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The Landscape Juice Network (LJN)
What is it?
LJN is an open association of individuals and companies involved in landscaping, garden maintenance, horticulture and garden design.
The site is…
As Blue Monday is fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to give a small reminder to our community here on Landscape Juice to remember to tell people about your worries and if you’re having negative thoughts. Talking about emotions…
“Gardening programmes tend to be very ‘traditional’ white middle-class in their attitude towards gardening”, Julia Sargeant said in an interview after she won gold at Chelsea Flower Show in 2016. She was the first black gardener to design…
Studies report that burglary is one of the most emotionally impactful crimes to be a victim of. The prevention of being succumbed to it is always at the back of our minds – is anything on show? Are all the windows closed? Did you definitely lock…
Dan never knew that he would be orchestrating a ten-man-band five years ago when he packed in…
This series isn't just for landscapers and gardeners starting out: it's also a refresher for existing…
Open forum activity
"Thanks for your response. Have you actually tried this??"
After 26 years at Radley College, Adam King has seen grounds management evolve dramatically. Weather patterns have become less predictable, playing surfaces are under greater pressure than ever, and flexibility has become one of the most valuable…
GroundsFest has welcomed Christina Walker to its sales team as preparations continue for the 2027 exhibition.Christina joins the award-winning team with an extensive background in publishing and exhibitions spanning more than two decades. She began…
When freezing temperatures threaten the pitches at Forest Green Rovers FC, speed is everything. Protecting the stadium and training ground with frost covers can be a race against the weather, but thanks to Kress battery-powered blowers, the club's…
The GroundsFest Academy has confirmed TLS as its newest Platinum Sponsor, adding further industry strength to the Academy's range of sponsors and partners as it continues to expand its training offering for the groundscare sector. The sponsorship…
"Hi William, I would avoid working as a sub contractor if you can. Yes they will not pay a realistic rate as they will try to keep their profit as high as poss, in my experience getting paid was always an issue. We had a long and profitable…"
"Thanks William, yes a bit like being a retained fire fighter I suppose. Monthly payments for a 12 month contract, knowing that worst case scenario only 6 months or so might require visits. Which could be very few and far between, or more numerous…"
"Hi Richard, thank you for your reply. I've not approached either of these companies as yet, would you suggest Outco and Nurture are good companies to contact, and do you have any experience with either?"
"Hi Peter, thank you very much for such a detailed response, and I'm sorry to hear of your ill health, I do hope you are well. Both of my existing clients that I'm looking to bring on board should be manageable, so they can hopefully help me to dip…"
"Hi Billy, that's a really good idea, even if the contracts are a mix of 'subsciption' and ad-hoc, it at least covers the expense in a worst case scenario. "
"Hi Tim i wear basic disposable ear plugs with either model if using for any extended period... not so much the volume per se, but it takes the edge off that irritating metallic sound... I think these are being sold for below cost, but heart warming…"
"My 130T arrived and was tested today. It certainly runs fast...the high motor noise is slightly irritating compared to the rumble of the 130R though. I've got used to working without ear defenders. Planet tool owe you a finders fee."
Morning all,I’m Matt from That Pond Guy, a specialist pond maintenance company based in Burham, Kent. I’ve just joined LJN and thought I’d introduce myself.We cover Kent, London and the wider South East, looking after everything from garden wildlife…
Pond maintenance in the South East – a quick hello from Kent
Morning all,I’m Matt from That Pond Guy, a specialist pond maintenance company based in Burham, Kent. I’ve just joined LJN and thought I’d introduce myself.We cover Kent, London and the wider South East, looking after everything from garden wildlife…
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Winter Services
With the winter season fast approaching, I'm wondering whether this is the year I invest properly in providing and advertising winter services (gritting, snow clearing). My main questions would be: Is the pay worth the initial investment in the kit…
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Views: 462
Best professional battery hedge trimmer at present?
I have been using Stihl hla 86's for the past 5 years, but I am finding I am replacing them every 1-2 years. Are there any better alternatives at the moment? The only annoying thing is that I have all the AP batteries and chargers so changing brand…
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Views: 399
Best professional battery hedge trimmer at present?
I have been using Stihl hla 86's for the past 5 years, but I am finding I am replacing them every 1-2 years. Are there any better alternatives at the moment? The only annoying thing is that I have all the AP batteries and chargers so changing brand…
Read more…
Views: 123
Comments
What a great first post and I am as glad you found us as we have you.
There is a lot of information already posted that I am sure you will find of interest to you and as you say, a lot of it from people who have been in your position with a new business.
If you need any help at any time just shout and I am sure there will be many offers to help.
Kind regards
Phil Voice
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.
There is something you can help me straight away please - please direct me to the post which explains how to fit 48 hours into 24 as I seem to run out of hours trying to fit in work, family, admin, eating, sleeping............. :)
Nick
Love the known unknown unknowns, printed it off and stuck it up next to my PC.
Will memorise it to impress my friends and confuse my children.
Regards
Paul
Everyone goes through this Paul and I remember it well. I only realised later on that it is not necessary to take on so much - get the price right and you can afford to pick and choose.
Although we are a team we tend to work on separate jobs unless a customer is willing to pay for both of us to be on site. Most of Jan's work is maintenance related, i.e. weeding, dead heading etc. where my work seems to be mostly garden tidy ups for elderly people! I have also had a couple of hedge trimmimg jobs, a couple of regular lawn mowing customers and an up & coming turf laying job.
So far all of our customers have been really pleased with the work that we have done for them so I guess we are doing something right. My background is in IT support so I have a very good understanding of customer service and the benefits of going that extra mile within budget. I just need to charge out for what I am worth.
On the pricing front we have fixed our hourly rate and daily rate which seems to be acceptable to the majority of people I see to quote for but until I have more experience at one off jobs (hedge trimming etc) and the time they take, my pricing on these will fluctuate.
I am slowly learning more about the plants we see here (I see the same types pop up in different gardens) so my confidence in this area will grow over time.
Estimating how long a job will take is getting better but still under-estimating jobs, even in the smaller gardens.
The phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook yet so will need to take time out to put out further advertising and also to "optimise" our web site so it appears in search lists. Roll on "word of mouth" recommendations.
So far so good. Bit concerned about what we will be doing during December, January & February to bring in the pennies (Postman maybe!) but we will continue to make Jan's Gardening work. I absolutely refuse to go back to the daily commute and office politics so will do everything I can to succeed.
Paul
Well.....you did ask.