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• PRO

  Phil Voice February 24, 2009 at 6:49pm

  Great to hear you are gearing up for the first job Sweetpea:-0))
  
  Grass cut min. £15.00 (if it is your machine)
  
  Baskets - Get an idea of what the local centres charge for the same and either pop in below or at least match the price.
  
  All the best
  
  Phil
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  Sweetpea February 24, 2009 at 6:58pm

  Hi Phil,
  
  Thanks for that.
  
  I was looking to charge alot less than that because they live next door and it will be a weekly ongoing job.It seems a lot if it only takes say 20mins?Do people really pay that much to get their lawn cut?
  
  I guess I havent ever charged anyone for my services before and its a bit difficult asking people for money!!!!
• PRO

  Phil Voice February 24, 2009 at 7:13pm

  I personally would reduce the price for neighbours but insist that it does not interfere with my normal day of work.
  
  In my business' formative years I would do a ten hour day on-site and try to find small jobs to do on the way home. It is amazing how much extra money can be accumulated doing this over a year.
  
  ....and, if you think that they expect less than what you feel is reasonable, politely decline - best all round IMO.
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  Classic Gardens February 24, 2009 at 7:15pm

  I have no minimum and for a single small postage stamp lawn i charge around a fiver.
  
  I know its a small amount but the recomendations i get from that one job are worth there weight in gold
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  Tim Haywood February 24, 2009 at 7:20pm

  I would charge an hour for the cut - £17. That will give you plenty of time to do an excellent job. You have to start somewhere and securing the work can only help to get your name out there. Also, nothing beats a 30 second commute!
• PRO

  Phil Voice February 24, 2009 at 7:22pm

  An alternative, and I have agreed this way forward on a job (not grass cutting) I have been asked to do today, is do the first cut and assess the time and price afterwards.
  
  Always take into consideration the weather conditions and how it might effect future cuts.
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  GORDON February 24, 2009 at 7:37pm

  I would suggest that you should not charge less than £10.00 including trimming the edges, with the customer being responsible for disposing of the grass cuttings. However, you need to think what is best for you. For instance if the lady across the road asks you to cut the front (small) lawn only, then £6.00 may well be enough, if done at the same time. For the first cut there is normally still some leaves and debris around and about. I normally have a quick blow round to get the leaves and debris onto the lawn before you cut. Then when you blow around after strimming or edging you will not blow a load of rubbish onto your freshly cut lawn. Whatever you do, even if you do not yet have a blower, don't forget to tidy up any cut grass that is lying about. Don't fall into the trap of cutting lawns within the hourly rate. It should remain separate at a fixed price as you should be aiming to be done and dusted in about half an hour. When you have a complete full round, then for new clients, or clients who only require lawn mowing every 2 weeks then you may well wish to charge £13 to £15 for the same size lawn.
  For any other work in the garden I would start at £12 per hour. This can be increased as and when.
  
  Good luck
• PRO

  Phil Voice February 24, 2009 at 9:10pm

  Hi Niall
  
  I didn't say free. I think that timing the first cut is a first way of setting the price for the season.
  
  Kind regards
  
  Phil
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  Dave Sewell February 24, 2009 at 9:37pm

  Sweetpea,
  A thought! Leaflet drop the rest of the street and see if anybody else wants theirs cut as well. The more
  you get the lower you can price each garden.
  Dave
  www.the-gardenmakers.co.uk
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  Graeme @ BGS February 24, 2009 at 10:01pm

  The fact they live next door is irrelevant!
  
  The prices I have quoted are based upon the average going rate within my particular area and may be slightly higher or lower then others.
  
  I would charge £30 for the 1st cut regardless of how little may be taken off (but charge more if very long).
  
  The price for follow up cutting would be based on the assumption of undertaking 29 additional cuts and charge £20 for each cut but get them to pay by monthly standing order (i.e, 29 X £20 / 12 = monthly SO price.) Else £25 per cut.
  
  You may want to discount this as they live next door by a few pounds but resist this if you can..
  
  If you under charge them you will soon start to regret and loath cutting the lawn when you know it should be worth a lot more to you. However the main reason for not undercharging is that word will soon get around (hopefully as you will ask them for referrals) and their friends will expect a similar price structure.
  
  If you want another method of working out cutting price. I would charge £1.50 - £2.00 per minute for time actually spent trimming, blowing and cutting. As Phil suggested, cut the lawn for an agreed price and gauge the price thereafter but bear in mind when the grass really kicks in you will be spending a tad more time cuttng!
  
  I do agree that if you can get more clients in the same street the price can be lowered slightly as less travel time etc. I have three to four clients in quite a few of the roads we cut but it doesn’t reduce the time spent actually cutting!