I once turned down a job because of the contract attached.

They sent me through this official-looking document.
It had more clauses than a Santa convention.
Stuff like:

I read it twice and still didn’t know what I’d be agreeing to.
So I politely said, No thanks.

Now look, it’s not that I’m against agreements.

I think everything has its place.
And the place for a contract is on a large commercial job with lots of moving parts — or with property managers.
We don’t do that kind of work.

I’ve never had a customer sign anything. (And vice versa.)

Not once in 35 years.
From supermarkets to private hospitals — we’ve never needed it.

We just talk.
I explain what I’ll do, how much, and how often.
If I offer a first-cut discount, I let them know it’s conditional on booking regular cuts.

That’s it.

Verbal agreements work fine, as long as both sides are clear.

Sure, there’s the odd customer who wants to get all formal.
But in my experience, those contracts are almost always written in their favour, not yours.

They say things like “it’s just a standard agreement,”
but standard usually means “you have no protection.”

Here’s what I’ve learned:

You don’t need a contract to run most small lawn care businesses.
You need clear communication, fair conditions, and the guts to walk away from the wrong jobs.

That customer I turned down?
A week later, I booked a couple more regular lawns.
​No contract needed.

Until next time — get out there, mow lawns, and have fun.

Stuart​
​LawnMowing101

P.S. Want to ramp up your marketing and get more calls?
👉 Join the Lawn Business Builders today.

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