Gardening business...start up advice.

Personally I would charge them by the hour as you are unlikely to know how long the hedge trimming etc is going to take. You'll also have to find out if they want the trimmings removed from site or not. If they do then that is extra time for you to take the trimming away,and possibly a dumping charge too?
Others on here may be able to give you a better idea of pricing but I do know that clearing up after trimming our significant amount of hedges trees etc takes way longer than actually doing the trimming. Conifer trimmings are a bu..er to sweep up if wet as they seem to get quite sticky so prey for a dry day and good luck.

 

Thanks, yes my problem is the waste at the moment, I've tried looking up about getting a licence but can't find a definite answer. I'm working from the back of my car at the moment so cuttings will be bagged and out in the back. I'm just unsure where to take it and even if I'm allowed.

 

If the waste is in bags in the back of your car you should get away with taking it to your local council tip. As long as you don't do it every day nobody will know any different.

The people around here that need gardeners are pensioners. If you can find yourself a row of sheltered bungalows you should do ok.

My paperwork is really simple. I keep a diary of all my appointments. I keep a daily record of money taken and add that at up at the end of the week for banking. I keep every receipt and record every purchase. These are filed in monthly folders. I record monthly takings and balance them against monthly expenses.

At the end of the year I give all my records to my accountant who then does the rest. If you get a decent accountant they will know all the ins and outs. Mine claims for household expenses like utilities or laundry. I have to keep a record of all my household bills. If you have a partner that works, there wages can also be used to offset tax. I think the accountant is value for money.

Licenses will be issued by the local council. Phone them up and talk to someone. As long winded as councils may be they will be more than willing to help. Don't skip licences. If you need one, make sure you get one. The consequences aren't worth it.

Your business will grow by word of mouth mostly. Do a good job and people will here about it. Do you have a local rag mag. If so, get yourself in it. I'm in 2. My village and the next. For a combined price of £50 every 4 months my advert is delivered to around 4000 houses. A leaflet drop won't give you that much coverage.

I use my home phone as my business phone. I believe it gives me a certain credibility. Everyone knows it's a) a genuine phone number and b) it's in the village. It's written in huge numbers on the side of my car and it sits outside my house. Everybody knows that's my car and they know where I live. One of the beauties of living in a country village.

I can't help with pricing because that's not my area but I will say it depends on the job and on the customer. If you are being asked to cut trees or trim hedges you will probably be asked to quote for the job first.

At the end of the day you will find your way. Relax and enjoy

G.

 

Most of my customers have a written contract that states payment details so for example I visit a customer, we chat and decide there and then the price I will then supply a letter detailing the contract and payment details. Most of mine are regular visits so I normally ask payment within 14 days and commercial within 1 calendar month.
If the work which all mine will be is over £35 I also supply a right to cancel which is a regulation and has to be supplied regardless. Many don't bother but you can be pulled up and hit hard.
If it's cash payment on the day then they receive an invoice that day and I keep a copy.

Round my neck of the woods the only sites for waste are council tips and they scale cost by weight so I always carry a copy of the charges just in case the customer wants the waste removed but most tend to not want pay the charge regarding waste as it's mighty expensive.

Good luck on your quote, it's never easy to start with. Be honest, be yourself and see how it goes.

 

The laws very simple now they have changed it. Any waste removed requires a licence and it's a 2 band tier and green waste is lower tier and free. All other waste is higher tier and that requires a payment.
So grass, hedge and all things green is free but fence, stone, soil is higher tier.
You will get away with it in your car but if caught you end up with a fine and the customer can end up with a fine too.
Use the link on the first page I provided, it's free for what you require, local councils don't issue waste carriers licences, it's part of the Environment Agency who handle this.

 

I've now applied and got my lower tier licence. Really easy, took less than 10 mins and an email sent confirming. At least now I can take waste away if needed legally!
Leaflets posted, word is spreading so hopefully fingers crossed the work starts to come in slowly but surely.

 

Been to look at another job, do you tell them a price straight away? I said I'll work out a price and get back to you.
This one I'm not sure. It's a front and back garden, both need tidying although it's just grass cutting and weeding....but ALOT of weeding. I'm unsure what to price I was thinking a couple of hundred but I don't want to appear expensive!

 

I think with experience you will be able to quote on the fly.

