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Hi Matthew from15 years in the game - Jan and Feb are always quiet, especially given how tight the economy is currently.
Just had a quiet three weeks and now things are speeding up again - but that's with over five years established in this location and currently doing all manner of 'gap filling jobs' that come Spring I won't have time to think about.
It will come, but its pretty much always like this in maintenance in my experience.
Yeah I am hoping it's just the January. It's been hard for a lot of people I have noticed but then some people are still absolutely smashing it. I have good faith this year will be decent.
hi Matt i had 30 years in the game (retired now) same as you all by word of mouth used to hope fore some gales after xmass so there was some fence repairs, serviced my own machinary inbetween or bad wether days, a lot of advertising is done on the local facebook pages these days. also time to catch up on jobs at home and gain some browny points before it all kicks off again in 4 to 6 weeks time
I've been trying to get leads online and it just doesn't happen for me but I haven't paid for adds yet as I don't want to rush into that side. I've always done good through word of mouth and people that I've worked for know I do a good job. Just hoping this year is good and we can get flying.
Worth doing a Google business listing if you don't already have one. Completely free. We get lots of calls from that as we find that loads of people now just type 'gardener near me' (or similar) into Google when looking for one. Not long until March now so it'll soon pick up naturally too. All the best
Matt I used to keep my paid ads running 12 months of the year . November to April never yielded a single lead but May to October enquiries were plentyful and I was turning work away .
Some winters I got work off a site called Bark , Fencing repairs , pruning , greenhouse repairs , general garden cleaning debris etc .
Estate agents are always worth approaching as long as they pay promptly but you have to stress this initially as cash flow is crucial especially during Winter , I used to visit the estate agent office after completion with a tangible invoice they would always pay and ask if I could go and look at another lead , Go for quick wins though nothing which requires investment in expensive machinery you don't have .
There is work out there but people tend to put it off until the weather picks up and also I have found people are often under the illusion that gardeners don't work in Winter when actually plenty to do
Thanks for the tip with estate agents, I will email some. I have been going to select locations and putting buisness cards in fancy holders. Once I get going this year I am aiming to have adds running (Just money that I can't put down for them currently)
I'm not sure if I've done that. I have a Google profile for buisness is that the same?
I think so, you should appear in the listings and on the map if you have done one
I find that these days many people wanting work carried out use Facebook, looking for recommendations, or search for company postings, previous recommendations etc.
Join as many of your local Facebook Groups as you can, and place posts showing your work on those groups that accept business posts, such as Stourbridge and Dudley Recommends.
I would also say that there seems to be a fair amount of competition in your area, judging by the number of garden maintenance companies showing up on the above FB Group. It is important therefore that you highlight your strengths and expertise.
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