Replies to This Discussion

PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Gardens4u.co.uk on October 1, 2009 at 15:03

because its hard WORK
its lots of bending over , turning round etc etc
bagging up,digging as you say
you are doing every possible job in the garden !!! inc sweeping up
have you any power tools ??

i hope you are charging as it should be £150 minimum with tea ex waste away

Permalink Reply by Paul Rogers on October 1, 2009 at 17:07

Robin/Andy

Thanks for replying, you have made me feel alot better at what we are doing.

We are not bothered about the hard work, we were just concerned that we were working intelligently. Yes I do have power tools to assist when necessary and we do planting/re-planting and pruchase plants, bark etc on behalf of customers and we are always watered with tea & coffee whilst we work.

We are currently charging £140 plus £5 to remove waste for local jobs and £10 for jobs further afield to cover petrol as well.

As for the aches & pains I guess if you start hard graft at 47 it will take a while for the body to adjust to manual labour, if it ever does at our age.

Thanks

Paul

PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Gardens4u.co.uk on October 2, 2009 at 0:30

i think you should be charging £10-£20 per hour each minimum paul......................

im sure you are not wasting time ! or working un-intelligently - it does take time.

Permalink Reply by Steve Palmer on October 2, 2009 at 8:52

Hi Paul.
As someone who's about to go out and get my van equipment etc and start leafleting in earnest today I am so gled t hear you are 47. I'm 43 any a part of me was thinking I must be crackers going for this at my age. Gratifying to hear that you are so busy too.
cheers
steve

Paul Rogers said:

Robin/Andy

Thanks for replying, you have made me feel alot better at what we are doing.

We are not bothered about the hard work, we were just concerned that we were working intelligently. Yes I do have power tools to assist when necessary and we do planting/re-planting and pruchase plants, bark etc on behalf of customers and we are always watered with tea & coffee whilst we work.

We are currently charging £140 plus £5 to remove waste for local jobs and £10 for jobs further afield to cover petrol as well.

As for the aches & pains I guess if you start hard graft at 47 it will take a while for the body to adjust to manual labour, if it ever does at our age.

Thanks

Paul

Permalink Reply by Clive Rossington on October 3, 2009 at 15:14

Hi Paul
Addressing aches and pains, I really make sure I use tools that are sharp. Felco tools work for me, because they come in different sizes. I've got their secateurs with revolving finger grip, some loppers and some japanese shears that they sell. All of them are extremely sharp and designed to take the strain rather than impacting and straining my limbs. I really ache when the tools are not up to the job. Additionally being tall, I get long handled tools that are long enough so I'm not bending unnecessarily. And when I'm tired physically, I make sure that I get a massage or some reflexology to let go of the tension. That makes a huge difference. No fun being in pain.
Hoping this helps
Clive

Permalink Reply by Paul Rogers on October 5, 2009 at 22:40

Researched the Felco tools and liked what I saw. Have ordered a couple of their compact secateurs to see how we get on with them before ordering anything else. Thanks Clive.

As for our charging prices well we still get knocked back on these from time to time. We work together as I am still lacking in a lot of the basic plant knowledge that Jan has acquired over time and this is affecting my confidence when questioned or asked for advice by knowledgable customers. This will get better over time I know and eventually I will be able to say "I am a gardener" with conviction as right now I feel closer to a labourer.

Good luck to you Steve on what I assume is a new career? My career change was due to redundancy and 5 months unemployment and although it's physical and the learning curve for me is steep I do enjoy it (even today when it rained the whole time I was out!) plus I sleep well.

Paul

Permalink Reply by Geoffrey King North Yorkshire on November 17, 2009 at 21:01

Hi Paul,

Regarding your aches & pains, I had a knee op & my partner has a problem with her back, to alleviate the pain, we don't do hand weeding /kneeling jobs for more than 4 hours a day. We do something different the rest of the day.

We always BUT always use kneeling mats and I often put one under the hand when working alongside hard paths.
It makes a big difference.

Good luck with your business

Permalink Reply by Paul Rogers on November 24, 2009 at 21:26

Thanks Geoffrey, appreciate the advice.

Paul

Geoffrey King said:

Hi Paul,

Regarding your aches & pains, I had a knee op & my partner has a problem with her back, to alleviate the pain, we don't do hand weeding /kneeling jobs for more than 4 hours a day. We do something different the rest of the day.

We always BUT always use kneeling mats and I often put one under the hand when working alongside hard paths.
It makes a big difference.

