Manuvering

When Mowing for Money, you are usually hauling your equipment around. This can sometimes be a problem when trying to get in and out of residential neighborhoods. It is always the worst when you get into a neighborhood and are unable to get turned around without going into someone else yard. This will make people very upset and make you look bad. The only solution to this problem is to scope out the area before you have the trailer and equipment with you. Go to the area and take different routes to try and get positioned in such a way that you can easily get out without damaging anything. It is also important to know how to back a trailer very well because you will not always be able to just pull straight out. Doing these simple steps will help save you time and allow you to Mow for Money.

Changing Blades

When Mowing for Money, quality is key. This means that your blades need changed and sharpened regularly. A dull blade is the culprit for many bad looking yards. When a blade is dull it will not cut all the grass and make it look very bad. It will also not cut it the way it is supposed to be cut which will leave the grass unhealthy and it will not grow back in the right way. A sharp blade will cut everything even and leave the yard looking healthy. It is important to have several sets of blades so that when one set gets dull you do not have to spend the time to take them off and sharpen them before you can mow more. All you need to do is take one set off and replace them with another set and you can sharpen the old set whenever you want to or get the time to. There are also different types of blades that are best used at different types of the year. In the Spring, when the grass is thick and green, it is best to use high lift blades that will cut the grass and throw it a long way so it doesn't ball up coming out of your shoot.  In the summer you can use medium lift blades when the grass is not as heavy and does not need thrown as far. In the fall when leaves are coming down it is possible to use mulching blades that grind up all the leaves and turn them into almost a dust. These blades are sharpened where the normal lift part is located so that the stuff gets shredded more than the initial cut.  Even if not changing different types of blades, it is important to just keep them sharp so that you can be Mowing for Money and high quality.

Stuff in the Yard

When Mowing for Money, one of the biggest slowdowns is having to pick up trash and stick in the yard. It does not seem like it would be that big of a deal but shutting the mower down, setting the brake, getting off and picking up the trash and then trying to find something to do with it , its just a big hassle. When there are sticks and things in the yards you have to carry them to a place because if you just move them they are still going to be in your way the next time you mow. These are things that can not be controlled by the homeowner but things that can be controlled are toys, balls, dog toys, things like that that people are just too lazy to pick up. The first couple times I will pick these things up and put them on a porch or something. If it continues to be in the yard every time I try to mow, I normally mow around it and do not weed eat around it. Most of the time the random patch of grass in the yard helps people pick up on the hint that i am  not going to pick up after them every time. Sometimes they will get upset about this but then I explain to them that I am not there to pick up after them, I am there to mow there yard. Normally people are pretty understanding about this type of thing but then there are always those people that do not care what there yard looks like so they just let it lay and end up having patches of hay growing in there yard. When this happens it usually looks so bad that i move the stuff and mow it just so it doesn't make my business look bad. When Mowing for Money, there are many of these types of set back but eventually you get used to it.

Pricing

When Mowing for Money, it is pretty much all about the price. You have to have competitive prices as to make money, but not overprice as to not get any business. The golden rule that I have always been told and lived by is a dollar per minute. While this sounds like a somewhat simple conversion, there are several hidden factors that you may not have thought about. The first big problem is the size of your crew. Its obvious that a six man crew with four mowers is going to finish the job much faster than a one man crew doing it all. So why would the customer pay your much higher dollar per minute rate when they can pay a bigger crew less money to do the same job. While i wish i could give you a heroic answer for this, sadly i can not. I just price my yards close to a dollar a minute give or take a few minutes and for some reason i have gotten plenty of yards to mow. Another important thing to think about is travel time to get to the job site. If you are mowing a yard that is directly beside your shop, then you have no time and expense in getting there. If you are mowing a yard that is 30 minutes away then you have a lot of time and gas money travelling to the job site. This is something that has to be thought about when quoting  a price. I normally add 5 or 10 buck to a yard that is far away just enough to not lose money with travelling expense. The layout of the yard plays a big roll in pricing also. If the yard is flat and easy to mow, give them a better rate. If it is broken up and cluttered with trees and lots of weed eating, then most likely a higher price should be quoted. Always remember that there are cheap people out there that will think your price is to high, if this is said let them find someone else to mow it. Never take a loss because someone says your price is too high. Your in the business to Mow for Money, not Mow for Fun.

Battling the Weather

When Mowing for Money and dealing with many yards, sometimes Mother Nature seems to do her best to reak havoc on your operation. It never fails when you have a ton of mowing to do and no other time to do it in your crazy schedule, it decides to rain, and not just a little bit, it decides to downpour and ruin any chance you had of getting your mowing done. I cant tell you how many times I have had several yards to do that were starting to get pretty high and wouldn't you know it, rain. The only real way to combat this is to try and look at the extended forecast and attempt to plan a mowing schedule around this. Although this may help a little bit, we all know how inaccurate the forecast can be sometimes. If you are mowing a lot of yards and you think that your only going to mow when it is completely dry, you are sadly mistaken, especially in the spring. It is important to just do your best to make the yard look high quality and pretty even when dealing with wet conditions. Be careful with your turns when it is wet as to not tear up the grass and leave marks everywhere. Do not skid and lock up the wheels to leave marks, make slow easy turns and keep the wheels moving. Also if you must mow in the rain, make sure it is not soaked. Small amounts of rain are okay to mow in but if the ground is completely saturated you should just forget it and try to get it the next day. When Mowing for Money the rain will make life difficult, but if you try to plan around it you should be okay.

