I'm Not Alone!!

Hello to you all at Landscape Juice Network from Jan & Paul Rogers!What a great looking site. When I stumbled across LJN looking for hedge trimming advice I skimmed through a few topics & pages and it was quickly evident that I needed to join the community. I could not believe the posts I saw which were from people just like me i.e. new to the world of running a garden maintenance business, plus experienced people who have been in the game for years.As a newbie gardener I have so many questions that need answering, so much advice that I need that I can't wait to delve into the site to find it. I bet there is stuff I don't know I need to know (if that makes sense), but as it's gone midnight that will have to wait for another day.I have never really been someone who blogs, posts, twitters, messaging etc etc but I will do my best to contribute in some way to the posts where applicable. I have found that starting our own business has involved doing a few things that I have shied away from previously.So that's enough for now as my typing is annoying Jan who is trying to sleep.Until next time.Paul

Comments

PRO

Phil Voice August 27, 2009 at 8:16am

Hello Paul and Jan

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
Nick Steele August 27, 2009 at 8:43am

You make perfect sense - you are perhaps related to Donald Rumsfeld :

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.
Paul Rogers August 27, 2009 at 11:41pm

Thanks Phil we (me actually) certainly will shout. I don't doubt the info is all here waiting for me to find it, maybe I'll need someone to clarify stuff for me at times though.

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
PRO

Phil Voice August 29, 2009 at 1:31pm

"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............. :)"

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.
PRO

Phil Voice September 10, 2009 at 8:32pm

How is it going Paul?
Paul Rogers September 10, 2009 at 9:57pm

Well, we are working virtually every day, except weekends.
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.
PRO

Phil Voice September 11, 2009 at 7:28am

You sound like you are very determined to get it right - the best of luck:-0))

"I generally spray a heck of a lot in Feb/March, or just befroe the buds appear, then as soon as the leaves have appreared stop... unless I have a real problem with a particular plant - otherwise I would spend my life spraying for blackspot :)"

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