Landscape Marketing http://RaiseurRevenue.com By Tac Cramatie. Are you a Landscaper looking to Raise your revenue Learn timed tested techniques to boost Revenue in your Landscape business with better   more...Landscape Marketing.bamboo landscape landscape picture landscape marketing landscape sales landscape architects landscape marina landscape montgomery landscape worker photography landscape landscape yard water landscape landscape lighting  less

http://homecontractorsdirect.com/article/Exterior-Home-Renovations/landscaping-design/292/You crapper speech to those at your local being store about which type of plants and flowers power impact best   more...for this where you live.  less

http://homecontractorsdirect.com/article/Exterior-Home-Renovations/landscaping-plan/280/These kinds of things matter and module have whatever conception of the evacuation aspect mentioned above when it   more...comes to your horticulture plan.  less

http://www.gopherforum.com - Where your phone number should appear in your lawn care website.

You would think by the title of this article, the story below would be so simple you didn’t even have to read   more...it but that is certainly not the case. Most lawn care business owners don’t put much time into where their phone number should appear. Just ask yourself where does your phone number appear? One of our forum members had some great information to share in this post at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum.

He said You want your phone number PROMINENTLY displayed. You want to make sure you edit your html meta tag description to include your phone number first so your search engine listing will display your lawn care business like this.

http://www.your-lawn-care-business.com - 111-222-3333 Joe’s lawn care blah blah blah blah blah lawn care in Your City blah blah blah blah blah ….

For those that don’t know, I asked him what is the importance of having your phone number in that location? Why is it so important?

He responded by saying Let’s say you lawn care services in Somewhere, Arkansas.

Your would want to make your web TITLE to read Somewhere Arkansas Lawn Care Service

Your DESCRIPTION would be (assuming this is your website name):

http://www.SomewhereLawnCare.com 111-222-3333 Somewhere Arkansas lawn care? We are the lawn service leaders in Somewhere Arkansas. We specialize in landscaping, lawn care, landscape lighting and sprinkler systems in the Somewhere Arkansas area.

The phone number will show up in the link desciption on the search engine (depending on the link.)

Meaning they may not even visit your site first, because they found what they want, a phone number.

The easier you make it to have people contact you, the more contacts you will get.

This is great information and I do hope this gets you thinking on how to alter your lawn care business website to display your phone number and contact information.

Marketing your lawn care business only with lawn care business cards?

Brandon wrote Well these last few weeks I have been completely covered with work. I have picked up several new yard accounts, plus 6 tree removal jobs at about $700 each (average). I have picked up 3 brush clearing jobs. One at $600, one at $1,900, and another at $4,250.

That is great news! Can you give us your advice on how you stay busy? What should other lawn care business owners be doing or thinking about in order to get back on track? Especially if they recently got started?

Brandon replied “Well, Most of my work comes from repeat business and referrals. Most of my new business comes from craigslist. I have never spent any money on advertising, except business cards. I have a theory that once you start paying for advertising, you will need to keep paying to keep the work flow coming, so I’ve tried to avoid it from day one.

I would suggest just putting yourself out there, and never turn down an opportunity to talk about work with someone. I have started up conversations with MANY people about what I do, and the next thing I knew I was giving a bid to them, or someone they knew.

So I guess, talk, talk, talk, and put yourself out there. Let everyone know what you are doing, and don’t be afraid to ask someone if they need something done. A lot of the same things you have been saying on the forum.  less

http://www.gopherforum.com Which lawn care business logo would you choose?

At first glance, you would think choosing a lawn care business logo would be easy. Just pick the one that for whatever reason,   more...stands out to you. Maybe the color, maybe the boldness, maybe the way it looks on your truck. But as we will see in this discussion there is more to choosing a lawn care business logo than just those issues.

Lawn guy wrote on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum opinions please, there is one lawn care business logo I like the best but I want to get a general opinion on this thanks.

Tom wrote I like the smiley face logo one the best. The smiling face says Im confident and want to be a friend of the customer. You will be as happy with the results as I am producing them.

