I get asked this question a lot: "How much does it actually cost to run a lawn mowing business?"

The honest answer is... it depends. Different countries, different seasons, different business models.

So instead of guessing, I did something more useful. I took the real figures from our own lawn business for a full financial year and broke them down line by line.

Not theory, not averages. Real numbers.

Here's the part that usually surprises people:

That year, my wife and I worked around 20 hours a week, had no staff, ran a tight local area, and used smaller, sensible equipment. We turned over around $200k and kept total operating costs under 40%.

In other words, we earned about the same as a high-performing full-time lawn business without working full-time hours.

• Not because we were lucky.
• Not because we worked harder.
• But because the business was set up lean and deliberately.

Most lawn businesses struggle not because mowing is unprofitable, but because costs quietly creep up and nobody ever really looks at the numbers.

Things like

• Too much fuel because the run is spread out.
• Old pricing that never got reviewed.
• Advertising either ignored or done randomly.
• Registering for tax too early and bleeding cash.
• Hanging onto low-value lawns out of habit.

None of these are fatal on their own. Together, they quietly keep you busy and stop the money from stacking up.

I've opened up a free Skool group where I'm walking through this stuff properly—how to think about costs, pricing, lead flow, and how to build a lawn business that works around your life, not the other way around.

No pressure; a lot of the training is free, and it's practical, not theory.

If you want to see how this actually works in the real world, you can join the free group here:

​[Join the free Lawn Business Builders Pro group]​

See you inside,

Stuart