CRAZY DAY MOWING LAWNS IN OUR LAWN BUSINESS

Today I did a vlog so you could follow along with a routine day in the life a lawn business owner. If you own a lawn care business, I'm sure you can relate to many of the day to day activities covered in this video.
www.turfprosacademy.com is a mirror image of the business model Jonathan used to build Florida Turf Pros. If you're looking to start your own lawn care business, or if you feel like your lawn care business should be more profitable than what it is, this is the course for you.
My Story:
In 2016 I had been in law enforcement for almost 7 years.
I was not in control of my schedule, I was hardly making any money, and I was away from my family working nights and holidays. I was capable of more,, and I was silently suffering. I knew I was selling myself and my family short.
I started Florida Turf Pros as a side hustle in 2016 before going full time in 2017.
My lawn business changed my life. I control my own schedule, my own income, and I am proud of what I have built.
On this channel you will learn the steps I have taken (and am still taking) to have a lawn care business that serves ME and my family’s needs.
We are a small owner operated company (2 full time mowing trucks/crews, and now a sod installation division).
If you are interested in starting a lawn care business this channel will provide the direction.
This really is a great industry to be in…
And I hope that by documenting my journey it will help you too.

[@troylindsey1444]

I recently had a customer I was mowing for when he was out of town (1 or 2x/mo). He was mowing when he was at home. I don't normally do these but he was easy to add to the schedule, because we mow the property next door. A couple of weeks ago, he called and asked for us to mow him that week. The week before i noticed he had not mowed and when we got there, it had obviuosly not been mowed in 2 or 3 weeks. He got the normal weekly mow, but then he got mad because i didnt clean it up and make it look like it had been mowed weekly. When i explained that it would take signicantly more of my time and his money, since he had not mowed it for at least 2 weeks, he claimed he had just mowed 5 days prior. He also wanted me to come back and clean it up. I dont think we will be doing business anymore. I really dont like people who try to get over on me.

[@jjj7218]

That happened to me to couple weeks about and on top of that the new client wanted me to cut lower, bag and cut my price to match the neighbors lawn guy. I said no way I rather lose the yard than being degraded down after agreeing to original price

[@troylindsey1444]

@jjj7218 absolutely. You don't need people who will try to push you into that kind of arrangement. We provide a quality service at a fair price. If that customer isn't happy with that, we can pickup 2 new customers to replace them anytime we want

[@richarddallas5261]

It is a breath of fresh air to see videos like these that address a typical occurrence in lawn care. There are times when equipment and machines constantly break down, and it can be quite stressful when you have a lot of clients. Great dealer support can smooth over your challenge and render a problem into a minor nuisance. On the other hand, if you do not have tools or an iota of mechanical skill you will have a gigantic problem on your hands i.e. grass will be getting taller and taller, especially with abundant rain, and without your equipment that spells disaster. I take my hat of to John for making videos of this sort to make people aware of the potential pitfalls that can occur in a growing lawn care business. I personally have ran into a situation this season when all three of my mowers went down, and I had to resort to utilizing my push mower for a day on my very small properties properties. I worked that thing like a zero turn 😂. Take heed to prudent advice. I have learnt a tremendous amount of useful advice from the moment I’ve subscribe to Florida Turf Pros. This information has made me wiser in how to build a more successful lawn care business. John is the real deal!!!!!

[@RayneMarch14]

Great feedback and insight- thank you

[@AlbertoGonzalez-yu3pe]

Don't do the I mow you mow it's either weekly biweekly or see yah, also if you running more than one or running one HARD you should keep or have extra belts and blades.for sure

[@lawnboy4492]

Great video as always Johnathon. That guy at the dealership is a clown. Everytime you are there just address him as clown lol. Keep up the good work.

[@elc7795]

I use NAPA auto parts to buy deck belts. If they don’t have it in stock they usually have it the next day and it is usually a lot cheaper. I also try and have a spare while running multiple of the same mowing platform.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I absolutely should have had my own spare. I was mad at myself for not having one. I have 3 that will be here on Monday though.