Lawn guy responded I like that one also. I live in a very rural country area were everyone is kind of scared/shy of big businesses so I think it kinda shows a home town feel too. I am not exactly sure why, but its just different. Its more personal and associated rather than an industrial or high tech style logo. Does that make any sense?

Tom: It does to me! Seek friendship and indicate your desire to help solve their problems.

I like the idea as well. I do feel it conveys friendliness and fun. It makes me think the owner would be approachable and easy to work with. You could have business cards that say Steve The Lawn Guy. And then you could become known in your area as the lawn guy. You could make promotional videos that teach viewers about lawns and lawn care. The more you become the go to guy for lawns the more you will be able to sell your lawn care services!

Great points everyone and I am very glad to see how much thought goes into choosing the best lawn care business logo for your area. If you would like to join in on this discussion further, visit the post at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum.

Top voted lawn care equipment.

Spring is in the air and many lawn care businesses are looking to buy new lawn care equipment. But before you go out and buy it, check the Gopher Forum equipment review section. There you can review what equipment other lawn care business owners are using. What they recommend and what they wont buy again. You can also see a listing of deals on new and used lawn mowers, line trimmers, leaf blowers plus many other categories.

Lets take a look at a pie chart that shows the voting for lawn mowers. As you can see, the top three lawn mowers voted by the members of the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum are the Exmark Lazer Z, the Walker Model MT and Toros model 74901. Consider these mowers when you are looking to equip your lawn care business.

Next up is the most voted for line trimmers. The top models chosen are the Echo SRM 2305, the Stihl FS90R, and the Tanaka TBC 225. Make sure you get on the Gopher Forum to submit your vote and product reviews of your favorite lawn care equipment.

Last but not least is the most voted for back pack leaf blowers. The most voted for leaf blower is the Husqvarna 150BT. That model is followed up by the Stihl BR 550. Lastly the Troy Bilt 269580 blower wraps up the top 3 list.

Many reasons can effect why a leaf blower, line trimmer or mower make the top of the list. It could be price, durability or functionality. Each one of these products seem to have just what the members of the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum were looking for to help keep their lawn care businesses running at full speed.

Remember your vote counts, so get on the Gopher Forum today and tell us which equipment you liked and which you didnt!

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial v  less

http://www.TRANQUILSETTINGSLANDSCAPING.COM
Guaranteed To Have You Taking Outstanding Landscape Photographs Even If You Have A Really Basic Camera.

http://homecontractorsdirect.com/article/Exterior-Home-Renovations/Use-landscaping-stones/291/ You crapper ingest horticulture stones to pronounce certain portions of your yard, you crapper modify plant   more...some plants in these horticulture stones.  less

