There's a lot more to forming your business than going down to the local tax collector's office and getting a business license.  This is the start of your new lawn care business, and it's something we need to take seriously.

In this module where are going to talk about creating a good business name, the best legal entity for your business, and tax considerations.

Getting this part correct from the get-go will provide the solid foundation your business needs to grow... legally.

This seems to be everybody's favorite part... Equipment.  But I want to stress something before we begin this module.  Equipment is NOT going to build a successful lawn care business for you.  A nice truck is not going to build a successful lawn care business for you.  Hard work and executing your plan is going to build a successful business.

We need our equipment to do a couple things... Be reliable, and cut grass.  That's it.  Do not over-glorify equipment or spend hours upon hours stressing about what is the best mower or best trimmer to get.  In the grand scheme of things those considerations are fairly insignificant.

That being said, I do feel like I have figured out a few things and can offer some helpful advice on the things you need to be considering when purchasing equipment for your new lawn care business.

I believe this is the most important module in this course.  We can have the best equipment, the catchiest lawn business name, and do the best quality work in our area, but if we can't get the phone to ring and nobody knows about us, then we don't have a business.

Sales drive everything.  This module is meant to show you how to cast a wide net with an organic website, and how to get that website to rank well in the search results.

Then through direct marketing, post cards, and social media content we will build route density in the neighborhoods we are already working in.  This is when you will make REAL money in residential lawn care.  Getting this right allows you to easily make over $1,000 a day with a 2 man mowing crew.

Marketing is such a great skill to learn... Let's jump into it!

Pricing your lawn care service can be a bit intimidating when you don't know where to start.

In this module we are going to discuss how to get a basic sense of what price your market will support and how to gradually nudge that price as high as your market allows.

However, we are not going to simply increase prices or create randomized pricing for our clients.  Our clients deserve a fair price, and we deserve to have a profitable business.

The way you provide accurate pricing is by understanding a per man hr rate; the formula and how it applies to your estimated time spent executing a job.

The responsibility is on you, the lawn business owner, to make sure you are delivering a fair price to your client while running a profitable business.

It's really not as difficult as you may think, and once you get the hang of it you will be bidding each and every job with complete confidence.

One of the main temptations you are going to have in the beginning is to forgo putting effort into the technology and customer management side of your business.  I promise this is a major mistake you must avoid.

You may be able to get by in the early stages without a dedicated customer management software, but you will start dropping the ball and quickly become disorganized as your business grows.

It is so much easier to just take advantage of the technology that is available to you from the very beginning.  Playing catch-up and learning a customer management system when you are up to your eyeballs in work is the last thing you want to do.  You need to implement Yardbook from day one.  Committing to using a good customer service software early on in your business is a must.