Its time to start thinking about hanging up the boots - and having a gap year(s) myself - I've paid for 2 kids to have one, but never had one myself! Such things weren't a rite of passage in 1976 when I left school :(
The Honest Services Co Ltd started in 2015 after I was laid off 2 times in 2 years - the BREXIT decision had just been made by the electorate, and there were no more high paying PAYE jobs on offer - so the Bank of Dad was formally closed and I started the company. It trades around Stonehenge - So Andover to Amesbury, (E to W) and Pewsey to Salisbury (N to S), we primarilly offer Garden Maintenace, and have gardens from small housing estate ones through to those that are measured in acres.
There is one PAYE employee who's been with me 4 years this summer, she's a graduate of Lackham horticultural college, and her father was an estate gardener - so gardening is in her blood, and she knows all the clients and their gardens, we also have a chap who helps out on a casual basis one day a week. There is a 65 registered Transporter T6 (full VW service history), and all the tools you need + some!
Around 100 active clients, about 25 are regulars the year round, 37 summer only and 37 more occasional.
We deliberately trade just below the VAT threshold (I couldnt be bothered to go through that hurdle). The company is profitable, professionaly produced accounts available. It could very easily be grown, every week I am receiving around 40 leads (recommedations, company website and a leads syndicatation service), and a number of our clients are wanting more hours.
I'm not in a screaming hurry to move it on, but I want to do it this year. I would be very happy to bed someone into the business over a month or so.
So if you are:
- lurking on this site, thinking Should I?, Shouldn't I? - as I was 7 years ago ... looking at franchises and thinking that you dont want to go that route... here is something ready made.
- have a business locally that you want to expand,
- think you would like to move to wonderful Wiltshire but your current business is elsewhere - here is your opportunity.
email me on info@honestservices.co.uk, or call me one evening on 07722 484 290 for more information or a chat. Its being advertised here first, then in a month or so, if there is no success I will advertise it more widely.
Regards
Adam
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A quick update.... I have sold the business to Alex at Coutryside Grounds Services. It has taken a while and Alex was either pointed to the post above or an identical one on LinkedIn back in February - so for a wee company its taken a while but we are there !!
Congratulations Adam - enjoy your retirement !
Also, thanks for your many posts on this forum - useful many times.
Have fun travelling !!
Mark
Well-done Adam, enjoy!
I bet your Mrs has been writing a long list of jobs for you!😬🤣
All the best Adam ,great timing all set for summer . Happy retirement .
Good luck to Alex 🙂🌷
well done Adam hope you shall still pop in here occasionally, to share your expertise
Thats very good news to hear
Congratulations on your sale and subsquent retirement Adam - best wishes.
Thank you for all your good wishes. I probably should have made the move to do this sort of job 20 years earlier....but hey, isn't hindsight is a wonderful thing?
I will keep popping in here and adding my 5 penny's worth of advice.
I'm going to try to be get CGS to join LJN as PROs...you have all helped me so many times with all kinds of stuff. Many of us are small businesses, of one person operations, and having this "advice line" in the background is the best.
Well that lasted just over a year .
I've just taken on a massive local garden... haven't got many tools, no van but here we go again!!!
If you really want to retire do not mention that you used to have a gardening business... keep it secret, mind you it was Lynn (wife) who told a friend, who told a friend and 2 weeks mowing while they are on holiday has resulted in half a day a week.
🤣🤣🤣