Why Hustler have cheap v belt/ small business story

[Hollingerw19]

So I was tired of have same belt break, slip, and tears in the belt so I tried to go around my local shop's and tractor supply co had it but it was sold out. so I went to Deere Country (John Deere dealership) (M82167) they help me out it performs better than hustler OEM belt. so thank God I saved the original cardboard sleeve I need to buy another one. Due to belt burning up and sparking and I shut it off and inspect it great I said to the Load. I wanted to use the mower to pull the vines out with a rope
I do use the mower for mowing my dad yard the owner of the mower. I just use it for my small business been 3 years since. I started my landscaping at age 16
Due to applying for ace hardware store three times and failed so I know I need to make good money I charged $15 for 2years. Also that got me in a hole so how I got out of it is raise it to $20 $10 for profit other ten is then split in two $5 one side is to pay back to my father because he buys a trimmer(echo gt-225 and I need it for investing in future used because my first one is Ryobi 2 cycle powerhead broke it clutch and upper boom assembly so I know I can't do downtime working on something other $5 is used for gas and 2 cycle oil etc

 

[Darryl G]

You're charging $20 per lawn?

What about the wear and tear and depreciation of Dad's mower?

The cost to operate a zero-turn mower, including fuel, maintenance and depreciation is on the order of $10/hr.

My minimum for mowing is $40 and that's for a lawn that takes about a half hour to mow, trim and blow the hard surfaces.

I don't know the size of the lawns you're mowing or the quality of your finished product, but at $20 per lawn you're probably still digging a hole.

 

[jukijuk]

A great success story can start with a lawn mower

 

[treferet]

Do you say you started landscaping at the age of 16? How long have you been doing this and how far have you come? My wife and I are planning to start a family business where I could do the real estate and she would do the landscaping. I believe that this is the best option for a family if both of you have received professions that can coexist and complement each other. In a way, I'm working on afiirmations for money, haha. But I have been involved in the real estate market for a long time, while my wife is new. And I know not so much about local big businessmen in this area. I'm wondering how quickly you can get famous in this field from scratch.

 

[StarTech]

The Op is like my brother when started the lawnmower repair business. He had no idea what the overhead was as he worked for the other man all his working career. He started out charging $10/hr in 2007. He quickly ran through $6000 of his on money the first year. Yet he was sticking the $10.hr rate the second year which lost another $3000 the first six months of that year. He finally awoke to the problem when it was too late to save the business.

He quit the business which in my name legally and he had already been paid for several repair jobs. It was my responsibility to complete the repairs out my pocket. I since raised the rates to the current $55/hr ($49.50/hr senior citizen rate) and charge a fair mark-up on parts. I even manage to only lose a $1000 the first year and most of that was from covering his butt.

He had when around telling he quit the business so closed it down, rename it, and re-open it under the current name. Then he started telling people I stole his business. I consider it impossible to steal something that someone had quit. I may not make a huge profit but the business itself has been profitable 12 of 13 yrs I have been running it. I even survive the Covid turn down and things are improving again. This year I am having to put some reserves into the business early in the year but that is normal coming back from the off season. I will repay myself in mid June plus 10%.

As said there is a lot of expenses the new business owner don't account for and it will bite them in the rear if they are not careful. I had the financial experience which helped a lot from being on my own for many years. And I know not to go too far out on the limb as it will break under the weight.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Yes the unexpected or unaccounted for overheads can kill the new owners in a very short time.
When we ran the delivery business I had dozens of owner drivers approach me because they went bust & we were unique in that we owned our entire fleet .
Most had bought a new vehicle from a dealer who also "got them work" with one or another of the major brands
Ten 3 years down the track they had maxed out all of their credit cards , their van was falling apart & they were behind in their rent / mortgage .
As they were all pulling over $ 1000 a week they could not see that they were really making less than $ 100 profit for a 50 hour week .
It took 15 years but eventually ACTTOA managed to get selling a "van with work" illegal unless you were a business & sold the business a a complete item .

 

[Hammermechanicman]

There is another "one man shop" in a neighboring town. He is one of those cash only no receipt under the table no tax guys. I just finished working on a mower he worked on last fall. He cleaned the 2 barrell Nikki carb and reused all the original o rings and gaskets. The intake manifold gaskets were leaking and the o ring in the float bowl wasn't sealing. Valves out of adjustment and leaking valve covers from the crap RTV job. And it wasn't charging. He is cheaper than me but i actually try to do decent work, charge tax and guarantee my work. Some folks see his $20/hr rate and think they are getting a deal. At a large dealer one of the young mechanics lets me know he is Briggs master technician and i am not. Forget the fact i have been working on small engines since before his father was born. Running a small business requires a lot of different skills.

 

[StarTech]

And we wonder why small shops like ours get a bad rap. But I know the type very well. Most are just crooks.

Personally I do the best I can and it shows as I get a lot of word of mouth referrals. Not advertising other than shop sign and my customers referrals. Even some the brick and mortar shops here are lousy at repairs.

I found being honest with customers is a key to things too. Besides I like that I repeat what I say later without having to tell another lie. I just wish I could remember my customers by thier faces and be able to put a name with it; so embrassing having to ask their names all the time but I have been this way all my life. Yet I can remember everything I did to the equipment normally.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Look at the most obvious thing like a big nose or odd sized eye or big ear when you talk to them and call them by name every sentence
Then eventually your brain will connect that stand out feature with them
A working girl a the Wentworth Hotel taught me that trick one quiet Saturday afternoon when I was running the bar by myself
I also link people to their equipment or some other thing , like a motorcycle or vintage car , or hobby
So there is Colin the carpenter ( who runs a rover ) Jan ( who runs some vintage fords )
So when you meet them you can ask "whats happening in the workshop ?" or some thing similar & then the name will come back to you.
When we had the delivery business I remembers all of the girls by their desk .
The down side was when out with SWMBO and some nubile little darling rushes over to give you a hug ( who do women do that when they see you with your partner ) I have no idea who they were or where I knew them from.
All of our customers were women & we did 5 of the 6 Sydney model agencies so a lot of them were drop dead glamours .

 

[Hammermechanicman]

You would be suprised how many supposed small engine mechanics don't know how to fix a chainsaw. They don't have the tools or even know how to do a vac and pressure test. I have seen some pretty creative hack jobs on saws and other 2 strokes. And yes, folks wonder why small shops get a bad rap.