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I guess I'm the only one that has never paid to have a lawn mowed or hedges trimmed...
My first paying job as a kid of 8 was mowing lawns every Saturday with a push mower... charged 25 cents a lawn... could have worked Sunday too but that was a no go with Mom...
I started to get extra requests in the summer like painting fences and planting... never had a problem getting work.
It's funny because just last week I was mowing the lawn at an apartment building I own and it never fails that someone stops and asks what I would charge to do their lawn...
I've found lots of problems with irrigation systems unless I'm there to regularly check they have not been damaged and working properly...
My parents pay a guy $30 to cut their failry typical small suburban yard. I pay a local kid $10 to cut mine.
That's what I would say, $10. If I can find a local kid willing to do it! I wonder, do you pay a flat monthly/weekly rate, whether or not it needs mowing? And doesn't this discussion belong on he House forum?
I can mow, and I want to break into the landscaping market. My selling point for now is "cheap and fast". Everybody already has somebody that mows their lawn plus all these other services I don't know how to do. I couldn't compete with them when it comes to versatility or experience, but I can mow your yard quick and cheap with my push-mower and not leave those bald spots I see in some people's yards. I can also use a leaf blower and rake leaves. My only work experience so far is being a snowball salesman (under my mom) THEN being a pharmacy technician for 3 years (working for CVS). I'm getting bored with pharmacy tech, though, and I'm looking for an extra cash flow, preferably where I am my own boss and where I don't have to report it...so definately cash-only and small transactions. Lawn-mowing is one of my many ideas.
After telling me if this is a viable side business or if I should keep brainstorming.
I'm going to be honest, I like the idea of running a business, but my mom is the one with all the business brains and I usually make bad decisions if I don't consult a lot of people first, like I'm doing now.
Where you don't have to report it? You mean where you're not going to report it. Because you most definitely do have to report your income, like it or not. And watch out that your customers don't try to give you a 1099 because they pay you at least $600/year and because they think YOU should be on the up and up.
That's what I would say, $10. If I can find a local kid willing to do it! I wonder, do you pay a flat monthly/weekly rate, whether or not it needs mowing? And doesn't this discussion belong on he House forum?
We pay $37 a cut, usually once a week, but if we have a real rainy spell we might get pushed back a couple days or maybe skipped that week. Only pay for actual mowings.
I pay $50 for a 1/4 to 1/3 acre lot to have the lawn mowed/edged and some leaf blowing and leaf/grass cuttings removal. It is extra if there are a lot of leaves (e.g., in the fall), any shrub trimming, aeration, fertilization, etc. In the summer, the lawn is mowed every week. He came last week for the first mowing but will mow every other week until it gets warmer. This is a one man operation who hires a helper. When I used a company, it cost more but that was years ago so don't know what they charge now.
I'm playing $80/month for mowing, edging and clippings blown off, so that works out to $20/mow for everything. 60' lot. Not sure I'd be up to just a mowing, edging makes it look sharp and would hate to have lawn clippings just laying around.
We have used the boy next door to cut our suburban lot--he did a crappy job--
Cut sprinkler heads and did lot of damage to yard front and back
We were spending long stretch in FL and were not there to supervise the cut
His parents (our neighbors) said they would watch what he did but that was joke...
Almost killed our yard....
Worth paying for professionals---
We pay about 40 a cut and includes edging and blow sidewalk--but no bagging...
These guys are decent --
You're proposing what many of us call "Mow, Blow & Go."
As a consumer, that is not what I want to buy. I wouldn't pay anything for that.
What I find valuable are the other things -- weeding, putting down pre-emergent in the spring, fertilizing, adjusting irrigation timers, trimming bushes, etc -- things that make the property look good.
I remember being paid $10 a cut back in the late 70's.
Currently in Seattle area and pay $120/mnth for cut, edging, pruning, etc. Totally worth it, my yard looks great.
That said, if I just wanted a mow I'd do it myself as I had for years.
And where is neighbor kids still available to cut lawns? Haven't known of any in 25+ years.
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