Small Business-Mowing Lawns

I have talked about many small part time business opportunities and I will hit on another one today.

Like any small business you would like to start part-time while you work your 40 hour a week job. This opportunity is no different. All you really need to start is a lawn mower, weed wacker, rake, gloves, and a vehicle to haul your equipment.

Now to start we needed all of these things for house anyways so I have them, besides my big purchase of the gloves that I used last week, best 2.97 I ever spent, thank you Wal-Mart.

Mowing lawns is not brain surgery and anyone who tells you it is or wants you to buy this or that just to get started I would tend to disagree. I started out with the equipment I mentioned, fliers, craigslist, and some extra hours to put in.

The fliers while I put in some time to make them look nice has not got me an ounce of business. Craigslist on the other hand has provided me with a couple of opportunities that have made me money.

I'm not saying I'm making a lot of money but enough to make an extra payment on my credit card or student loan makes a big difference. The business I have received so far has been an initial clean-up of the property that was usually neglected and then the opportunity comes to be there on a regular basis. People who are renting out the place and just want the yard to be trimmed and looked neat is a perfect example of who my target market would be.

The biggest things I have learned so far is do whatever and whenever. If they ask you to just come once and they never want to use your service again, that's fine because usually they will end up calling you in the future anyways or referring a neighbor who needs your services. Another great example of this is I was out of town and someone called for a lawn I explained the circumstances and I would be in town shortly and I never heard from him again, loss of business.

Be reasonable with the people. I usually take a look around and get an idea and what I would charge and then ask the customer what they think is fair. Usually it's the exact same price anyways and you make them feel like they made the decision or they are getting the best price possible.

Follow up promptly. This has been crucial with one customer as if I did not call him I believe the lawn would go back to the first day where it looked like an abandon lot.

Hopefully these ideas and little bits of information will get you started in the right direction in your own business. Don't be afraid and don't make any excuses start today.