Starting a New Lawn Service
It is a know fact that profit is directly related to productivity.
Managers and crews of maintenance companies need the knowledge and tools to complete the work, while watching the bottom line rise.
The following tips may help when you are deciding how to price your maintenance work.
Take all your variables into account when pricing for profit: competition, weather, length of season, storage and the cost of labor.
Call around to other businesses in the area and ask for their average prices. By doing this, you can get an idea of what price the local market will pay for your services.
Weather is unpredictable. Make sure the profitability you come up with covers things like downtime due to dry weather, wet weather or early cold season.
Accurate pricing now will help your new business through your slow times later.
Storage can also be a factor in your pricing.
The price of labor may be higher in some areas than others. Find out the average wage rate from a local employment agency, then price your service to cover the expense.
What would be worse? Having unsatisfied customers or losing a knowledgeable employee to a competitor over a .15-20 cent difference in hourly pay? You business will do just fine if the employees are happy, dependable, and dedicated. Good employees, great maintenance service and customer service will take care of the customer..
Add value over price .
Stressing value over price when meeting with a new customer for quotes/estimates.
This can be made easier by emphasizing some simple, but highly effective points:
- full range of services
- modern, efficient equipment
- experienced employees
- free services like emergency maintenance calls and consultations
- a good reputation in the industry and community references available
- reliability
- disposal/clean ups
- membership in professional organizations
- certifications
Figuring operational costs into a profitable equation.
Take things like costs for fuel, insurance, office supplies, tax permits and vehicles that can add up. If a contractor is new to the maintenance business, most of the up-front costs will fall into this category.
Seasoned contractors operational costs should work out to be around 10-15 percent of the annual budget.
Points of reference
Be innovative come up with weather permitting work during your down time. If I shouldn't mow today what can I do?
Residential customers usually know what he or she wants to spend so the person who gets there first and appears professional will usually get the job
