Title: GopherHaul 25 – Lawn Care Marketing Business Show
Show description:
Hello and welcome to GopherHaul 25 – Lawn Care Marketing Business Show
In this episode we will be talking about
GopherHaul breaks the 900,000 view mark! Thank you everyone for watching us!
Lawn Care Business Question:
“I need help selling my accounts.”
Greenmind wrote us “I am selling my accounts this week to a local landscaper. He wants to pay me in 3 payments. Over a 3 month period or 90 days as people stay with the new company. Also he does not want to pay the initial payment until all customers are contacted. Is he buying my business or my customers? Also is the 90 day period normal or am I being to generous, I have talked with several people and they seem to think that he is taking some risk by buying my accounts and thats part of the business and some suggest that I charge more for letting him pay over 90 days.
What do you guys think? Any help with someone with experience in this area would be very helpful. I don’t want to get taking on this transaction. I worked very hard to get and keep these customers.”
A bunch of the Gopher Lawn Care Forum members responded in this post
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=28;t=7823;
Lawn Care Business Podcast Discussion:
I had a great podcast interview with Author Ken Lavoie. Of lawnguru.net
1. We talked about the pitfalls of buying too much new too soon, Ken calls this ‘Iron Addiction.’
2. How ego effects business decisions and how to control it.
3. Then we talked about what marketing ideas worked and what didn’t.
4. When and how you should integrate your first employee into your business.
5. And this was a fantastic topic Finance, Debt and Growth – “The 50/50 Rule and stay in the black with the 20% Rule!” If you find yourself making a lot of money but at the end of the year wondering where it all went, it’s very possible you are growing too fast. In Ken’s 50/50 rule, he suggests not financing any more than 50% of the equipment price. If you need to finance more than that, you shouldn’t be purchasing the equipment.
Listen to this podcast in it’s entirety at our podcast directory http://odeo.com/channel/412313/view
Join our discussion on this podcast here http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=22;t=7744
Lawn Care Marketing Material Review:
Chuck posted a post card design he was considering sending out and said “Here’s what I’ve been contemplating sending out. I know I have no fancy logo or nice looking lawn photos on it but I can’t fit them with all the text I’d like on it.”
He asked everyone to give him a review of his lawn care marketing material and we got a lot of great responses. If you would like us to review your marketing material, please feel free to make a post and include it.
You can read the lawn care marketing material review here.
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=7623
Tips on Buying Used Lawn Care Equipment.
Chuck, a member of the Gopher Lawn Care Forum asked a great question today I wanted to pass on to everyone. He asked:
“I came across this in my local area on craigslist….is 3000 hrs alot for a diesel mower? I know it is for a gas machine but I don’t know..”?
To find the answer to this question visit the discussion here
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=28;t=7791
Free Lawn Care Marketing Flyer
Chestin gave us a lot of great lawn care marketing tips this episode and to further illustrate how important it is to create a great flyer, he even posted a flyer you can download and edit to use with your own lawn care business. Thanks Chestin!
Visit this post to join the discussion and download the Free lawn care flyer template.
http://www.gophergraphics.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=7521;hl=new;st=40
Book of the Month:
Think Big and Kick by Donald Trump
Conclusion
If our show or forum has helped you, or if you have any business questions, please let us know and send an email or make a post about your experience! I hope all these ideas have helped you expand and grow your business and mind. So until the next time, always remember to Dream it, Build it, Gopher it!
If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts. Also download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. If you are on myspace send us a friend request. We are located at http://www.myspace.com/teamgopher.
Duration : 0:10:0
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http://www.gopherforum.com – Are you finding it difficult to collect on your overdue lawn care business accounts? Are your lawn care customers holding off on paying? This article should help you with some tips and tricks on how to collect payments.
Gary got on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum and asked last year was my first year running my lawn care business. I made it through the whole season with only one lawn care client failing to pay. Now that the end of the season is here, I have several (previously prompt paying) customers who have failed to pay their final bill. Is this something out of the ordinary or is it common around the holiday season?
Frank: This happens to me all the time. Last season I had a property manager owe me $1,500.00 and it took him until Feb to finally pay. And as of now I still have some past due accounts but it is just normal and I know that after a few mailings or a phone call it will finally trickle in. The holidays, the economy and peoples ignorance are most likely the causes. Just remember it and either dont work for them next season or just accept the fact they are late payers and you definitely have to keep on them!
Steve: What kinds of things should a lawn care business owner do to get those bills paid that are lagging from last season and how long should they wait before they take further steps?
