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LJN is an open association of individuals and companies involved in landscaping, garden maintenance, horticulture and garden design.
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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
It certainly suits me to stick to paper. I am…"
Yep- private school eduction, then his Dad (a city trader) gets Nigel a city trader job. His only ever job, before becoming an MEP.
Yep- that's the real world isn't it!
I wasn't suggesting that Reform…"
So we will have to be patient and put with what we…"
'You will own nothing and be happy'
Last general election i red the manifestos of tories, Labour and reform. The only one that was realistic and contained common sense was reforms.
Tories and…"
Including burning our country to the ground just to prove a point."
As for Nigel, if you are…"
If fat jayden with adhd doesn't get his macdonalds via delivero everyday he gets anxiety attacks.
His parents that have never worked still…"
The MTD idea is to stop small…"
Making tax digital
Thought there might be some unaware of this. So briefly and I am not an accountant . As from 6th April 26 anyone who has income from self employment, rent from property etc or a combination that equates to a turnover of 50k or more (not profit) will…
Read more…Dedicated Garden Waste Collection/Garden Clearance Business
Hi all,A few quick questions for anyone running garden waste or clearance work:What vehicle setup works best for fast, one-person jobs?Do private firms use their own green waste bins, and how do you manage them?How do you deal with overfilled dumpy…
Read more…Robot mowers and rabbits
Ideas please..The garden I look after is mown by a couple of large very heavy robot mowers - they are generally my friends - they remove the bore of cutting the lawns which used to take 2 full days a fortnight with a large ride on and smaller…
Read more…White Deicing Salt – Winter Safety Update
As winter conditions set in, White Deicing Salt is being deployed to keep roads, car parks, and pathways safe across communities. Known for its fast action, it quickly melts ice and snow, reducing slip hazards and ensuring safer movement. Unlike…
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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.