About the Landscape Juice Network

Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.

LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry

LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.

For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.

In a previous life, open all hours, 52½ a week at work, 5½ days a week. 

 

Then, at home say 2 hours a night,  planning, figures etc. 

 

So, 2834 working hours through the year, and average of 54½ hours per week.  Not counting Sundays through Summer watering, the customer arriving at 5:30 p.m. when we close, and so on.

 

Holidays, well we "close" from Xmas to New Year, but still have to go in and check on our plants, so that'll be no holidays then :-(

 

Although for our new business we close at 4:00 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m. closing the gate, does not mean finishing work.

 

What about you?

 

 

 

 

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • I think anyone who has there own business works one way or another or thinks about work (sub conciously) 365 days per year...there is always something or someones project to think about, after all its 6pm on a Sunday and I am figuring out how to bring a 90K job down to 50k without being told a budget from the start and still give people what they want, I am always planning the next few months and the rest of the year.. and still want to watch top gear tonight....
  • At the moment im working 6 days a week 7-4 and 9-4 on sat, then when im home i hve clients to contact, quotes to follow up, invoicing etc, so ill probabaly get an hour or so to myself.
  • PRO

    up and out for 7.30 every morning and get back home anytime between 7 and 8pm sometimes a little later due to meeting customers, do my quotations as soon as i get home and either email that night or post the following day then start work on my websites until the early hours of the morning

     

    this is normally 7 days a week but every few weeks if i can i will have a Sunday off to recharge my batteries, a working week can be over 100 hours but i enjoy every minute of it

     

    the only days i don't work is Christmas day and New Years day

  • Out before 8am home before 3pm, Monday to Thursday, Home around 1pm Fridays don't work weekends at all. Approx 30 hrs a week.  Don't take any breaks in the day at all. Grab a sandwich in the van. Take a month off in winter and odd days throughout the year.
  • Perhaps a Landscaper you can choose your hours, but as a Nursery we cannot.  We are expected to be open and serve customers, every week of the the year.

     

    Growing plants is like growing cows, of whatever farmers do, it is everyday.

     

    J, H & K playing up on the keyboard, no errors, hope not....

     

    ROWLY HILL said:

    This is going to turn into the Monty Python Yorkshire men sketch....."eeeeeh you were lucky"!

     

    I got up before I went to bed....tell the kids of today that and they wouldn't believe you!

     

    In a previous life - 4.30am to 7pm, breakfast and lunch time ringing suppliers etc etc, field work til dark and overnight/early morning calvings....sometimes no sleep at all, 365 days a year.

     

    Thats no life its an existence.

     

    Now I work as many hours as I need to, earn what I need to but take time off ( which is important) and two holidays a year ( because I can and want to).

     

     I dictate the terms and do not let my business run my life...I run it.

  • Totally agree Rowly, would not have any other way.

     

    Just good to hear what everyone else does

     



    ROWLY HILL said:

    I'm not quite sure how to reply to that Steve

     

    Hey self employment - it's a life style choice:-)

    T & S Plants said:

    Perhaps a Landscaper you can choose your hours, but as a Nursery we cannot.  We are expected to be open and serve customers, every week of the the year.

     

    Growing plants is like growing cows, of whatever farmers do, it is everyday.

     

    J, H & K playing up on the keyboard, no errors, hope not....

     

    ROWLY HILL said:

    This is going to turn into the Monty Python Yorkshire men sketch....."eeeeeh you were lucky"!

     

    I got up before I went to bed....tell the kids of today that and they wouldn't believe you!

     

    In a previous life - 4.30am to 7pm, breakfast and lunch time ringing suppliers etc etc, field work til dark and overnight/early morning calvings....sometimes no sleep at all, 365 days a year.

     

    Thats no life its an existence.

     

    Now I work as many hours as I need to, earn what I need to but take time off ( which is important) and two holidays a year ( because I can and want to).

     

     I dictate the terms and do not let my business run my life...I run it.

  • All my clients are local so no need for silly 'o'clock starts, out the door approx 8.45 and back for 5-5.30, plus an hour or so for admin etc, in a previous life i had to be at work for 7am, with my own business im sure as hell not doing that anymore!

    work occasional Saturdays if needed but not that often, i like my 'me' time and being with the kids

    Like Rowly said, i run the business it doesnt run me, i work hard and want to succeed but there has to be a balance, i admire those who can work 24/7 and still enjoy it, but its not for me.

  • when I did garden design and maintenance it used to be mad from 6:30 till 19:00 and sometimes 22:00, no breaks .6 days  a week. one shorter. than the children came and a partner gone , so I sold the maitenance part and did only garden design and make. 3.5 days 9-12 hours , half an hour break in the middle.

     

    Now as a retailer 6 days as much as I can, but as working from home with 3 daughters and wife , it has its limitation. no complains. I enjoy it now

     

  • It varys for me with the work load, if we are booked up quite a bit in advance and have to get everything done i wont think tice of doing 8-7 on site weekdays 9-5 sat and 10-4 on sundays then of course after that its the quoting and other admin, also to keep costs down I usualy pick up at least 1 labouor, they have to be droped off after site. So in the spring summer too many hours as i can be up quoting until 1 or 2 in the morning sometimes.

    Winter though its 8-4 as that is all light will alow on site usualy only 5 or 6 days a week and less quotes etc to do so usualy only an hour or so each night.

     

    I love it though, i get a huge buzz of being really busy, then its nice to have all the rewards after too!

  • Have to work around the kids as I do the school run, so afraid it's around school hours. Not as full time as you guys so from 9am until 3pm. I don't do paperwork during the evenings and take off Fridays to do it all instead. I have to make sure that the business does not run me and find it difficult to get any spare time with the business, kids, constant housework etc.... The work/life thing is very difficult and I struggled badly with it last year and the year before that and so on............
This reply was deleted.

Trade green waste centres

<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-WQ68WVXQ8K"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-WQ68WVXQ8K'); </script>

LJN Sponsor

Advertising

PRO Supplier

At Centurion Club in St Albans, course manager Andy Garland knows every inch of the golf course because he helped build it from the ground up. Today, as the club continues to host some of the biggest events in professional golf, Andy relies on…

Read more…