Forum

Domestic Maintenance Contracts

Hi all,

After being stung a couple of times by customers saying they no longer need me, saying they think they can now manage etc. (more likey getting Bill up the road to do it instead) How many of you who do domestic maintenance use contracts? What d

Read more…

Current topics in The Hub

Currently being discussed in the The Hub:

• Rejecting a machine after 5 months
• FSB legal advice
• Maintaining Sports pitches
• Find a Landscaper
• The wife - employ, partnership or Ltd company
• Pesticide calculator
• Merger
• Employed or Self Employed.
• Use of re

Read more…

Fun Fun Fun - just for laughs , i found this :) dont take life too serious!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gunr9O3O32Q

Read more…

Have we lost the ability to communicate ?

We received an emailed CV today from someone approximately 20 years old looking for a landscape gardening job - a speculative email shot, but that's not my issue.

The problem is the covering email and most of the CV is written in some form of 'txt' s

Read more…

Tax statement errors affect thousands, says HMRC

From the BBC:

Thousands of people will receive a second tax statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after their first estimate was miscalculated.

More than five million taxpayers received an initial estimate because they paid the wrong amount of

Read more…

cheques and cash flow

I have an increasing number of old customers paying me with cheques even for a couple of hours work. However when I ask if they could possibly do a bank transfer im told I dont do phone banking and I ant get to the bank to pay you cash or transfer it

Read more…

Unhappy Customers

I spent a few hours yesterday working on a very poorly looked after hedge, which was an odd mix of cherry laurel, Portuguese laurel and Holly. The client wanted it reduced and tidied. Whist discussing the work I said it was a little late to be workin

Read more…

U.S.P

what is your 'unique selling point' ?

Mine is mainly that we can cut,lower,trim or remove Very big and tall hedges. (Our main service).

AND remove all the waste...

Another is that we offer 'all your garden needs' - maintenance, mowing, spraying, chain-s

Read more…

Exciting times. Making the jump from one van to two!

Last night i decided that it's time to go from having one full time employee, working with me, to getting another van and employee next spring. It'll be my 10th year of trading next year so it seems fitting. My plan is to send the new and old employe

Read more…

Which tablet for business use?

Any suggestions for cheap tablet for business mostly just for a diary and note taking

Read more…

Looking to gain experience in general gardening

Hi there,

I was recently recommended this forum (and great it is) as I am very keen to gain some general gardening experience in lawn mowing, hedge trimming, pruning, planting, de-weeding and more.

I live in Blackheath (SE3) I am polite and well manner

Read more…

Newbie - thinking of starting out - advice please!! :)

Hi all

First post on here after having spent hours reading through loads of great threads - what a great resource!!

In short I am looking at a career change and am trying to gauge realistic start up costs for a maintenance / garden improvement contract

Read more…

Metric or imperial...what's your preference?

Through practically all of my career I bought turf by the square yard.

In the early days I also laid a lot of 2' square slabs and laid bricks which were graded in imperial.

I'm one of those who straddled the metric changeover and I still, at times, g

Read more…

Growing a business, what to invest in?

Just looking for advice on how and when people decided that to further their business and invest on bigger and more specialist machinery. Did you see a gap in the market or was it a case of knowing that having a piece of kit would get you extra work

Read more…

London Work

Morning, one of my clients has tasked me with finding someone to tank a lift shaft at a development in london. I know its not landscaping but i thought someone might know someone. As far as I'm aware it in wimbledon. The lift would be isolated for sa

Read more…

Know your rights with doorstep callers - Trading Standards campaign

Trading Standards are raising awareness of how to deal with Cold Callers by issuing bulletins, articles and door stickers.

Once such article from its TS Alerts ! bulletin  (aimed at Consumers) is show below & worth noting :

Know your rights with door

Read more…

How do self-employed get a mortgage?

From the Guardian:

"Changes in the mortgage market have made things even harder for freelancers whose income may well fluctuate month to month. In theory, self-employed workers should have access to the same mortgage deals as anyone else, provided th

Read more…

Marketing a landscaping or gardening business.

Hi Guys / Girls.

As some of you know, I'm a marketing consultant, and have been lurking here as I'm writing a book on the subject of marketing small service based businesses, and it's very useful for me to gauge the over-all level of marketing underst

Read more…

commercial contract tenders

Looking to add some commercial work next year.
Where do companies advertise their tenders?

Never known where to look.
Any help appreciated cheers Richard

Read more…

Painters...

We all talk for hours about doing quotes, pricing and all that other jazz...

I'm currently having some remedial work done to the outside of the house & have phoned/contacted 4 different painters, only one has turned up in the last 2 months and he woul

Read more…