The Nuts & Bolts of Creating a Landscape Maintenance Business
Have you ever thought about a career in the landscape maintenance business? Well I did, mostly by accident and I have to thank Bob Riley, 'Riley's Service', Baldwin, Long Island, over 57 years later, I still love it! Bob was my mentor. Today everyone talks technology… but not everyone is cut out to be a techno wiz.
Has the Landscape Maintenance Business caught your attention?
Are you here because you love the idea of working outside, hard work, and being your own boss? Let me tell you that if you combine hard work with the beauty of the landscaping, plus the contributions to the environment, saving trees, keeping beautiful lawns, besides being a great way to earn a living. This is my story/book, on how the landscaping business changed my life, as it could change yours.
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| Perfection in landscape Maintenance |
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| Winner of 4 City of St. Petersburg, City Beautification Awards |
Are You Ready
‘The Nuts & Bolts' are sweat, hard work, education, and a whole box of tools.
What if you were thrown of school at 16? What if you hated school, so now you’re hanging out at the local soda shop ( long before the video game ).
You were so cool, no job, no education, no money! ( me )
Then Bob Riley enters your life; so now I have a favor to return ( this book ), and I'm sure Bob would approve.
This book will help guide you on how to join the millions in the GREEN INDUSTRY and create your own future, create a good living, create jobs, become an entrepreneur, become a leader, even learn how to become a good presenter, a salesperson, and then each day, each week, or year look back at your accomplishments and smile.
Are you ready?
Rule # one- Find a mentor, start hanging out with winners, it works!
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Mentors (1)
If you would like to become a contributor, find me at york.ysta@gmail.com.
Folks, we all know life has it's ups and down's, you can choose to hang out at the soda shop, the street corner, the bar, or play games on your computer! But if you’re here, you can find me as sort of your mentor, and make Bob Riley proud.
Now, this series will not be complete without thanking my second mentor Pat Maddox. It was somewhere in the early 70's, I was attending night school at PTEC ( Pinellas Technical Education Center-Clearwater, Florida. I studied Landscape Design, Irrigation, Insects & Diseases, yes 4 years of night school, while raising a family and building my landscaping business.
Don't forget in the beginning I said it takes hard work, sweat, and education!
One evening while attending the PGMA ( Pinellas Grounds Maintenance Ass.) I met Pat Maddox. These meetings were known to have attendance of around 400. The PGMA was the who's who of the Tampa Bay-Green Industry.
How do you find them( mentors )? Partly it's being in the right place at the right time. But you ask how do I get to that place? First, you go where the winners go, classes, clubs, trade shows, landscape organizations, Dale Carnegie or Toastmasters ( they teach how to become an effective speaker & leader ). My 13 years as a Toastmaster has been invaluable. Today I teach public speaking to children, it’s giving back, like this book! Always remember who you hang out with, has an extreme influence on your life. Remember winners go where winners are! You too can be a winner!
In the winter of 1965, I decided to take a Dale Carnegie course ( How To Win Friends And Influence People ) because it was winter I needed a job, at this meeting I met the CEO of Five Towns Refrigeration, a company with 50 service trucks in the N.Y. City area. I worked there for the winter before going back to landscaping. This could have become a career, just because I was in the right place at the right time!
Just imagine you get to hang out with the CEO of Five Towns or John Gotti ( convicted mob boss ), which career path would have the best future?
…..How meeting Pat Maddox at PGMA would change and influence my life, and after over 40 years, I will try to tell his story as we travel thru this book, since people like Pat are so important to your success, and they will change your life!
As a man with many flaws, my as lack of formal education, poor communication skills, and no idea on how to manage money, Bob Riley, Pat Maddox, Dave Ramsey ( author financial guru ) and my friends at Toastmasters have taught me so much.
So how do you find the ‘Nuts & Bolts’ to fill your toolbox, do you just go to the garden shop or the hardware store? No!
Folks, I have to toot my own horn only because I started filling a big part of my toolbox early. At age 12, I started my first job, a newspaper route, in Freeport, L.I. I learned the art of salesmanship, leadership and being on time.
I did have two skills starting out, always being on time, and always a hard worker. So if you're going to be successful in life, or in the landscaping business you will need to impress others, and I did overcome my lack of education and other flaws, at least in the beginning, with being on time and working hard. There is, of course, no way to overcome the lack of experience and education, except with them. If you remember nothing else from this book, it is twice as hard to succeed without experience and education!
Always remember what Mark Twain said
“ When I was 14, I could not believe how dumb my old man was, but by the time I was 21, I couldn't believe how much he had learned!”.
