My marketing plan for Mulching/Underbrush mowing

[KrayzKajun]

know this has been discussed many times. i have spent the last two weeks going through the 50pages of threads in the land clearing section.
there are alot of knowledgeable guys on here when it comes to mulching and brush mowing.

in the next few weeks, i will purchasing a CTL w/ brushcutter(possibly a bradco ground shark extreme) and possibly a mmulcher head.
i already run a tractor with cab and heavy duty cutter. the CTL will also be used for my sandbag company.

I know word of mouth is king when it comes to a niche market like mulching. the below plan is what im going to do to get my foot in the door inorder to get the chance for my work to be seen. i have made several good contacts through emails.
i am making a packet to drop off at the following: Also leave a business card and introduce myself.

Real Estate offices
Developers
Construction Companies
DOTD offices
Tree Companies
Large Landscape Companies

also had some signs made up to put out on all my bushhogging jobs also.

i know its a gamble contacting tree companies, but i would like to build a relationship when i refer them tree removals etc and in return they refer or subcontract any mulching or underbrush mowing jobs.

on days im not busy, i plan to beat feet and start getting my name and what i can do out there.

sorry for the long rant, this is something i should have done years ago instead of trying to do everything under the sun related to landscape,tree and clearing work.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Where are you located? With a name like KrayzKajun, you must be in Louisiana. I own a landscape company in South Louisiana, and I had a customer inquire about mulching a few acres last year. I didn't know anyone to refer them to.

 

[KrayzKajun]

Where are you located? With a name like KrayzKajun, you must be in Louisiana. I own a landscape company in South Louisiana, and I had a customer inquire about mulching a few acres last year. I didn't know anyone to refer them to.

My shop is in Belle Chasse. For bushhogging and clearing work i service from Ascension, St. Tammany, Baton Rouge, New Orleans areas.

 

[mactrade]

Hi Kajun, what kind of sand bag filler do you have?

 

[tonyoz]

Mate, it's a long, hard slog this mulching game with a lot of knock backs ( Break downs when ur flat out with work, bad payers when ur not so busy). Through all the blood,sweat and tears it's one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done. 2yrs ago I stopped advertising and our work comes through referral. At times in the past I stuffed up on quotes but stood by my price and still gave the best quality job the customer could hope for or better. The best advice I can pass on is " over state your cost estimate and understate your product" and don't BS. Good luck.

 

[KrayzKajun]

Pricing my first mulching job. 15 acres. Was cleared with a Dozer about 5-7yrs ago. So most of the growth is under 4" in diameter. All the trees that were cleared initially are piled up in the middle of the property. That will be addressed after the property is mulched.

 

[fishfactor]

Be careful starting out with a job of that size, especially if it's for a potential repeat customer. Without knowing exactly how much you can do in 8 hours, you could really miss the mark. Too high, you loose the job, and a potential customer. Too low and you loose money on the job. When we started out, we used the machine on our property for 2 weeks to get a feel for it, and production ideas. There is a long learning curve with these machines and you don't want a customer that's paying you $XXX per hour watch you fumble around trying to mulch a log that keeps shooting 30 feet behind you every time you try to mulch it. It will also take a long time to produce a clean finished product without spending a tremendous amount of time going over it. I recommend a lot of practice, or doing little jobs for friends at a reduced rate to get some seat time before tackling 15 acres.

 

[KrayzKajun]

I've told the potential customer that if I get the job, I wouldn't start untill first week of October. I have about 40acres to practice on at my aunts farm. She is helping me get a machine so a trade off is me reclaiming some 10yr old overgrown pastures.

 

[KrayzKajun]

So far I have 6 jobs to quote now. Will have my price today on a 289d or 299d w/ mulcher.

 

[lumberjack1986]

The 299 has ~50% more hp than the 289... Between the two, for mulching, the 299 is the way to go.