[@troylindsey1444]

Good tip. Thx

[@travismorrison904]

They don’t stock deck belts for the mower they sell…. You handled it great ! The money you’ve spent and they don’t carry a common deck belt !? Wow…. It would be one thing if they just sold out and didn’t have one but to not even stock a few and have to order the most common failure on a mower… man you’ve had a day!!

[@JoshuaDavis-mk2tn]

I have a white board in my shop that has all my part numbers, maintenance schedule, and socket sizes wrote down along with spare parts. I keep a spare drive belt and deck belt in the truck and another spare in the shop. It has worked wonders for me.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

That's a great idea. Thanks!

[@aaronandvicky7652]

That’s a great idea with the part numbers. Fuel and oil filters, belts etc. definitely doing this.

[@ThaiXLe]

Put the info on a spreadsheet then upload to the cloud, The info is always accessible from your smartphone while on the road.

[@LLC_Turf_Pros]

I have a dealer close by my house I stopped going to when I noticed them talking bad to each other about somebody they got off the phone with wanting an update on equipment they were working on. Not to mention they were completely unfriendly. So I drive an hour to get to a better dealer.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I actually really like my dealer. Just had a run in with an employee is all.

[@erickshywonis2857]

I got a pair of work gloves that works with my phone so i dont have to take them off. Full disclosure though they do work but yes sometimes hit the wrong button because they are pretty bulky but they do work but they dont last very long i usually go through 2 or 3 pairs in a full season

[@AJourneyOfYourSoul]

This customer sounds like a great customer to replace with someone better.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

💯

[@FloridaTurfPros]

He was a new customer. I don't think it's gonna work out.

[@jonesey1981]

I buy everything from online parts stores or amazon. It's unbelievable how much dealers are in the dark ages still. My dealer told me the same thing when I ordered the mulch kit. He goes, we'll get that on order for you. I said when will it be in, he said he's not sure. The truck comes at the end of the week, and it'll be on the next one if it's not on this one, lol. so possibly 2 weeks?! wtf! I order everything myself now and don't even go to them unless I need warranty work done, which will hopefully never happen. I change my own oil, belts, and hydro oil and filters. Love my pro stance 32". So glad I went with Gravely(based on your opinion of them, so thanks!), but their dealerships really leave something to be desired.

[@semperfione4644]

NAPA is a great place to get certain parts.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Had a few people tell me that... I'll keep that in mind.

[@chriswest8147]

Just got my 36 pro-stance delivered today. Thanks for the insight and awesome videos. Please keep em coming! Thanks brother. Cant wait to get started Jan 1st.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Heck ya man! Congrats. Does your gravely have the dial adjustment wheel or the pin system for deck adjustment?

[@chriswest8147]

@FloridaTurfPros it's got the pin system. The floor plate also has has numerous drain ports, which I know yours don't? If I can recall from your videos. But yeah, I'm so excited. There's so much negatively though about starting a business since there's so many guys with a mower. BUT, hoping to use what I got from you and make it work! Cheers brother. Hope your feeling better after getting the 'rona..

[@FloridaTurfPros]

The pin system is much better than the dial adjustment... you'll enjoy that mower. Thanks, I'm starting to feel a little better today.@@chriswest8147

[@newbs70]

Johnathon do you ever put mulch kits on your mowers? or is there too much growth. Love your work.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Yes, but only during the fall when the grass is shorter and drier. During the rainy season we use high lift blades and have to get the grass discharged.

[@scubamystic8860]

Don’t do biweekly properties. Learned that early on.

[@bo4638]

He has made a video in the past why he loves Bi weekly lawns. Scroll back through his videos and check it out! He has good reasons in the video. In my case i have some lawns that just don't grow fast, so when i quote it i usually just double it.

[@bo4638]

If you have a Tractor Supply nearby they usually have belts much cheaper than dealers.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I didn't think of that.

[@firstname6208]

take a paint stick and write the correct size belt on the mower deck. ex ( 5/8 x 74). that way you can stop anywhere and ask for the correct size vs a proprietary part number. that they may or may not be able to cross.

