[YvonneandScott]

My husband has serious lawn skills and is thinking he will start mowing Court Yard Villas as a business. He mows our grass in a Patio Villa. He is a veteran and needs to stay busy.
Do you think this is a good idea? I saw some posts where people asked for this service. He has all the equipment he brought with us from NC. We are FT here so what are your thoughts? Thanks

[LAFwUs]

If he could advertise that his 'push mowing' wont wake the residents & neighbors up at 6:45AM like the un-muffled gas powered crews that come thru here, he might do really well.
Seriously though, is this biz idea scalable? If it catches on, that is something to consider.
Best of luck to him, I think its an awesome win-win idea!

[Crkt&RF]

Originally Posted by YvonneandScott

My husband has serious lawn skills and is thinking he will start mowing Court Yard Villas as a business. He mows our grass in a Patio Villa. He is a veteran and needs to stay busy.
Do you think this is a good idea? I saw some posts where people asked for this service. He has all the equipment he brought with us from NC. We are FT here so what are your thoughts? Thanks

Let me know if you do… 😊

[Two Bills]

OP.
Another thread on subject, and a few prospective customers.
I thought there was a good business opportunity for someone willing to push mow!

Need a Push Mower Lawn Mowing Bagging Service

"...and this time next year Rodney, we'll all be millionaires!!"
Del Boy. 'Only fools and horses.'

[retiredguy123]

If all he does is mow grass, he will have a lot of competition at about $40 per month. But, if he also periodically trims the shrubs and sprays for weeds in the shrub area, he will have less competition and can charge a little more. I have Massey because they do everything: mowing, weed control, shrub trimming, lawn treatment, pest control, and irrigation maintenance. They are not cheap and not the best, but I only need to deal with one company, and I don't need to pay them any money in advance. If the mower breaks a sprinkler head, I don't need to argue with anyone about who is responsible. They also answer the phone and they have a website where you can request a service and they will respond. It is sad to say it, but, if you just answer the phone, you will be way ahead of half of your competition.

[dewilson58]

Provide quality, reliable, service..................he will be very successful.

[Normal]

It’s almost the season where no one needs their grass cut. A monthly buzz at best till March.

[Michigan Farmer]

He'll have all the work he wants, especially if he'll do the larger lawns, 3-4k square feet. Bagging just adds more $. I have more work than I want but actually had a lady offer me $100 per month for a patio villa with a back lawn no bigger than 200 square feet just to have someone dependable. We settled on $50 per month cut twice a month.

[MrFlorida]

Sounds like a great idea, but don't do it out of your garage, otherwise the two ladies with a clip board will report you.

[Pondboy]

My two cents ; It’s one thing to do a lawn / gardening / landscaping as a hobby, another to do it multiple times per day x 5 or even 7 times a week. Especially with a push mower in the heat and humidity that is Florida.

Ideally, you would want to get a number of customers really close to each other so you spend more time mowing vs driving your truck / trailer from one to another. If you do decide to offer weed spraying, you will need to study and pass a test to get a license to apply herbicides. This license will need to be renewed on a regular basis. Keep in mind all the book keeping that goes along with running a business ; taxes, collections, invoicing, insurance. If you employ someone, that’s a even bigger hassle.

If money is not the issue and you just like doing it to keep yourself busy…..and perhaps find a sense of fulfillment. Offer your services for free or at a reduced price to those less fortunate.

[Blackbird45]

It sounds like a great idea, but let's not forget a job is a job. A job is a commitment, once you take on something on like this you have to understand people will expect you to show up when you're scheduled, no excuses. To me it looks like a recipe to lose friends and neighbors.

[msilagy]

Free? I don't think so. It's a great idea if it's close and he doesn't take on too many customers. Think about potential liability issues that could arise, reporting income, etc.

[banjobob]

Think of it as a hobby , customers if they are paying want service on a regular basis hot , cold, rain, shine. If doing it for free same applies .personally I prefer to pay a good reliable mower and trimmer . We have had the same crew doing our villa for over 10 years .

[bowlingal]

post his advertisement also in the Nextdoor site. And what village is he in and how far will he go?

[Janie123]

If he just wants to stay busy and money is not the reason, I suggest joining the Habitat for Humanity Villages club. They provide similar services to homes in and around TV for people who can’t do it themselves and the risk of running a business out of your home goes away. Other services they provide are planting and small home repairs both in and outside the house. The money they receive goes to their home build fund. Currently they build 1 home a year and want to move to 2 soon.

Just a suggestion…