How to Price Lawn Care in 2023 (and make a PROFIT)

New lawn care pros, this one is for you. Check out my SIMPLE guide on how to price lawn care in 2023 - and not just barely break even, but make a profit that will GROW your business.
#LawnCareBusiness #Pricing #growcommcoachinggroup
TRAINING DAY: attend a full day of motivational and strategic coaching on resetting your mindset, clarifying your vision, maximizing the attraction your ideal candidates & clients feel toward your company, sculpting your brand, improving your culture, and crushing your sales.
Get the last ticket here: JacobGodar.com/training-day
Interested in joining my coaching group? GROW Comm opens for a few days a few times a year: JacobGodar.com/GROW-Comm
SCROLL FOR FREE DOWNLOADS
I am the CEO of Scooter's Lawn Care, Inc.: an award-winning lawn care, landscaping, and home service company with locations in central Illinois and southwest Florida.
I help others scale their lives, relationships & businesses on KZbin, on the GROW by Design podcast, in 1:1 coaching calls, and in my coaching group GROW Comm.
Listen to GROW by Design, a podcast for YOU: bit.ly/3gju22x
Here's my story:
I started a lawn care business part-time in 2014, while working full-time in the autobody industry. In 2015, I quit my job (with a pregnant fiancee) and risked everything to go full-time.
By 2019, Scooter's Lawn Care, Inc. was an award-winning, seven-figure company.
In 2021, I once again started from the ground up with a second location expansion in Cape Coral, Florida. By month three, my team was hitting $50,000/mo in revenue - climbing up on $100,000/mo before the first year's end. In under two years, my second location was selling over $200,000 in services each month.
I share the wins and losses in our business journey - along with proven strategies to scale - on KZbin to help others grow.
I coach others during 1:1 calls (bit.ly/3sczUgN) and in my private coaching group, GROW Comm.
GROW Comm is a one-of-a-kind, value-packed business growth training center, and networking community designed to scale service companies to seven-figures and create success & abundance in all areas of life.
Registration opens for a few days a few times each year.
Get on the GROW Comm waitlist: bit.ly/3MN8w2i
Not ready to invest in your growth? Just here for the freebies?
GET RESOURCES TO EXPERIENCE MASSIVE SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND LANDSCAPING BUSINESS:
JacobGodar.com/RESOURCES
Want to work with my team?
Hire Scooter's Lawn Care in Springfield IL: ScootersLawnCare.com
Hire Scooter's Lawn Care in Cape Coral FL: ScootersLawnCareFL.com
Watch Company Videos: bit.ly/3CThYwy
Thank you so much for your support. Wishing you all the success in the world.
#GROWCommCoachingGroup #GROWbyDesignPodcast #ScootersLawnCareInc

[@sdmfcfh1283]

Going from goal of 80-90 to $100hr this year. Cutting out 15% of my business to focus on route density

[@JacobGodar]

Love it!

[@mattking409]

This helped me realize I’m doing it right! Thank you was having doubts

[@nadinetaylor9370]

Stuck around til the end. Thank you 🎉❤

[@MiguelNieves-jt3bo]

Thank you for the time that you took to give all this information, since I am new at this business now I have learned great bullet points that you share God bless

[@Charisheals]

Thank you ! I am starting a landscape business and found this invaluable.

[@seanslawns]

I like this channel, you do a good job explaining it all. Looking forward to watching more in the future!

[@antoniocollins1025]

Very Good Video man. Great content!

[@missionlandscapesllc9283]

Awesome video brother good advice

[@davidgibbs2751]

Excellent content, thank you. This video instills confidence and a goal to be met.

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@rachaelcrittenden4535]

Good stuff!

[@kingswellkeptlawncareliny6110]

Thanks for sharing Jacob.

[@JacobGodar]

My pleasure. Have a kick ass 2023!

