What Are the Differences Between Residential and Commercial Lawn Mowing?
If you have been thinking about starting your own lawn care business, there can be many decisions to make. You’ve got to think about the equipment you’re going to buy, the services you’ll offer, and the hours you’ll work.
However, there’s one more thing to think about, and that’s whether you’ll get involved in residential or commercial lawn mowing. What’s the difference? Well, there can be many, such as these below.
The Types of Mowers You Use
In both residential and commercial lawn mowing, the use of a commercial-grade lawn mower can be crucial. The average homeowner mower isn’t generally made to handle multiple lawns per day for an extended period.
However, as commercial lawns can sometimes be much larger than the average Kiwi property, you may also need to consider whether adding a ride-on mower to your arsenal is worth your while. They can be helpful for use on large, small, sloped, and flat lawns.
You may still need a push mower for both commercial and residential properties, but having your pick of either option may help you be more productive with your time.
The Petrol Requirements
As most Kiwis know, petrol isn’t cheap right now, and most business owners are likely trying to save as much of it as possible. When you get involved in lawn care and use petrol-powered equipment, you may quickly become aware of how much it costs to service each customer’s lawn.
The differences between residential and commercial lawn mowing can be pretty significant in this respect. When the commercial lawns are much larger, they require more mowing time, which means you’re ultimately burning more fuel.
The Services Required
Many business owners want their work premises to look welcoming and attractive for all customers that walk through their doors. The last thing they want is trees to look scraggly, lawns growing out of control, and leaf litter covering all entrances.
As a result, you may find that you can provide a much more extensive range of services for time-poor business owners. Not only do they want you to tackle their lawns, but they can sometimes want hedges to be trimmed, trees to be pruned, gardens to be tended to, and paths to be water blasted.
These same services can be offered to homeowners, but many like to handle one or two tasks themselves for a sense of satisfaction rather than handing everything over to a lawn care company.
The Property Size
While not always the case, commercial grounds can be a lot larger than the average residential property in NZ. With more lawn area to mow, you may spend more time at a commercial property than you would a residential one with a much smaller patch of grass to cut.
It’s worth keeping this in mind when you decide whether to offer residential or commercial lawn mowing services. You could tend to fewer but larger sections in a day or more but smaller sections.
The Income
When commercial properties are larger and more services are required, you can charge more for your time and resources. As a result, you may expect to receive more income as a commercial lawn mowing operator.
However, it’s important to know that how companies pay other businesses can differ from how a residential homeowner might pay a business. Homeowners can be more likely to pay a bill when it comes in and within the month, whereas you may be waiting much longer when being paid by a company, depending on their payment structure.
The Competition to Secure Work
Many lawn care businesses see commercial work as lucrative, and it’s easy to see why. You can make a name for yourself in the business world while receiving more money for your hard work.
As a result of these benefits, the competition to secure work can be fierce. You may need to work harder on your advertising and align yourself with a quality NZ lawn mowing company to make sure your business stands out from the crowd.
If you’re interested in taking on more commercial clients, you may also need to visit various businesses with lawn care needs and make your pitch to see if you can lengthen your client list.
The Attention to Detail
Of course, attention to detail is something most reputable lawn care service providers pride themselves on. You aren’t going to treat your residential clients any differently from your commercial ones.
However, there’s sometimes an expectation that your attention to detail at a place that customers visit might be that little bit extra intensive.
Start Your Residential or Commercial Lawn Mowing Business Today
There’s certainly a lot to consider before you start your new business in earnest, but this information may give you plenty to think about. You may then decide to go full steam ahead with residential clients, commercial clients, or a mixture of both.