2 Phrases

[TPenland]

Two phrases I have always kinda kept in my mind kinda took a new meaning today for some reason. #1. The 6 P's- Proper Preperation Prevents Piss Poor Performance #2. Chase two rabbits and they both will escape. Today I realized that I have been chasing two rabbits. As stated in my signature, I run a Lawn Maintenance and Pressure Washing business. After talking with one of my Lawn clients and discussing their " expectations " vs. what I was making money wise, compared to what I could be brining in if that time were devoted to washing, I realized that I am actually becoming counter productive. I'm a one man show, trying to perform two acts at once. Twice the amount of equipment upkeep, juggling two different areas of operation and trying to schedule one around the other and it it was just strangling itself. I found myself neglecting one's equipment and maintenance while focusing on the other and vice versa...if that makes sense.

I have decided to put the lawn side of my work on the back burner for now. Telling my clients that I must step back and downscale myself before I end up cheating them and myself. I enjoy doing the wash a heck of alot more and that's where my heart is. I feel by doing just one service I can devote more attention to both my business and the customer and make it a win / win situation for everyone involved. Sometimes you can be too many and not enough at the same time.... Have any of you guys ever made this same mistake and found yourselves in the same position? I'm still in my " Humble Beginnings " phase I guess, and this is just one of many lessons to be learned not only in business but life as well.

 

[archie_MN]

Been there. I did the same thing with painted wood surfaces last summer. Buy thousands of dollars worth of sanding equiptment or just turn them down. Instead I found an awesome painting company to sub them to.
Consider finding another local clipper to sub your lawn contracts to instead of losing them altogether. I know sub is a dirty word, but when you partner yourself with the right people, everybody wins!

BTW, 2 excellent phrases.

 

[TPenland]

Hi Jake. I really didn't have many lawn accounts. I was doing yards mostly like one shot deals for people (not my intentions) who would see my advertising, or people would call and say hey I need a bank weedeated or whatever, while trying to land more stable, bigger contracts. I ended up "hustling" small jobs just to make enough money to buy chems and fuel for the wash jobs I would get....I'm sure you can see where tha was going. Kinda like on the movies Days of Thunder where the race car driver says I used to run the farm to keep up the race car...now I race to keep up the farm. I wasn't really making any foward progress...2 steps foward..2 steps back. But on an interesting note...The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. I had called one of the people I did weedeating work for and told them the news, and thankfully they understood and while on the way to take my 11 yr old daughter to the eye doctor, a younger guy called me and said he had seen my truck signs and wanted to know if I was hiring. He said he had lots of lawn experience and was needing work. I told him I was a one man show trying to make it myself, but that I had just let some work go. I gave him the name and number of that job and told him that he might could possibly pick up right where I left off. He seemed like a very sincere guy so I felt good inside trying to pass it on to him. I hope that he got the job ya know.

 

[archie_MN]

That's just good old fashioned awesome.