Landscaping in greenville,sc

http://Landscaping-SanDiego.com Everyone wants to do their part to make a contribution to the environment and make Earth a better place. One superb way to start in a practical practical sense is right   more...in your own backyard. Following are some systems on the way to create an ecological and a gorgeous yard in the San Diego area.<br /><br />The temperature and average yearly rainfall in this part of the country can make landscaping your yard challenging. The heat in the summertime months as well as the dryness makes it virtually not possible to grow some of the favored plants that thrive in wetter, cooler climates. Your best chance ( and this is better for the environment as well) is to grow native plants that will be evolved to the categorical climate and soils of San Diego. One native grass is buffalo grass, found throughout the southern plants. This needs small water. Local plants are known to want less water and have stronger colors than non-native plants. The native plants will also enjoy the very climate that the non-native plants have trouble growing in. After you seed your yard, pick a number of plants that may go many days without watering. These sorts of plant are known as drought-resistant plants, and can be found at any home improvement store. <br /><br />Better Plants for the San Diego Area <br /><br />Many plants will be right at home in the climate and soil conditions of North Texas. Bee Relief is a plant that flowers first in the late spring than in the summer. Best known for attracting bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, Bee Relief a great option for the San Diego area. A local nursery can be another great source of information on what to plant in your neighborhood. Fruit trees are another good option for this area as well as pecan trees, favored for their nuts. <br /><br />Some of the local flowers are available in white, pink, lavender and burgundy. Daylilies are also a good option for the San Diego area. These are larger flowers with 6 petals. They come in all things from light yellow to dark red. Though many daylilies only flower in the morning, some species stay open till evening depending on the kind of flower and the location. <br /><br />Find New San Diego Watering Strategies <br /><br />When you water your yard, it is vital to try to water in such a way that it is green. You can preserve water, save cash, and have a gorgeous yard all at the same time. Once consideration is that if you have a big garden, you may need to consider a drip irrigation system for your plants. Using any of the hand watering strategies like a sprinkler, watering can, or house isn't truly the simplest way to water plants. You lose water to evaporation when you use these strategies. Drip irrigation gives a trustworthy source of water to your plants with minimal water loss.<br /><br />Another truly excellent way to preserve water is to capture your own rain water for use on plants. Some people choose to make their own rain barrel, while others purchase a rain water harvesting system. It is neat to see how much water can be purchased in a single rainy afternoon. These are both good options for keeping a healthy garden while saving money and conserving water.<br />.<br />http://Landscaping-SanDiego.com Landscaping San Diego Supersource<br /><br />Landscaping San Diego. Finding Landscaping San Diego is now just a click away. Looking for Landscaping San Diego? We will provide you with Landscaping San Diego that provides creativity, dedication and diversity.<br /><br />With so many options for Landscaping San Diego you have come to the right source. Landscaping San Diego is making friend after friend. A satisfied client after the next is our commitment to your Landscaping San Diego hunting experience.<br /><br />If you are in or know someone who is in need of just the right type of Landscaping San Diego, just click on http://Landscaping-SanDiego.com to start our extraordinary Landscaping San Diego service experience that produces results  less

http://www.washingtoncurb.com, specializing in exposed aggregate, colored & stamped landscape lawn curbing. Licensed, bonded & insured. 888-944-CURB.

http://www.washingtoncurb.com, specializing in exposed aggregate, colored & stamped landscape lawn curbing. Licensed, bonded & insured. 888-944-CURB.

Atlanta Landscaping http://www.JacobsLandscape.com Atlanta landscaping for residential and commercial properties in the NE and NW sections of Atlanta. Atlanta landscaping specialists. 404-329-0408

This is a wonderful way to spend time, and it also removes stress.

Marin County Landscaping 888-697-3670 http://www.MarinCountyLandscaping.info Call for a free quote.

http://www.bluejayconst.com Santa Clarita Wrought Iron, Santa Clarita Lawn Care, Pools Santa Clarita, Contractors Santa Clarita, Patios Santa Clarita, Block Walls Santa Clarita,

http://www.gopherforum.com - Have you spent much time thinking about your lawn care customer sales funnel? Many newer lawn care businesses don’t think about this so I thought it would be a good idea to   more...bring it to their attention.

What is a sales funnel? Well think of it as a big scoop. You want to go out there and scoop up as many potential customers as you can when you broadcast your marketing message. Then you want to reel them in step by step. You want to offer something and then get something from the potential customer.

Then offer a little something more and then get something more from them. You keep this process going in your sales funnel until you have the customer signed up for services. Ultimately you want to take the customer from step A to step Z, one step at a time.

A lot of newer lawn care businesses don’t understand this and they tend to rush the sale with the end result of losing it. They want to take the potential customer from step A to step Z all in one step.

So how do you take the potential customer in step by step. Say for instance first off in your advertising, you say call my phone number 24 hours a day and listen to my voice recorded message on the 7 secret steps every homeowner needs to know to obtain a full and lush green lawn. What this then allows the potential customer to do is call your number knowing full well you won’t pick up the phone. They can call and listen to your 7 secret steps and not have to be on the defensive from an sales pitch. The potential customer also can feel free to call 24 hours a day at any time.

