[Green Leaf]

I have a small landscape co. that provides installation of landscapes, hardscapes and masonry projects. I only have 2-3 employees at any given time. I would like to grow the company by getting back into the maintenance end of the industry. It has been eight years since I have been involved with any maintenance, so neeless to say I am probably a little out of the loop as far as pricing goes. I have an opportunity to bid on a commercial acct. that I have recently completed the landscape and hardscape at. It includes:
Mowing(12,500sq.ft.)
Bed care(weeding, pruning, etc.)
Parcking lot clean up(20,000sq.ft.)
I don't know if maintenance rates compare to that of construction rates. Do I charge by the sq.ft., hourly rate, or what? Obviously I know to cover my costs but what is the "worth my time rate". Should I even take on one or two acct's or should I wait untilI have enough to support another crew? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[agla]

If you have only 2-3 guys doing installation, I wonder why you are more interested in starting a mowing crew rather than adding to your small installation crew. Why retool in a big way and venture into areas that you are out of touch with instead of just adding another man and a few tools to work on your existing crew?

[Rob Shauger]

Im with AGLA. Why invest in all the additional equipment etc when you can just sell more install work?

[Fine Edge]

We dropped all of our maintenance work because we found that when we had 2, 3, 4 large projects on top of each other, it was impossible to schedule any maintenance and keep the hardscaping customer happy.
We're the same size as you and I wouldn't even dream of starting back into the maintenance.

[agla]

This is not directed at the original poster, just my observations:

I see a lot of landscapers who see new opportunities everywhere and have a hard time staying focused because they are afraid that they are missing something. Many of them are in the same mold. They have 2-3 guys working for them and want to grow. They try to grow by expanding services rather than expanding their production in doing the services that they already provide. The result, more often than not, is a company that acquires lots of equipment over the years, but still only has 2-3 guys working. Those 2-3 guys now have to change gears from hardscapes, to planting, to mowing, to mulching, to shrub pruning, to hydroseeding, .... in other words they lose production because they are bouncing all over the place. You can't overlook that the cost of all the equipment that it takes to go in so many ddifferent directions weighs you down.

My opinion is that many landscapers won't take the time to look at themselves and ask themselves how many men can they truly manage. That number seems to be 2-3 in many cases. When that is the case, it makes far more sense to figure out the best way to make the most money out of those 2-3 guys instead of seeing how many different directions and how many different pieces of equipment 2-3 guys can use.

When you look around you at the big landscape companies, try to see what separates them from the companies that have 2-3 guys. What is the reputation of the owner that you hear from his workers? I think that you wil find that without exception the difference is not in the services that they offer, the equipment that they have, or even the quality of their work. It is their ability to manage a lot of people. We don't all have that ability, I don't, and to try to deny that will have you a yard full of equipment and 2-3 frustrated employees trying to figure out how many different directions you want them to run in today. Compare that to a 2-3 man crew laying down pavers every day, or a 2-3 man crew mowing lawns every day. None of it is bad.

[Green Leaf]

Thanks for the response.

I understand the hesitation of venturing back into something that may seem to be off track with scheduling, profitability and customer satisfaction. But I am in an area that is full of medium to large companies that provide both maintenance and costruction divisions. Many times that is an issue when bidding on projects, large or small.

[jon korevec]

Green leaf,
I'm running into the same thing down here........Everyone wants to write one check. I'm on the hunt for the lawncare co. that is not into landscaping for those contracts. You make more work for them they make more work for you.....everyone's happy!!!!!!
.................................................. ....
...............Hey it could happen!
jon

[Rob Shauger]

I own a spray company and have grown my business by subbing to Landscapers or referrals from them. I also work with a small group of contractors where the ring leader owns a Nursery and does install work. I do the lawns, another guy does the maintenance, another Hardscapes, 1 woodworking, another ponds and the last guys is fencing and gutters etc.

The ring leader gets us all the leads and we all do very well with it.

[Pelican]

In my area lawn care is not real profitable, there are so many doing it moonlighting. I have a 3 man crew running just the same because I had already made the investment in equipment before the onslaught of overnight landscapers appeared. It is a pretty good marketing tool though, my lettered truck is in the same neighborhood once a week and I get a lot of other work from that. Many new client calls start with "We saw your truck.....".

Check your market and see if the income is available to justify the investment.

[cutntrim]

I'm like Pelican. There are a billion maintenance companies (and seemingly just as many installation companies too) around here, but I've been at it for 14yrs so I've got a core list of customers.

I went from all maintenance, to a mix of maintenance and construction a few years ago. Next year may be the first year that I'll reach my goal of 50%-50%. I only run two trucks right now.

Anyway, to answer your question, hourly labour rates for maintenance are probably 90% of what they are in construction (at least according to the professional assoc. I belong to...Landscape Ontario). Seems to me that the profit in construction comes from markups on materials, less equipment overhead/maintenance, and less downtime/windshield time.

Maintenance provides a steady annual cash flow, and keeps your company in people's minds as Pelican mentioned. If you can keep a seperate crew busy with maintenance then it may be worth it. Jumping back-and-forth with a single crew is a PITA...trust me.