[@dillaboyvrstevenson5377]

I like how you broke the system down and made it simple to understand, good job 💯

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@eddiereyna2998]

I once wrote up something like this and I learned that the best way was just having 3 people. Yourself and 2 others . You as the owner can run it and do sales and step in if necessary and the 2 employees can do most homes and small commercial properties with a good amount of time that’s not wasted . The more ya take on , the larger the expenses begin to shoot up . I have to save to buy a 34” stand on mower as I have a Bobcat ZT219 52” hydro mower. But that requires a trailer or I stick with a 34” and keep the smaller yards and small commercial properties. Ideally I’d prefer 3 employees in the truck because it’s more then just mowing & edging . There’s hedging, spraying chemicals and with 3 guys those services are easier to do , instead of just 2 employees.

[@joycerosenlund4151]

Im not even a gardener but subscribe because you have info that would work in any business venture Thanks

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

😂 Ayyye, haven't seeny you in ages, brother. I don't know who I don't see on here until I get time to see a notification again; I'm always too distracted running solo. Crazy year.

[@JacobGodar]

That’s awesome it was a crazy year. I hope you have a awesome 2023 as well

[@TheOGCaptainCorner]

If you start with calculating your costs based on your lack of route density, itll just be more profit oce the route gets more dense.

[@JacobGodar]

Spot on!

[@codyowen5070]

I stuck around for the bonus tip!

[@yoddy0]

I stuck it out for the bonus content. Great info and appreciate the smaller nuance.

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@LafayetteINRVman]

Bonus time!

[@thelandscapeking]

This a great video edit!

[@JacobGodar]

Thanks!

[@Real_life_with_Kyle]

Awesome video

[@JacobGodar]

Thank you

[@sztarszki]

I take photos before I start and after Im finished. Létére I check the time and calculate the length of the job, I also have proof of my work, just in case and I can use it as references in marketing..

[@curbappeallawncarellc4263]

Been a long time man.. had to take a break for a good while. I agree and i agree about florida and low ballers but theres also finding the clients who want to pay the money. There are alot of what i call tire kickers. I know each area of florida is different. I am over joyed with yalls success in cape coral. Glad to have you in florida

[@JacobGodar]

Thank you brother

[@curbappeallawncarellc4263]

@@JacobGodar always. ive got some watching to do of your channel. Trying to also revive my own channel. Plus need to get into the grwo group again when it opens up.

[@nevillembarika2256]

Thanks

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@MakeYouLaugh905]

I'm 15 I just starter about a week ago and made$750 idk if that's good but this will help a lot TYSM

[@juniorperez4889]

Stayed for the Bonus

[@familyownedlawncareservices]

Heck ya watched it all. I'm all around the ball park minimum is 90 a hour to 300 a hour at some commerical. People say commerical pays less per hour man commerical pays amazing to me. I was 40 a hour before I Graduated from KZbin University!!!!

[@JacobGodar]

That’s awesome!

[@christyk.6929]

We love your videos for our cleaning business! Would love to know your strategy for when people think your prices are too high or more than what they're "currently" paying.

[@JacobGodar]

For us mowing is not a main focus. We focus heavily on landscaping and growing that sector. This allows us to not really fight with people thinking prices are so high. We get tons of mowing leads without marketing and we take the ones that are willing to pay and then email market to everyone else to try to sell other services. The biggest piece is if people are just shopping for price it’s impossible to change their mind. They either see the value or they don’t. I share with them the value of a company that has a full office staff, well paid team members, and billing/ other technology that makes their life easier. If they don’t value it we give them referrals for someone that is more cost effective but doesn’t have all the benefits.

[@highendbutthurt2781]

Price isn’t the problem there, it’s value, customer can’t connect the value to the price

[@willieslawncareservice.8436]

In Florida is better to open up a Barbershop. You make more money cut it . $30 to $35 Four a haircut, And when you go cut a property for $30 You see, how big is the home property? Then look at the size of your head and figure that one out. I think i'm going to open up a few barber shops Make easy money.