At the end of the message you can say something to the effect of, “if you’d like further help or assistance in maintaining your lawn please leave your name and number at the beep and I will promptly return your call. I offer free estimates with no obligation and I am fully insured.” This then will prompt the potential customer to leave their contact information so you can take your interaction with them to the next step. You gave them a little helpful information and they give you a little helpful information. They will feel comfortable and you will feel good that they feel comfortable.

Another similar concept you can do even before the phone call is to have a business card distributor on your vehicle or trailer when you are out and about in town. Many potential customers will see your truck parked while you are working or at lunch and they may not feel they want to approach you at that time. They may or may not have a pen to write down your phone number from your truck, but if you have a business card holder on your vehicle they will feel more comfortable taking one.

This allows the potential customer to not have to feel like they are going to have to be on the defensive from a sales pitch. They can simply walk up to your truck, take a card and then call you later when they feel more comfortable. And remember the whole goal is to make the customer feel comfortable each step of the way.

One of our Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum members said “I started using a business card holders on my trucks and trailers at a home show this Spring. I bought a business card holder which is large enough to hold my post cards, it is held on by suction cups. We go through quite a few cards and get quite a few calls so I’d say it’s working. I had the printer do up 11 X 14 signs on foam core that states Free Information and contact cards here with an arrow.

Also, every tractor, excavator, mower has a leather water proof pouch with a few cards, if someone walks up to an employee, the employee will answer their questions, hand a card and suggest they send me an email. I prefer that staff do not take the information in case it gets lost, every crew however has a blackberry, if the client insists they will email me the information on the spot and I will contact the prospect within the hour.

I would encourage everyone to have something available for prospects walking by or if  less

http://www.gopherforum.com Here is a really interesting question that was posted on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum. One of our friends wrote in and he had this idea for his new lawn care business   more...name. His name is Brian S. and he was asking “What do you guys think about naming the business B.S. Lawn Care???? They happen to be my initials, do you think this would be a bad name or a good one cause people would remember it????”

Another lawn care business owner responded by saying “that is a good question…it may be catchy at first. But if you mess up one lawn or upset someone it may backfire and become a joke. Here is a motto for you, B.S. Lawn Care - The only manure is in our Triple Mix!!!”

Brian then wrote “The marketing tag lines for B.S. Lawn care would make for a good marketing angle. I was thinking about putting something at the bottom of advertisements,signs and card “Owned and Operated by Brian S.” Maybe they would put the to together and be like Ohhhhhhh.”

You know self deprecating humor can really be funny. If you went this route I would probably play it up and use it to your advantage because it would catch people’s eye and get them talking which is so important.
You could say maybe B.S. Lawn Care
In case you were wondering, The B.S. stands for Brian Smith.Then maybe work this image somewhere on your truck as a joke to make people smile and talk about you. Or maybe even use it on your shirt or in a logo. Oh my gosh that would be a riot.

Would this work? Who knows. But I gotta say it certainly would stand out and get people talking. You could go with other motto’s as well like these.
Tired of all the bull?
Try the company that’s No Bull!
or
B.S. Lawn Care.
(picture)
The company that is NO BULL!

Brian responded “That t-shirt is great, I showed it to my wife and she loved it. I’m really thinking of going with that name. I posted the same question on another site to see what people thought. Some thought it was good others thought it would be offensive, I don’t think they had a sense of humor. I think I might run with the idea of the no bull S*** sign as a logo. Thanks for the great idea if you or anyone else thinks of anything let me know.”

My take is most people just don’t want to stand out. That is why most simply choose to work at a job. When you want to stand out a little, you might start your own business but it probably won’t be that successful. So then what happens is the majority of businesses are trying to fit into the predefined roles and categories they see others are in.Then ultimately no one stands out.

