Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Geoffrey King North Yorkshire on October 30, 2011 at 20:56

My plan is to convince customers that during the winter that gardeners are not like Hedgehogs, which hibernate and don't need to eat, etc

but actually still need to earn money all year

 

so Yes we will be doing your garden, even through the cold & frost, best time to sort it out.

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Permalink Reply by 3cmzcwwoeipzi on October 31, 2011 at 15:23

personaly after 12 years in the trade , i believe YOU CANNOT make a living between the months dec to march soley gardening ! working outside yes doin other work such as gutters etc , but this isnt gardening ! as said contract work and paid by 12 monthly instalments is the way forward if you can get it !  im not sure what some have found to do between these months as i have been either snowed in or iced in for weeks at a time during these months , if soley a domestic profider i would strongly recomend looking for another source of employment work in the winter months   

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Paul McNulty on October 31, 2011 at 16:26

I rely on contract income, probably over half my work pays year-round, but there is usually something to do in winter as has been said here. I've lined up some small fencing jobs I can do on my own, things like that, but if the weather is really awful then I'd rather stay off the ground and avoid doing damage.

 

Rather than look for other things, I work all the hours when I can. This weekend I managed all day Saturday and half Sunday, for instance, so I don't feel guilty if there's a few weeks I can't work. There's plenty to do around the house if I'm snowed in or rained off, ask my better half how long the list is she's preparing! The key is to save enough over nine months to have three months off, then any winter work is a bonus.

TGC said:

personaly after 12 years in the trade , i believe YOU CANNOT make a living between the months dec to march soley gardening ! working outside yes doin other work such as gutters etc , but this isnt gardening ! as said contract work and paid by 12 monthly instalments is the way forward if you can get it !  im not sure what some have found to do between these months as i have been either snowed in or iced in for weeks at a time during these months , if soley a domestic profider i would strongly recomend looking for another source of employment work in the winter months   

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Jen@A&J Owenwindows&gardens on October 31, 2011 at 16:38

I agree about the 9 months versus 3 months. I have squirrelled away money in the bank so if we can't work then it's no disaster. That being said if it's possible to work safely we do but if there's 2 feet of snow outside we can just relax!

Paul McNulty said:

I rely on contract income, probably over half my work pays year-round, but there is usually something to do in winter as has been said here. I've lined up some small fencing jobs I can do on my own, things like that, but if the weather is really awful then I'd rather stay off the ground and avoid doing damage.

 

Rather than look for other things, I work all the hours when I can. This weekend I managed all day Saturday and half Sunday, for instance, so I don't feel guilty if there's a few weeks I can't work. There's plenty to do around the house if I'm snowed in or rained off, ask my better half how long the list is she's preparing! The key is to save enough over nine months to have three months off, then any winter work is a bonus.

TGC said:

personaly after 12 years in the trade , i believe YOU CANNOT make a living between the months dec to march soley gardening ! working outside yes doin other work such as gutters etc , but this isnt gardening ! as said contract work and paid by 12 monthly instalments is the way forward if you can get it !  im not sure what some have found to do between these months as i have been either snowed in or iced in for weeks at a time during these months , if soley a domestic profider i would strongly recomend looking for another source of employment work in the winter months   

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Anthony @ JDC Maintenance on October 31, 2011 at 21:02

This is exactly what i do, my charge out rate is calculated on the assumption i am only working 40 wks a year so any work in the winter months, dec-Feb is a nice bonus. Last year i ended up working half of December, the odd day here and there in January and then half of February!
I also have some 12 month contract work for communal grounds maintenance, run by residents associations, so these also help keep the bank balance healthy over the winter along with the one offs that come along.

I dont work all hours and/or weekends during the main season to make up for the winter slow time, just charge accordingly for the busy times to cover most if not all of the quiet times ;-)

I value my work/life balance above loads of extra income

 

Jenny@ A & J Owen Gardening said:

I agree about the 9 months versus 3 months. I have squirrelled away money in the bank so if we can't work then it's no disaster. That being said if it's possible to work safely we do but if there's 2 feet of snow outside we can just relax!

Paul McNulty said:

I rely on contract income, probably over half my work pays year-round, but there is usually something to do in winter as has been said here. I've lined up some small fencing jobs I can do on my own, things like that, but if the weather is really awful then I'd rather stay off the ground and avoid doing damage.

Rather than look for other things, I work all the hours when I can. This weekend I managed all day Saturday and half Sunday, for instance, so I don't feel guilty if there's a few weeks I can't work. There's plenty to do around the house if I'm snowed in or rained off, ask my better half how long the list is she's preparing! The key is to save enough over nine months to have three months off, then any winter work is a bonus.

TGC said:

personaly after 12 years in the trade , i believe YOU CANNOT make a living between the months dec to march soley gardening ! working outside yes doin other work such as gutters etc , but this isnt gardening ! as said contract work and paid by 12 monthly instalments is the way forward if you can get it !  im not sure what some have found to do between these months as i have been either snowed in or iced in for weeks at a time during these months , if soley a domestic profider i would strongly recomend looking for another source of employment work in the winter months   

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Austin Powell-Allen on November 1, 2011 at 13:37

I always try to encourage my regulars to continue throughout the winter but as there finding it tight with finances thay have swapped from weekly during the summer to fortnightly and there are a few who are continuing through winter with this others who want monthly visits instead during winter months from Nov to March.

