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My wife and I are making plans to move out to Hawai‘i either this coming summer or the following summer. I’m currently a police officer and will be retiring in two years. My wife is currently a secondary English school and she has applied to HDOE. Being that I will be retired at a pretty young age I would go nuts to be permanently retired and wouldn’t mind making extra cash to supplement my pension. Prior to becoming a police officer I worked for a landscaping company which involved a diversity of projects including lawn care and maintenance. I am interested in getting back to that again and would rather prefer to keep it simple and solely focus just on lawn care, clean ups, mulch, fertilize, and weed control. I could also parlay power washing homes, decks, and patios to remove dirt and mold buildup. So my question is with any knowledge in this venture does such a business work well in Hawai‘i? Is there a island maybe one better than the other for such a business? We would really have no idea what island my wife would land because as I’m sure you all know you apply to the state, not the specific school and they could place you anywhere. As I understand it you can pick an island where you prefer, but I’m sure there is no guarantee. We are intetested in the Big Island, then Maui, thirdly Kaua‘i (no teacher shortage on Kaua‘i so most likely that isn’t a realistic option).
When looking at real estate I do notice many of the properties are not that large so I’m thinking, would you say a Scag commercial zero turn makes any sense? I’m thinking a commercial walk behind may be better suited. What equipment in regards to commercial mowers do you all see used?
I’m not looking to be big, just maybe 30 clients. I’ll be a one man show.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
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I would look at equipment that you can local get parts, service and dealer support easily. Our company has bought some specialized power equipment and there's nothing worse than having only mainland dealers to turn to for parts and tech support. Most of what is see be8ng used by small to medium landscapers is standard walk-behind mowers. Nothing too fancy.
If I were contemplating starting a landscaping business, I would definitely get a secured trailer or lumber rack with locking points. Landscaping tool theft is bad on the mainland and just as bad or worse here. If you are.going the trailer route, depending on what island you are moving to, there may be limited models/types availavle. It may be worth researching trailer needs and shipping one over.
They have a Scag dealer in Honolulu so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get parts shipped to the other islands. Scag is the way to go and they have a good selection of commercial walk behind mowers. Scags are built like tanks. All other equipment I should be able to acquire on the island we will reside or in worse case scenario order online and have it shipped. Other than the Scag, the main pieces of equipment would be a small push mower, weed eater, blower, edger, hedger, rakes, shovels, wheel barrel, and fertilizer dispenser. I would prefer an enclosed locking trailer so I can put my name on the trailer and of course protect my property. Theft is also bad on the mainland and is mostly done when out on jobs by other lawn care businesses. They don’t steal your equipment necessarily to acquire it, but to sabotage you. The mainland is pretty saturated with lawn care companies, but they all seem to do pretty well, but guys will do what they can to get an edge. Protecting your equipment is the most important.
Going rate for this type of work on the East side of the Big Island is $15/hour. That's assuming the buyer of said services isn't requesting things like proof of insurance or trying to pay with a credit card. That is also the default rate for good, unlicensed "handyman" type jobs.
I don't know what licensed, insured, tax-paying companies charge, but ^^there's your starting point for gray-market services.
I've got to think lawn care is over saturated statewide with a long list of businesses here many years.
The market is definitely saturated all over the place with lawn care companies, but most seem to do alright. In this business clients come and go left and right and most companies have very few long term contractual agreements. Also, many lawn care companies are not reliable and use crap equipment. In this business you definitely have to hustle and get a name for yourself. Also, most clients don’t care about fertilization, they just want their grass cut. At least that is the way it is in NY and Virginia from what I have seen. Cuts on the mainland go between $30-40 and depending on precipitation cuts are about once a week. When it gets dry, usually August in the north East, you may cut once a month. The season ends around the middle of October and leaf clean up begins. Many lawn care guys plow during the winter for extra cash. They do very well depending on how much snow. You can get charged up to $100 to get your driveway plowed.
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyfinestbxtf
The marketAlso, most clients don’t care about fertilization, they just want their grass cut. At least that is the way it is in NY and Virginia from what I have seen. Cuts on the mainland go between $30-40 and depending on precipitation cuts are about once a week..
Once again, you're looking at it from a 'mainland' perspective. You want to do landscaping over here, you'ld best brush up on your Tagalog.
You'll find a couple of things different on the Big Island than in NY and Virginia. At least as far as landscaping goes.
1. Not very many homes have the Kentucky Bluegrass that you are used to. More people use Zoysia or Centipede grass that grows horizontally rather than vertically. I think we cut ours twice a year, depending on how much rain we've gotten.
2. People have more tropical plants than grass. Our landscape chores are more along the lines of pruning the citrus trees and removing weeds.
3. People have smaller yards.
I think your hardest challenge will be breaking into the business. People here stick with who they know or who their family knows.
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