[@JacobGodar]

We would be out of business if we only charged $30 a stop. I’m happy there is so much room to charge more here!

[@gat-conpaintingandconstruc3730]

I stuck around. I'm just starting out so yea teach me

[@enriquefernandez6782]

I am a tree and lawn care service, I charge $165 per a weed control or fertilization application on a 18,000 sf lawn and can do both treatments in one hour taking my time making $330 . North Chicago Illinois

[@enriquefernandez6782]

Easily $250 profit when I deduct cost of fertilizer and weed control + gas and low overhead costs

[@JacobGodar]

I love it!

[@MrDazaquane]

Bonus was important

[@JacobGodar]

🙏

[@rogerl8488]

Thank you for the video!! So whats the easy way to find out the square ft of a lawn?

[@JacobGodar]

We measure them all on service autopilot. You could also use something like Google earth

[@Dsracechannel]

Well i did this way Have a set minimum mine are 240 to 300 just for weekly mowing and edging and round up the beds as needed pruning is 65$ per man per hour every time we prune and have to pick up clippings. 1 hr minimum and if i have 5 guys, your paying 65 each for a minimum period. I want a 10,000 sqft house and so do my guys and well im not doing this for fun ive got 5 kids bills and shit if you want cheap call a highschool kid. Most folks realized they want it perfect and they will pay for that. Also our biweeklys run 185 minimum period for mowing and edging round up ect. I live in the Atlanta area where they pay for perfect. I also know cycling clie ts is okay as well because sometimes the clients get Stagnant then they get tired of us too, and we get tired of them. So we are always looking for new clients. And we're always looking for clients that are willing to do. Retaining walls multiplying straw flowers, new plants, new side fire pits. Cause he bones, that's the one we want.

[@Dsracechannel]

Also we do go up every yr on mowing 2024 I will be 260 to 320 minimum and again we don't always give our minimum dependent on complexity of the property hills grade size a million plants is fine because we are safe at 65 per hour per man but I want to be off a yard in about 20mins with 2 guys.

[@Dsracechannel]

And sure you can say we'll don't give out prices but can you do the work I do or do you not do it my way if you try to poach my clients by cutting my nuts it might work for a short while but in the end I'll replace them and they will quit on u with a poor performance or you become overwhelmed I am not afraid besides we all need to be on the same page so the Hispanics don't take over at 50 a cut we should all untie

[@JacobGodar]

Sounds well thought out! Do you re market to all your leads to upsell them on additional services through email?

[@JacobGodar]

Also I love giving out numbers and making it easier for clients to understand. I love these comments. Keep up the great work.

[@Rickywhite357]

I got the bonus

[@JacobGodar]

👏

[@BeagleBellow]

Here where I live, we do not have public pickup of yard waste so I always tell the client I will charge a disposal fee when applicable. Also, many of the private gated communities here charge outrageous gate fees. 3 of them charge $15 and $10 each axle for your trailer or you can buy yearly decal. SIGH. I'm a solo owner/operator so I try and do mainly the small lawn yards. I can do 3 jobs an hour if there close together. I shoot for $100 a man hour🤔. but because I'm a new business, I am not full time. What do think of taking out loans for equipment when just starting and when is OK?

[@JacobGodar]

I think of you can afford it it’s ok. If your doing it to grow your business and the work is servicing it I’m for it. Especially when your using it to expand.

[@mattd2080]

Such simple concepts yet many business owners across many industries don't get it. They shoot from the hip and fly by the seat of their pants. Track man hours, build data, etc to know your numbers and where you have to be

[@JacobGodar]

Your 100% correct. I want to see people kick more ass and be less stressed. Implementing simple systems will allow you make it happen. Thank you for the great comment. Have a awesome 2023.