Once in a while you will get a wildman out there who just goes for it and does something different but more often than not people are afraid to stand out and be different. To me this is different. I can’t say how the general public will handle this and that’s why it just might work. Remember without risk, there is no reward.
It kind makes me think of how Wendy’s had created the ‘where’s the beef’ ad campaign and it really took them from behind a plain jane fast food restaurant to the a whole new level. It got people talking and got people thinking. There was huge buzz about it. There were t-shirts made of the old lady saying ‘where’s the beef?’

I say go for it but keep in mind I like craziness and zaniness.
Another member wrote “At first I thought B.S. In the name would be a bad idea! But the T-Shirt idea is great! The name at the bottom takes all negative aspects away.”
So with all of this, what do you think? Do you like it or dislike it? Let me know or get on the forum and tell all of us.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Goph  less

http://www.gopherforum.com “Back in the days when you were starting your lawn care business, did you encounter the ‘Why would I hire you if you’re so new?’ dilemma?

I’d like to have some way of spinning   more...that question into a positive if and when that should arise.”

That’s the question asked to us by Scott, a new lawn care business owner on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum.

Without a doubt some lawn care customers, if they sense you are new, will try and screw with you. They will try and push you around on a lot of things such as price and how much work they want you to do. Just be wary of this.

How do you spin it? Well I would say two things off the top of my head. Reliability and affordability. You would be amazed at how many start up lawn care businesses are just not reliable. Show them you are reliable and you will win their trust.

Believe in yourself. You can do this.

Andy shared that he “never had a lawn care customer ask. The key to starting out is to look and act big. If you do this, you will actually believe you are big and everything will fall into place. It does take some cash to get there however it pays off big time to have professional looking shirts & pants as well as lettered vehicles and trailers. If something needs a little paint to look great then personally we do it. All the equipment is washed at the end of the day, no exception, even the mowers, they always look new and clients like that.”

Keith added ” I think everyone’s been in that situation. Many newbie lawn care business owners fall into the trap of lowering their prices to attract customers. In my opinion, lowering your price is a big mistake. Your customers will expect your prices to remain low and will resist when you try to raise them. Besides that, you’re simply selling yourself short when you should be making good money.

Instead, arm yourself with knowledge. Obtain the ability to discuss problems with their yards.

Now, you’re new and you don’t have the experience and knowledge to diagnose a wide range of problems. Instead, pick one or two problem areas that are common to all your prospects. If everyone in your area has shrubbery beds, become a source of information on proper pruning. Learn all you can about proper mulch application. If everyone has clover in their yards, learn proper mowing techniques which will reduce clover production and discuss those solutions with your prospects.

Never seek customers from a position of desperation (i.e. - “I’m new, please let me cut your lawn”). Do the opposite by making them need you more than you need them. If you know more than just how to run a lawn mower over their grass, and you can demonstrate that knowledge to your customers, you will quickly build a roster of profitable customers.”

Joe shared “if you have ever cut the lawns for family and friends, I would suggest you should take pictures of the jobs you have done and made a small photo album, you could show potential lawn care customers the work you have already done and that can take away the tag that you have been a “Professional Lawn Care Specialist” for a short time. Use it to your advantage when this question comes up. Take some before and after shots. Be BIG and believe in Yourself. Walk the Walk.”

Stick to your landscaping bid or pass?

When you are out and about giving new landscaping estimates to customers, when should you stick with your bid price and when should you pass the job on to someone else? This is a great topic and it was brought up on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum by our friend Tom. He wrote “I have a question regarding a mulch quote. I went to home of someone getting several quotes on a mulch job yesterday. I was told the industry standard for quoting is about $100.00 per yard. The mulch job was for 9 yards of mulch (he also wants all his beds edged). Given my costs of $24 per yard plus delivery plus an extra worker. $290.20 mulch plus delivery then the extra worker $135. Total cos  less

http://www.gopherforum.com If you haven't started your business yet, what are you waiting for? If you don't start your business this year, you'll be at least one year older when you do so get started   more...today.

