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  David Cox November 18, 2010 at 12:52pm

  From personal Exp, touching makes like ryobi etc is lost money, they break with any good use, and the vibration levels are awful - Its cheaper spending the extra £200 on a second hand Stihl, as I found out to my own expense. Check ebay - there are usually some bargains around.
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  Roy Parker November 18, 2010 at 6:07pm

  echo for strimmers and hedgecutters and chain saw. Lawn mowers that is i use a lawnflite 553 pro with a roller or a john deere if the grass is abit wet or long it nearly as good as a etesia and half price
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  Claire Brown November 18, 2010 at 6:15pm

  Cashflow is king - if you havn't got a tool that you need for a job, hire it to start with, then you've also got the advantage to being able to try it out.
  
  Make a list of the jobs that you can do with the tools you have currently got, - then promote those first.
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  Bigyin November 18, 2010 at 6:21pm

  Good advice Claire !!
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  Roy Parker November 18, 2010 at 6:27pm

  i can not fault the echo long reach hedge cutter i got i had it coming up to 3 years and it been great so far.
  i had a etesia pro 51 k it was great mower till i blew up the engine and i like another one but it is cost that stops me i priced up a new etesia pro 51k this year and they wanted £1600 after discount i got a john deere jx90 for just over 850 thats a lot of lawns to cut to pay the difference best advice i had when i started was to hire as much gear in at first till your sure of what you need ebay is littered with people selling off gear from failed gardening businesses
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  Matt Brown November 18, 2010 at 7:21pm

  when i started i was using a mountfield h4 it weithed a tonne blocked every 3 feet but it was sturdy, my first mower i bought when i was 15 a mountfield emporor was a very good mower but the engine shattered, i now have an etesia and a toro. dont bother with a toro the wheels are worn and wobbling on mine it wont go in a straight line, the handles are weak it doesnt cut low enough its ok for rough ground but not manicured lawns. i have a ryobi expandit strimmer and hedge cutter it does what i want as i dont do many hedges the parts for ryobi are almost non existant my hand tools were a birthday present, when i was going through a rough patch i couldnt afford to replace my tools so i used a generator and electric tools on some jobs. you just have to do what you can afford to to get by until you have the spare cash to upgrade.
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  Matt Brown November 18, 2010 at 8:00pm

  my startup budget was £0 i was operating out of the boot of my 1992 jaguar xj6 till i swapped my car for a knackered van the tools i had were what i had aquired and patched up i had to pour petrol in the air filter of my mower to start it. we all have to start someware.
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  Marc Cole November 18, 2010 at 8:10pm

  Good luck Justin, good advice from all so far, but it is really important to have the money in the bank, I can't emphasise that. It's no good having loads of work booked in, but no fuel for your van to get there!!!
  I'd be very cautious about kit from eBay, sometimes it can be a waste of money. When I started I made contact with a couple of local dealers and bought 2nd hand mowers and other kit. Once established I bought the best I could afford, but with profit not debt. Debt is both good & bad but make sure u can manage it.
  Bear in mind buying good mowers now will be quite cheap as it's out of season for mowing lawns, but plan for spring. Also search for a book by Paul Power - Running a gdning business plenty of good advice.
  Anyway don't forget give your customer's the best service u can for what they pay you but don't forget to include your profit margin - no profit, no business