Good luck with your business

Permalink Reply by Rob Glassborow on January 17, 2010 at 9:19

Hi there

in the beginning you will pick up alot of the scrag end of jobs that many have left, or the customer has not accepted their quote. It also sounds to me that you are too cheap. Firstly, consider if the garden has been left for a year without being tended to, and should have had say an hour a week for 40 weeks at least of the year. Now think about how much you are charging for quickly doing what should have been done in a years work. Secondly. £5 for waste, you may as well give them £5 and leave it there. Tip fees should be about £25 PLUS, per ton or anything there up to. So, how can it be viable for £5 for waste? You will also need to have a waste carriers licence to dispose at council, and private sites. Think how much a skip is, and if you had enough waste to fill a skip, you should charge for a skip, plus the time to dispose, if the client doesnt like that, then leave the disposal out of the quote, they will soon change their mind when they see what they have to deal with. Dont ever throw the disposal of the wast in with the price as a little add on. It is expensive to dispose of waste properly, and is a service of very high value to the customer, what else would they do with a skips worth of green waste taken from their garden if you didnt take it away.

It is often very hard to quote for elderly as they seem to think no further than gardeners doing it for the love, for a bit of money, and fail to see that a business in this day and age charges much higher, and it isnt just about an hourly wage. You are a business, and you must charge for Wage, Tax & NHI, Overheads, Insurances, PPE kit, plant and servicing, fuel and oil, and Profit. Think of what you do as providing a home service, not just a bit of weeding for a little bit of money.

The best book that I have ever come accross if 'How to start a gardening bussiness' by Paul Power. It covers all the things you will come accross, and hase case studies where he has beeen through all the early pitfalls himself.

Permalink Reply by Paul Rogers on January 18, 2010 at 16:16

A & J and Rob

Thanks for the comments.

It's always so obvious when someone points it out isn't it? And so simple as always. I'm talking about switching from task to task to allay repetitive work. Thanks A & J I'll be introducing this method wherever possible.

Rob I checked out Paul Power's book and the reviews and it seems there is a new version coming out on 1st May 2010 so I'll be ordering that, after reading it I may bring out a How Not to Start Up a Gardening Business:)



We are also reviewing our prices for 2010 and I think I will be using the 1 hour per week x 40 weeks = "this is what it could have cost you" on occasions that merit it.

Regards

Paul

Permalink Reply by Phil Holt on July 11, 2010 at 23:36

I couldnt agree more Rob, Paul Power's book is the bible for anyone starting out in this game. Also garden clearances do take time, especially if they've been left for a number of years and can produce a lot of waste. Most customers don't seem to realise how much of a headace/expensive getting rid of waste can be. They assume you can just take it to the council tip on the way home for nish!! I use a brilliant place between Bristol & Bath, Hintons Organics at Charlton field, Queen Charlton, who recycle all green waste into excellent compost. They are cheap compared to other places but it still costs at least £15 - £30 for a part loaded, pick -up truck. Factor in diesel, your time and effort, loading/ unloading plus the cost of a waste transfer licence and you can soon see the necessity of charging adequetly for tipping, a lot of gardeners don't realise this when 1st starting out.

Rob Glassborow said:

Hi there

in the beginning you will pick up alot of the scrag end of jobs that many have left, or the customer has not accepted their quote. It also sounds to me that you are too cheap. Firstly, consider if the garden has been left for a year without being tended to, and should have had say an hour a week for 40 weeks at least of the year. Now think about how much you are charging for quickly doing what should have been done in a years work. Secondly. £5 for waste, you may as well give them £5 and leave it there. Tip fees should be about £25 PLUS, per ton or anything there up to. So, how can it be viable for £5 for waste? You will also need to have a waste carriers licence to dispose at council, and private sites. Think how much a skip is, and if you had enough waste to fill a skip, you should charge for a skip, plus the time to dispose, if the client doesnt like that, then leave the disposal out of the quote, they will soon change their mind when they see what they have to deal with. Dont ever throw the disposal of the wast in with the price as a little add on. It is expensive to dispose of waste properly, and is a service of very high value to the customer, what else would they do with a skips worth of green waste taken from their garden if you didnt take it away.

It is often very hard to quote for elderly as they seem to think no further than gardeners doing it for the love, for a bit of money, and fail to see that a business in this day and age charges much higher, and it isnt just about an hourly wage. You are a business, and you must charge for Wage, Tax & NHI, Overheads, Insurances, PPE kit, plant and servicing, fuel and oil, and Profit. Think of what you do as providing a home service, not just a bit of weeding for a little bit of money.

The best book that I have ever come accross if 'How to start a gardening bussiness' by Paul Power. It covers all the things you will come accross, and hase case studies where he has beeen through all the early pitfalls himself.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Gillings @ DC inc on March 30, 2011 at 19:36

I too read Paul Power's book long before I started, to view an opinion on viability etc. Highly recommended.