Starting a lawn mowing business with nothing today! What would I do?

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starting a lawn mowing business with nothing

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Starting with nothing.

If I was starting a lawn mowing business with nothing today! This is what I would do.

Is it possible to start with nothing and start earning money today?

Even with no equipment or a car?

First, I would like to tell you a story.

When I started a lawn business with nothing in Ngaruawahia in 1999, I had to take a chance. I arrived in town with no money or job.

Nobody was hiring before Christmas. I had about $1000 available on my visa card and that was it. That was our Christmas emergency money.

I spent the money on a lawn mower and weedeater. Then I arrived home and declared that I was going to start a lawn mowing business.

My girlfriend (now wife) thought that I had gone mad.

Now we had NO money for Christmas.

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I told her not to worry, and I pulled out the white pages. Starting with “A” and started ringing everyone in Ngaruawahia, asking anyone who answered if they wanted a free quote on lawn mowing.

When I got a quote, I got out there immediately and give them a price. I did the job and booked it again two weeks later if the price was agreeable.

I would get on the phone again. I worked a forty-hour week from day one and was on the phone or out working.

Three months later. In a small town of 5000 people, I had a full-time business mowing lawns.

I had been building lawn care business for over a decade before that, so I wasn’t going in completely blind. These days, it would be a bit more difficult, but not impossible.

You can’t use the phone book anymore because it is not what it was. However, there was a second technique that I used back then that still works

And it’s free. But it takes a bit of courage.

Back then, I knocked on doors as well. I would cover entire streets. It is a lot harder than telemarketing and it takes longer, but it is definitely worth the effort.

I had to deal with a lot of rejection, both on the phone and knocking on doors. Then I found out that it was just a numbers game and I always got jobs in the end.

If I was starting again without a vehicle or equipment, I would knock on doors close to home. I wouldn’t bother looking for mowing jobs first and I would focus on garden cleanups.

Gardens require hardly any equipment and you can make a lot more money initially.

If you just focus on gardens and door-knocking 40 hours a week as I did, you will soon have a steady income. Once you have money, you can start buying the necessary equipment to earn more.

Hard work pays off, and everyone has to start somewhere.

Starting a lawn mowing business with nothing is definitely possible. 

14th Century old English proverb

From small acorns, mighty oaks grow

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