What you are trying to do is not wrong or unethical it just goes against what most owners here do. You can run your business any way you want. You will even find lawn mowing guys that will work for you. I would make sure they are licensed and insured. You will have to have an umbrella style of insurance to cover your arse.
They have this type of business around here. I have gotten calls to mow property and I have a few times. When the owner finds out I am not employed directly they get very pissed that they have to pay more than I would charge. (I do not tell them what I charge) See I show up with my logo on my truck and it does not match who they are paying. They now know they are paying too much and should have just hired me to begin with. Not to mention the money aspect. Owner pays you and you are supposed to pay me. How do I fix a problem when they have paid you and you have not paid me? Who do I get my money from? My only recourse is a mechanics lean against the owners property. This is not what I want to do to get paid.
Do you understand my side of it yet?
I do understand your side of it and I appreciate your honest opinion and insight. There is no doubt in my mind that the customer may realize that I was subcontracting it out. Part of my plan is to not hire any subs unless they provide insurance certificate and workers comp. Insurance certificate will name my company as additional insured and in certain cases, the owner of the property as additional insured as well. I have called a handful of landscaping/lawn care companies that I know the owners and they have all been willing to provide me quotes if/when I get this off the ground.
You are correct that the only way to collect your money if you don't get paid is to put a lien on the property owner. I am looking at these other companies who I will hire to do the work as "partners" and it would be something where I bring them work, they bring me work as well. Kind of a network of subcontractors. It has been my experience in the asphalt/construction industry that many Owners/Clients prefer a one stop shop and are many times willing to pay for it knowing that things will get done right and on time vs the time consuming and cumbersome process of soliciting numerous bids, checking references, ect. Those are the type of clients I am after. I could be totally wrong.....but all it takes is one large job .....($90,000.00 Design/Install) with $9,000.00 of my mark-up to start paying off. I figure I will maybe get 1 out of 10 jobs/clients that I submit bids for....but the ones I do get should allow for some nice profit.
