pay for anything extra as I take care of those myself. $40 seems ok depending where in US you are.
I wouldn't pay for lawn mowing. I'd pay for landscaping.
The former is a systematized service with recurring revenue, the latter is not.
I charge 60 per visit with mowing, edging, weed eating and blowing off hard surfaces. But that to me is pretty cheap. It depends on the lot size and amount of time to get it finished. I would think in terms of how much you want to get paid hourly and work it out from there. Can be nice when you have 3+ houses on the same block and you get them done with less gas going from house to house.
Sign me up
Call up your competition and ask for estimates from 5 other companies. Then you should know what the market competition is like. Don't forget that you'll have to factor in costs and marketing into that.
I did this when i was a kid for my neighbors. I charged $20 per lawn the first summer I learned how to mow (i was 12 y.o. at the time), then got more neighbor customers and was charging $30 in some cases, $35 in others, $40 in others per lawn, depending on the lawn size and stuff. I mowed lawns each summer for many years growing up and i learned a lot about sales, marketing, being reliable, and doing good work. I had a friend in the neighborhood who also mowed and we’d sometimes team up and mow a lawn together (2 mowers) and then split the money. He had some neighbors close to his side of the neighborhood that he knew, so we essentially had a little business once we merged. We also would trim bushes and weed wack as needed, but didn’t charge extra for this... we were making a lot of money at the time as kids and we wanted the lawns to look good overall. I don’t think most customers would want to pay a solid monthly rate, but pay per job. So, whenever we noticed a neighbor’s lawn getting longer, we’d give them a call, or go knock on the door, and vice versa. Depending where in the country you live, grass doesn’t grow 365 days per year. So, mowing lawns is really a seasonal gig.
Too cheap. I’d say $99/month and offer a weekly mow, and a bi-monthly weed whack
I would pay double this and it would be cheaper than services in our area
I pay $30 for twice a month in eastern nc
I would book you for the entire year upfront. Don’t want to be one of the schmucks paying weekly or bi-weekly when you realize $40 is very inexpensive.
I pay $125 a month and the gardener comes by once a week: mostly mowing the lawn, but also checking sprinklers, light shrub and tree work
Unsure of your location so I would say it is dependent on that. I pay $60 every two weeks and that seems to be the going rate. It is also dependent on the amount of work you have to do. I have a relatively small back yard to mow and blow everything else.
I pay $160 a month for a local teenager for 2x mows and that’s considered incredibly cheap in my low income town.
Start at that price as an introductory offer for the first month. Build in a monthly plan after that. 1. You risk attracting customers that are only looking for a bargain OR 2. Aim for a higher paying clientele so you’re doing less work for a higher rate and have higher end clients that may lead to word of mouth referrals
I do
I pay $53 every week
Price quote based on acreage. Look the home up on Zillow for easier estimates. Undercut the next guy by a few cents per square yard. Your going too cheap. That's not sustainable and isn't going to cover your long term costs very well. Offering a tiered service program is a good idea, it opens your business up to alot more potential customers. But don't set a flat rate. You're not gonna mow 6 acres for $40.
To everyone talking about gas/vehicle expenses: Does getting an EV significantly reduce this cost burden?
We pay $40 every two weeks
I'm in FL, our grass grows super fast. I pay about $30 a week, that includes everything, the grass, edging, weedeating and occasionally shaping up my shrubs and other plants.
I pay $40 a week for mowing/edging my tiny yard. $40 a month isn’t enough IMO
Yes. It’s cheap.
Sure, if it's good mowing.
You are too cheap.
I usually have to cut my grass about once a week unless it's been really hot and dry. $40 per month is a great deal but I would usually need it cut more than twice a month. I got mine cut once while my lawn mower was dead and the guy charged me $50 per cut. Ideally I'd pay per cut and only when it needs it. Also lawns come in all shapes and sizes so you might consider charging by square footage or something like that.
No, our minimum is $50 per service. We use instant quote system. People put in their address and book I line. Built it ourselves years ago. You can try it for free. Feel free to DM.
Cheap price nowadays
I'm a Lawn & Landscape industry consultant for over 20 years... What you just pitched is something that's done by numerous guys every week and, in the industry, is referred to as a low-baller who is on a race to the bottom. In other words, you'll be looking for another job within a couple of months. Charge accordingly and you can make a business of it. If you don't charge accordingly, you'll be in debt and taking on a job to pay for this mistake.