In today's episode of GOpherHaul I will be talking about, How much do you charge to perform lawn care service? This has got to be one of the most common questions I have seen appear on the GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Forum. It is a very important question too. If you dont know how much the average lawn care business owner is charging for standard services like lawn mowing, gutter cleaning, leaf cleanup, or snow plowing, how will you know if your prices are competitive? How will you know if your lawn care prices are too low? Maybe they are too high and that is why you arent landing enough bids.


One of our forum members wrote Hey guys. I was wondering what everyone was charging. Your normal hourly rate and your minimum charge for cutting grass. Also what city and state your located in. I want to start a poll that way we can all compare and help each other out.

This got me thinking, hey why not set up a form where everyone can jump in and compare their prices and potentially with others even in your geographic area. So that is what I did. Check this out. Compare your lawn care prices at http://www.gopherforum.com

Now it is easier than ever before to compare what you are charging with other lawn care business owners in your area. This is a very powerful GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Web Tool so learn from it and let others know about it as well. Stop trying to compete with low-ballers. Show them they need to raise their prices so everyone makes more money.


I set up another new page to allow you to rate your lawn care equipment and see how others rate their lawn care equipment. This should help us all grow, especially when we are looking to upgrade and buy new mowers, trimmers or leaf blowers. Are you happy with your current outdoor power equipment or has it let you down? We want to know!


Often on discussions at the GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Forum, we talk about outdoor power equipment. Lawn care business owners are constantly looking to see how they can become more productive and profitable with their lawn care business. As we have seen, increasing your productivity is key to becoming more profitable but just which lawn mower, trimmers or leaf blowers are worth purchasing?

You can find all this information out now by using my Rate your lawn care equipment website. Enter your lawn care equipment and tell us what you like or dont like about it and see what others have said about the lawn care equipment they are using. Its a fantastic way to get real world answers for real world lawn care business questions.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com  less

http://www.gopherforum.com - Are you finding it difficult to collect on your overdue lawn care business accounts? Are your lawn care customers holding off on paying? This article should help you with   more...some tips and tricks on how to collect payments.

Gary got on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum and asked last year was my first year running my lawn care business. I made it through the whole season with only one lawn care client failing to pay. Now that the end of the season is here, I have several (previously prompt paying) customers who have failed to pay their final bill. Is this something out of the ordinary or is it common around the holiday season?

Frank: This happens to me all the time. Last season I had a property manager owe me $1,500.00 and it took him until Feb to finally pay. And as of now I still have some past due accounts but it is just normal and I know that after a few mailings or a phone call it will finally trickle in. The holidays, the economy and peoples ignorance are most likely the causes. Just remember it and either dont work for them next season or just accept the fact they are late payers and you definitely have to keep on them!

Steve: What kinds of things should a lawn care business owner do to get those bills paid that are lagging from last season and how long should they wait before they take further steps?

Frank: Well this is what I do. First send the lawn care customer a copy of your invoice with Past Due stamped on it. If you hear nothing after a few weeks then you go to a letter and remember to include you Past Due invoice (that Past Due really scares people its very powerful so always remember to make that stamp BOLD). If this doesnt work you go to a phone call or stop by the house. Be persistent, thats the key people will get so sick of seeing your face of seeing invoices in the mail that they will pay to get it over with. People are either forgetful or ignorant, sometimes the original gets lost in the mail and they pay by the second notice sometimes they dont have the money and are embarrassed but eventually do get you the money.

Read more about this discussion at my lawn care business blog at http://lawnchat.com/?p=396 or visit the GopherHaul Forum http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread... We have the largest collection of FREE lawn care marketing material. Free logos, flyers, door hangers, web templates and contracts.
Also download a free 30 day trial of GopherLawn Care Business Software from http://www.gophersoftware.com  less

http://www.gopherforum.com Have you ever wanted to make your own animated banner ad to promote your lawn care or snow plowing services and found it difficult if not impossible to do so? Well here is a   more...simple online service that allows you to enter your lawn care business contact information and creates an animated banner quickly, easily and the best part for FREE!

