Would Somalis, East Africans and other brownies be happy to fork $60+ on mowing service?

[noname_]

Hi guys,

I'm planning to open a lawn mowing business as a weekend side hustle to make extra money and maybe quit my full time job if it goes well. It will cover mowing, hedge trimming, tree lopping, shrub removal, roof gutter, exterior window cleaning and yard cleaning in my area/surroundings. This came after my little brother suggest I do it because of my success in selling tree pots (tree guy here) from our backyard. All of it was his idea.

My dream is to maintain neighborhoods in close proximity like those big contractors do in established suburbs, and have Muslim clients.

In tight knitted East African, South Asian and Middle Eastern suburbs, a lot are a bit tad eyesore (overgrown and neglected yards). Is it because it's a foreign concept, time/cost consuming, they don't feel they have a duty to maintain a property or just laziness like my family members?

Do you all think it's worth a shot to spread the word (flyers on mail etc) and that they would be happy to pay $60 for fortnightly/monthly mowing over the growing season and $100+ for other service?

I have to be self conscious about this one since many are low income earners.

 

[Farah717]

Hi guys,

I'm planning to open a lawn mowing business as a weekend side hustle to make extra money and maybe quit my full time job if it goes well. It will cover mowing, hedge trimming, tree lopping, shrub removal, roof gutter, exterior window cleaning and yard cleaning in my area/surroundings. This came after my little brother suggest I do it because of my success in selling tree pots (tree guy here) from our backyard. All of it was his idea.

My dream is to maintain neighborhoods in close proximity like those big contractors do in established suburbs.

In tight knitted East African, South Asian and Middle Eastern suburbs, a lot are a bit tad eyesore (overgrown and neglected yards). Is it because it's a foreign concept, time/cost consuming, they don't feel they have a duty to maintain a property or just laziness like my family members?

Do you all think it's worth a shot to spread the word (flyers on mail etc) and that they would be happy to pay $60 for fortnightly/monthly mowing over the growing season and $100+ for other service?

I have to be self conscious about this one since many are low income earners.

I used to cut grass during school best way to market ur business is print tons of flyers and post it door to door I used to get 10-20 calls each day. Good money too.

 

[Moon-]

That sounds great even if they don't end up wanting it you have no risk in the beginning.

Also can you elaborate on your brother selling tree pots - did he make them - did it have a tree how did he do this

 

[noname_]

That sounds great even if they don't end up wanting it you have no risk in the beginning.

Also can you elaborate on your brother selling tree pots - did he make them - did it have a tree how did he do this

I buy certain tree species from the plant nursery for $20-$30, shape them afterward and wait until they reach the desired height with a decorative pot then my brother advertise them on FB marketplace/gumtree for $200+.

People get tempted into buying standards, ball, cone and cloud etc shapes for aesthetic reasons. They're called topiary. The more you trim, the thicker and faster they will get it.

The easiest and quickest I found was to train certain climbing plants into a tree form that gives a "weeping" effect. They grow rapidly in 1 season (esp Wisterias and Bougainvilleas).

Eg; I bought 2 small 20cm pot Wisteria plants for $25 and trained them in a large pot and sold it for higher price. See pictures below.

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Another good way was is to buy a mature sized tree, give it a good trim to shape and plant a tough ground cover plant together with it.

Eg; I bought this weeping Ficus for $150 few years ago and planted Dichondra Silver Falls to cascade over the concrete pot and sold it for a higher price. People love having them displayed on their front doors.

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Tried propagation method and seeds but they take a long time to grow so I don't consider it as an investment if you're looking to make money quickly.

So yeah, shaping trees is my thing.

 

[noname_]

I used to cut grass during school best way to market ur business is print tons of flyers and post it door to door I used to get 10-20 calls each day. Good money too.

That's a relief, thank you.

I'll definitely do that.