It all works together!Įconomics 101 tells us that something is only worth what another person will pay for it. Increase that hourly rate!Īs a general rule, better equipment helps you produce a better finished product, which, as we learned in the quality section above, means you can charge higher prices. So, let me ask you a question: as you start to upgrade your equipment which helps you finish yards faster, do you think you should lower the price of the yard since it’s taking you less time or (hint: this is the correct answer) should you increase the hourly rate you expect to make to account for the increased expenses? The nicer the equipment you have, the more efficient you are, but it also means your fuel and maintenance costs go up (not to mention the thousands of dollars you just dropped on the equipment itself). Larger mower deck size, bigger engine, trimmer with more torque, blower with massive airflow… all of it helps you finish yards faster. Take a look at this article by Landscape Management that gives some solid ideas on how to do that.Įfficiency is a big deal in our industry which is why the equipment that improves your efficiency costs a lot more than your entry level equipment. This is a great chance to upsell them to full service or additional services. That’s fine, but once you settle on your hourly rate, I still encourage you to stick to it even if the quality the client desires is below what you typically deliver (maybe it’s for a rental house or apartment complex). In my experience, I’ve noticed that even if you position yourself as a premium provider, you’ll still get some clients that want the quick “mow, blow, and go” type of service. However, if you can and want to offer high quality, then it’s important to position yourself as a premium provider in your area and one of the best ways to do this is through price! If you can offer a high quality of service but don’t want to, then don’t use premium prices. The point here is that your prices should reflect the quality of your work and the quality of your work should reflect your prices. With that said, if you know you lay the straightest stripes and craft the sharpest edges, then don’t undersell yourself! It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been in business, quality is quality. Think about it… if you came in with premium prices and offered rookie-level quality, that’s a quick way to lose clients. I believe it shows self awareness and helps set expectations for your clients. I am not a fan of undercutting other operators just to pick up a new account, but I also want to say that it is totally okay to start with a lower hourly rate if you are new to the business. We all make mistakes, but it’s a pretty safe assumption that more experienced operators will make fewer mistakes like scalping the turf, messing up the edge, missing a spot, breaking windows, not blowing off everything (trust me… I’ve done them all). Operators with a higher experience level can (and should) command a higher hourly rate than a new operator. To start though let’s break down what can make our THR go up or down. We've build the Check Target Hourly Rate (THR) Calculator that can help. Many operators use the “dollar per minute” approach or $60/hour, but I encourage you to put a bit more thought into that number. This is the first number you need to decide on before you start throwing out prices. One of the most important factors in pricing a yard correctly is your target hourly rate. Toward the end of this article, we’ll take all of the tactics and boil it down into an example to show how this all works. Using these tips, I have been able to get 20%, and sometimes 50% OVER my target rate. If you’re just starting out, then let’s get this right from day one so you don’t leave money on the table. And be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Starting a Lawn Care Business if you haven't already.įortunately, there are a few simple best practices we’re about to unpack that will be helpful guide rails as you get experience pricing (bidding, quoting, whatever you want to call it) yards. If you’ve been mowing grass for a while and feel like that’s you, it’s not too late! Keep reading and we can walk through this together. Would you believe that many lawn care operators are underbidding yards by 20%, costing them potentially thousands of dollars every single year? In my conversations with dozens of operators, I’ve unfortunately found this to be true.
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