# lawn care



## Roscoe (Feb 6, 2012)

I'm thinking of venturing into lawn care as a side gig. My question is have any of you all tried this? If so, did orhas it worked out for you?


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## Oconomowoc (Oct 13, 2011)

You have to decide if you are going to MAKE it work out or treat it as an experiment. Doing two different things can create division in not only work but in commitment of time and effort. 

I would say most things 'work out' for those who dedicate much time and commitment to seeing it through to a success.


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## Acres (Feb 12, 2011)

You need a route, without a route you have no business.. Venture into it but venture carefully equipment can add up..If you can't buy it with cash don't go near it..


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## leeson1776 (Feb 6, 2012)

If you just want it as a side gig, keep it small and cheap. Don't get into any kind of debt. You don't need insurance, company shirt/vehicle, biz cards (not a bad idea though) or anything else that makes you official or professional, because 1 thing leads to another. Having it as a side biz, you can't charge as much as the big guys do: and that's the point. You'll have that one advantage over them; being cheaper. 

I'd say your first step before you do anything, is see if you can get any customers. Just because you have the equipment to do the job, doesn't mean you'll have work. 

One thing you could try to get started: advertise doing lawn aerations. Put ads on Craigslist a few times a day, tell your friends/ family, maybe make up some signs and stick them at busy intersections. Once you get a dozen people signed up, go to the Home Depot and rent an aerator. You'll make about $400 for the day after the rental fee, although aerating a dozen lawns in a day will kick your a**. Use that same customer list and see if they would be interested in other lawn care. Go from there.


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## GTX63 (Sep 9, 2011)

Yes, we have guys that do it. It is a side gig/busy work. You can be as busy as you want to be depending on how hard you work at it. Regardless of what time and money you invest, get insurance.
Did I mention that you should get insurance?


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## Acres (Feb 12, 2011)

> You can be as busy as you want to be depending on how hard you work at it.


Agree but also have to add that eventually or even relatively quickly you don't have to work at all at being busy. It just continuously happens naturally. That being one of the main reasons I got into it. To also add single family properties keep you busy and can support you while commercial properties get you to retirement.. That last point is very important. Every big guy out there has that "cash cow" everyone of them and it ain't from a single family property..


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

And I'm sure all the guys out there who do it for a full time living & have insurance, etc., won't mind one bit that you're crowding their territory! 

You're doing exactly the same thing none of the rest of us like to have done to us.....

Some doobie loses his job, throws his toolbox into the trunk of the family car & suddenly becomes an "expert" in all things repair. 
All with a beater vehicle, no insurance, and all the head knowledge he/she soaked up from weekend workshops @ HD and watching HGTV!


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## GTX63 (Sep 9, 2011)

Rosecoe and Doobie won't be getting the same customers a fulltime, insured, professional gets. Two different markets.


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

GTX63 said:


> Rosecoe and Doobie won't be getting the same customers a fulltime, insured, professional gets. Two different markets.


I understand, but it still contributes to diluting the pool of available work. The ones roscoe & doobie do, might be the fillers or in-betweens that make the difference between a poor day & an ok day for the FT guy.

And don't forget, everyday there is less & less distance between your two markets thanks to this current regime!


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## Acres (Feb 12, 2011)

> Rosecoe and Doobie won't be getting the same customers a fulltime, insured, professional gets. Two different markets.



Not true.. a full time contractor isn't potentially effected by say handyman services, illegals etc. I see some contractors mowing lawns next door to some of my properties, home builders, handymen there all there mixed in..


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## Blade Runners (Oct 17, 2013)

If you have no skills to advertise cheap and effectively it will be short lived. When you look at your account balance at the end of the month vs the amount of work you done, reality will set in real quick.

One thing to keep in mind is people don't pay good money for labor. They do pay good money for a trade or skillset.

Not to sound like an azz, but the lawncare biz has had the same prices for 20 years because of people just like the OP, not to mention Johnny next door with a Murray push mower, or the college student who needs extra money, or the guy from the trailer park who does it for a six pack of Schlitz


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## deter (Apr 4, 2013)

I, and a couple friends, all had our own independent mowing gigs in high school. we mowed 8-15 lawns each. for high-schoolers we were rich... but now, not a one of us does it any longer... ymmv


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