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I think most of us who have been in the business for any length of time know EXACTLY where you are coming from! Do you have anyone with you at the moment? If you haven't, I would go along the route of finding a youngster to labour for you - it is amazing how quickly you can shift work with an unloader, knocker-up, sweeper-up and tea maker etc! Obviously they will not have your skills, but you are wasting your skills carrying out any of the above tasks.
Regarding a yard, we originally rented a small area at the back of a garden centre, but after a couple of years, found a house with 1/3 acre and outhouses. It took a while to persuade my wife that this was the way to go, but 35years later we are still here! So, garden centres or farmers, who have plenty of space are worth a try.
one step at a time. as colin says another pair of hands makes you amazingly more productive. you only have to fit in a couple of extra small jobs, like hang a gate, do a shed base etc to cover the wages.
a yard is a must. weve rented a field from a farmer with a satble block for about 8 years now. before that we had a smaller yard on his land. its somewhere we can store excess materials that can be used on other jobs. in short it makes life easier and it makes money.
any step you make is a gamble, but at the end of the day if its done in small steps and the gamble doesn't work, then you go back to how you were. I bet you don't though! I started on my own, now have 5 guys, three vans and still have work coming out my ears. amazes me how much work we get through and we still turn down work, left right and centre! every step brings its own headaches though!
I am getting to this point also! Its a hard decision to make
it seems like a hard decision. As ive said before any step you make in business is a bit like buying a new house. After you've moved in for 6 months you get used to the house and to paying the higher mortgage. As long as you have an exit strategy to deal with any problems, ie no long lease on a yard, or new worker on a short temporary contract or long trial period, a piece of equipment you buy that can be sold on etc etc, then it doesn't become quite so scary
You need to take that next step. You don't necessarily need a skilled man who you have to pay top dollar for. I'd look for a decent labourer who's keen and polite. You'll be surprised at how quick you'll get through your work load and on to the next job. In 6 months you'll wonder how you ever managed yourself.
I have two labourers both part time. i find i don't need a labourer full time. Once the donkey work is done i end up spending to much time trying to find them work.
I need a skilled landscaper that can drive. I have put an advert on Indeed and i have had over 50 people reply, about 3 will get an interview.
I have found a office space with large garage area, but the rent is £550 a month, i was hoping for a bit of farm land for less but i don't know any farmers.
The skilled landscaper is my next step i think.
So the next headache after a days work and then 4 hrs in the office will be checking up on another man's work.
Ah, thats the more awkward step. Skilled, good, reliable men are hard to come by as most are already employed. Keeping them busy is another problem and you can't just pay them to labour as that not cost effective.
Myself, I could do with another 3 of me...
no one said it was easy, but if it was every idiot would do it! it is a constant juggle I find
You don't need to know a farmer to rent some farm land. Just go on google and find a few local farms and then drop in and pay them a visit. Farms always have spare land, so for a farmer its money for old rope. Our first yard was at a farm in Dorking and we had driven down from the Midlands to search for farms. We ended up following a tractor for about 5 miles until he eventually pulled over. We had a chat and within about half an hour we had secured ourselves a couple of hundred m2 of open storage (not that you would need that much land I'm guessing).
As for checking someone elses work that's normal (when someone is new, we all have to do that), at the end of the day you are the boss and you will ultimately drive the standards. However after a few months you will come to realise what he's very good at and areas where he maybe needs more input. You can then step away bit by bit as your trust of him builds up. Again, this is all a normal part of employing people.
Sounds like you have a great opportunity to expand your business here
Hi all,
New to landscape juice but many years in the trade.
At least one labourer is a must, I have bust my.. in the past working on my own, it's quite demoralising.
Trying to run another gang on another job whilst running your own is a physical, logistical and mental nightmare unless you have a clone of yourself.
As for an office I would either use a spare room in the house or extend. If like me your paperwork time is in the evenings do you really want to be in a lonely office miles from home.
I would only consider an office if it was in full use during daytime hours and then only if it was to receive clients.
Storage, unless remarkably inexpensive, it's probably cheaper to throw excess materials in the skip than pay £100/month for a container. Also unless the storage facility is close to home how much time is wasted travelling to and from it.
I have a small area of garden which I use to keep any materials that are used often (okay it does seem to be expanding). If a job is a one of type of material then I will give the customer the option of keeping them or skip them.
Really though,if your that busy maybe up your rates and earn more money that way rather than expanding. Drop your rates back to your current level when it gets quieter.
Yes I've been through it and same as you only do hard landscaping.
Don't want to discourage, just highlighting the potential pitfalls and options.
Cheers
Mark
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