Finding Clients for a Lawn Business Might Be Right Next Door

Recently my son was looking to earn some extra money. He did not want a full time job, but wanted something that would give him some flexibility in his work schedule. We discussed his possibly working as a security guard at local events, or doing some work for relatives but suddenly we talked about possibly cutting lawns.

I suddenly remembered that the house right next to us, needed the lawn cut and it was presently vacant. When it was vacant before, we would go around the house to just check that everything was ok, and we would also pick up any avocados that had fallen on the ground. We did not want them to simply rot on the ground or to become food for rodents. They were of course good to eat also. When people have rented the house in the past we would sometimes trade our oranges for their avocados. There was a sign posted out front from a realty company about how much the house would be to rent. The amount they wanted was high enough that I did not think it would rent quickly.

I called the realtor right away and left a message that my son would cut the lawn and that we wanted to do it for two reasons, I think it simply would look better and we wanted to be able to pick up avocados if that was ok with them. It was only about five minutes later, the realtor called. He said he had just been at the house and really did want the lawn cut and saw nothing wrong with picking up avocados that had fallen, but did not want people climbing the tree. He was concerned that the lawn was so high that it could be subject to a "code enforcement" citation, so he wanted my son to cut the lawn as quickly as possible. He would email a form to him to fill out about being independently employed. He asked how much the charge would be for the lawn and I told him $30.00 per time and that we thought it should be cut 2 times per month. He agreed and asked us to look at another lawn only a few blocks away.

We looked at it the same day and contacted the realtor. He said he has properties all over the city and needs the service, but that the properties change constantly as they go on and off the market for rental or sale. If this was ok with my son, he was hired, but there would still be some initial problems. We actually don't own a lawnmower, so we ended up borrowing one. The relative we borrowed one from was told why we needed the mower. It turns out that relative may need a job in about two months and law mowing might be perfect.

I have found that in most cases when you keep everything out in the open, it prevents problems later. The realtor knew we wanted also to be able to get the avocados and our relative knew we were going to use the mower to make money. There were no secrets. At this point, he only has a lawn business of two lawns, two times per month, for $30.00 per mowing, but this is a start. This may mean that literally hundreds of realtors may need the same service and this is not limited to our area. The potential is staggering! Your business opportunity may start right next door!