The grass flourishes regardless of the economy. There is always someone nearby who needs their lawn trimmed but is unable to do so. These people have a problem, and you, the full-time worker looking to establish a part-time lawn mowing business, have a solution. They are willing to pay you to mow their lawn. The issue was resolved.
I’m frequently asked if you can start your lawn mowing business part-time in the evenings and on weekends while still working full-time. The answer is a resounding yes!
The question is, can you pull it off? If you have a lot of energy, enjoy being outside and working in your yard, and can manage 5 to 10 extra hours of physical work each week, you can start a part-time lawn mowing business while continuing to work your normal job.
People who work 12-hour rotating shifts have a great opportunity to run a lawn mowing business part-time while working full-time because they have so many days off.
Marketing
You must first find some customers. Create a flyer in word processing software, print it, take it to your local copy shop, get 25-30 copies printed, and distribute it across your area within walking distance of your home. You may use a half-page flyer to deliver to 50-60 residences. Include what you provide the prospect (lawn mowing, edging, concrete cleaning), your name, best phone number to contact you, your address so they know you’re a neighbor, and how much you charge. Because you are new to the business, price at the lower end of what other lawn care experts in your region charge. Five dollars less than the average price may persuade your neighbors to stop using someone from outside the neighborhood and start using you instead.
Another incentive to begin with your neighbors is that they know you or have heard of you, and we all want to help others, especially those we know. Because these people are nearby, you have the opportunity to go out, knock on doors, and meet your neighbors while pitching your business to them. Smile, introduce yourself, tell them which house you live in or which street you reside on, and learn a little bit about them and what you could have in common. At the end of the talk, hand them a flyer and walk on to the next house.
Continue doing this until you have at least one person ready for you to go home, collect your equipment right now, come back the next day, and pay you. Stop marketing that day, service your new customer, and earn some money. Continue marketing the following day.
When you have the number of consumers you believe you can handle, cease marketing on a regular basis and only do so when someone asks for your information. You should keep a few flyers on hand to distribute. Keep an eye out for overgrown yards and observe whether a lawn service arrives to mow them. These people may require the services of someone who lives nearby and will maintain their lawn on a regular basis. Make sure to stop by and inquire.
Equipment
Don’t go into debt or acquire any commercial equipment. To get started, all you need is your lawn mower, a gas-powered string trimmer, and a blower. You can still use an electric string trimmer and blower, but make sure the customer is aware that you will require access to an electric outlet and a very long extension wire.
Cordless rechargeable trimmers and blowers are an alternative to gas and electric-powered trimmers and blowers. They are less expensive than their gasoline-powered counterparts, as well as less expensive to operate and far more environmentally friendly. If you have electric equipment that requires an extension cord, you should replace it as quickly as possible with cordless electric or gas-powered equipment.
Starting close to home avoids the need for a truck or trailer to transport equipment to job sites, lowering expenditures. If you live within walking distance of the work, you can transport your tools and gas can in a wagon or cart and pull your lawn mower by hand. You are more likely to succeed if you are prepared to undertake the extra manual effort since you are not afraid of hard work and are not prone to overpaying.
Earnings
One of the primary benefits of having a part-time lawn mowing business is that you earn substantially more money for the time you spend working than most other part-time jobs.
If you charge $50 to mow, edge, and clean up the grass and can do 5 lawns after work and on weekends each week, you will earn $250 each week. You must set aside 15% of your revenue after expenses (gas, parts, repair, replacement equipment, etc.) for self-employment taxes, which you must pay each quarter. Your net weekly earnings will be $205 if you spend $9 on gas and save $36 for taxes. Six weeks of transporting your equipment by hand will increase your physical strength and allow you to save approximately $1230. You could also resubmit your W-4 form at work so that the appropriate amount of extra money is deducted from your pay checks to meet these taxes. However, if you’re doing this to see whether you want to start a full-time lawn mowing business, I urge you learn how to pay self-employment taxes quarterly.
You will have earned over $4,000 after 20 weeks of mowing 5 lawns every week. It will be less because your equipment will require maintenance and repairs. That will only cost a few hundred dollars, leaving you with roughly $3,700 if you save your gains.
You will now have enough money to purchase an excellent secondhand industrial lawn mower. Once you have a commercial mower, you will be able to mow more yards per week in the same amount of time as you could with your personal mower, increasing your revenue. You may be able to mow 10 yards per week instead of 5, increasing your weekly gross revenue to $500. After another 10 weeks, you might have enough money to purchase a used trailer to transport your commercial equipment.
Remember that in many regions, there are only three mowing seasons per year, or around 40 weeks of consistent effort. If you earn enough money in the first 40 weeks to buy some commercial equipment and expand your customer base, your second part-time year will be mostly profit.
After two years of working part-time in the firm, you will be able to decide whether you want to start mowing full-time. You’ll know it’s time to go full-time when you’re turning away customers because you don’t have time to maintain their yards, and if you could take on those customers, you’d earn more each year than you do today.
Earning more entails earning more than your present annual salary after taxes, as well as paying for benefits that you and your family require, such as health insurance. If your spouse works outside the home, he or she may be able to carry the family benefits, freeing you up to earn a lot of money. Even if your spouse can offer the other benefits, you will need to save for retirement and purchase your own disability insurance. Few employers provide spousal retirement or disability benefits.
You can work part-time mowing lawns and earn a lot of extra money if you are prepared to work during your off hours and avoid spending money on equipment you do not need. You may finally be able to quit your job and focus solely on your business.
