Morning folks,I spent a couple of weeks reading through the various topics and advice threads on this finally built the courage to ask you guys for some well needed advice !
I'll give you some background to myself so you can advise better .I'm a police officer of 10 years. After several circumstances and changes to the force it's just not for me at all ( most people say are you mad leaving that to do gardening) but honestly working shifts, not seeing my kids for a week or 2 , pay cuts, longer pensions 60 , and it's more like a social worker job with hours of paper work.
Yes jobs have pros and cons however I believe the cons out way the pros now and for the last couple of years I've been looking at this as a new way of life for me.Basically, I worked on a farm previous to joining the police so I have experience of ground works etc and have been laying artificial grass over the past two summers.
So I'm more of a hands on type. I want to make myself a new career not only for myself but being home every night is huge you don't realise how much you miss out on family when you work away ever night!After reading all your advice I decided to do an online course in horticulture just to get some basic knowledge of lawns, plants etc I've looked at all the pros and cons from what has been said on here however I do have a couple of questions/ concerns which I hope you can help me with .
1. I have slowly built up a collection of essential tools and machinery so I'm ready to hit the ground running.. However as its August the thought of ' when to start ' is constantly annoying me ! My question is , is there a best time to start up ? I was thinking 2017 maybe a month in January of leaflet drops and advertising for a slow build up to summer ? Any advice re this ?
2. Approaching a gardener.. This is one I always think about. I know there's atleast
3 maintenance guys in our village, I don't wish to take custom from them nor build a huge business. I just want to make a living and earn a wage without trying to take over or under cutting people.
The thing is I'm not sure how maintenance works ie how often do you visit a customer , is every job different etc, I did approach one gardener for advice re this and he was like a closed book, obviously didn't want me to take any custom from him just kept calling me mad !
A sorry for the long post , I hope you can help me with something I'm passionate about getting into!
ThanksWilliam
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Intresting you say talk to local gardeners
Ive been trying to assess a local 'market rate' for various jobs im currently doing as i feel im too cheap ( just finishing first year or a re start up, long break , career switch)
Wondering whether to call up local workers and lie - getting them to quote for various jobs or do the honest and friendly approach and just say hello , explain situ and tell them i honestly dont want to under cut their prices, i just want to be on an even level
I can imagine i will get a lot of weird , closed book responses but im hoping amougst that there may be some usefull truth and maybe even some possible small scale joint work options - referals
Regarding your other points -- i dont think theres an ideal time to start up - august is supposed to be slow -- autumn crazy -- winter quiet but this depends on weather , geography , clients , and work you offer / skill set -- main neg to starting up autumn / winter i suppose is weather but looking outside today its august and absolutely pissing it down
Maintenance jobs from my limited experience are obviously completely client dependant -- i have three clients that expect / want an eight hour day -- i have a few that like four hours sessions
Ive been able to fill a five and a half day week with seven or eight clients -- mostly weekly visits some fortnightly , but thats geographically based -- i live in the sticks more or less where theres a lot of large houses
Due to location i dont do less than a four hour session (which seems average) as i will be travelling between jobs losing too much time and i prefer a fullish day if possible , if can get a large client base or good local jobs travelling may not eat into your time much - so im guessing four two hour sessions per day is achievable
I think from a start up point of view obviously the most hours you can guarantee from one client in one day makes getting up and running more financially secure , allowing more time to build up the shorter visits
Try and get a wide variety of clients and see what fits -- and make sure you try the largest houses in your area / travel times -- just a couple of large jobs could secure half your week ,maybe even all of it
i would struggle doing a full 8 hours on one job personally...the price per job thing if we are honest is really to disguise a high hourly rate that many clients would baulk at, because we work hard and do the job quickly, having invested in the right kit etc...I still tend to work on an hourly rate which although it may seem excessive, once clients know how i work they understand it is actually good value
Personally,though others will no doubt disagree, I'd keep going with the police job and build up a number of clients that you can do in your "spare" time.... this will also give you a chance to decide if you really do want to do gardening before you "burn all your boats" + it will start you off with a number of customers when you pack the police job in. Its not easy starting from scratch, particularly if you have no experience..............unfortunately, it's not just a matter of having some decent tools etc. you also need a decent regular income as you have a family to support........... How about getting a job working with a gardening firm?......... it will give you a steady income whilst you learn about it all.
I have been thinking about that graham possibley having a side job and if things were picking up and was enjoying then reassess at that point ..
Other good option is to be employed and gain some experience !
Dan thanks for the advice re the clients .. Hope your first year has went well ? I'm also in a small village would need to go out further afield
Hi William,
To answer your questions depends on what you're aiming to do, there are people who mainly do grass-cutting, some who do everything, and some who are much more specialised.
e.g you could just maintain water-gardens
So I have customers I visit weekly, but don't cut their grass and others that have a biennial hedge cut. But as an average once a fortnight, is fairly popular.
I wouldn't worry too much about other gardeners, you will end up taking some of their customers, an likewise they will take some of yours. No matter how good you are, professional, friendly, there will always people who will want to 'let you go' .
Likewise you will need to set your 'own' rates, and if you are trying to make a living, you needn't worry about undercutting.
Lots of people who 'do' gardening, don't actually like gardening and by definition will fail to understand your desire to embrace it.
Don't ever apologise for being passionate, it's always better than being a 'dullard' :-)
Don't get me wrong , I think people don't want me to go in with my eyes closed and being nieve however that's why I'm on this forum, even things like tax etc is all new to me ! My mind working overtime at the moment.
But I'm sure some of you started like me so your advice is priceless and I appreciate it !
Hi Will,
Get used to your mind working over time, it never stops once you go self employed! id say it is a way of life.
It would be ideal if you could start in your spare time whilst till working to begin with, so when you actually leave your job you have something coming in. Your first winter or so may be hard, have you thought about sub contractor to another firm when your quiet? it would give you experience and a bit of income. Just a thought,
Good Luck
I haven't thought of that .. But that could actually be a good way of approaching a local gardener ! Asking if he was able to send any work he couldn't do my way ! Give me a bit of experience. This may sound daft .. But when a customer asks you to do say 2 hours a week work or fortnight. Does that continue through the year or just summer months ? And do you adjust their service through the season ie instead of grass cutting doing snow clearing , tidy ups and cuttings etc ?
i don't work on an hourly basis, a lot of people don't anymore. i only do a few domestic houses but for example from march till the end of october fortnightly visits, including grass cutting, hedge cutting, weeding, leaf clearance, pruning etc. depending on the size of the garden depends on whats needed on each visit. Where are you based? someone local might be able to help, but if you are going to charge per hour, don't go below £15 per hour or you won't last long.
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