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Forums › Off topic › Starting new lawn mowing business
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keriboi
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  #1493746 17-Feb-2016 10:28
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Sorry for dragging up such an old thread. I am also looking at starting a lawn mowing run in the future. How did you get on Applejack?

 

These days I am seeing lots of franchise mowing guys. Has anyone else had success with a run? I would be working the Bay of Islands in the Far North which could be very limited. 

 

 



Batman
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  #1493754 17-Feb-2016 10:40
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You won't get an answer, he's inactive

keriboi
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  #1493756 17-Feb-2016 10:47
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Oh well maybe someone else has given it a crack :)



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  #1493848 17-Feb-2016 12:03
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The economics are interesting and the practicalities too.

 

We have a John Deere 25 hp diesel tractor with a 62" cutting deck on it. Originally I used to mow all of our land, which took about 8 hours a week and was a huge pain. Now we have a sheep man whose sheep graze about 75% of what I used to mow.

 

A rectangular flat lawn could be mown very fast with our mower. The speed slows a lot the more fiddly the lawn is with regard to non-linear shape, number of obstacles and so forth.

 

We have had the mower since 2007 and this year was the first year it is cheaper to mow ourselves by owning the mower than it would have been to pay someone else I think, since the mower and deck combined is about $22,000 today. It's probably worth $10,000 or so now.

 

Servicing is once a year at about $350 depending on what is needed and we are still on the original tyres.

 

In winter the machine is too heavy for any wet lawns - it has 4WD too so although you can usually get out, it will make a mess. If it is a customer's lawn, you'll be paying to fix the mess! So bear in mind weight of machine, manoeuvrability and so on too. Some machines now have 4 wheel steering which is a handy thing.

 

Diesel engines are more fuel efficient so you'll buy less fuel and of course if you do not register the mower for road use, you won't be paying RUCs etc so the fuel will be cheaper by far. I believe you do not need to register where road use is de minimis like nipping out to mow the verge or whatever but IANAL.

 

Make sure you buy the best brand you can afford - if the machine is not reliable you will be losing clients fast if you have to keep putting them off because the mower is in the shop. John Deere get my recommendation. They have a good network of service agents and parts availability never seems to be an issue. Contrast a friend who has a Countax for which he buys belts about once every 6 months it seems and usually has to wait weeks for parts to arrive. 





keriboi
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  #1493860 17-Feb-2016 12:16
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I work on a golf course and have some good mower contacts :) I am a Toro fan over JD :P

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