[jlouki01]

Going by the national standard of 30-40/hour per worker a 5 acre property with a 60" cut mower I can knock out in 1.5-2 hours or so with no major obstacles.

Ok so that equal 40-80 dollars... how do you price a small suburban lawn though?

I can knock a quarter acre out in 5 minutes

Does that mean I charge 2.00 for the mow?

Ok so I think to myself it's not worth driving anywhere and dropping any equipment for less then 35.00?

So why does the guy with way more land get such a break on price?

I am green at this so forgive me is this is elementary and I am missing the boat..

[fitzg2md]

Remember, as with everything...better equipment will cut down your production time. Would you charge more for the 5 arces is done with a walkbehind mower? You need to take in to account the added cost of your equipment. Price should remain basically the same, however as you buy better equipment, you will be able to do more work in the same amount of time. Therefore, becoming more profitable. Base your prices on what you NEED to be charging...not what is the average. Look at your overhead, look at your labor costs, your salary...everything. Then you can figure out what the amount is you need to charge per hour to meet the goals you have set for the year. Smaller lawns can be very profitable...just make sure you add in the driving and loading/unloading time. Setting some form of minimum charge (like your 35 bucks) is good practice IMO. On small suburban lots we work hard to get next door neighbors to sign up to. Having 4 small ones in a row eliminates alot of driving. Take a look in the "money matters" section of this forum, and do a search for something like "overhead". Read, read, read...-MF

[Mac]

when I figure a property's cost, I automatically add at least 15 mins for drive time to EVERY property. So a property's cost is made up of my drive cost (min $10) and my on property hourly rate. I dont make much profit mowing lawns - I make the majority of my profit from my routing efficiencies.

[Dale Wiley]

Going by the national standard of 30-40/hour per worker

National standard ???

how do you price a small suburban lawn though?

Minimum charge for any service = 1 hour.

Hourly rate is $ 40, then the charge is $40.