Try out the lawn care business banner ad designer at http://www.gopherforum.com . The online lawn care banner ad creator allows you to choose a font, font color and position of your lawn care business contact information as you want it to appear within your animated banner ad.

You can also choose other types of banner ads to create. Such as a snow plow animated banner ad, a grub control banner, winterizing your lawn and landscape lighting.

Having a tough time designing a logo for your lawn care business? Try this new lawn care logo designer program. Its FREE to use!

Coming up with a logo design for your lawn care business can be a daunting challenge. Not everyone is artistically inclined or has the time to spend trying to create a logo. Well this new lawn care designer program is here to help.

What do you need to do to create your new lawn care business logo? Simply load up the GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Logo Designer you can find it at my blog http://www.lawnchat.com or the Gopher Forum at http://www.gopherforum.com then choose from hundreds of premade lawn care business logo background designs. Add your business name, choose the size, position and font. Then add your tag line and your phone number. Once you have your logo looking just the way you want it to, save the image to your computer and you are finished! Congratulations you have just created your own lawn care business logo without having to be artistic!

We all know the importance of having a logo and branding our business and this new web site allows you to harness that power. I have included a few lawn care logo examples I created using this tool from the GopherHaul lawn care business forum to help get you started with some ideas. I hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to create your own.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com  less

http://www.gopherforum.com In general I dont think lawn care business owners utilize press releases as much as they should. The media, especially the local media, is always looking for a news story. Why   more...not give them one? What does it cost to offer them a news idea? Nothing more than a little time to write up a press release and send it out to the local press.

Now I know that can be a little difficult and perhaps daunting of a challenge so I thought it would be a great experiment to put together a sample press release article idea that you could use and change the names in it and then send out to your local press. Then any lawn care business owner who used this idea and got an article written about them, could make a response to this post and tell us about how it happened and their experience. Plus they could tell us what kind of results came from being spotlighted in the local media.

Title: Local resident offers his own economic stimulus plan.

With our economy in a downward spiral and the federal government offering up what seems to be a new economic recovery plan every week, local resident John Smith, has an answer on how to fix this mess we are in.

In one word, he summed up his plan. Jobs. We need to create jobs. We can no longer rely on our current employer to protect us in an economic downturn. Businesses are going belly up all over the place. Its our duty to harness our energy and creativity and create jobs.

John Smith is the owner of Smiths Lawn Care which has operated in town for the past X years. If we each take a moment and think about what our skill set is, we could create a business and create jobs, today! Right now! We shouldnt be looking to the government to hand us out an unemployment check. We need to create jobs and hand out a paycheck. We need to make our township, county, state and country the best it can be by creating.

Each one of us can do something another person needs. Can you babysit? Can you cook? Can you cut lawns? Can you paint a house? Can you build a website. Figure out what you can do and do it. Then hire someone to help.

With this Spring just around the corner, John plans on hiring local residents to help perform lawn care and landscaping services. If we each do a little, together we can do a lot.

President John F. Kennedys inaugural address concluded with this famous line. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. Now more than ever we need to do for our country. We need to fix this economic situation. We have the power to fix this situation and we will fix it if each one of us stands up, takes a step forward and reaches out to others to help them.

Create jobs!
Now you can either send this to your local paper as a press release to get them to call you and interview you or you can send this in as a letter to the editor. Take the text, change it around to fit your specific situation and send it in! Its free advertising and its a positive message that will reflect positively on you and your business.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com  less

http://www.gopherforum.com If you are looking to submit some bids this season to clean leaves out of your customers gutters make sure you read this article first.

John got on the Gopher Lawn Care Business   more...Forum and asked his gutter cleaning question. He wrote I have been asked by a neighbor to do a gutter cleanup. She has gutter shields in place but wants to make sure everything is cleaned out and down spouts are good. Her house is 2200sq. and about half of the home has gutters.

I do not think this job will take over 1.5 hours but have no idea what to charge her. I have never done this for money just on my own and folks house. Any help would be appreciated.

