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i dont know what would be a good price to do clean up piles of branches and other yard stuff

charge by the hour

it might take me an hour i was thinking 25 for the job ?

kirkny1018 said:

it might take me an hour i was thinking 25 for the job ?

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That might be good, but what will you be using to do it? Just your hands and a rake?

kirkny1018 said:

i dont know what would be a good price to do clean up piles of branches and other yard stuff

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Do you have to pay to haul it off? What will you be using to pick it up? How much stuff is there?
We need this info.

slammed said:

Do you have to pay to haul it off? What will you be using to pick it up? How much stuff is there?
We need this info.

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Yes, and WHAT kind of stuff is there. For example, sticks are harder to pick up than leaves, and there is less you can use to pick it up with.

I charge $20 a cubic yard so $20 for about a wheelbarrow full.
If just leaves I charge $7 per 30 gallon trash bag.

If tree limbs it is still $20 per yard but I charge $20 to start my saw.

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Never and I mean NEVER charge by the hour doing any kind of clean up or shrub trimming or planting or just never charge by the hour.

Always charge by the job

I will not even come to your house and get out the truck for less than $50.

Most guys around here base there bids on $30 per man hour. Time starts when you leave home and head to the job

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kirkny1018 said:

i dont know what would be a good price to do clean up piles of branches and other yard stuff

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What would be a good price would be what you think the job is worth and how bad you want the job. We trim hedges and clean beds for a lot of different prices depending on the size of the job so there's actually no set price. Remember the price you set could effect how much work you could get down the road.

Ric said:

What would be a good price would be what you think the job is worth and how bad you want the job. We trim hedges and clean beds for a lot of different prices depending on the size of the job so there's actually no set price. Remember the price you set could effect how much work you could get down the road.

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That is a really good point! If you do a good job, but charge too much, the customer might find someone else who can do the job just as well, but for less. Don't make the customer do that.

lawn mower fanatic said:

That is a really good point! If you do a good job, but charge too much, the customer might find someone else who can do the job just as well, but for less. Don't make the customer do that.

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Yes that was the point I was trying to make. These guys that charge the outrageous prices or by the hour don't always end up with enough work to maintain themselves through the winter months. Running a business fairly and with fair prices can take you a long way.

The thing about the cost of lawn service is that it hasn't gone up that much in past years. and these big lawn companies scream and complain about it all the time.
For years there weren't that many lawn service companies available and It usually ended up being the kid in the neighborhood that was cutting peoples lawns with a push mower. People did fall cleanups with rakes and such.
Today it, the pricing has been kept down because the equipment we use now makes fast work of of cutting and clean up and with all the new companies that have been started and that are starting the competition between lawn companies is driving down prices.

I've said it before and I still believe the way of the larger companies is going away, it's to cheap to start a Lawn service and with the economy the way it is people are not wanting to pay big prices any longer.

kirkny1018 said:

i dont know what would be a good price to do clean up piles of branches and other yard stuff

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Read this article I found on starting a lawn care business, it might be of some use to you.


How To Start Your Very Own Lawn Care Business On A Shoestring, And Make Huge Profits, While Keeping Your Current Job.

I have moved this thread to the Commercial & Residential Lawn Mowing forum.

kirkny1018 said:

i dont know what would be a good price to do clean up piles of branches and other yard stuff

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I have been in the same dilemma this winter myself. I find people that want overgrown shrubs trimmed and then to have the cuttings hauled out to either a brush pile or the street for the city to haul off. We also live in a some what economically depressed area. What I wound up doing was estimating how many man hours it would take and then multiplying that by $25 per hour and giving the customer a flat rate price. The next ones I do if I get any more I am going to try to get $30. If you say anything about dollars per hour most people I dealt with anyway get squendish. Most people want an exact price before you start.....

I was able to pick up one job paying $400 and one paying $450 recently doing this. If you run anything with a motor on it you need to get $25 per hour or more or either stay at the house or you are going to be working really cheap labor wise.