Frank: Well this is what I do. First send the lawn care customer a copy of your invoice with Past Due stamped on it. If you hear nothing after a few weeks then you go to a letter and remember to include you Past Due invoice (that Past Due really scares people its very powerful so always remember to make that stamp BOLD). If this doesnt work you go to a phone call or stop by the house. Be persistent, thats the key people will get so sick of seeing your face of seeing invoices in the mail that they will pay to get it over with. People are either forgetful or ignorant, sometimes the original gets lost in the mail and they pay by the second notice sometimes they dont have the money and are embarrassed but eventually do get you the money.
Read more about this discussion at my lawn care business blog at http://lawnchat.com/?p=396 or visit the GopherHaul Forum http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=7991 We have the largest collection of FREE lawn care marketing material. Free logos, flyers, door hangers, web templates and contracts.
Also download a free 30 day trial of GopherLawn Care Business Software from http://www.gophersoftware.com
Duration : 0:8:19
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http://www.gopherforum.com – Understanding what insurance you need when you are just starting your lawn care business can be quite overwhelming. I have been able to have a few discussions on landscape contractor insurance over the years to help you understand the topic better. In this most recent discussion I had an opportunity to talk with an insurance agent who sold insurance mainly to the lawn care industry. Here are some of the insights he shared on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum that I hope you find beneficial.
What kind of insurance does a lawn care contractor need?
What insurance coverage a contractor needs is dependent on the type of work he or she engages in as well as the risks associated and protection desired. The general purpose of contractor insurance is to provide financial backing for a contractor who is liable to a client who hires the contractor to perform a certain job. The most purchased type of contractors insurance is general liability insurance. As with other types of insurance, contractor general liability offers the widest protection and is most useful to a company or individual engaged any many facets of contract work. There are maximum payouts on the insurance, generally $1 million to $2 million for each type of protection. Contractors protected by a good plan are usually secured against reasonable financial loss due to problems linked to the contractors work. The most complete protection can be found from adding some more specific types of coverage to the general liability protection.
Lets talk about those some of those more specific types of insurance. How about workers compensation. Can you tell us a little about that?
Workers compensation is a common contractor insurance purchased by many contracting companies for their employees. Workers comp insurance is a compulsory type of coverage. This protection helps the employer cover the financial burden of an employee who is injured on a job. The workers compensation insurance generally offers income, medical and rehabilitation benefits for injured employees involved in work related accidents. Some plans also include a death benefit payable to survivors. Business owners/principles may choose to exclude their payroll (and coverage) in some states, with coverage rated only on employee payroll.
How about inland marine insurance? This isnt one we hear about often but it is helpful to know about.
Inland marine insurance is another specialized type of contractor insurance. This contractors insurance protects goods that are in transit over land. Many contractors move materials and goods routinely and this allows them to expect the high costs of those items. Tools, equipment and installation floaters are all considered inland marine insurance and are considered essential types of insurance for contractor.
What about disability insurance?
Disability insurance is another common type of contractors insurance used by contractors and many companies, for that matter. This provides for the income needs of people displaced from work for a period of time due to injury. It is commonly referred to Accident and Health Protection. Health and life insurance are other types of coverage purchased by contractors.
Another common type of protection for contractor is surety bonds. A surety bond is a financial instrument not an insurance policy. A Surety Bond is a financial instrument utilized to guarantee performance. Say for instance a building developer hires a general contractor and the contractor is unable to perform on his obligation to complete a building on time or as agreed. The developer may look to sue contractor for not performing as promised. A performance bond provides protection for this type of exposures. License and permit bonds are required by the cities, municipalities or state. It guarantees compliance with the local, state, or federal codes. Another reason for requiring a license bond is to provide protection to the consumers. Along with contractor workers comp insurance, many states require contractors to have contractor license bonds.
If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com
Duration : 0:6:21
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http://www.gopherforum.com How often have you had questions about business insurance but just didnt get around to asking your insurance agent. Its possible you are just starting out and dont have lawn care business insurance yet. As we have found through our investigation on this topic, no one knows better what your insurance needs are than your local insurance agent. Each companys needs are as unique as the services they provide. Each state will also have different insurance requirements of you.
Since these questions come up quite often, we decided to compile a list of the most common insurance questions asked by lawn care business owners and found a friendly insurance agent to give us answers.
1. Q: How does an LCO determine which liability policy should be purchased? What percentage of LCOs have the following coverage? $500,000.00, $1,000,000.00 or $2,000,000.00
Answer: Most all carry $2,000,000 the difference in premium is minimal between 1 & 2 million worth of coverage.
2. Q: What is a reasonable rate for a $500,000.00 / $1,000,000 / $2,000,000 liability insurance policy?
Answer: Rates are based either on number of employees or sales. For an operation with 4 employees an approximate premium would be $2500.