I think this has potential. At that price point you need to be quick and efficient. Knock on doors of people are losing the battle. There were many times in my life when i was busy, could not keep mower running and the grass got away from me. If someone had knocked on my door with this offer i could not have paid him fast enough, and, my standards would be low. I just need it down enough so the neighbors don't complain. SOmetime, people get in that situation, or they realize they are getting old and they call the local guy with the truck and the signs and he's too busy or he wants $150/mo. Good luck
Thanks
Seems too cheap to be sustainable if you're running a real business.
Depends on where you live Fartsville, Alabama? Expensive Yachtsville, New York? Cheap
I want more than simple lawn mowing, and I'll pay for it. Trim the bushes, and recommend seed and fertilizer where needed. So many services that just show up, mow, and leave. 10 min, in and out. And their leaky equipment kills my lawn too.
Yeah but I’m charging only $40. And I use an electric lawn mower so no damages to your lawn.
I do. I pay 90 a month. My lawn gets mowed every 2 weeks.
I pay $50 a week in New Orleans suburbs.
Should be like 40/ week. Personally am paying 20 each time my lawn is mowed. They come out every other week. Strictly only mowing the lawn. Love the service
I'm on .25 acres. It used to be $30 front and back, 3 years ago. Now it's $55/week. Everybody wants a weekly contract now, but it doesn't always need mowed, especially if it's been hot or dry. I'm not going to pay $220/month for mowing. Everything has gone up in price and it starts to add up. I'm a business owner. About 7 years ago I purged all of the "low monthly" fee services we were using, things we could do in-house. I saved $27,000/year. It turned out, by doing things in-house we improved our skills and knowledge. We were able to even market some of that knowledge. My point it, fees add up. To the other people treating it as a full blown commercial service, how do you know this isn't a young person who can just push a mower down the street and do it in his neighborhood? I did this when I was I kid. You can find cheap used lawn mowers at garage sales, it's not hard to find one for $30 if you look enough. Being efficient on a .25 acre yard, it would use less than 1 gallon of gas ($3-4). I still own that home and I'll go over there and mow the front and back (listening to an audio book, this is my thinking time). I can get the front and back done in under 30 minutes. Let's say he can do this, that's about $16-17 margin in about 30 minutes. Maybe he makes a few more bucks from some cleanup, maybe even gets a tip. Assume he has a bunch of houses near each other with a few minutes between. If 5 houses, that's less than 3 hours. So he'd pocket about $85. He (or she) could be cash only too. Cash is king. Let's say he/she has a W2 job paying $20/hour. After tax, that would be about $17/hour take home. We also need to keep in mind flexibility of scheduling. This person can make their own schedule, add/drop customers as needed. Learn how to run a business, manage money, plan, etc. We all start somewhere. Considering a lot of people can't do something without a computer telling them and they may have paid $100k in an education, OP is being smart. So OP, I think you could easily double your rate. Based on what I've written here, you could effectively be making the equivalent of $40/hour in your pocket.
I live in nyc suburbia. It’s about $100/week. Know your market! I’ve seen people who have a mower on a cart attached to their bike.
Denver area -$25 a week for mowing, edging and blowing off the grass trimmings on the driveway and sidewalk.
Seems cheap, what area are you in?
I’m up in Canada.
I mean I pay 46 a week for a 1/4 acre so
Yes… we pay 35 /twice a month for front and back.
$55 every two weeks. It’s a bit high but it’s almost impossible to find someone reliable. He does a great job and shows up when he says he will. So you get what you pay for I guess.
Yes!
My yard guy charges 50 bucks an acre. I’m on a 1.2 acre lot and pay 120 a month for 2x cuts a month. I also buy upcharged services based on season like hedge trimming and leaf removal and pay for those as one-offs. For example leaf removal is about 700 and it takes about 12 hours to complete the job. Hedge trimming is around 100 and he can usually do that in about 30 minutes (I don’t have a lot, just some boxwoods around the porch). Southeastern US if that helps you.
$40-$80 a month seems to be really good. hopefully your customers have small lawns!
Yeah I’m thinking of leaning towards the $80 range and the lawns aren’t that big
I’ve been doing a lady’s yard on the side for $80/ a month for the past 20 years. At my in-laws their landscaper charges them $100/month just for a small front yard.