G.

 

Some I quote while there and confirm by written quote and others need to be sorted via a written quote after looking at the job. I also take photos so I can work out my costs and jobs on big quotes.
Weeding takes ages, it's one of those jobs that takes longer than you tend to think.
A lot of my work is regular so over a few visits you tend to get to grip with the work and as I like regular work as it's a steady income I don't do one offs anymore.
The hour vs set price is an interesting one, if say you quote £50 for a 2 hour visit customers work out its £25 per hour and if you quote per hour they know as well but here's the thing.
If you quote now for a job as a per hour rate say as an example £20 and it's cutting a hedge and you use say your electric hedge cutter it will take longer say 2 hours. Then you upgrade your equipment and again do the job but this time with a good petrol hedge cutter then you find you have finished the job in a fraction of the time say 45 mins and the more hedges you do the faster you work so the hourly rate then becomes very low income.
A good way of gaining customers from one offs is to suggest regular visits through the year. It works out well as they discover they don't have to work in the garden rather than a one off tidy then 6 months later it's the same again needing large amounts of tidying up. This way you have a regular income and the customer can relax.
I also like the fact that neighbours also see you on a regular basis and that's a great way of catching a few extra jobs. You can bunch them up on the same day and have min travel time but max income.
So there's a gamble involved, do you quote high for a one off, quote for regular visits. Sometimes the customer is selling up so you know a one off is on the books other times they mention they can't keep up with the garden work. As you chat you pick up clues on how to approach the work the best way to gain the work.
So let's say the job you have needs a cut and weeding, you could quote as an example £40 for 2 hours per fortnight so that's £80 for 4 hours a month so say 10 months is £800 a year. So say you had 30 hours of work per week at that rate it would be £600 per week or £2400 a month. It's just an example of what could be gained from regular work. Now on that you have tax, NI, expenses, a pension and all the rest of your out goings. as I say it's just a basic example as your pricing is down to you and not what I've set as the example.
I've just one hourly rate job, it's not the highest paid job at £25 per hour but it's 12 months a year, I do the garden, walk the dogs, do odd jobs around the house but I'm kindly invited to a weeks holiday at the end of my season and another before the start and other bits and bobs that keep me happy one day a week and the customer loves her day with me. I'm paid for 6 hours but I'm normally there at 6am till late as we normally have lunch out and dinner in. In the old days it's known as a companion.

 

Thanks so much do your help. This forum has been so so useful!
I'm getting my head around quotes now thankyou, I understand where you're coming from. I guess experience is key and that will come over time.
I've also taken out public liablitlybut worried now that £1million cover isn't enough? It's for public liabilit, no tools cover but tbh my tools mostly are second hand and don't owe me much.

 

@Newbienoidea charge what you think is fair and as time goes on, you can tweak your rates. It took me a few years to work out my pricing and now any increase to cover higher expenses can be recouped by a simple % rise across the board. The big thing is get your foot in that door and be sure not to carve your pricing in stone. I'm sure you'll do well

 

Thanks. Yes at the moment I'm trying not to get too bogged down in running costs or expenses etc. I'm trying to work out a price so that I'm making a profit but not looking into it to deeply. I just want to get some experience first. It's been a lot of time and definitely a lot of thinking to get to even this stage, I'll be glad when things start to settle and I get into a bit of a 'rythym'

 

A couple of jobs done! One very big job, customer was very pleased and wants me back regularly every couple of weeks to keep on top of both gardens. Had to turn a job down, customer was very unsure of what he wanted, had visions beyond what I could offer unfortunately but I guess that's the name of the game! Quiet at the moment, possibly a job in the pipeline next week so we will see. Been to quote a few jobs and never hear back...I guess you get that a lot? Still leaflet posting around different areas and still lots of places to do.
Not used to this free time I have! Quite enjoying It actually Hopefully more work soon!

 

That sounds very positive in terms of regular work. Word of mouth will help as people who are pleased with your work will recommend you to others. Smart move to turn down that job.... if he didn't know what he wanted, he would have just blamed you if it didn't suit him. Well done so far . Love hearing how you are getting on!

 

Thanks! I was in two minds about turning it down but I think I did the right thing!
It's a slow start but maybe that's not a bad thing....fingers crossed for more work!