3. Q: How much more on average is a $10 million or $20 million dollar liability policy, what percentage of LCOs have this coverage?
Answer: Most lawn care companies dont carry these high limits.
4. Q: What is the average LCO deductible for liability and theft?
Answer: I recommend carrying deductibles of $1,000
5. Q: How does a LCOs business size effect their liability insurance needs?
Answer: The larger the company the better ability we as insurance agents have to market them and get credits for their insurance.
6. Q: Is it a good idea to get your business liability insurance through your homeowners insurance carrier. Why or why not?
Answer: No, it is better to have your liability insurance separate from your homeowners due to the limits on your homeowners.
7. Q: Does snowplowing effect your insurance needs if so how?
Read more on my Lawn Care Business Blog http://lawnchat.com/?p=340
If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts. Also download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Try Gopher Lawn Care Business Software http://www.gophersoftware.com Visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum http://www.gopherforum.com
Duration : 0:7:35
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http://www.gopherforum.com Trying to figure out how much to charge for snow plowing can be pretty tough. If you charge too much, you wont get any jobs. If you charge too little you wont make any profit. Now it is important to keep in mind what the going rate for snow plowing services is in your area but you must know your operational costs because you might find, you cant even make a profit at the market snow plow rate, if you arent careful.
So how do you go about coming up with a figure to charge per hour for snow plowing? I put together this great snow plowing bid calculator. It asks you a bunch of questions to take into consideration your truck, snowplow, salter, and other overhead costs. Then it takes into account how many snow storms you have on average and how many billable hours you have per storm. After crunching the numbers, it returns a $ figure per hour you must charge to cover your costs and adds a percentage profit for you and your business.
Try out the snow plow business calculator http://lawnchat.com/?page_id=341 and see how it works for you. Play around with the different figures to see how changing them can change how much you should be charging per hour. If you have questions on how to use the snow plowing calculator, visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum http://www.gopherforum.com and ask away. Dont forget to check out the free snow plowing flyer templates http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=7200.
Join in on the discussion at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum here. If you would like to join in on this discussion further, visit this post at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum.
If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts. Also download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Try Gopher Lawn Care Business Software http://www.gophersoftware.com Visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum http://www.gopherforum.com and my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com
Duration : 0:8:8
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http://www.gopherforum.com If you are looking to submit some bids this season to clean leaves out of your customers gutters make sure you read this article first.
John got on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum and asked his gutter cleaning question. He wrote I have been asked by a neighbor to do a gutter cleanup. She has gutter shields in place but wants to make sure everything is cleaned out and down spouts are good. Her house is 2200sq. and about half of the home has gutters.
I do not think this job will take over 1.5 hours but have no idea what to charge her. I have never done this for money just on my own and folks house. Any help would be appreciated.
One of our forum members responded by saying I charge $1.00 per foot for a single story and $2.00 per foot on a 2 story. For people I have lawn contracts with I do it free Spring and Fall.
I found that a 2 liter soda bottle (cut down) works well for cleaning the gutters. Its pliable enough to get down into the gutter. Take a bucket with you to but the debris in. If you just dump it on the ground, the mess is harder to clean up than the gutters are.
I have been doing a national survey with those who provide gutter cleaning services and the charge of $1 to $2 per linear ft seems to be standard across the country. You would charge more for gutters that are higher up or more difficult to get to than lower ones.
Here are some common beginner pitfalls lawn care business owners find when offering gutter cleaning.
* On my first job, I just emptied the gutters onto the ground. It took me about 25 minutes to clean the gutters and over an hour to clean the mess from dumping the debris. It was on the walls, the ground, the windows, etc. Since then I have taken a bucket to empty the debris in.
* I used to charge by the hour for gutter cleaning, now I charge around $1 per linear foot.
* If the gutters are easy to reach I charge $1.00 per foot. If the gutters have trees growing out of them, then its $2.00 per foot.
* The first time I ever cleaned gutters, I brought a power washer and blew them all clean.When I went down the ladder, it was a mess, lawn, house windows, screens, everything!!! Lets just say that those people got a free home power-washing!!! Learn from mistakes, right?
Remember to review the job site before you create your estimate. Are the gutters on the first floor or the second? Do they have weeds growing out of them? Are you going to be able to reach them? Use a scoop to clean the gutters and empty the scoop into a bucket. Minimize your cleanup time. Charge between $1 and $2 a ft for gutter cleaning and you should be alright. To join in on this discussion further, visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum here.
If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com
Duration : 0:6:36
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