🌱 The day the man in orange overalls came to town


"I guess this is the last time you will be mowing that lawn"

​
This is what the guy with the orange overalls came over and told me while I was working.

I knew it wasn't his lawn so I was understandably confused.
​

So I asked him to explain.

​
The guy in the orange overalls went on to tell me that he had just bought a lawn mowing franchise and I was working in his territory

This meant that I would no longer be able to mow the lawn I was working on.

​
I was dumbfounded.

Seriously??

I couldn't believe it.
​

Now I had to explain that his territory was an agreement between him and his franchise. It had nothing to do with me or my business.

It solely meant that there would be nobody else from his franchise working in that area. (assuming the master franchise would enforce it)

​
I suggested that he go home and read his franchise agreement... carefully.

​
I saw him a few times after that.

Working away in his orange overalls.

He always looked a bit grumpy when he saw me and never waved back and he disappeared within 6 months.

​
One of the first rules of business (and life in general) is that you should NEVER sign any sort of agreement that you have not read and understood.

​
If you are looking at buying a lawn mowing business do a bit of research first. I have have sold hundreds of lawns over the years and I have a course on "how to buy a lawn mowing" business inside the membership.

Do this before you run out and buy a pair of orange overalls.

​
Talk soon

Stuart

​

Hi and Welcome to my page

Start and grow a six-figure lawn care business in your spare time. Increase your income every year by working smarter, not harder. Tips and tricks to your inbox each week. We care about our subscribers and we will never spam you or pass your details to anyone.

Read more from Hi and Welcome to my page

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...

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...

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...