[@christophermachen7452]

Stuck round to the end

[@JacobGodar]

🔥

[@sikhobodoza5288]

✅

[@brucesooner]

How has service auto pilot worked for you as you added more installations and projects into your business

[@JacobGodar]

It has worked well we have a system with how we use it now and are happy with the results

[@mitchellslawncareservicell1733]

When doing the math to determine a man hour rate am i suppose to include the total cost of labor to the total cost of running a business? You did not mention it specifically. But I would assume so. And would i need to multiply that by 2 if i have 2 employees? Do i add myself in that as well?

[@mitchellslawncareservicell1733]

To be more specific... The total labor per week for me, including myself, is about 2320. We've worked an average of 1704 hours a year equalling 99,760 per year in labor alone. Adding everything else brings me to 130,264. Do I now divide that by 1704? If I do then I get $76/ man hour. And that's just too break even?

[@connorstead8137]

Instead of assuming 5 minutes on each end, just do a flat 20-25% inefficiently factor in the hourly. $50hr * 1.25 =$62.50 an hour in order to compensate and off set all costs and make a profit.

[@JacobGodar]

That’s another way you could look at it. We have always had a ton of success just budgeting to recover overhead in 8 hours.

[@GoldenProductions9199]

I charge 25.00 for my business per hour Is I too low for mowing?

[@charlysalgado9301]

🤘🏼

[@waylonratcliffe]

Awesome stuff man, I measure every lawn. Here's my pricing based on gross lot size and an $80 man hour rate. 10K Sq. Ft. - $50 Weekly / $60 Bi-Weekly 11K - 55 / 65 12K - 60 / 75 13K - 65 / 80 14K - 70 / 85 15K - 75 / 90

[@lavalleeturfcare7523]

I'd get those bi-weekly prices up. Why would you go do twice the work for only $10-15 more? It's pretty standard across the board now to add 50%-75% to the weekly price. I know a couple guys who are just straight up doubling it or getting rid of bi-weekly all together. I was dabbling with the idea of getting rid of my bi-weeklys this year, but with a lot of people cutting back on spending, bi-weeklys might save the day this season.

[@waylonratcliffe]

​@@lavalleeturfcare7523 My base structure was $40 / 60, $50 / 75. $60 / 90, but I was killing it last year on the $60 bi-weekly cuts, making $100+ a man hour so this year I raised the weekly cuts and left the bi-weekly's the same because they were so profitable. I'm all for 50% higher as long as your measuring and know where your at you can price yourself out of the market, I seem to be at the top end for my market, with a 45% close ratio. Absolutely agree on people cutting back to bi-weekly, great insight, as long as your making your hourly rate who cares what umbrella of terms the service falls in.

[@fuqutube]

@@lavalleeturfcare7523 do every 10 days, 3 cuts . lawn never looks like crap and "saves" client money but still manageable to cut.

[@lavalleeturfcare7523]

@@fuqutube Can't do the 10 day thing. In theory it sounds nice, but throws off the entire schedule.

[@fuqutube]

@@lavalleeturfcare7523 You the only one I know says "cant" cause the rest of us offer this ... never the 2x a month the lawns are 2ft tall by then lol. Fk that..

[@BBradshaw131]

You said that your business operates for 8 months of the year. What do you do for the remaining 4 months? It's that lull for me now.

[@JacobGodar]

So we base our core pricing off of 8 months and we run closer to 10.5. The rest of the time we are prepping for the new year. It’s always a challenge because the money shuts off and there are tons of investments to be made. But the more you plan for it the better.

[@robertrice2141]

Does your brother own Florida Turf Pro? You look and sound like him.

[@JacobGodar]

No relation lol

[@rodneybutts4107]

10:46 I stayed to the end

[@freedomrings4134]

When I give a summer price it is same for winter. There's your business profit.

[@JacobGodar]

It’s all about the per service price. Making sure your making money at every stop is crucial. Weather it’s even billed or not.

[@freedomrings4134]

@Jacob Godar True but your Man hour rate gains nearly 30% if you average you winter in. Just gotta wait all year to get it.

