[Pelican]

I'm struggling to stay above water here in the worst season since I started doing business 10 years ago. The market in my area is almost at a complete standstill, I'm relying on my maintenance accounts to stay afloat. The last few years I had myself plus 4 others working full time, this season it's myself plus one and one part timer. I can't even guarantee my full time guy 40 hours, if the work isn't there I just can't carry him.

Four of my install only competitors have gone bankrupt. Installs made of over 50% of my revenues in the past, I haven't put a brick to the ground yet this season. The only work outside of lawn maintenance I've seen is some minor sprucing of lawn account customer's properties. My suppliers say their sales are down nearly 75% from two years ago.

Yesterday I lost a lawn account to a new competitor who contracted at almost half the price I had, it's really getting cutthroat. This is in addition to the seven accounts I lost initially at the beginning of the season, either the customers had opted to cut themselves or had found someone to do it for less. These were loyal customers who I had serviced several years. Maintenance profits in this area are bare bones, I couldn't guarantee prices with fuel being as unstable as it is.

I'm doing the best I can to make it to the other side of this slump. My hope is some of the riff raff in this business will be filtered out along the way. I guess I'm just venting, I sure am nervous about survival at this point.

[Lanelle]

Sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time in your market.
It is really difficult to know exactly what is happening in a specific market without some knowledge of the demographics there.
Here, what various people who have a broad view of our local landscape market are saying is: That the very top of the market is doing great - the wealthy continue to spend but middle class folks are being squeezed out of spending very much because they have lost so much equity in their homes or their jobs don't look as secure as they did last year.
I'm also finding that people who have lived in their homes for quite a few years are spending some to upgrade and enjoy their homes now with an eye to the future--increasing the home's appeal and livability so it will be more competive when it is put on the market in a few years.
Not sure if any of that helps---but looking for ways to reposition yourself in your market may be necessary.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[Squizzy Taylor]

Steve, it may be no relevance to your market but I am finding like Lanelle, the top end of the market is still going well but they are being more selective and looking for real quality. I am also finding that I am more and more surviving on my masons skills and less straight up skid steer/mini-ex work. The machine work has always been a welcome change and a good "fillerupper" of gaps in the schedule. I have had to change my advertising to suit the changes in the market.

There is work for me from builder/developers but its penny-a-pittance work and quality is not a factor.

Good Luck Mate.

[Stonehenge]

It's about as serious as it's been in my neck of the woods, too. I've detailed the businesses that have gone belly-up in the Dirt blog, but even more than that I see lots of idle equipment among the competitors that are still in business. I feel guilty even mentioning that we're doing really well. I'd like to say it's because we're doing the high end work that Lanelle mentioned, but truthfully, there really isn't much "high end" work to be had in our area. Nobody spends 100K on a landscape here. Nobody. Or at least nobody that I've seen.

I hope you're looking at your marketing mix and the trends that have been growing in how people find contractors now relative to years past, and making adjustments accordingly.

Hand in there.

[AZTLANLC]

Steve there's still work out there you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.
I have noticed that our market this season is people living on their houses 5+ years where their walkway and patios are in bad shape.
Advertise twice as much I know it could be a little bit late in the season but don't stop.
By now with the heat and in the middle of the season you'll be surprised how many home owners that do their lawn them selfs are tired of doing it and would be glad to hire someone else this is a different market than hardscaping and landscaping this usually are people that have houses with a value of 350k+ and have lived there less than 4 years.
Just go out there and knock on their door and offer your services or buy a mailing list (melissa data has great prices and good lists), and target those specific customers.
Look trough your past proposals (even those from last season) and start calling those people and see if they haven't done their jobs yet.
Call all your current customers and those you have done previous work see if they need anything or know someone that might.
There's lots of stressed lawns out there, now is the time to start selling overseeding, aeration, power seeding, lawn renovation, etc.
Regarding lawn maintenance and prices around our area it's being a while since we switched to yearly fee contract only and it's being so much better ever since, I explain people that during spring (high growing season) we will do wherever it needs to leave you lawn free of clumps and looking it's best that will take us extra time but during the dry months we might show up to only blow your walk and mow couple section that would balance out at the end we will make a visit anyhow, the price includes spring and fall clean up too and gets divide in 7 or 8 equal payments after couple years doing this we are surprised how many people even send their whole year paid in advance.
We had a feeling this season was going to be a little bad and started doing this since the beginning and our business grew about 15 -20% this season, the only difference is that seems this year people is price shopping more that any other season and our closing rate is about 15% vs 30% last season, also more and more people is using the internet to find contractors too.

[AZTLANLC]

I remember checking on your web site couple of years ago and just went there honestly needs to be updated soon,( mine is not the best and also hasn't being updated in a while) you'll be surprised how many people goes online nowadays and checks your website first before even calling.

[Pelican]

I agree my website needs to be updated, it's needed that for quite some time now. I just never seem to find the time to meet with my webguy to get it done.

I haven't had much luck selling season accounts with the maintenance, there are so many gypsies working my area on a per visit agreement that very few seem interested. Of my 60+ maintenance accounts, 3 are a seasonal contract. As I mentioned, with fuel pricing being so unstable, I have concerns locking in pricing so far out as well.

