A signwritten van is the cheapest advertising you will ever buy. It works while you are mowing, while you are at the shop, while it sits parked in someone's street. However, the sign wiring needs a few things to do its job well. I owned a signwriting business back in the early eighties, and I have signwritten my vehicles ever since. Here is what I would tell you before you spend a cent. Get your logo sorted first: Get a portrait version and a landscape version. Your signwriter needs both, and...
3 days ago • 2 min read
Here's something I see constantly. A lawn care operator spends good money on a trailer, equipment, and maybe even a website. Then they spend about 20 minutes setting up their Google Business Profile—click a few boxes, upload one photo from two years ago, and call it done. That profile sits there, untouched, while a competitor with scruffier gear and a fresher profile keeps pulling in the calls. It's not always fair, but it is real. The thing most operators miss Your Google Business Profile...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader I found something interesting...I don't normally share stuff until I know it works. But I've been quietly testing some SEO blogging software over the past few months, and I think it's worth keeping you in the loop, even at this early stage. The idea is simple. It writes high-quality SEO posts for local business websites automatically. Run it long enough and you start ranking for a ton of local keywords without doing much at all. I've had it running on my main lawnmowing101 website...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader If your week is packed but your bank account still looks thin at the end of it, that's not a working-harder problem. That's a running-the-business problem. I see it all the time. Great mowers. Clean edges. Happy customers. But the cash just doesn't add up the way it should. Usually it comes down to a few things: — Pricing that covers the job but not the drive time, the admin, or the equipment wearing out — A route spread across too many suburbs eating fuel and hours between stops —...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Things can change People can move on, have a change in circumstances, Anything can happen. And that's when you get the breakup email, text, or call. Normally we ask, "Just for our records, can I get a reason for the cancelation?” The way they answer this question will dictate what we do next. If it's a money thing, we say we are sorry to hear that. call us back anytime and we ask for a review If they are moving, we wish them the best with their move and ask for a review. If we don't hear...
4 months ago • 1 min read
The robots are coming. You know, when I think of a cruise-y retirement, I used to think of sitting in a rocking chair, having a beer, and watching someone mow my lawn. Now that is the life…Nowadays I think a bit differently. The way the future is heading, I can probably look forward to a self-driving car among other wonderful things. But lately I have been thinking of a cunning PLAN… When I give up mowing lawns, I might just buy a bunch of robotic mowers and rent them out. That way I can just...
5 months ago • 1 min read
I have seen so many mistakes with this. Buying or selling a lawn care business When I started mowing lawns, it was shortly after engines were invented. I wasn't just a lawn guy. I also had a sign-writing business, and I loved marketing. Z After I built my first lawn business, I got board. I liked the thrill of the chase and the building part, but when I was full, I couldn't do this anymore. So I started selling my excess lawns. I then began selling the whole lawn business and building new...
5 months ago • 1 min read
I started my business in a simple way, as a lot of lawn guys do. With a cheap station wagon and a mower. Hell, I didn't even have a blower for the longest time. It was the late 80s, and a lot of us guys just tipped our trimmers on their sides and used those. However, one thing that I bought as soon as I could was a trailer. It was a necessary piece of equipment. I was doing lawns, garden cleanups, and a bit of tree work, so it was necessary. In the early days, I did get stuck a few times in...
5 months ago • 1 min read
I was a bit late this year. Just in time for the session at least. I have a post on the lawnmowing101 blog about the best startup mowers, and I like to update it once a year. Mowers change; one of my favorite mowers (the Honda 217) was discontinued So it's time for an update Out with the old and in with the new. So to speak This year I have some new additions and some golden oldies that are still going strong. However, a list of mowers is not the be-all, end-all. It depends what you want the...
5 months ago • 1 min read