Rule# 2
- Never go into a business without first working in that business.
- Never forget rule #1
“ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller ( movie 1986 ).
So how do you fill that toolbox? Stop, you ask how to start? We talked about education, yes books, the libraries are full of them, their FREE. Also if you have access to a computer it's the whole world at your waiting!
Amazon has a free Kindle app. These are some books I believe will help you get started.
The Rules of Money by Richard Temblar
The Flinch by Julien Smith
The Art of Being Unmistakable by Srinivas Rao
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Take the Stairs by Rory Vaden
Rich Man, Poor Man by Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Man, Poor Man by Robert Kiyosaki
Today we are so wound up in the SOCIAL IMAGINATIVE SMOG, like Facebook, our faces are glued to our cell phones, moral relativism ( Moral relativism is the view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person's individual choice. We can all decide what is right for ourselves.) has become reality. Now you're asking what do these books have to do with landscaping, everything? There about filling that toolbox!
Now you may not understand this yet, it took me years to become a reader, and then a presenter a (Toastmaster).
Reading almost anything improves your base knowledge and opens up your world!.
The three books Rules of Money you must know how to control it, as in budgeting, balancing a checkbook, saving for that new mower. The Total Money Makeover is the real deal about how to budget and stay out of debt. The debt will kill a new business!
IF YOU PAY ATTENTION YOU CAN SEE THE ECONOMY OF THIS COUNTRY AND THE WORLD ARE SLIDING INTO A BIG HOLE! Problem OVER SPENDING ( no budgets )
Because of a glut of too much social welfare, writing checks, with nothing to back them, and (leaders) who only look to be reelected, all this makes the Dave Ramsey’s teaching, make so much sense.
The Flinch, interesting ideas on how, when and why you should believe in yourself.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, you ask why Ben Franklin, remember he flew the kite in a storm discovering electricity, he created the library, Post Office and so much more. In the modern era, you could compare Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs ( Apple ).
Follow the lead of Ben Franklin and create your own library. Subscribe to trade magazines, online or in your snail mail. The iPad and Kindle have free books, plus you can get a kindle app on any computer, iPad or smartphone.
You can become a success with just hard work, but my experience taught me it takes twice as long. Sure I was able with my years of experience to earn lots of money, but if you don't know how to spend it, and save it, you always end-up in the same place, working hard, instead of working smart. More on finances in chapter Eleven.
Rule# three – learn how to build a budget, and stick to it.
It’s so simple, I will buy a cheap mower and truck and I will be in business?
How Times Change (3)
“Luck is what happens
when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca, Roman Philosopher
Here I was 16, no job, and no education, so my dad stepped-up and said it’s time to pay rent, just $25 a week, wow, I was stunned, how could my father do this to me? So on my first job out of school with Bob Riley, I earned $.90 cents per hr. Now do the math you work 40 hrs, 40 x $.90 = $36 - $25 rent = $11.00 left over , I am sure glad my parents were feeding me, whooo.
I will never forget the first day on the job, after all, I was a tough kid, I was cool. We arrive at the first jobs, as I remember 6 houses on one street. Did I climb on my 60” Lesco Zero Turn Mower, yea right, even Jules Verne hadn’t thought of that one, this was 1958. Bob said to go down there and mow that house, so I did, almost dying in the heat of the N.Y. summer and yes pushing that 21” mower, eke! I thought this lawn would never end, finally, I dragged the mower back to find Bob, and I said how does it look?
Not bad for your first, but, you mowed the wrong yard! This is when I really thought I would die!
That’s when Bob said I will give you a break, take this edger and edge these 6 houses, I thought it’s got to be better than mowing at this point I still love this job. So now you are thinking this is easy, just pull the starter cord and go! But there was no starter cord, there was no gas engine, you were the engine. This edger had a star wheel type blade and you had to go back and forth, back and forth, your grandfather probably has one hanging in the garage? Just to get the feeling of how easy I had it give this a try? Well, the best part was it did beat pushing that mower, until the blisters popped-up on my hands, but the best part was it was only 9 am, hehe, only 8 more hours to go?
Times have changed, today you start at minimum wage, let’s say $7.50 per hour.
You work 40 hrs x 7.50= $300. You live at home ( you hope ) and pay $100 per week rent, difference $200, and they feed you, you hope, whoooo.
Now you wonder what’s my point? This is your first summer job, you decided you like the sweat, the hard work, the free tan, the chance to create, the creation of your own business, your own money, you want to be your own boss,. If you read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, you understand it’s bad to start with debt!
