Introducing The Cut, a weekly report of trending topics on the largest and most active online forum serving landscape and green industry professionals, LawnSite.com. Turf magazine and LawnSite are partners in the LawnSite Network.
- Besides general maintenance, what services do you offer clients in the slow season?
Gutter cleaning, pressure washing, and… oil changes?! Learning to pour concrete by partnering with a mason and splitting the job is just one great tip from a forum member.
And very much in keeping with the recommendations offered by Monique Allen, founder of The Garden Continuum in her upcoming article, “Adding Design Build Services: What You Need To Know When Expanding Your Landscape Service Offerings.” Allen is an industry blogger, trainer, and landscape business coach through the TGC Academy™ whose new book, Stop Landscaping, Start Life-Scaping, will be released this March. Don’t miss her article in the Spring edition of Turf by subscribing here. For other ideas you can use right now in the last of the winter weather, see “Selling More Than Plowing” in the Turf Winter issue. - Recommendations on upgrading to a compact zero turn mower and buying a trailer.
Anti-scalp wheels on a 36″? The bigger the trailer, the better? Hustler, Gravely, and the importance of commercial grade mowers and dealers are discussed. Look for new mower introductions in the Turf Spring edition, including one from Gravely! Learn about other zero turn mowers from Cub Cadet and John Deere. - Sole proprietor, first year, part time.
Defining true income and profit for solo operators, as well as mower and truck decisions on a limited budget. - Tips for selling aeration services.
Does door to door selling work? And the importance of damage waivers when offering aerating services. Here’s a video of eight reasons why aeration helps turfgrass. Share it with clients! - How do you determine price?
Add cost and labor, then add 20%? Maybe not. Experienced landscape professionals reveal their formulas for mowing, mulching, and installing block. For more insight on mowing prices, see “Mowers: Buying Cycles And Pricing Prowess” and “3 Landscapers Share Strategies For Pricing Mowing Jobs.” - Besides pre-emergents, what herbicides are you using?
Three-way broadleaf herbicides, glyphosate, and QuickSilver are discussed in this forum. For more of the latest news on pre-emergent herbicide applications, keep an eye out for an article by experts Dr. J.T. Brosnan and G.K. Breeden in the Spring edition of Turf. As leader of the new Weed Diagnostics Center in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee (UT), Brosnan and his colleague delve into climate curveballs, resistance, and other challenges they see in 2020.