One of our forum members responded by saying I charge $1.00 per foot for a single story and $2.00 per foot on a 2 story. For people I have lawn contracts with I do it free Spring and Fall.

I found that a 2 liter soda bottle (cut down) works well for cleaning the gutters. Its pliable enough to get down into the gutter. Take a bucket with you to but the debris in. If you just dump it on the ground, the mess is harder to clean up than the gutters are.

I have been doing a national survey with those who provide gutter cleaning services and the charge of $1 to $2 per linear ft seems to be standard across the country. You would charge more for gutters that are higher up or more difficult to get to than lower ones.

Here are some common beginner pitfalls lawn care business owners find when offering gutter cleaning. * On my first job, I just emptied the gutters onto the ground. It took me about 25 minutes to clean the gutters and over an hour to clean the mess from dumping the debris. It was on the walls, the ground, the windows, etc. Since then I have taken a bucket to empty the debris in. * I used to charge by the hour for gutter cleaning, now I charge around $1 per linear foot. * If the gutters are easy to reach I charge $1.00 per foot. If the gutters have trees growing out of them, then its $2.00 per foot. * The first time I ever cleaned gutters, I brought a power washer and blew them all clean.When I went down the ladder, it was a mess, lawn, house windows, screens, everything!!! Lets just say that those people got a free home power-washing!!! Learn from mistakes, right?

Remember to review the job site before you create your estimate. Are the gutters on the first floor or the second? Do they have weeds growing out of them? Are you going to be able to reach them? Use a scoop to clean the gutters and empty the scoop into a bucket. Minimize your cleanup time. Charge between $1 and $2 a ft for gutter cleaning and you should be alright. To join in on this discussion further, visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum here.

If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com  less

http://www.gopherforum.com Hello everyone and welcome to Gopherhaul. If you haven't started your lawn care business yet, what are you waiting? If you don't start your lawn car business this year, you'll   more...be at least a year older when you do so get started today.

In today's discussion I want to talk about a couple of topics. First off, if you haven't seen all the new lawn care marketing design options on the Gopher Forum, you have to visit the site. When you get to the forum click on the link at the top that says "Design It Yourself." You will see you can design lawn care logos, animated banner ads and now lawn care flyer and lawn care door hangers. This is just fantastic! You don't need to be artistic. You don't even need a graphics program. Just choose the background you want to use. Maybe the aeration flyer? Or the de-thatching door hanger? Then type in your lawn care company contact information, the services you offer and a few eye catching headlines and the online designer will create a pdf file for you. You can print that file out or save it or take it to a printer and have them print it out. With all these online designers, your lawn care business is going to look like a million bucks! Try them out today.

Next up is how to create a lawn care customer welcoming kit. Are you giving all of your new lawn care customers a Welcoming Kit? If you arent you should start doing it. This is something that can really help keep your customers from leaving you. You can join this discussion further at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum.

Things to include in your Lawn Care Customer Welcoming Kit folder. * Welcoming Letter. * Newsletter. * Business Card. * Mission statement. * A list of your Frequently Asked Questions. * List all the services you offer. * A brochure on each major program you offer, like plant health care and bug barricade. * Information on the supplementals you are currently promoting. * A referral card to pass on to friends or family.

Bob wrote on the forum, I started these welcome kits to help the new lawn care customers understand who we are and what we have to offer. When researching our cancellation history I found that most of the canceled lawn care accounts had been canceled within the first 3-4 months. If they had been more informed from the beginning, maybe we could have saved the sale.


If you are in need of free lawn care marketing material for your lawn care business, please visit our site at http://www.gophersoftware.com. We have hundreds of free lawn care logo, flyer, door hanger and web templates you can download and use for your lawn care business. We also have free lawn care business contracts, estimate and proposal forms. Download our trial version of Gopher Lawn Care Business Software. Gopher will help your lawn care business schedule and invoice more customers in less time, allowing you more time to grow or enjoy your life. Check out my lawn care business blog at http://www.lawnchat.com and my lawn care business forum at http://www.gopherforum.com  less