My maintenance division has become a double edged sword. It keeps cash flow running, has kept me somewhat solvent this season, and is a marketing tool with my lettered truck in neighborhoods each week. I have a number of accounts in some upscale neighborhoods.

The down side is in some cases I've been labeled "the lawn guy". I had a thread running a while back about one of my clients who hired an "educated" landscape designer, she wouldn't consider even giving me an opportunity to bid her work. Another client has considered bids from me, but has always hired major install only landscape companies to do the work, at fees I'm sure were much more than my quote.

My pricing seems to run down the middle road, I'm not the least expensive and I'm not the most either. I posted in another thread that I kind of seem to be stuck in between the lone rangers (I started this way) and the major landscape firms that employ 5+ crews. I was working comfortably up until a couple years ago when the market began to soften. I've had 2 seasons in a row with lower gross income, and this one is the lowest yet.

[AZTLANLC]

I can't remember where I hear this line before but it goes something like this.
In order to have something you never had you have to do something you never did.
This is the moment you have to came up with a solution for your business look what is that you can do to improve your sales, it's the time to reinvent yourself.
If you think you've being labeled as the lawn guy try to figure out why even little things like a logo might change things.

[roccon31]

slow here as well. southeastern PA. boy did i pick the wrong year for going out on my own. only plus is that i have tons of connections, and have been able to get some decent referral work and also help a few people out part time driving dump trucks, paving dirveways, etc. my business consisted of doing small/odd jobs for builders (overseeding, digging deck footings, digging sidewalks, mulching) then went to a drainage installation biz, now that has transformed into a lawn renovation business. i'm all over the place, but treading water trying to stay afloat. most of my asphalt repair business has crapped out due to ridiculously high asphalt costs.

any tips for a new lawn reno guy? i currently use a rotadairon style machine for the tearouts. i bought the machine to save labor in my trench restorations, but have been trying to keep the machine busy to make the payments.

just got an opportunity to bid on a soccer field reno next year, pretty exciting. as i type this i'm writing an estimate for 38000 out of 73000 sq feet of lawn repair, due to poor topsoil when the house was built 5 years ago. were talking HUGE rocky/bald spots. im thinking i should keep the decent turf and repair what is bad, top dress and overseed the whole lawn. customer wants a whole tearout and reno, but im thinking sticker shock will change his mind! any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!

[Timber Lane]

Here in South Jersey, the landscape business has collapsed. I'm at a pace to do just 22% of the business I did last year. Most of this year's work is repeat customers. I know I'd do better if I mowed lawns, but I choose not to. I do skid steer work and landscaping.

I have a good website, good reputation, and advertise in 2 local newspapers yearround. The phone just isn't ringing. Several others in the business have some of their equipment for sale by the side of the road to help pay household bills. It's the economy. People are afraid to spend money and are holding off. I laid off two of my three workers and put the other "on call".

Fortunately, I have other businesses and can handle an off year or two. I decided to make the most of this quiet spring/summer season and wrote a book.

Anyway, hang in there. Times will get better.

[Greensmith]

My stomach is turning on how bad this year is turning out. I have also reduced my crew and now the equipment loans are eating me alive. I just begged the entire friend/family group to drum up some business. The year started out hot to trot but June hit and I felt I was in the twilight zone where there is no new customers only recurring.

[johnkeegan]

It certainly is more quiet than usual. I think it will be real tricky this fall to get people to spend on landscaping with all the bad economic news.
Batten down the hatches. But remember that this has happened before.

[site]

In our area the new building is completely dead. Last year that was 1/3 of our business. We are lucky we work for a lot of the places that have money no matter what. Private schools, the hospital, etc. so we are doing ok. I spent the spring preparing for a tough season, but so far so good. Tough times call for a fresh look at the business plan. You have to be honest with yourself when you do it. Every area needs to be looked at through a new lens, and it won't be pretty. It is possible to do well in a down economy, but you need to be sharp, creative, and lucky.

[sandim]

I certainly complain about our business. We're not as busy as we'd like to be, but hearing all of you, I'll stop worrying about it. This is also just our 4th full season so we started in a crummy economy.

I odn't know if this helps any of you at all, but one thing I read not long ago is that in a market that's tough like this, it's a good time to advertise if you can swing it financially. Be specific about your target market. We're very fortunate to work (you'll notice I said work, not live!) in an affluent area of CT.
Postcards are least expensive, but get a real postcard stamp (that's the most expensive part)
get your list from a good list broker and send out those postcards.

Not long ago I posted a question about how to get more installs, that I was getting ready to send out 1,000 postcards. Stone said "send out 10,000". At a ratio of 1% that would be 100 calls and any more than 10 decent jobs would be too much for us this year as we're only a crew of 4. I decided to do 5400 based on specific categories. Sending the first 1,000 out this week, so if anyone wants to know how it works out on my dime, pm me.

Good luck guys, hang in there. The market has to turn at some point in the near future.

[NCSULandscaper]

Ive been hearing that NC is fairing pretty well during all this economic mess, and i believe it. I have had just as good of a year if not better than last, knock on wood, still doing new houses and alot of renovations. I think people are fixing their houses up here so when the housing market does get better they will have better chances of a good sale. Profits are up as well, being able to grow my own plant material which is my largest expense by far really helps out, ive gone all out on plant material this year, and its a plan that paid off to be able to keep up with the slumping economy if work does fall off, i can live off the added profit margins