Can you actually make a living with a LandScaping Buinsess?

[tungularafishcamp]

David, aren't you retired military so you have health insurance and some income coming in?? If so then go for it, life is too short to work at a job that you don't enjoy for very long especially if you don't have too.

Start putting the word out that you and your gear are available. I bet you will find a few jobs right off, maybe you can take some leave without pay so the odd jobs won't eat into family time. Before you know it word will be out and you can be busy as you want. Take a look at what Eddie is doing with facebook, that would work for what you want to do.

I had several people approach me needing work done when I was in oregon and I am sure you will find the same or more back east.

And when you have to work on a crumby day or deal with a grump you can just smile and think how much fun your having NOT driving 4 hours a day. Your girls are old enuff they will be able to help on some jobs and make themselves a little cash and get the experience of working alongside their Dad.

**** if I wasn't hopelessly addicted to fishing I would have to try it, it sounds like fun!

 

[OrangeToys]

Heck yes you can I've been doing it 9 years but its like anything else get all paid for and thats when you make the money.

 

[Combustix]

Owww 20 hours a week commuting. Don't know how you guys that commute do it without shooting
someone. My hats off to you

 

[newbury]

There are several firms I see mowing the residential yards in my neighborhood in Alexandria, VA. All the trucks have labels, all the labels are from south of Woodbridge. All the trucks have a crew of mostly Hispanic workers. The ones that seem most efficient roll up and do four or more houses on the same short section of street, so it's one stop. one unload and three or four people scatter.

You don't have the right equipment yet. You need a ZTR, not a 50HP Kioti.
What's the work like in your neighborhood or will you have to commute 2 hrs with a trailer etc.?
Do you speak fluent Spanish? (if you need to hire extra good help)
How are you at equipment repair?

Remember if it's easy to do everyone does it. You need to have the extra "edge" to make money at it. Something the average Joe doesn't. Right now it reads like your edge is knowledge and maybe a clearance, what the average Joe doesn't have.

Investigate the failure rate of these small landscaping businesses. Every fall I see lot's of equipment being sold on Craigs List because they are going out of business.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

/edit - and remember if you run your own business you might have the worst boss in the world. You. Your with yourself 24 hrs/day nagging to do more and do better.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

David, aren't you retired military so you have health insurance and some income coming in?? If so then go for it, life is too short to work at a job that you don't enjoy for very long especially if you don't have too.

Rick,

No sir I 'm not retired Military, just a veteran. I need to make enough to keep my tiny empire afloat...

If I were REALLY to go for "fun" I'm thinking it would be fun to do something construction related with heavy equipment like an excavator, digging giant holes...

I am in the spot for the first time in many, many years where I do not like my job at all, and it does not pay so well as to compensate for the bad stuff. I've been blessed with many good jobs over the years. This one is just a paycheck.

I would also like to work alongside my daughters.

I am going to offer on Craigslist some stump grinding, bush hogging, and grapple work locally in my tiny area and see what happens. Just working for beer money and see if anyone calls.

Hows the fishing? I always ask folks with a rod and reel at the lake "Are you fishing or catching?"

Be well.
David

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

There are several firms I see mowing the residential yards in my neighborhood in Alexandria, VA. All the trucks have labels, all the labels are from south of Woodbridge. All the trucks have a crew of mostly Hispanic workers. The ones that seem most efficient roll up and do four or more houses on the same short section of street, so it's one stop. one unload and three or four people scatter.

You don't have the right equipment yet. You need a ZTR, not a 50HP Kioti.
What's the work like in your neighborhood or will you have to commute 2 hrs with a trailer etc.?
Do you speak fluent Spanish? (if you need to hire extra good help)
How are you at equipment repair?

Remember if it's easy to do everyone does it. You need to have the extra "edge" to make money at it. Something the average Joe doesn't. Right now it reads like your edge is knowledge and maybe a clearance, what the average Joe doesn't have.

Investigate the failure rate of these small landscaping businesses. Every fall I see lot's of equipment being sold on Craigs List because they are going out of business.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

/edit - and remember if you run your own business you might have the worst boss in the world. You. Your with yourself 24 hrs/day nagging to do more and do better.

Newbury,

I was thinking more the commercial landscaping and not residential, but I fear just having a new 2 hour drive. My neighborhood is not a neighborhood. there are only 8 houses on a 1 mile road, 5 on the first 1/2 mile paved, and 3 on the gravel. Smallest is still 5 acres I believe.

I've been self employed. I still have my VA "S" corp that was a sub on a federal DOD contract for support services (I was a SETA at DARPA) for 2.5 years. I tell that joke about self employed an the boss is a jerk all the time. Yes I've got 30 years in high tech (mainly hardware) & tickets...

I don't know what I want, but I need to do something different. My current job is so blah blah blah that my brains are leaking out my ears... I am under utilized and just filling out a line item on a contract and terminally BORED.

