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kevin332

Hello, hope all is well. My name is Kevin and i have owned a landscape company for 12 yrs. We offer everything from clearing lots to a fully manacured landscape and lawn. I have been operating heavy equipment just about my whole life(35yrs). My dad put me on a tractor disking fields when i was just 7. I cant possibly put into words my passion for this business especially when it comes to the excavation part. I currently own a JD 50D mini exc. and a JD 332 skid loader. For bigger jobs we rent PC 200s and 700J dozers. I started this business from scratch mowing yards and doing maintenance work so as to save enough to get to where im at today. My question is i would really like to only work my mini and bobcat daily and not have to rely on the other services, manpower , etc for income to support this career. What means of advertsing should i consider in order to accomplish this. I do have relations with some local contractors but most of them are already obligated to someone else. I would sure like your input on this. Also i realize were in a very slow economy right now but fortunately the area i live in is still doing quite well.

MACEXCAVATING

Hi Kevin, Really your question is an individual type question. This kind of thing is a case by case situation. What might work for me will not work for you. I would suggest using multiple situations. Different media, post cards phone book, etc. But I IMHO, face to face contact is prolly the best way for my business. You have 12 years worth of happy clients, I only have a couple years worth, so you have an advantage there.

Just try different things and go with works best for you. Hope this helps.

GOOD LUCK

__________________
"The land of familiarity belongs to the dead."
"We're playing in the dirt BROTHER!"

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kevin332

thanks for the input. Yes i have 12 yrs on my belt and most all the business we have comes from word of mouth. However this seems much easier from a landscape, yard, and maintenance point of view. Even though we avg around 600 hrs/yr on our machines, I still cant seem to get the word of mouth i feel i need in order to carry this on full time. By the way IMHO???

tgeb

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

Kevin, I am not sure exactly what it is you are asking.

Is it possible for you to branch your landscape business more toward landscape construction? Or maybe concentrate on grading and drainage problems?

I don't know of any sort of work that is excavation related that completely eliminates having some sort of labor force.

I don't put anywhere near 600 machine hours on any of my equipment in 1 year.

Almost all of my work is word of mouth referrals.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

kevin332

thanks for repy tom, im sorry i should have been more specific, 300 hrs on each machine Most of the work we do with our machines comes about thru the landscaping aspect of the job. What im wanting to do is get jobs specifically for the machines such as clearing , driveways , utility lines, etc. For instance our area just got hit hard with the ice storm. Clean up is everywhere and we have been capitalizing on that with my 2 machines and dumptruck. Loving every minute of it. But now that it is coming to an end(cleanup) I want to continue this trend of leaving out everyday with my dumptruck,trailer, mini, and bobcat.

Bill Z

Kevin,

While we're all thinking about ideas, why don't you load up your best looking equipment, take it to the local car wash and give it a real good, slow bath. Get it real shiny then go park your rig in the parking lot of a real busy restaurant, go in and have a meal with desert, a few cups of coffee. Wear a company shirt and make sure you have some signs on your truck and equipment. When you're done with lunch, run over to the local shopping center, big box, or grocery and go inside and do some shopping. Hang out around your rig for half an hour, maybe change some wiper blades or something. On your way home, stop and get some 3/ bolts at the busiest hardware in town. When you get back tonight, check the site and see if anyone thought of anything for you to try.

Bill

Trencher

Expounding off of what Billz said:

I used to put my machine in front of the local grocery store (very small town) and hung my banner from the side of my trailer so the main hwy could see the name and number. Of course in a larger town/city your equipment has a better chance of getting towed, so get the consent of the property owner before leaving your equipment.

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Fulcrum Services, LLC
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