Setting goals for your business is fine but when you reach those goals you say you've reached success but then you raise the bar even higher but be careful about extending those goals further. To many people in the lawn business do exactly what you've said, Raise the bar.
Raising the bar means more clients and more work load, it also means more equipment and employing people/adding crews and so on. The next thing you know you have a lawn business that has over extended it self and has more overhead than income.... a prescription for failure. Raising the Bar is Risky Business
Raising the bar is no riskier than starting a business and definitely not a prescription for failure, if done properly, and actually a recipe for more success. Keep doing the things that got you to where you are and always strive to improve (raise the bar). By providing quality service, giving a little more than you receive, you will keep your customers happy and they will recommend you to family & friends (grow your business). From the time your initial investment is paid for, start saving your money for better equipment and pay CASH for everything. Be disciplined about saving your cash. Don't take on more overhead until you can pay for it. Don't use credit - we're not talking about millions of dollars in equipment here. If you can't afford something you do without until you can afford it. I know that may sound strange to some folks but you'll never spend more cash than what you have in your pocket and that has kept me out of the tank while I watch people all around me going down financially because they over-extended themselves with credit. Set a goal to have an emergency fund to cover your most expensive piece of equipment so if it goes down, you can go right out and purchase another or rent one while yours is getting fixed. Most people who start a business don't plan to fail, they fail to plan. I've seen it more times than I care to say. After you reach your goal of your emergency fund -RAISE THE BAR! Grow your emergency fund into an equipment upgrade fund. Maintain your equipment and keep it clean - customers notice things like that. Operating a business isn't rocket science but it does take some education, common sense and discipline, which, unfortunately, some people lack and are the reasons businesses fail. The good news is you have control of these factors and you can always raise the bar by getting more education, thinking about your decisions before making them and setting discipline goals for yourself and your business.
Do something extra for your customers such as when you see the house address numbers falling off, go to the hardware store and buy some new numbers for .99 each and replace the numbers for them - this will do wonders in your customers eyes. Pick up the newspaper and hand deliver it to them when you come to the door. Pick up the dropped tissue in the driveway (with your pick up tool, of course). People notice these things and may not always say something to you but they will to their friends when asked who cuts their lawn. At Christmas, go to the store and buy some gifts for your customers such as a glass jar filled with candy. If you can't afford to do things like this then something is wrong. Remember the "Golden Rule" when dealing with your customers.
You also have the choice of keeping your business small and only take on a workload that you can handle yourself and not grow your business and not make more money and hope you will make enough money by yourself. The choice is yours. J. Paul Getty once said "I'd rather have 1% of the effort of 100 men than 100% of my own effort." Think about that for a few minutes and then come back and tell me about more clients and more work load, it also means more equipment and employing people/adding crews and so on. The great news is the choice is yours.
All the best
