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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:21 am
by mickavalon
Thing is Pablo, what do you do when most of the quotes your doing are large projects, I can't turn them away. I agree with everyone, smaller jobs do turn over quicker and make more profit, and we have some booked in, but we're mainly being asked for full Garden jobs, and also when does a small job become a larger one? after a week? 2?
I have worked hard to get the business at the level we're at, 80% of our work is recommendation, what would you do? I'm not interested in just doing Driveways, way to much competition from the Travellers. There are at least 6 big main firms, that to be fair, look very professional and do a reasonable quality of work.They are saturating Brum at the moment, so my Driveway work is all related to recommendations and old clients, same with fencing.
You very rarely get Gardens you can blitz in a week, not and do a quality job, just the logistics in working in a back Garden alone, make them different to a drive, so I'm not sure that it's my vanity at work, just the nature of my business.
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:31 am
by cookiewales
Mick I would class you as a landscaper rather than driveway guy but you can do both and your heart is in gardens . I am a time served bricklayer but my heart is in stone 
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:53 am
by parishpaver
Problem I always find on larger jobs is losing momentum.
Start every job with a burst of enthusiasm and on a weeks job that can see you through to the end. I find it tends to wane the longer you are on a job, especially when you realise that it aint gonna be the money spinner you though it was! :laugh:
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:57 am
by lutonlagerlout
as i said in another post reach the point of refusal with pricing mick
if you are getting very busy then start adding 5-10% to your qoutes
that way the job becomes worth doing,plus if you start getting a knock back then you know you have reached a celing
where do these people think we have been for the last 5 months???
LLL
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:12 am
by mickavalon
Cookie your right mate, I'm looking at doing a Dry stone walling course sometime soon, can't wait.
LLL it is driving me crazy that people start looking round for us when the weather turns, but it keeps us bsuy eh!!!:p
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:02 pm
by Carberry
As others have said, make more money off the smaller jobs and you don't get bored but the bigger jobs are steady income and they look good in your portfolio. Need to find the right balance.
I have some customers I make £20 off of for 1000L of fuel, all I do is make a phone call for that but they pay instantly and I get a 30 day account on the fuel so it helps my cash flow. I have a regular run of gardens I maintain, I only get £20 an hour but it is steady income and it has brought in bigger jobs from people who have seen the gardens I'm maintaining (for doctor's surgeries). I just landed gas customer who buys 60T a year, I'm not making a lot for each delivery I do but the increased volume has gotten me a £2 discount on my gas so overall I'm making a good profit having this customer.
I post quotes, or email if they prefer and leave it at that. I don't bother chasing them up, if they want the work done they will phone me. I don't like pestering people and I'm too busy to be chasing people up like that.
Mick: Make sure you have a good contract signed up with stage payments, so if they don't pay up you only lose out on a few grand instead of 30 and it won't put you out of business.
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:20 pm
by DNgroundworks
lol i graft me tits off for 15 quid an hour, (on labour only jobs that it) you get 20 for mowing lawns etc?
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:39 pm
by Kuts
DNgroundworks wrote:lol i graft me tits off for 15 quid an hour, (on labour only jobs that it) you get 20 for mowing lawns etc?
Haha I was just thinking the same thing.
I'd sack the black stuff off 2morra if I could get that
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:38 pm
by lutonlagerlout
i think that £20 would include getting to and from the said garden :;):
LLL
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:53 pm
by DNgroundworks
oh....if its just an hour of a job like?
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:56 pm
by GB_Groundworks
he gets a special rate for gardening in just a slip haha
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:57 pm
by DNgroundworks
GB_Groundworks wrote:he gets a special rate for gardening in just a slip haha
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 7:09 pm
by Carberry
LLL is correct. I haven't done any gardening or handyman stuff in the buff but I am considering it :laugh:
I am able to pick the prices I want though because I'm busy and do so many different things. If I only did gardening I don't think I would have enough gardens to fill a weeks worth of work every day charging £20 an hour.
8 girls and 1 guy in one of the hen parties this saturday :laugh:
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 6:08 am
by mickavalon
Would you be going if it was the other way round mate, 8m & 1G?
Most of the garden maintenance guys I know charge the same, but they provide all their own gear, and take most of the cuttings/brash etc away, and they're very rarely at one house for more than an a few hours, so it's not great money, when you take fuel, vehicle costs, machine costs, and the fact that the weather spoils their day a lot more than mine.
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:07 am
by lutonlagerlout
at some point you will get booked up by a load of *men*
:p
thats when your martial arts training will kick in hopefully
LLL