[@JacobGodar]

For job costing our even billing shows on the dispatch board as a per cut. That allows us to target our 65 a man hour rate and hit it to pay out team bonuses. Then on our off weeks they landscape and drive the landscape rate.

[@freedomrings4134]

@Jacob Godar Because your putting a time on it?

[@JacobGodar]

Because we know the goal for the day. We know since there is a per cut price. Which whether it’s figured out or not there is. This way the mow crews know if they hit their $1000 for the day and how the man hours ended up.

[@therealBocaStudios]

I wanna make $80/hr that’s why you put new employees on trimming & Cleanup or second mower.

[@backseatdriver9576]

Bonus me

[@willieslawncareservice.8436]

There's no money here in Florida cutting grass. So many fools cutting grass for $20

[@JacobGodar]

That’s what everyone always told me. We charge double most of our competition and most of our lawns are close to a 50 dollar minimum before weed control or trimming shrubs. We do really well mowing in Florida. The people that charge the going rate must be going broke tho

[@fuqutube]

" So many fools cutting grass" You said it.. Lol... This is why I cut trees, and do excavation.

[@ESP12345]

Yeah many charging low. My lowest for small property is 40$ maybe 35. That's for one cut but maybe like twice month for those houses

[@fuqutube]

" So many fools cutting grass"

[@willieslawncareservice.8436]

@@ESP12345 Twice a month for $80 That's really sad. And HOA don't want to pay either They want you to cut that for $25 a house. Sorry but the problem is too many Spanish people in FL or working for nothing.

[@icac6122]

Are we talking lawn guys that only mow and trim lawns? You guys edge and do mulch, right? I'd hope there aren't companies that straight up only mow.

[@JacobGodar]

I don’t 100% understand your question. But we have a a la carte service. You can have mowing and trimming as a base. The most common package has edging as well. When it comes to mulch that is more of a project team job for us. We have found keeping mowers mowing has been the most successful for us.

[@icac6122]

@@JacobGodar but ultimately, you do do other projects. That's what I was asking

[@hunterhilbert4559]

This guy should be a pastor not a lanw care expert.

[@Acutaboveva]

This is poor advice overall, and I highly recommend young people avoid fake lawn business guru's like this dude. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but this is NOT how you price jobs. All of you should be pricing for gross margin. Pricing for gross margin has been around for 100 years and it's the only true way to cover your labor, materials, fringe, and overhead when pricing jobs. I've been in the game for 25+ years. I've been a solo guy and now we have 30-40 employees and 20+ trucks. Sorry to be a hater but you must learn REAL systems and process if you're going to be successful long term.

[@JacobGodar]

I know a ton of people shoot for 50% gross margin. It’s it’s a very rudimentary way to price but typically works. I love how we build in everything and not just hope the profit margin will cover it. I need to know every cent is accounted for because it’s the net profit that actually matters. Sounds like we have a similar size company but 2 different ways to looks at it. Keep killing it!

[@Acutaboveva]

@JacobGodar The big boys use Gross margin for a reason. Your way will overprice jobs and that's why we scale and you dont. You gotta know what you're talking about if you're gonna try and sell to these young kids. Only the super inexperienced guys price jobs they way you do. Educate and elevate brother😁✌️These kids need our help, not stupidity.

[@JacobGodar]

Jim Huston is the industry standard. When we paid him to consult I was glad that we were spot on. Keep scaling brother. I can’t wait until we’re 25 years in. I want that top 100 list.

[@Acutaboveva]

@@JacobGodar You don't even know what you're talking about. Jim Huston does the GPM Model, which is different from pricing for gross margin. Educate and elevate, instead of pretending like you know something, young man.

[@JacobGodar]

Yes your 100% correct. And when he gives me the good to go and says our pricing model is on point it is reassuring compared to a random person on KZbin. Thank you for the comment!