Thanks for listening...
David

 

[namesray]

in my opinion the answer will very much depend on the type of area you are in. there are areas that have more money then other areas and people that are willing to spend their money on different things then other things in different aras. also check into how many others might be out there in your area doing simular services.

i tell you how i have made a go of it part time for the past 7+ years. everything i have for my side business (landscaping/mowing/firewood) is set up for multi use. (kubota b7800/fel, b3200mmm, rtv 900, + many implements and smaller equipment and 2 trucks and trailer) i can use everything just for my self right now if my business went belly up. example: i still need to get firewood out, still need to mow my lawn, and need a tractor/fel on the horse/farm we have, and still can use the 2 trucks to drive to my regular job. granted it might be slightly overkill, but i would still be getting good use out of the equipment and have top notch equipment to get my jobs done faster then most. my commercial insurances can be dropped or changed anytime, or annually. also, all my equipment can be used in both parts of the business. i can bush hog with either tractor, mow lawn with either tractor, and run the 3ph winch off either tractor (3ph splitter too). makes it easier to keep going if one breaks down too! (same with the trucks). so it is sorta simular to your situation with already owning some of the equipment you will need.

i got lucky kinda because i needed some of the equipment just for myself anyway and i just grew from that. and like i said i planned it out along the way that everything will be interchangeable and also have a plan if things do go belly up. kinda like when everybody who knows i get 200+ face cord firewood with a b7800/fel and 3ph winch. "you should get a skidder!" they all tell me. yup. then i have an investment in something that can just skid logs. my b7800 can also do landscaping, mow, bush hog, plow snow in the winter, and many other jobs (multi use). also i can transport it easily from job to job as needed. try doing that with a skidder. you would either have to have more expensive equipment to haul it yourself, or always be looking to hire someone to move it for you. i have made enough money to cover the costs of all the equipment, repairs, fuel, and such with a little left over, and that is just part time. soon as i quit buying more equipment, i will really make good money. (just bought b3200mmm.) just some of my experiences.

really check into your area. my area, a lot of people don't really allocate their money towards the landscape direction except businesses, and there are already people who do landscaping in my area, so it was a tough start. that is why i have other things to fall back on or supplement. start slow and like someone else said grow slow to. just one more thing i add, i work by myself. if you plan to do the same, it doesn't take many lawns during peak growing season to keep you REAL busy. then add in breakdowns and a week of rainy weather. can get on your nerves real quick. also a lot of my mowing customers start out with just getting a mowing, but before you know it, they want you to trim hedges, trees, and fix gardens or various other odd jobs. so good for making money, but be sure to plan on maybe some extra time you might not have first thought of. i wish you luck as i think the exact same way you do. i really do enjoy running my own small equipment.

check your area

 

[swick1]

My experience with running my 1026r tlb on the side is that I need to charge more than I do! I won't work for anyone for less than $30/hr for me and $20/hr for the tractor. That's just how I have it setup now, of course friends and family get a discount, but that has already got old. The tractor must be paid $20/hr no matter what, and I must be paid $15 per hour or more to make it worth getting out of bed early on the weekend. The other $15/hr covers the truck, hand tools, etc. I will charge another $12/hr on top of that for a laborer to work with me, so for most jobs I end up charging about $65/hr when I estimate. I then pad my labor and materials by 20% if it's a bid job.

I just started last year and I do okay on most jobs, but I have a lot to learn about excavating. I've been renting a John Deere 35d mini excavator for a lot of my recent jobs and just using the 1026r as a material shuttle and cleanup tool. It seems to work much better that way. It would be worth getting a trailer to haul the mini because i'm paying about $50 - 75 to have it delivered and picked up from every job I do. I don't think buying a mini would be worth it though. I'm trying to get into lawn installation now, cleaning up after the big guys make a mess. We'll see how it goes! I also am building a grapple to clean up after storms and do all those odd jobs I get asked to clean up when I'm working in the country.

Pictures by backhoeworks - Photobucket

I made about $5/hr on that deck remodeling job and it took 4x longer to do than I thought, by the way, so be careful about getting into something you don't know much about. My two rules after that deck were:

1. Don't EVER remodel a deck, just tear it down and build a new one because it will look nicer and be just as expensive but easier to do. Like eddie walker always says, people don't know crap about building but everyone thinks they do! That darn porch was built wrong in every possible way. I did a good job and made it much stronger than it was, but I never want to repeat that again!
2. Charge twice as much for labor as you think it will be if you've never done a job before. Materials are easy to estimate!

By the way: that lattice was the homeowner's part of the project. ;-)

A great "start your own business" book was written by the sherline mini mill/lathe guy. He's in a similar limited market that we are and his book is a great read. Best of all, it's free!

Making Money the Old Fashioned Way, by Joe Martin

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I am going to offer on Craigslist some stump grinding, bush hogging, and grapple work locally in my tiny area and see what happens. Just working for beer money and see if anyone calls.

That is kind of risky if you don't have liability insurance...IMO

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I am going to offer on Craigslist some stump grinding, bush hogging, and grapple work locally in my tiny area and see what happens. Just working for beer money and see if anyone calls.

That is kind of risky if you don't have liability insurance...IMO