So its a tricky time with regulars and trying to explain the jobs that can be done during the winter its still fairly warm in Essex. So there is still grass cutting and rambling/ climbing roses to be done although its starting to slow now. Leaves will keep me busy too.

I have noticed it is quiter than last year but hoping that it will pick up and looking at other services to provide. Such as a plant list which I can give my customers with a percentage profit and for delivery included in the price and I am happy to plant them on my regular visits there by saving them the hastle of getting the car dirty and transporting plants home.

Its a good time to review your prices and business plan and performance for next year.

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Stuart @ Eco Garden Maintenance on November 1, 2011 at 16:53

I try to persuade customers to book in certain jobs for winter but it is not always successful. Must try harder!

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Permalink Reply by Andy Lawrence on November 1, 2011 at 17:12

Something that hasn't been mentioned too much is the weather.

I'm not talking about it being a bit chilly I'm talking about it being minus 17 degrees etc like last winter for days at a time. Having a rear wheel drive van meant I couldn't even move it out of my road in Glasgow for two weeks plus last winter.

As a result I ensure I make 90 per cent of my money from March to the end of November so that I'm covered for the winter period, whatever it brings.

 

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Dan Frazer Gardening on November 1, 2011 at 18:49

Too right Andy - you couldn't even trim hedges for the 6 inches of ice sitting on top of them!

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Permalink Reply by T & S Plants on November 1, 2011 at 19:51

This sadly is a popular misconception amoungst some within our industry.  Having dealt with and worked with this industry for 31 years, guess I have some experience in it. 

We and others at CL even had a joke about this, along the lines "these Maintenence people who have 4 months off every year must be secret millionaires, for who else in our industry can afford to take 4 months off" ? 

It is a popular misconception that Maintainence Gardeners do not sell plants to their clients, without this for our business, we would be dead!  Guess the point is, those that cannot or will not make the sale to add value to the project, this has to be the question. 

So is it lack of knowledge, or lack of sales technique to equip any business to work year round?

As a supplier, a Nursery we work with our customers, and do site visits free of charge to help with planting plans and general plant advice.  We start and end on the premise, that if our customers do well, then so do we.

So to all, find a supplier to help and support your business, it does work, and we have the figures to prove it works!

 

 

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Paul McNulty on November 1, 2011 at 20:21

Personally, I don't get involved much with supplying anything now I'm purely a maintenance business. The cash-flow isn't worth it, and I have to keep under the VAT threshold as 90% of my customers can't claim it back. Suddenly becoming 20% more expensive than other rivals isn't clever! If a client wants a couple of plants, it's not worth me going and buying them trade, adding a mark-up to cover my time, and then they moan that it's cheaper at Wyevale! When I was running larger projects I added anything I could possibly sell on to the customer, but not now.

 

I do push winter projects to clients, but they tend to be things like pressure-washing, taking a few overhanging branches off a tree, dividing or moving plants if the weather's suitable, that kind of thing.

 

I'm no millionaire, but working say 50 hours per week when the work's plentiful and the weather glorious does allow you to save up for the lean months. Add the bits of work you do from Dec-March, and some contract work paying year-round, and you should be able to take time off in winter without panicking. I work when I can, last Sunday I got in a few hours whilst the better half was clothes shopping. The alternatives were going with her, or staying at home doing nothing much, so it's not a hardship.

T & S Plants said:

It is a popular misconception that Maintainence Gardeners do not sell plants to their clients, without this for our business, we would be dead!  Guess the point is, those that cannot or will not make the sale to add value to the project, this has to be the question. 

So is it lack of knowledge, or lack of sales technique to equip any business to work year round?

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Permalink Reply by 3cmzcwwoeipzi on November 1, 2011 at 20:29

paul so so many good points you have made to running a sucsesfull business which is built around you , not you around it ! 

Paul McNulty said:

Personally, I don't get involved much with supplying anything now I'm purely a maintenance business. The cash-flow isn't worth it, and I have to keep under the VAT threshold as 90% of my customers can't claim it back. Suddenly becoming 20% more expensive than other rivals isn't clever! If a client wants a couple of plants, it's not worth me going and buying them trade, adding a mark-up to cover my time, and then they moan that it's cheaper at Wyevale! When I was running larger projects I added anything I could possibly sell on to the customer, but not now.

 

I do push winter projects to clients, but they tend to be things like pressure-washing, taking a few overhanging branches off a tree, dividing or moving plants if the weather's suitable, that kind of thing.

 

I'm no millionaire, but working say 50 hours per week when the work's plentiful and the weather glorious does allow you to save up for the lean months. Add the bits of work you do from Dec-March, and some contract work paying year-round, and you should be able to take time off in winter without panicking. I work when I can, last Sunday I got in a few hours whilst the better half was clothes shopping. The alternatives were going with her, or staying at home doing nothing much, so it's not a hardship.

T & S Plants said:

It is a popular misconception that Maintainence Gardeners do not sell plants to their clients, without this for our business, we would be dead!  Guess the point is, those that cannot or will not make the sale to add value to the project, this has to be the question. 

So is it lack of knowledge, or lack of sales technique to equip any business to work year round?

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