How Much Can You Make Mowing Lawns?

Mowing lawns can be a high-income generating opportunity. The USA’s landscaping services market value was $ 104.5 billion in 2020 and will increase in the coming years. Homeowners love to outsource landscaping tasks. You can create a lucrative business from lawn mowing as a side gig, working full-time, or as a hobby. 

You could earn up to $2000 monthly from mowing lawns with the right location, pricing, and marketing strategy. Average hourly rates for lawn mowing services top off at about $30. Depending on your lawn size, speed, and sales pitch, a fully dedicated one-person operation can cost you about $150-$250 daily.

How much money can you make mowing lawns?

Like most service businesses, your income is determined by several factors. Factors such as location, demand, tools of the trade, and expertise dictate how much money you can make mowing lawns.

Mowing yard income varies between service providers, depending on rates and how much work you do per week or month.

Suppose you charge $50/hour and take approximately one hour to mow a small-sized lawn daily; you can make $50/day, $350 weekly, and $1500 monthly. 

If you charge $70/hour and work on five lawns daily, you make $350 daily. In a week, that would be $2450 and a whopping $9800 monthly.

As your one-person operation evolves in skill and client base, you can form a team and become a contractor for lawn work.

How much should I charge for mowing lawns?

Lawn mowing service providers charge $25-65 per hour. 

Ask lawn-mowing professionals in your area how much they charge to decide on a reasonable rate. Add about 10 percent to the lowest rate estimated, so you don’t sound cheap.

Besides, use the standard formula below to set your price.

(Labor hours x hourly labor cost) + overhead costs + equipment + taxes + profit margin

How to start a successful lawn-mowing business

To earn a high income from mowing lawns, you must start right. Otherwise, your business would fail.

Here are the steps to create a successful lawn-mowing business:

Get your equipment ready

You must have the tools to do your job before starting. If you don’t have any tools, buy the basic ones to kickstart and add more as your business grows. Alternatively, you can hire core mowing tools and factor the cost into your pricing.

Get these essential tools for lawn-mowing.

  • A quiet and energy-efficient lawn mower machine
  • Heavy-duty hand gloves
  • Truck, tractor, or van
  • Trimmer
  • Blade sharpener or extra blades
  • A mulching mower

Buy affordable, efficient machines with low maintenance costs to maximize returns. Also, get insurance cover for your business; it’ll help you handle accidental risks. Get a business license from local authorities. Register your business and its location.

Map the areas you’ll serve

While setting your potential clients’ locations may appear limiting, it’s a great starting point for a new lawn attendant. 

Servicing clients over an expansive area will consume most of your time. You’ll waste most of your time on the road instead of doing the work that pays.

You might fail to meet timelines and daily targets and decrease your payments.

Servicing nearby clientele in your neighborhood means spending less time moving and more on servicing your clients, which increases your earnings.

Identify locations near your hood to render your services. Establish your business within a 6-mile radius of your home.

Quote your rates 

Let your prospective clients know your rates and how much they are willing to pay. 

Having a preset rate helps you mark your client base. It’ll also help you estimate how much you’ll earn when you work for a specific period.

Lawn-mowing service providers charge different rates depending on expertise, geographical location, lawn size, and grass condition. 

Pricing yourself as a new lawn-service provider might be tricky, but there are a few tips to set reasonable rates and earn a decent income from your business.

Ask yard owners, friends, family, or neighbors who get their lawns done how much they pay for the service per session. This approach helps you estimate how much to charge, so you don’t undercharge your services.

Ask lawn-mowing service providers how much they charge. Use these figures as a foundation to set your rates.

Most lawn-mowing service providers usually set their rates according to the lawn size or the time required to complete the task. 

If you decide to use the hourly rate method, add the time you take moving from one property to the next during work, so your hourly rate compensates for that lost time.

Remember not to underprice or overcharge. Increase your rates often as you gain experience. 

Market your services 

We can’t overemphasize the importance of marketing to businesses. Good marketing is the ingredient that keeps multi-million dollar companies in their glory. It’s what small, struggling, or new businesses like yours can use to get off the ground and thrive in a competitive market. 

Advertise your business; nobody will hire you if they don’t know of it.

You don’t need a lot of money to market. Word of mouth and promoting your business online are a good start in a small area.

  1. Marketing by word of mouth

Get your first customer by telling people you mow lawns. Talk to your friends, family, or neighbors about your new business. Walk door-to-door in your target area, introduce yourself and tell them of your services or give your business card or flyer. 

You’ll be surprised and happy to land your first customer by letting people know.

Another way to market your business is through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. Here is a snippet of what to do:

  1. Set up a business website

Today, a website is essential for any business to thrive. It’ll help build an online reputation and trust in potential customers.

Get a domain name and host your site with hosting companies.

Setting up a website is possible with drag-and-drop tools. YouTube and Google tutorials are a goldmine for learners. Website builder plug-ins can also work.

Next, make your site’s content lovable and visible to search engines, so people can find it and hire your services. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool for building visibility.

The easiest way is to hire an SEO specialist to optimize your site. If you have a fixed budget, do it yourself by learning SEO for free at Hubspot Academy and implementing it.

  1. Set your business profiles on Facebook and Instagram

Facebook and Instagram are great platforms for creating your business profiles and getting customers. Use ads or paid sponsored posts to reach a wide audience for leads. 

List your services on Craiglist and get people nearby who may need them.

Scale your business or remain solo

Great marketing will bring you more clients and more revenue. You might get swamped with work and need help as your clientele grows. Make a choice. You either hire people or remain a sole proprietor.

Decide depending on equipment availability, returns, expenditure, and personal connection with customers. Seek expert advice and make a reasonable decision

Include extra services such as fertilizer application, mulch, weeding, and debris removal to diversify and maintain a high income.

Learn other related skills from experts and upsell existing clients to earn more. Remember not to oversell.

Also, reinvest in your business by getting efficient equipment to enable you to work faster to earn more.

Can you make money mowing lawns as a kid?

Mowing people’s lawns in the neighborhood is one of the best ways to make pocket money as a teenager. You can make money mowing lawns if you have extra time after school or during school holidays.

Most people would be okay getting their yards done by kids, as much as you do your work well for the amount they pay.

Inform your parents about it and use their yard tools with their permission to start your business. Build a good reputation around your neighborhood and become the go-to kid for lawn mower services. 

Making money mowing lawns is possible. Start and work smart to earn a good income from your lawn mowing business. 

References 

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