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maybe on the residential jobs next time you do them instead of saying i did x amount of hours edge it up slightly and just say it's x amount, i personally do have a horrifically high sounding hourly rate which i tell clients straight to their face if asked so most just trust me now that i get loads done for their money and they actually boast to their friends how expensive their gardener is yet worth every penny hence am being threatened with more work all the while
I don’t know if you invoice them, but as Billybop says, list the tasks done and not the hours worked. Even if this is only verbal, slowly they will get used to the price per task system. It’s far better for the client as they can actually see what they are paying for. So each visit you can list the same tasks you have done, but spend a little less time on site each visit until you get down to where you want to be.
Time spent on site does not equate to productivity. A gardener could be at a client’s garden for ages and yet not get much done. I have seen this many times over the years.
I too, like Billybop, have eye wateringly high hourly rates, if I were to break down the price per job into an hourly rate that is. It can be difficult for some clients to understand the difference between turnover and net profit, if they have never run a business. Thankfully the vast majority of my work is also commercial.
I never tire of grass cutting and I quite like hedge cutting also. I would rather be riding up and down on the machine and producing a fantastic finish, rather than turning boarders or weeding, which I never do in any case, not any more.
This is how I approach my working life. Always produce a superb finish, but still be efficient. So always use a ride on machine and avoid hand mowing like the plague. I also use my ride on mowers on what many would think of as hand mowing work. It’s much faster and in my experience gives a better result.
As regards new work/clients, I have never seen the need to constantly be acquiring new work. Yes, it does come along now and then which is fine, but most of my clients have been with me for many years now. A good client with nice well paid work five, ten or even twenty or thirty years ago is still all of these thing now [providing your prices have increased accordingly]. It is possible to take too much on. Last year I was definitely over doing it, working six or even seven days a week. Having sub-contracted out the largest playing fields I now find I have a far better work life balance and nearly the same income. So don’t worry too much about expanding. It can be a double edged sword.