Mom and Dad said if you save $2000, they will help with the rest. You start a plan, you figure after you do a budget ( what’s that ), you can save for 40 weeks, one year in this business $2000. Also in one year, you will get the practical experience, this will help you avoid some of the “ Box of Chocolate”, problems.
Forrest Gump said; My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
The Dream (4)
You have this dream to create your own business, so do dreams come true?
Walt Disney said, “ If you can dream it, you can do it.” So let’s build that dream?
Now you worked mowing grass as a summer job, so now you have all the experience you need, you think, you're ready to create your own lawn maintenance business. Are you?
Mom and Dad have agreed to fund your venture, all these years they raised you to be hardworking and responsible, I can’t fail, they love me! They have the money!
Rule # four - Always listen to momma
What’s in that box of chocolates?
- No more sleeping in
- My mowers broke and it’s in the repair shop.
- It’s raining and the grass does not stop growing because you’re mower broke!
- When I cut that wet grass and drove my mower across my customer's pool deck, it left green stains, eke!
- My friend, who was going to help me is late?
- My helper put gas in my mower on the customer’s lawn, and spilled it, that spot of grass died, now I have to replace it.
Forrest Gump said; “stupid is what stupid does” never fuel your equipment on someone’s lawn or driveway, never.
- It’s 90 degrees + and raining almost every day.
- The gas cost $4.00 a gallon.
- Business liability Insurance cost $500
- Truck insurance is $1500 every 6 months.
- I have to pay my friend.
- I have to make the truck payment?
- I have to make the mower payment?
- I have to advertise?
- I have to keep books, and bill customers.
- It was sure easy when all this was not my problem?
- The fun has just started, this was just the first month.
- Always listen to York
- How long do you think it took Walt Disney to build his empire? Do really think he did it without education, experience, and money?
Rule # five - never think because now you spent a year or two working at a job, you’re ready to start your own business?
Leaving the Station (4 )
The train can’t leave the station without fuel. Your fuel is this book, your desire, your hard work, your experience, your education and always your sweat! Now your train is ready to leave the station;
First stop - work experience
Second stop - education
Third stop - saving
Fourth stop -building a business
So now because you read Dave Ramsey's book, you know debt is a bad idea, you saved up and bought an old pickup truck or van, a trailer and some small equipment, you're excited, you're ready, are you sure?
OK, you worked for some company for a while, now you know it's easy, hehe.
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Rule #5 - A hat, eye protection, ear protection, work boots, a shirt, and sunscreen, always.
You’re ready, to buy some equipment, you make a list. Now, your going shopping ( don’t bring your girlfriend). The type and size of your contracts ( but I don’t have any yet, this is exactly why you pay cash), will determine the types of mowing equipment you will need. I would scout around talk to contractors and see what equipment they use, and ask what and who gives the best service? Be sure the dealer carries parts and can repair it quickly ( remember the grass doesn't stop growing because your mowers broke ).
Mowers:
36” walk-behind, will fit between most gates
50” zero turn for most properties, great for most properties.
60” zero turn for large open mowing
Rule # 6 - always buy an extra set of blades for each mower, change the every day
MOST IMPORTANT
(A) How you distribute your grass - one of the main reasons I decided to write this book is I see every day ( so called professionals ) who have no idea about cutting grass efficiently. Just the other day in a very exclusive neighborhood, I saw a guy with a walk-behind mower with no guard, throwing the grass on the sidewalks and halfway across the road, etc? When they pulled up across the street, they looked professional ( no-name ) on the truck. They had a big crew cab truck, with excellent equipment. But it was evident to me that this company had no understanding about how to cut grass, and how to be efficient? ( even if your help is working cheap, why are you wasting it?)
In this exclusive gated community, the homes are half a million dollars and up. When a new owner next to my customer asked me how much to maintain his property, he told me he could get it done for half my price?
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| This is how you do it? |
This picture another lawn care expert?
First, you could be this guy like I was many years ago here in Florida, just starting your business, you have very little overhead, you will work cheap because you have to eat and support your family. I already had 14 years experience when I started, in Florida.
Back to my point about the guy with no guard on his mower, this rig, and the three to four workers has lots of overhead, so how can they work so cheap? ( cheap labor).
Back to Equipment
There are hundreds of types and sizes, one to fit every job, but remember it must fit your budget! Sometimes the only experience will tell which one is best. In a later chapter, we will discuss the art of mowing.
What Hand Equipment will I need?