Mowing Quality

When running a mowing business and Mowing for Money, it is important to mow with very high quality in order to keep you customers happy and to draw in new customers. When passerbys see your quality of work, they may either want you to mow their yard or not want you any where near their yards, it is all dependent on your quality of work. There are several points to think about when trying to improve your quality of work. Cutting height is very important. The lower you cut, the more grass you throw out your shoot which could result in lots of left over grass. This makes the yard look poor quality but if the grass does not get mowed low enough then it does not look like you even mowed it. It is important to have a good cutter height to keep good quality. It is also important to not make unnecessary tracks through the yard that can cause things to look bad. Keep the stripes straight and even and make sure they all go the same way. If you follow these few key steps you will be Mowing for Money in no time.

Striping

When Mowing for Money, it is important to keep the customer happy. To do this and make a yard look great, striping is the key. Striping is a term used to refer to when looking at the grass each row made by the mower lays a different way, This makes the grass seem to be light and dark and give it a cool visual appeal. This is what many customers want so doing this right will help get you customers and keep your current customers happy. To start striping, first make a perimeter around the property with your mower. Then think about which way you want your stripes to run, i always have mine facing the road so that everyone can see them when driving by. After planning what you are going to do, start at one end and mow back and forth parallel to the previous stripe. This will give you the striped light and dark look that people value very highly. When using this technique it is important to ALWAYS have very straight lines. If the lines are not straight then it makes it look very bad and your customers will not be satisfied. It is also important to never break this pattern. No matter what your obstacle is, do everything you can to not break the pattern. Even if it takes you extra time to continue the pattern, do it it is worth it in the end. When coming up to a tree, go around the side of the tree that has not yet been mowed then get back on to the normal path. When turning around to come back at the tree, pass through the half moon you have already mowed to make everything look straight. There will be times that it will be hard to continue the pattern but when possible it is a must. Certain mowers will stripe better than others so it is important to ask your local dealer about this. Certain types of grass also stripe better than others so sometimes it will look like your doing something wrong when really it may just be the type of grass you are mowing. Striping is something that may seem difficult at first when you are not used to it but with practice you will get the hang of it and be Mowing for Money in no time.

Maintaining Your Equipment

When Mowing for Money, it is important to keep your equipment running in the best way possible so that your quality of work is very high. High quality pays high and gets you more customers so it is important that this is what you strive for. The blades on the mower are one of the main things that maximize mowing quality. If you are mowing with dull blades, you are sure to have poor quality and make them not satisfied. It is important to change your blades every 25 hours of mowing time in order to keep them in top quality. When removing the blades take them off and resharpen them with a grinder. Be sure to sharpen them at the same angle as they started in order to make them cut well. Put the blades back on and that portion of maintenance should be good to go. Now it is time to grease all your grease fittings. To find all of them, refer to your owners manual for their location and how often they should be greased. This is an important step for keeping the mower running because without grease, the moving parts have no lubrication to keep them from wearing out due to friction. Next changing the oil regularly is important. The owners manual should tell how often the oil needs changed so keep it changed whenever it says. Always use the type of oil recommended to keep it running up to spec. Another important piece of maintenance is cleaning your air filter. When mowing grass there is a lot of pollen and dust in the air that gets trapped in the air filter. It is important to get this cleaned out to keep your engine running cool and having plenty of air to breathe. This will ensure maximum power from your engine to keep the grass cut well. If you stay up on you maintenance and always follow your owners manual, you will be sure to be Mowing for Money.

Having the Right Equipment

When mowing for money, it is very important to have quality equipment to do quality work. This being said, there are different pieces of equipment that are best for different types of mowing. You must know your area and your customer base to know the types of equipment you will need. For smaller yards, a smaller mower with a small deck size would be great, for bigger yards the mower should be much larger with a larger deck size. If you are mowing in a city where the majority of the yards are side by side and not very big, then you should purchase a smaller mower that will do quality work. If you are mowing in a rural are where many of the yards are several acres in size, then you need a larger mower to maximize efficiency. Some people may think, "well I will just get a big mower and use it everywhere" but thee are a few issues with this. The first is that the mower may be too big for the yard and you may not be able to use it or only use it on parts of the yard which minimizes efficiency. The second is that the larger mowers tend to scalp certain places on a small yard with uneven ground which minimizes the quality of work and makes it less likely for them to have you cut it again or refer  you to anyone else. Another problem that arises is getting the mower to the job site. If you have a large commercial grade zero turn mower, it may be difficult to get a truck and trailer into the end of a tight cultisac. These are all important things to think about when buying your equipment but if you take the time and think about the type of yards you will be mowing, then purchasing the right equipment will be sure to pay off in the end and get you Mowing for Money.

Getting Customers

The first step in starting a mowing business is to get yards to mow. Starting out this may be a very difficult task due to the fact that people are unaware of the quality of work you do. Start by advertising, post flyer's in heavily populated places and start your prices lower than normal to draw in people. Once you get a few yards and they see your quality of work, your business will spread like wildfire. If you get one customer that really enjoys your work and thinks that you do a great job, they may tell their friends and recommend you to other families in need of a lawn care expert. Offering incentives that can work into your favor is also a useful tool. For instance, offer a free round of fertilizing to make their grass grown bright green and thick. The customer thinks they are getting a great deal when in reality you will make loads of profits because you will have to mow their yard much more often. Little tips and tricks like theses will pull in customers and keep them calling you back to cut their grass. Have a good relationship with your customers, ask them what they would liketo see from you and how they would like their lawn mowed. Some people are very particular and some are not so particular but in either case, know the customer. At this point you can start to get your prices up to a competitive market and really start making some money. Keep the quality of your work high and the customers happy. If you follow this process you are sure to be Mowing for Money.