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The only one I can think off thats not a small tractor is a Westwood/Countax. Get the sweeper collector, scarify attachment, plus an option of tow hitch/ball - then you can use simple aerator attachments (slitter hole type)
The Stiga mowers are good as the deck is at the front. It is easier to cut a little more often and mulch than it is to collect.
Stiga do a lawn rake for the Parks range. A spiked roller can be towed by any machine of course. How come the client wants a mower? Aren't you mowing the grass?
I am trying to build my business based on lawn care only. i would like to be convinced that cutting as well is profitable? I am cutting grass for a few clients but time , effort and reward seem to be out of sync. I am sure i am not charging enough or getting round quick enough with exactly the correct kit. It then i find builds resentment? I went along to the UK lawn care conference, most guys were trying to do less cutting.
Thanks
It is very true that doing a job that is under-priced causes resentment and once someone has a low price, it is very difficult to increase it as they assume the first price is the benchmark. I do a great deal of mowing and it does pay well and I generally enjoy it.
Rates do vary quite a bit from job to job. At one end of the scale I have a job which, after I have paid my strimmer man his cut, I get £156 and I can do it in less than two hours. That's a very good rate. Some other jobs are nearer to £40 per hour [I am talking about ride on machine work here] and others are somewhere in between. I strim a bank on one job for which I charge £40 and it never takes longer than 20 minutes, but then I can't expect that kind of return, over £120pph, all the time. I think to some extent that you have to average it out accross the work.
The size and speed of machine are also a critical factor, but then if you have very large exspensive equipment, the job price is the same, but you are much faster and that's where the benefit of the kit comes in, yielding a better hourly return. Pricing is something that is very difficult to prescribe as there are so many variables.
I don't do any hand mowing. I have some, what I call my 'Hand Mowing' jobs [small domestic lawns], but I can use my Stiga 740pwx on them, which is much faster.
I try and have a minimum price of about £45 per hour for mowing and a minimum of £30 for hedgecutting. But these are the starting point and more, is of course, much better. I should emphasize that you must never quote or discuss hourly rates with clients though. This is something in your own head you use to calculate a price. Then when you find more efficient ways or use larger faster gear, you can do the job in less time, but the price remains the same.
Thank you for taking the time to share this advice with me Vic. Which area of the Country do you operate in?
Ham
Derbyshire