Thanks Everyone For The Support!

I once had a customer who said to me i dont like your answer i am calling your office and talk to the boss! I said ok give me 15 minutes to get home so i can talk to you :)

I had a customer from hell once. I agreed to mow an old ladies grass for only $20. It took about 15 minutes and I did the trimming with a weed eater. She was elderly and had no one else to help her. I mowed each week and did a fine job.

I just want to say good for you, my friend!! I have a lawn care business myself and have also done some soul searching this past winter. I had been trying to keep customers at the same pay as when i first started in business and just couldnt. I also sat with my trimmer queen!! Lol and discussed things and decided that i would have to change my prices. Ive been mowing most my accounts over ten years.....with no increase even though my overhead has jumped around 50 grand. I have lost about half of my commercial accounts, as we kind of figured would happen, due to being able to find other companies who can do it cheaper than me, but after paying out almost double of what i brought in, i knew something had to change. Making a big decision about being mr nice guy, an keeping prices the same wasnt easy, but keeping a business making a profit is what the game is all about. Good luck in your business plans for the future.

If it don't feel right it ain't right. Think you did the right thing. GOD WILL PROVIDE! just do the right thing. Have a ton of respect yall guys..well n gals included lol. You do things the right way. As you stated..hard to come by now days. Truth be told it is. I was raised the same way. Need more people like you spreading the good morals. Don't forget where you come from. Many people do. Greatly enjoy the vids the honesty..and how you take viewers along for the ride. Truly shows what type of person you are man. Thanks for the content and thanks for being a stand up guy. Keep doing what ya do.

Something to keep in mind before taking on those large commercial accounts and being on contract with is that if a big nor’easter storm hits especially in March or April where you could get 2-4 feet of wet heavy snow that a pickup truck won’t even begin to push you have to know you can get a front loader in there quickly to move that snow according to contract.

My brother had a business like yours. Landscaping in warm weather and snowplowing in winter. As he got older, he got really tired of going out in the cold weather. In the mid 90s we had 2 record snow winters. He charged by the inch for the plowing. He made so much money in those 2 years that when someone offered to buy him out, he sold the plowing route. He then used the winter to rebuild his equipment and saved a lot on his equipment expenses for the landscaping business and he got to take a vacation in the winter. I think that you made the right decision. Merry Christmas

Don't really know how i got to your channel but i did. I have been a small business owner now for over 20yrs and a very successful one at that. Even tho our businesses are a 180 degrees apart its still business. In short you probably just made one of the most important decision in your life. Its your regular customers that made you what you are today and its your regular customers that will keep you and your family fed. Its carrying on that pride and those principals that our fathers taught us when we were young. My word or a simple handshake is like a written contract and all my customers know it. I never forgot in business where i came from. Those large contracts come and go with the wind. A slight fall in the economy or a bad business decision and they shut their doors leaving you high and dry and sometimes owning you several thousands of dollars. That company will call you back one day when they need your service because that's what they do. Also remember in life when one door closes another door opens. Your on the right track keep it heading that way and you will sleep good at night.

Years ago I was doing lawns as a side service, one couple who lived in county wanted me to come twice a month to mow and trim. We settled on a price, then on in the season they told me when I came out to only come once a month or less on as called basis because grass was not growing as fast. On top they wanted me to "trim" in the tree line as well. So a month goes by and they call, grass is way high, trimming is over run, I spent most the day getting it back in shape and they had gone out of town.

Man I really needed this. I own a business that is not a franchise, but an affiliate with a larger company. Within the last year another affiliate has moved into our territory and my repeated requests to the parent company have gone unheeded. I was told a great many things, but when the rubber met the road it all changed. After some amount of prayer my wife and I have decided to let it all go. Three years I've been a spokesperson for their product/service and felt I was being boxed in. Other areas I had been marketing in could have been taken as well after lots of input. I just wasn't willing to allow a newbie to walz in and capitalize off my hard work. I was the only person who was actively marketing for them. Without me, none of the new affiliates will succeed unless they learn to pick up the ball and market, but I doubt it. The stress and aggravation just aren't worth it. It's good to see people doing the right thing. Some people really need their lawns taken care of. A business can find someone else. Good on ya!

I think that you did right too. I use to plow driveways with my 4x4 quad in Nevada. I had 1 customer that complained because I did not go to the exact edge on his driveway. I was within 2 inches, and I did not want to hit his lawn sprinkler system. He also wanted me to put the snow into the street. I told him that it was illegal to do that. He did not care. I dropped him! I had another that had a very steep driveway. I always plowed him out first because he could not even get out with his 4x4 if I didn't. he was usually there to pay me, but once we had several storm systems one after the other, and I was always missing him. I did not even know that he knew my address, but he sent me a check for 4 times that I had already plowed him out, plus prepaid for 2 more times. One good customer is worth many poor customers. I hate people that think that just because you do work for them, that they own you.

