The other day I was chatting with a lawn mowing contractor who was frustrated that he was out doing quote after quote, only to end up looking at jobs that were not ideal. I dug a little deeper and found the real problem: he wasn’t asking any questions during the initial call. Because of that, he was turning up to jobs with no real understanding of what the customer actually needed. Problem solved. Once he started qualifying leads properly over the phone, things improved quickly. It all starts...
2 days ago • 1 min read
I get asked this question a lot, and the answer depends on a few key factors. But I’ll try to keep it simple here. For this example, let’s assume one person is using an 18–20 inch push mower. A Bit of Background When I had five sole operated vans on the road, I decided to track our productivity over three months. I recorded: How long it took to mow each lawn Travel time between jobs Total number of lawns mowed per day It wasn’t a scientific study, but all the data came from consistent...
4 days ago • 1 min read
I’ve always liked dogs. But that doesn’t mean they’ve always liked me back. I’ve got a few scars to prove it; one in particular I’ll never forget. I was mowing out the back when the owner's dog decided I didn’t belong there. So he bit me. No one was home, so I packed up my gear, climbed in the truck, and drove straight to the hospital. While I was sitting there getting stitched up, my phone rang. It was the dog's owner. He’d just gotten home and noticed the lawn was only half done. I told him...
6 days ago • 1 min read
It always seemed to happen at the worst time. In the middle of a busy week Halfway through my day And the mower just... dies. No warning, no weird noise, no smoke. Just dead. Back then, I’d chuck it in the trailer, drive it across town to the mower shop, and wait to hear the damage. I'd sit there and wait while they looked at my mower. Jobs would need to be moved on. And my stress levels are through the roof. But over time, I noticed something. Every time I handed my dead mower over the...
8 days ago • 1 min read
I drive past a lot of lawns, and honestly?Sometimes I shake my head. The edges are rough, the grass is clumped and scattered, and the whole thing just looks rushed. There’s one commercial property I often walk by with my dog. It’s always messy, and I assumed they’d just got one of the workers doing the lawns. But then one day, I saw who was actually doing it.One of the biggest landscaping companies in the country. And I was shocked. The mower guy kept changing heights mid-lawn. The weed eater...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Donna and I were chatting the other day about our dog. He’s an eleven-year-old German Shepherd with a few health issues. Thankfully, when we brought him home as a pup, we also signed up for pet insurance. Even better, that insurance has covered most of the big bills over the years.(As Donna puts it, “they definitely lost money on that deal.”) But even with their help, we still have to chip in. This latest round of meds was going to cost us an extra $100 a week. Donna, being Donna, said she’d...
16 days ago • 1 min read
You’re ready to go. You’ve got the gear. Now all you need is some calls. You build a website.Set up your Google Business Profile.Make a Facebook page. You introduce yourself in the local community group. Start posting. Start showing up and helping people. You talk to people you know and ask if they know anyone who needs help. Some say they’ll pass your name along, but it’s quiet. You print out some ads and tape them to the window at the bakery and the local dairy. You leave cards at the mower...
18 days ago • 1 min read
I used to treat hedge trimming like a quick job.Something to fill the gaps between mowing and bring in a bit of extra income. Trim it up, tidy the mess, collect the payment, and move on. But over time, I started noticing something… Most of these clients were ringing me up ad hoc when the hedge got out of control. Same hedge. Same problems. Only now it was more overgrown and harder to trim. That’s when it hit me: I’d been looking at it all wrong. This wasn’t a one-off clean-up job. It was a...
18 days ago • 1 min read
Profit isn’t just about what you charge. It’s about what you keep. When fuel prices started climbing, I saw how fast it ate into profits, especially if you’re running a lawn care business. I’ve been there. And I didn’t want to raise prices just to stay afloat. So, I made a few smart shifts to protect my bottom line: ✅ Optimized my routes using free tools like RouteXL and Google Maps → Less driving. Less gas wasted. ✅ Maintained my equipment with clean air filters, sharp blades, and proper...
19 days ago • 1 min read