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Hey guys im new here and im starting up a lawn care company and right now all i have is a pish mower and a trimmer. The mower is a black max self propelled mower that has these little handy wheels on the front very similar to zero turn wheels to be able to cut around trees. My trimmer is a new Stihl Fs 90 trimer. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on equipment that i should also have. I am looking to purchase a blower soon but im not sure whether to wait it out until i can buy a back pack model or if i should just get a hand held to start out with? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

andrew3231 said:

Hey guys im new here and im starting up a lawn care company and right now all i have is a pish mower and a trimmer. The mower is a black max self propelled mower that has these little handy wheels on the front very similar to zero turn wheels to be able to cut around trees. My trimmer is a new Stihl Fs 90 trimer. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on equipment that i should also have. I am looking to purchase a blower soon but im not sure whether to wait it out until i can buy a back pack model or if i should just get a hand held to start out with? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

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I don't know what type of business your starting or what type of service's you will be offering but that would make a difference in what equipment one would tell you to purchase. Personally I'd wait until I could get a back pack blower. Hand held are nice but nearly as effective as a good back pack but again it all depends on what you'll be clearing with the blower. Who's your mower made by, what your describing sounds like a mower with a caster front end.

Currently i am targeting the residential market so there will not be a whole lot of clearing needed but i plan to move up to doing commercial properties. The mower is made by black max and it is the one with the casters on the front. I included a picture of what it looks like

I will at first be offering just lawn mowing and weeding planted areas for now but i do plan to expand later on

:welcome:

Starting small and I gather self funding look at used gear on Craigs list, Evilbay etc.
Next piece of kit you might look at an edge trimmer with a solid blade then learn to cut clean, sharp, strait, edges.
Every day when your customes leave for work they will see your sharp clean cut edge along their section of the sidewalk or curb then the pixie fringe of their neighbours edges cut with a weed wacker and feet like they got good value.

:welcome:

It sounds like an exciting endeavor.

I'm going to move your thread over to our commercial and residential lawn mowing section. :smile:

andrew3231 said:

Currently i am targeting the residential market so there will not be a whole lot of clearing needed but i plan to move up to doing commercial properties. The mower is made by black max and it is the one with the casters on the front. I included a picture of what it looks like

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I thought it was a Honda, I had the Black max at one time but it wasn't the caster front end.

andrew3231 said:

I will at first be offering just lawn mowing and weeding planted areas for now but i do plan to expand later on

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You don't give us a location so I don't know where your at and what type property's you will be doing but we do only residential and areas that contain a lot of drive and sidewalk areas. By clearing I meant blowing off your driveways, sidewalks, patios and front door area etc. Unless your going for the mow and go type of business your standard Package Services should include Mowing, Trimming, Edging and Blowing Off. Add things like Hedge trimming, flower bed cleaning maybe mulching flowerbeds etc all at additional cost. What will you be charging for a lawn?

Ric said:

I thought it was a Honda, I had the Black max at one time but it wasn't the caster front end. You don't give us a location so I don't know where your at and what type property's you will be doing but we do only residential and areas that contain a lot of drive and sidewalk areas. By clearing I meant blowing off your driveways, sidewalks, patios and front door area etc. Unless your going for the mow and go type of business your standard Package Services should include Mowing, Trimming, Edging and Blowing Off. Add things like Hedge trimming, flower bed cleaning maybe mulching flowerbeds etc all at additional cost. What will you be charging for a lawn?

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i will most likely be charging around 35 or 40 for lawns because of the average lawn size i am in springfield illinois so there is a bunch of subdivisions around here with smalleer lawns

If you are starting small like that a hand held blower will more than likely do what you need. We have backpacks and a hand held. We use the hand held more than the back packs on most residential properties. A set of hedge trimmers would make you some money. Instead of buying just an edger you might look at buying a split pole unit where you can add attachments to it. We now use the Echo PAS system and have 4 units. You can use them for string trimmer, edger, hedge trimer, pole saw........ and use the same power head to run all.

andrew3231 said:

i will most likely be charging around 35 or 40 for lawns because of the average lawn size i am in springfield illinois so there is a bunch of subdivisions around here with smalleer lawns

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Stihl handheld you can't go wrong
I also agree with the edger makes it look much better

Hey I am just started my business this year and I am starting it as a side business for now. So I would be grateful for some pricing sugestions and or any other helpful hint on making my business prosper.

jekjr said:

If you are starting small like that a hand held blower will more than likely do what you need. We have backpacks and a hand held. We use the hand held more than the back packs on most residential properties. A set of hedge trimmers would make you some money. Instead of buying just an edger you might look at buying a split pole unit where you can add attachments to it. We now use the Echo PAS system and have 4 units. You can use them for string trimmer, edger, hedge trimer, pole saw........ and use the same power head to run all.

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If you are small and go down this path, make sure you have at least 2 power units because in mid season when to workshops are all running at 2 weeks + you will have to buy another and will have lost 1/2 day and may not even be able to get another one at short notice.

smith701 said:

Hey I am just started my business this year and I am starting it as a side business for now. So I would be grateful for some pricing sugestions and or any other helpful hint on making my business prosper.

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Measure up a few yards your family's or some friends ring all the locals and ask for a rough estimate of the price range.
If they want to come around, make sure the don't go to your place so get quotes on friends & family's yards.
Then when the people who quoted see you there they will just think they were under cut.
However if they get wind that you were using them to establish your competing business they will get cranky and some maby even nasty.
You will be bumping into these people every day.
Some will be mowing properties next door to yours so you don't want to generate enemies.

To quote a sign that hung in my grandfathers factory.
"success comes to the man who looks for work after he has found a job"

So if you arrive after the trash has been collected, take the trash can in.
Little things like that make people think you have their best interest at heart.


If you are doing things part time leave 1 day free so if something bad happens you have a day up your sleeve.
If you are contracted to mow the grass every week then they expect you to be there every week.
Nine or 10 day intervals willnot cut the mustard.
Avoid a rigid timetable eg every Tuesday at 2 pm so as you build up clientielle you can amalgamate them into a logical run.
Time traveling between jobs is time wasted.

Have a good look at what equipment the other pros in your area are using because there is a good chance it will be what is best suited to the lawns in your area.