Maybe We Can Help Each Other... Affordable Lawn Care / Handyman Services

[Emptymag]

UPDATE:
Since starting this thread, I have taken the steps to become a legitimate, small business owner.
My lawn care business is named "Oak Leaf Lawn Service". I will attempt to refrain from using this thread as an "advertisement", as it's been more like a "blog" for me to track my "journey" from "desperate guy trying to not lose his house, to desperate business owner trying to not lose his house". (lol)

That said, here is a link to my website. www.OakLeafLawn.com
(The above site is currently under construction)

If you know someone who can use my services, I can still use all the help I can get. Pass along my info, and keep in mind that I am still offering a discount (as seen below) for all forum members AND their friends/family.

Thanks again to all who have helped me along this journey - it has only just begun.
~EM

Being unemployed has led me to doing work I hadn't considered before. Work that I've been doing for many years at my own home is the same type of work that others need done at theirs. Cutting grass, landscaping, painting, small home repairs - even things as simple as hanging a painting on a wall, or installing curtain rods - things that are on everyone's "to do" list.

Some people don't have the time to do it and some are unable due to age, physical limitation, or any number of reasons. Some people simply don't want to do it. I'm here to help.

I started by doing yard work for a neighbor a few months ago and she was so pleased with the quality of my work that I began getting calls from other neighbors to do odd jobs that they couldn't do, or didn't have time to do. "It's hard to find someone you can trust who does a good job" is one of the most frequent comments I hear. Although I'm trying to keep my rates as low as possible, it seems that many people are even more interested in hiring based upon "trust" and "quality".

I'm hoping that as a long time member of this forum, I have established a basis of trust with some of you, even if only based upon my postings. The quality of my work, and the effort put forth in doing said work, is something I can not "prove" online, but I will be posting some photos of a few things I've completed that may help, and several of my "customers" have stated that they would be happy to "put in a good word" if I need a reference.

All that rambling aside, what I'm asking for is a bit of help from my fellow gun owners in getting my info out to those who could use my help. If you have a neighbor, or relative who may need a small job done, have them contact me. I'm not looking to rake anyone over the coals, I'm just trying to make an honest living, and keep from losing my home.

Most of my customers so far have been single women/seniors who don't always need a full day's work, but find themselves needing a helping hand from time to time, and at this stage, I'm happy to help with those 1-3 hour jobs, but I need more of them to "fill in the schedule".

I'm located in the Penn Hills/Monroeville area and prefer to stay to the East of the city for smaller jobs, but if it's a task that will require a full day's work, I'm willing to travel further.


I'll post a "flyer" here with more info, but if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me via PM.
Unfortunately, I'm not currently willing to post my phone number publicly, for reasons I hope you can understand, but if you have someone in mind that is interested in having work done, just send me a PM, and we'll get in touch.





(if you try, and this doesn't print well for you, I can always e-mail a pdf file to you)





And here's a shot of my "landscaper's starter kit". I may eventually upgrade to a trailer with "wheels".





Comes in handy for hauling bagged goods, mowers, pressure washer, small childre... just kidding!



Thanks for reading and as stated in the thread title, I hope we can help each other in some small way.



Oh, I almost forgot!!!

SPECIAL!!!*
I'm currently offering a "PAFOA Friends and Family" discount of $10 Off your first job $75 and up, or $5 Off any first job $25-$75.



*Special offer ends when I say it ends.

[Emptymag]

Here's a flower bed I just installed in the back corner of my yard...

I didn't get a true "before" photo, but it was an empty corner until I threw a "half circle" planting area in just to hold some plants that were given to me by a customer. I then decided to make a small perennial garden (comes up every year) with a bird bath and feeder.


The beginning of the "expansion"...











The finished flower bed...






Any questions, just ask!

[PhillyAR]

$100 a day is WAY to low. You got to factor in your overhead: your tools, ware and tare on your vehicle and gas. I shoot for $300 a day and have plenty of work. Even work I do for friends I charge $150 a day.

[Hawk]

Wishing you well on your new venture!

I'll be happy to throw some work your way in the future. I have a few yard projects I can't seem to find the time to do myself.

Please PM me your contact info...

[Emptymag]

Originally Posted by PhillyAR

$100 a day is WAY to low. You got to factor in your overhead: your tools, ware and tare on your vehicle and gas. I shoot for $300 a day and have plenty of work. Even work I do for friends I charge $150 a day.

I realize that I'm not getting what I should be, and some of the money is going to upgrade equipment (it sucks working all day to pay for "stuff" needed to do the job better), but right now, I need to establish a customer base, and offering a very fair price should help in that regard. Also, if you divide Pittsburgh into North, South, East, and West, this area does not have the "money" that the other areas do. We'll see how it goes.
ACT NOW, schedule an appointment before I realize I'm being taken advantage of!!!


By the way, If you've been doing this for a while, and have any advice, I'm all ears.

Originally Posted by Hawk

Wishing you well on your new venture!

I'll be happy to throw some work your way in the future. I have a few yard projects I can't seem to find the time to do myself.

Please PM me your contact info...

Thanks, info sent!

[YosemiteSam]

Originally Posted by Emptymag

I realize that I'm not getting what I should be, and some of the money is going to upgrade equipment (it sucks working all day to pay for "stuff" needed to do the job better), but right now, I need to establish a customer base, and offering a very fair price should help in that regard. Also, if you divide Pittsburgh into North, South, East, and West, this area does not have the "money" that the other areas do. We'll see how it goes.
ACT NOW, schedule an appointment before I realize I'm being taken advantage of!!!


By the way, If you've been doing this for a while, and have any advice, I'm all ears.


Thanks, info sent!

Would you like the long or short form. Things like Contractor registration number,sales tax number,liability insurance.

[Emptymag]

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam

Would you like the long or short form. Things like Contractor registration number,sales tax number,liability insurance.

I'll send you a PM...

[arjohnson]

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam

Would you like the long or short form. Things like Contractor registration number,sales tax number,liability insurance.

Take this advice, if you are going to be doing this type of work for people you don't know then this is a must. I've been in business for myself for almost 20yrs and I could probably count the days on my hands that I was without work, it's out there you just have to be willing to go get it.

Good luck and hope it works out for you, and if I run across someone needing any of these services I'll be sure to get in touch with you.

[Emptymag]

Here's what I did in my garage a few months ago. It started with "I want to build some heavy duty shelving", but like most projects, snowballed into, "I may as well scrape off the peeling paint, and do the wall, and heck, I guess I should just finish that nasty looking ceiling while I'm at it".





























Overkill on the "heavy duty" part, but it holds a total of 16 of those large (30+ gal.) storage bins, and isn't going to sag - ever.

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam

Would you like the long or short form. Things like Contractor registration number,sales tax number,liability insurance.

Good advice! When he completes this ^, he will be the exception rather than the norm... Plenty of grass cutters and handy men out there doing their thing "covertly".