2. Stick edger - extra blades
Weed-eater - buy a roll of line
Shrub trimmer - lube the blade every time you use it, and store it.
Keep a cover on the blade and lube when stored.
Small chainsaw - carry a special file to sharpen, it will take 5 min.
Corona hand pruner ( with carrying case)
Corona long handles loppers
If you are working alone or with one helper, I would use the plug-in type, power head.
This saves money and makes you more versatile
Why the plug-in type power head? Simple, you buy one or two and the attachments mentioned here
. Today’s equipment is so good it will last years with proper maintenance and oil’s ( more on maintenance later )
3. Pole saw, plug-in. - sharpen with your chain saw file. Only what you can reach from the ground, for small tree pruning and palm trees. Tree work off the ground in most cases requires special insurance and training. Best left for the trained Arborist.
4. Back-pack blower, use a small hand held for emergency only. The backpack will be 5 times as fast as a hand held. Remember if you mulch not blowing the grass everywhere with your mower ( see photo ), you're clean-up time will be much easier. All that time you spend blowing and raking could be more jobs you complete that day!
5. 4 gals. back-pack sprayer for spraying Round-up. You will need special training (classes ) to spray Round-up in most states. Don’t spray without training or necessary licenses.
The proper use of Round-up will save you thousands in labor & hours.
( always use a defoamer with Round-up )
6. Trash barrels 40-50 gal.
One smaller lighter trash barrel - barrels will blow off open trucks and trailers if you are not careful.
7. Trash bags - to fit the large barrels. A couple of used bicycle tubes to hold the bags in place. The bags can be found at Sam’s club.
The bags work well If you have to catch grass ( since grass clippings don’t create thatch, use a mulching mower ) or pick-up leaves, and small brush, you can cut-up with a hand pruner.
8. I recommend a small Corona hand pruner ( with carrying case), wear it on your belt, you will even look more professional. Carry a long-handle Corona lopper for cutting the bigger branches. Corona blades will cut well for years if you don’t abuse them, don’t cut wire or roots in the dirt with them.
Trucks & trailers
What type of truck and trailer you will need, may be determined by how much debris or equipment you haul? Just starting out, some will argue with my thinking, but it’s all about cost. Dumping is costly, equipment is costly if stolen! I survived for years with a van and a 12’ enclosed trailer. This way all small equipment is locked and dry. All debris was put into dumpsters. Your equipment will last a lot longer if kept out of the weather and it’s locked up!
You will now know the train has left the station, when you leave small equipment in the back of a pick-up, or trailer, not locked and it’s gone when you come back from lunch.
Rule # seven - never leave small equipment unlocked if you're not watching it? Never
Lets talk about trailers. If you are going to carry two mowers, let's say a 50” and a 36”, don’t buy a 12’ trailer. I would jump up to a 16’ open, or enclosed tandem axle, maybe 3’ sides work well, unless you're hauling lots of brush and make sure it has electric brakes, with a weatherproof locking toolbox ( big enough for fuel, oils, jugs of water, Round-up and plug-in tools ) and a locking rack for your edger and weed-eater.
You ask why so big? Your friends who will need to move, hehe, no joke for extra money, when times are slow, be a moving man.
But the real reason, you will be surprised the work you can now handle. What if you are in Florida, and want to trim Palm trees, do tree work, do clean-ups, haul sod, a yd. of soil, or do Verticutting? Traveling to the dump gets costly and time-consuming. For daily use during maintenance, you can partition the front for trash, use bags, or barrels, for small stuff. Let’s say you're on your daily route, no large branch trimming, this is where you learn to be efficient, this is why you need that Corona pruner, on your belt. If you trim small hanging branches or a Pigmy Date Palm ( always wear a glove on the non-pruning hand ),use the 50 gallon barrel, cut each piece in two’s or three's, you will get three times as much in the barrel,( Pat Maddox taught me this ) and your trailer, (remember dumping costs). If your cutting long branches with your pole or chain saw, cut the first half of the branch first, then the rest. It takes extra seconds to cut stuff up, but it makes loading and stacking on the trailer so much easier. Plus it saves room. Always stack branches with throne's the same direction.
If you have to unload by hand, always stack in the same direction. Example, your cutting Canary Island Date Palm branches, they have spikes 6-8” long and have sent many a landscaper to the hospital. Stack with the spikes all the same direction, never do this without gloves.
Rule # eight - never use a ½ ton truck to pull a trailer bigger than 12’
Lets talk about, trucks ,vans, trailers and towing. Am I the guru of towing specs, no, but over my 50 years, I have learned what’s a bad match.
