I would like to start mowing lawns as a way to earn income. I am currently located in Shepparton in Northern Victoria. I am interested in suggestions as to what a fair price would be to charge? I don't currently own a lawn mower or whipper snipper. Should I invest in these or just use the owners euipment? Would distributing leaflets and advertising on gumtree and notice boards be my best bet for finding clients? I am not by any means experienced other than having mown the lawn for my parents as a teenager. All suggestions appreciated.
How to Start a Lawn Mowing Business?
BluebirdV on 03/06/2019 - 19:23
Comments
OP shouldn't issue tax invoices unless OP is registered for GST.
Yes, and he should register for GST unless he intends to run this as a part-time or side business with turnover (not profit) under $75k per year. If not registered for GST he should still be prepared to issue regular invoices.
No idea why this is being downvoted.
Charging $50 p/h is reasonable price.
How did you come up with that figure?
Probably what they get in their office job
That is what we paid our mower.
what a fair price would be to charge
What are your competitors charging?
As for finding clients, perhaps you could ask yourself what you would do and where you would look if you were searching for someone to mow your grass. Where would you look?
Thanks. I will look into that.
Do a Business Plan, work out how to cost a job, get Public Liability cover.
Get Disability Income Insurance.How to start a lawn mowing business.
Step 1: Buy lawn mower
Step 2: Wait until summer when the grass grows quicker…
Nah, grass goes brown & doesnt grow in Vic summer
probably due to a lack of watering then
Borrow the parents gear.
"or just use the owners euipment?"…
Do you mean use the equipment of those who's lawn you are cutting?
Yes.
Not a good business plan
Yeah you will be blamed for damaging someones premium mower one week and then have to deal with one that has sat outside in the rain for 20+ years that is rusty nest of redbacks the next
Ask Jim
Get an ABN and your own lawn mower / whipper snipper / blower. Keep receipts of all your purchases for your BAS.
Just walk around the suburb and leave a leaflet in every mailbox (best are upper-class and elderly household) with your phone number on it. My mate started like that and once he got a client he got the whole street by giving neighbors cheaper prices (save time and fuel on packing and driving around)
Mow lawns.
Proper industrial lawnmower will make your job so much easier and more efficent. Dont skimp now and you'll be thankful later.
Work out your pricing model.
Price for a one off mow vs price for regular mowing (say automatically every 4 weeks in summer or 6 weeks in winter).
If you can get regular clients and you can work out your route to clients for the day it'll be a big bonus. You may want regular customers on contract or direct debit though to avoid doing work that they wont pay for.
Pensioner discounts?
Lealfet drop with first mow free maybe? You'll take a financial hit but if you give a good impression you may win some regular clients. If you give them a free mow and dont hear anything in a month maybe a free txt (not to invasive) to consider if they are interested in being regular
Make sure you work in a stipulation that determines fee for certain lawn sizes (price should probably be different for a 2000sqm property vs 500sqm)
What are you going to do with lawn clippings? use clients bin or green waste? If your going to take it away you need a trailer and need to work in the cost
Realise you will need to inspect the lawn before mowing. Stones/rocks can be thrown and may break windows, liability issue for yourself. Also you wanna mow all the dog crap people dont pick up
Edging included? or extra
Also if your charging cash, you may be expected to give change to people on the spot.I would like to start mowing lawns as a way to earn income.
How seriously do you want to mow lawns? Do you actually intend to turn this into your full time job or is it just a summer job to earn you some pocket money. If it's the latter, I'd strongly suggest against it, there are quite large upfront costs, it's quite hard to get a clientele and your equivalent hourly rate is not going to be enough to offset the harder work, business costs, accounting costs, administrative costs, equipment…etc. associated with running this as a part time business. Yes, you're better off getting a job at the local Target.
If you want to turn this into a long term career though, you'll need to build good relationships with people so that you can get continued work. Basically once you mow someone's lawn once, you want to be able to rely on them calling you back to mow their lawn in the future. Also, it's genuinely hard for me to see how mowing lawns by itself can be good business when there are other people who also offer gardening services like chopping down trees, hedge trimming…etc.
I just started my own a few months ago and only doing it as a side business now. It doesn't sound like you're passionate about gardening or even done any research.
I had most of my equipment & tools prior to starting the business so I haven't spent much. I did buy a trailer though.
- You'll need an ABN
- Do you have a trailer or Ute?
- Customers say they want their lawn cut, you always end up doing more.
- You'll need a partner, it will take to long to mow and clean. Usually a 2 person job to get it done quick.
I hope your joking about using the clients equipment. The people calling you usually don't own anything. That's why they call you.
Airtasker.
I spent 6 months mowing lawns on Airtasker, absolutely not worth it. Some jobs are alright, but the majority are overgrown jungles that people refuse to pay more than $4/50. By the time you take out Airtasker fees, tax, petrol, wear and tear on equipment, you're left with about $10/15 for your 90 minutes slaving away in the sun.
Having said that you can get some regulars who like to look after their lawns and will start paying you $50 cash every month.
That's why they are on airtasker, because they refused to pay the lawn mower man what the job is actually worth.
Look into the NEIS program. If you're serious about starting a business, it's an excellent resource.
This needs more upvotes.
or just use the owners euipment
What if they don't have one?
It should be fairly simple to run a lawn mower business, just buy a lawn mower and that's it….the next step is go door knocking on each and every household and estate asking to mow their lawn for whatever price you want. Bring your mower with you too so it looks like you're prepared to do the job on the spot. Oh and buy a petrol powered one(because you might not be able to use their electricity to power your electric mower, unless the mower is solar powered (do they even exist?) or self powered somehow) and a spare 20L tank of fuel for it or so, just in the case the tank goes empty and you haven't finished mowing their lawn…. Have fun.
Get a mower. Find a lawn :)
OP obviously has absolutely no idea and no business sense.
And what about repairing the lawn mowers, paying the bills, maintaining the work vehicles and chasing up invoice payments, preparing the accounts etc?And to top it off OP knows nothing about the business/industry he is trying to enter. No research done at all
I find it halarious that OP starts his research right here….OMG!
Its a business start up doomed to fail Im afraid.
Just like the 97% of businsess start-ups that fail
This is a classic example. You can see it coming a mile away.My best advise is……
OP should get some experience by working for another lawn mowing business first!I'll call Jim.
Although I thought your post was a bit harsh I completely agree.
It is Shep tho. Jobs are rough there at the moment.
How old are you? Might be better if you gain more experience first? Starting a business requires more than drive. If you're intent on going with it, organize your plans and make your goals clear. Reading this https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/writing-business-plan or something similar should be a good place to start.
Definitely get your own equipment. Launch a Facebook and Instagram page. Start by finding clients on airtasker as well as the leaflets and gumtree advertising. Try and encourage people to pay by cash so that you can avoid paying tax on that income but be prepared to issue tax invoices for people who use your services for the sake of real estate/businesses.