The Grass Doctor

Start up lawn mowing service. How much to charge per hour or how to quote for mowing.?

I would like to start a mowing service in my spare time, how do I become establishe and how do you quote to be competitive?

Public Comments

1. you charge by size not by hour. you have to consider what kind of operation you're running. Do you have a truck, a trailer, a ride on mower, weed wackers and a crew of mexicans? Do you do landscaping and full service or just mow lawns? Find out local prices, where i am i think the going rate is about 20 dollars for a good sized lawn, it should take you about an hour depending on travel. You're free to haggle if you think you can get profitsss. Post on bulletin boards, hand out flyers, go door to door. Do a good job at a reasonable price so they'll tell thier friends. Network and be an all round friendly and personable.
2. Simple....either call around locally and get a few quotes, or speak to those that live in the area. You will get a feel for the price. Then knock off at least 10 bucks, if you aren't going to be full service and are mow only, and to establish a clientele. If there is a local paper that has cheap classifieds, it might be worth it to take one out. Put up flyers with tear strips with a phone on any local bulletin board that allows, ie at coffee shops, markets, etc. And this time of year you might want to drive and see who's lawn is overgrown and either leave a flyer or speak to them. And if you find the above isn't working, although I bet it will, you might want to offer a one time bonus, IE one free mow after 2 months for new clients, etc. You'll find what works, and if you sign someone up long term it's worth giving an additional discount as long as it's reasonable. Wish you were here, I need someone desperately!!! ETA: Just saw the answer that was posted as I was typing. It definately proves to me that you need to find out what the going rate is locally. I agree it's by yard size, but here if you can find anyone under $40 it's a steal, which is pathetic. And most of them are little more than mow services (edge weed-wacking, blowing clean, everything else is more). And they are done here in about 15 min, although that's with a pro-standup mower. So you need to find out what the going rate is in your area! Maybe even post on here if it's near a major city. You can get an idea what people charge near you. And if you are near me...come on over!
3. i started in my spare time with only a push mower charging between 25 and 50 per yard making sure to take care of all the trimming and extra grass on the walks and driveway. now i run a small business with 2 trucks and trailers loaded with those fancy zero turn mowers. as long as you do a good job you will end up with more work than you can handle and end up expanding your business within the first 2 years. good luck and have fun or dont do it at all !