Some rules and ideas for towing:
Never exceed the towing capacity of the vehicle
Pay attention to the trailer tongue weight
Most small vans and pickup trucks will only tow 3500 lb safely
On any trucks/vans under ¾ ton, I would use a Air Lift product, for better weight load balance in the rear, when towing the bigger trailers.
Over 12’ always have a tandem axle and electric brakes, if you have to stop short in the rain, you will learn why electric brakes, when you slide into someone! Your insurance will double, eke!
I learned, my insurance doubled!
Learn how to balance your trailer load, especially if your tow vehicle is not ¾ ton or above. If your trailer starts to sway, it becomes very hard to control, and of course dangerous ( your
equipment will look real good strewn all over the highway ). Always use a hitch that is rated to tow 5,000 lbs.
Unless you're towing pallets of sod, yds of soil etc, then you will need the next weight class hitch.
If you need a large enclosed trailer, then everything must be bigger.. Besides the fuel it takes to tow this rig!
Rule # nine - “ Always wear gloves when pruning “
Lets Go Mowing (5)
There are many excellent mowers, if are lucky enough to land a sizeable contract, I would start with 50” zero turn mower. There are also many versions of stand on mowers, that may be more economical. Yes, you can save a bunch of money with a walk-behind, but a 50” will save you so much time, especially if you're the one walking behind it. But remember if you don’t have much work, go cheap.
Rule # 10 - “ Make being on time the most important thing”
I have always believed in starting early. On the road at 7am, remember Ben Franklin said” The early bird catches the worm”
Train your employees that being on time is important to them keeping their job! Remember if you're late, you set the example.
Starting early does present one problem, wet grass, from dew, rain or sprinklers. Work with your customers to reprogram sprinklers to be off before you mow if possible.
Now since mowing takes the most of your time, how you approach it is the difference between money and money, I mean more or less. I don’t recommend running your mower across pool-decks or driveways and sidewalks when the grass is wet, if at all possible.
Now because you’ve been working for someone for awhile, you know all about mowing it’s easy, right?
Earlier we talked about the mower with no guard. Let's discuss why this so important.
First mowers throw things, rocks, pine cones, sticks and screwdrivers. Many years ago I saw a screwdriver stuck in a worker's foot.
I recommend mulching blades, or even a mulching mower. To mulch grass you must have a closed system. I would look for an accessory adjustable guard you can completely open or close, for mulching or better distribution of grass. Some mowers come with this system and even have some electric guards.
Rule # 11 - sharp blades will improve appearance and increase the efficiency of your mower.
With today’s mowers they do a great job of mulching, and it cuts your clean-up time in half. That’s at least one more job a day. I stress this so much because I see it being done wrong so often.
I truly believe that the distribution of grass is the most important part of mowing. Regardless of the type of mower you use, what you do with the grass is top priority. So now you're laughing, what!
Rule #11 - mowers should have sharp blades every day.
The whole purpose of this book is for you to save you time, money and sweat!
Be Prepared - (6)
Being prepared, and learning to repair and maintain your equipment is critical for the small business. Find some of this stuff cheap on Craigslist, eBay, or your local garage sale.
- Small bench grinder, and a blade balancer. ( always wear safety glasses when grinding)
- 2.5-ton floor jack for lifting the front of large mowers, also carry it in your truck for changing flats quickly.
- tire repair kit, for tubeless tires. Some fix a flat.
- Small air tank 110 lbs pressure, always carry it with you. How much does 110 lbs of air weigh?
- A set of adjustable floor jacks.
Rule#12 - never work under your mower or truck without also at least the aid of one adjustable floor jack.
- A small assortment of wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer and a socket set. Always have a large adjustable wrench.
Rule# 13 - never use an open-end wrench to take off or tighten mower blades. NEVER!
- Learn to use the box end of your wrench or a socket. For most large mowers you will need a 15/16th box wrench or proper socket and 1/2 ratchett.
Rule # 14 - have two sets of blades for each mower.
- Mulching blades for the spring, fall, and winter if you're in the deep south. They will clean-up leaves better and create less dust in the dry seasons.
- High lift blades for high and wet grass. On large open areas where appearance is not a priority, you can spread the grass out further. Having an adjustable chute, that just opens and closes with a lever will be best. They can be found and adapted to your mower. See Google. The Dixie Chopper comes equipped with them.
Rule # 15 - Develop patterns.
Being a professional means developing work patterns, what is a work pattern? It starts with always being on time. Each property should have a pattern for edging, mowing, pruning, Roundup spraying and blowing.
More to come