You made the right decision brother. Sacrificing the clientele you already have for one client, is a no no for me.

It's good that you bought a new truck. The first week I bought a used truck/plow it cost me about about $500 for new brakes and few other things. $1000 for new tires, $100+ for alignment, $100+ for muffler, $200+ for alternator and belt, $20 for wipers, etc, etc. Now I'm looking at $100+ to change plow fluid, $100+ for new plow hoses, and $350 for squeak from air conditioner pulley, $100+ for a spark plugs/tune up.

When my 3 brothers and me started our business in 1975 we built quite a client base. Then one day we were offered a big deal like you and we went with it. Our hand shake meant something to us however, their lawyers and greed meant more to them. They snookered us into signing a contract that of course we didn't show to our attorney and we got it shoved so far up our a___

I've NEVER been able to figure out what the draw to commercial accounts is in lawn care. Using basic math, vs. the REASON I'd say the bulk of us quit our jobs and are even DOING lawn care for, a commercial account or two out of the entirety of our clientele would be more than enough and ONLY as long as it's beneficial for US! I never look for work, have gone from a small ad campaign to almost hoping the phone never rings again! And ENJOY every day I go to work, a smile on my face, and a great outlook on life I'd like to keep it that way. Keep your $100k accounts. I think you're stretching the truth to start with.

You are very wise for a young man. Also, admitting you made a mistake is EVERYTHING. I always told my sons, "Making a mistake is not the end of the world. We all make mistakes. The question is....how do you respond to adversity." Do u just give up....or make the same mistake over and over....or do you take a hard look in the mirror and fix the issue? You watch, down the road, they will come back to you. Paying "as needed" sounds great when not snowing.....or when a guy says he will do,it for a super low price. But, after he does it twice....the third time they REALLY are counting on him because there was a blizzard....and then he says, "gee...this job is a lot harder than i thought....i know i to.d you low price, but we dont have a contract.....so now i am going to need my low price x 20 = $$$$....oh yes....and i will need that in cash.....lol

Takes a long time to establish a good reputation, and 5 minutes to ruin it, you made the right decision.

We do 80% residential and 20% commercial. Yep...you’re right always take care of those long time residential customers 💯

My family has owned Brookside Nursery and Garden Center in SW Michigan since my grandpa started in 1958, We have done small residential accounts to large commercial accounts and balancing your time,your crew's time and the account's expectations can be very difficult at times. The worst is when a crew would pull back into the yard with a dump truck full of tree trimmings or a trailer full of trash when their route that day was just a simple in and out. I'd ask,what the heck is all this? Then I'd be told how the owner or the commercial property manager had our guys cut a tree down or haul of trash/debris from a recent renovation simply because we had the truck,the gear and the crew. But when Id go ask the owner/manager about it and submit a bill,they would say it's part of the contract,or they would say,it was only a little extra work... We all know..Time IS money. The time that truck is running,or tractor or a crew is working..IS money. So after being burned numerous times,we had rules put in place for all our crews and we also explained it to our customers. Rule was. If the job calls for leaf removal and priced as such,the crew is there to do leaf removal and that IS all. Any requested work by an owner or manager to one of the crew,must be called in to the shop for us to determine a course of action. Then the owner would be called and told what we would do or not do. The crew had a strict policy to follow or risk write ups,because if they are working extra and we are paying them and no one is paying us,its a big problem. When you are in business as long as our family business has been,you can kind of pick and choose who you work for but it is difficult to balance all the needs of the customers while maintaining your bottom line. Every customer thinks their needs should be first on top of the list. With contracts,we got 1/3 down before we even touched the yard. We would put in wording on weather related delays or even wording about an unexpected increase in growth of said lawn which would require more time put into maintaining or increased amount of times being at that lawn in a week. You have to cover your butt. The big contract sound like winning the lottery but 10 small contracts may end up better in the long run and cause you less stress. Great video and keep up the great work,it will put you where you want to be.

Your prior clients, even if they are smaller paying accounts make up your bread and butter bro. You did the correct thing by declining that potential client's offer to do their business. You never ever want to throw all your eggs in one basket with one large clients account when it puts your pre-existing clients accounts in risk of dropping your services and looking for a new vender to replace your services. Again, lesson learned and you almost allowed yourself to cut off your noise to despite your face in the long run, just happy your realized what you would had eventually cost yourself in the long run my friend. Best wishes to you and your future endeavors.