[@tarkus7561]

Jonathan, what type of long pants are you using? Bill

[@jonesey1981]

Yea, I'm curious too. I rock the synthetic wrangler cargo pants from Walmart but I'm looking for something with lighter material.

[@DeanSchumacher]

Yea I wouldn't waste your breath anymore on that type of customer I hate the low ballers best thing to do with them is to let someone else deal with them. Is tht really gonna be $2000 in labor well we can raise it to $3000 lol give them tht choice keep up the great work this Florida heat is brutal and way too dry

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Man it has been SO DRY this year. I just am not interested in getting beat down on price AT ALL. I'm just at the point where I truly don't care, the price is the price.

[@The19bull52]

$2,000 was very reasonable for that job. Crazy.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I thought so too.

[@Mowandlandscaping1984]

You ever work in Navarre my brother lives there

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I don't do any work in Navarre.

[@ravanderveur]

It's like the Dealers are committed to driving the business away....... and it is not just mowers. I tried to befriend the local shop and was forced to accept that it wouldn't work so I stock stuff and then the real magic is continuity of equipment . I though you got Covid?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I did. I popped a test and it said I was no longer contagious so went back to work. I still feel pretty miserable.

[@2gofaster]

I can't believe the mower shop giving you BS on parts for mowers they sell or service. Apparently, belts, pulleys, and spindles do not break according to butt-wipe. It's a shame if that is the only dealer close by.... otherwise, dump it. Order on-line directly from factory or other authorized dealers.... stay away from Scamazon.

[@KeepItMowed]

That guy needs to be fired😂 Sorry, that's just straight up stupidity. While having the same equipment can be nice, if the company has shortages or back orders, you're screwed. Look at Husqvarna right now. Some of their parts are impossible to find. I think having two brands is not a bad idea or difficult to do. I'm with you on keeping things stream lined. I even buy after market parts as emergency back ups in case I can't get OEM stuff. My truck has basically every part I could need for mowers. Like you if my trimmer breaks, I have a combo unit and if it's some $70 part, I'll just sell it as is and buy a new trimmer.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I agree. It usually just makes sense for us to get rid of trimmers and replace them rather than repair.

[@tarkus7561]

Sorry. Name brand too😊

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Cheap wranglers from walmart. I think they were about $20. I buy several at a time. They wear out quick.

[@user-on4vw8zp2q]

gravley is a bad mower try skag or bobcat

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Funny, I was just about to make a video on how 4 of our Gravely's have been amazing mowers.

[@jcgalmiche8352]

I try to buy local as much as possible because amazon doesnt refer us business.BUT I do make exceptions for vendors that are buttholes. I have a list and once your on the LIST I NEVER EVER buy from them again.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I honestly really like my dealer and everyone there. Except for one guy 😂

[@michaeldaniels5584]

I agree get it from your local dealer, that should stock stuff. Amazon stuff is usually junk that dont last. @@FloridaTurfPros

[@walterj8150]

That guy that butted in sounds like a real jerk. He has to remember that you are the consumer spending your money at his business which puts money in his pockets. If you can go find a different dealership to handle your needs. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Ya, he's just an argumentative human being.

[@richardburnett2749]

Why don’t you just go to a neither dealer that shows your customers respect and order a belt you need more go to a dealer that has many of them in stock and keeps them in stock

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Because every other person in this dealership is great to work with... there's a bad apple though, and I got stuck with them the other day. Just goes to show how one bad apple can ruin customer experience.

[@__-dt9jd]

Can't go back and forth with a clown jon just gotta look over and go over them

[@rocksandtrails4610]

Go electric, no belts

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Very expensive but interesting none the less.

[@user-ks2jt4fp8p]

Simple reason. In my area electric mowers can not go through the thick grass as they keep lawn up here at 3 to 3.5 inches high. Sorry. Electric stinks in certain areas.

[@rocksandtrails4610]

@@user-ks2jt4fp8p what model electric mower did you have?

[@user-ks2jt4fp8p]

​@@rocksandtrails4610toro

[@andrewslands]

THUMB CUT OUT!