5 Days in and already feel like I've FAILED

[lewj24]

F*ck me, you made up an excuse - you didn't learn any lessons.

So when does someone decide that there is no need for a specific service in a particular area? When do you decide you failed? 10 houses? 100 houses? 1,000 houses? I am not trying to make an excuse I'm trying to save some time and effort. I think my reasoning makes sense. Instead of just saying "thats an excuse" can you explain why? Or have any stories to back it up? Like "I had 100 No's until I got 1 yes and then i grew it into a 6 figure business" or something? I feel like I will never get my foot in the door, in this business, at this time, because of my poor timing. That was a nice story GSF but you even said all of your first jobs were through friends and word of mouth. How do I get started cold?

I live in a big area. Middle to Upper class homes are the ones I went to. Obviously there is a need to mow lawns but I feel like that need has been fulfilled without me. I cannot think of anyway that would differentiate myself so well that they would fire a pro that they have probably been working with since spring to hire me. Or make my deal so great that they will hire me instead of doing it themselves. I thought I brought value to the doorstep of those houses with extra tall grass, It was also about 100 degrees outside, but they instantly said no. If they can say no like that without even hesitating am I really bringing value to people? Am I really going to succeed If I ask a few more homes?

I am also taking into account the 180 homes I gave flyers to. I actually had a deal on the flyers. I told them they would get their "3rd mowing FREE." Maybe it wasn't as good as I thought but I figured it was a way for me to be cheaper than others without actually slashing my prices every week. I also figured that means if they hired me I would for sure get paid for 2 mows. It didn't work. I am not passionate about mowing grass, I just wanted to start doing to learn and make some money.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[lewj24]

And no, lol I have not tried trimming hedges.

 

[Tapp001]

And no, lol I have not tried trimming hedges.

Maybe you need a Tripwire offer, so good it can't be ignored. "I will mow your lawn right now for $5". Then, you can up-sell them on a monthly service package, or extras like hedgeclipping. I also assume that you started with friends and family. Word of mouth be powerful stuff.

 

[JoeB]

So when does someone decide that there is no need for a specific service in a particular area? When do you decide you failed? 10 houses? 100 houses? 1,000 houses? I am not trying to make an excuse I'm trying to save some time and effort. I think my reasoning makes sense. Instead of just saying "thats an excuse" can you explain why? Or have any stories to back it up? Like "I had 100 No's until I got 1 yes and then i grew it into a 6 figure business" or something?

I used to do door-to-door sales. Once you had been on 3-5 outings (one day out was 12pm to 9.30pm) where you got to watch your trainer, then after you had spent 1-2 days knocking doors and introducing your trainer, and after you had spent several hours practising your pitch each day, and after several more hours practising dealing with negatives (small rejections) each day, you were expected to knock 100 doors and from that you could expect 5-10 sales.

I'm not saying you need to do all of the above, but just doing 10 knocks, I bet you hadn't even stopped stammering yet.

You probably spent longer printing your flyers than you did knocking doors.

And from 10 people saying no, you've come up with a whole make-believe scenario on why you are "100% sure" it's down to timing - without a single person mentioning timing.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ZCP]

You would get less grief if you continued until you got at least one yard.

Prove to yourself you can persevere and sell.

 

[Guest34764]

You did really give up before you started man.10 houses isn't much.What you should do is spend a whole day walking around asking houses, and see how many you've asked vs how many jobs you have.Quitting after 10 houses doesn't disprove a market or need.Knock on the houses that don't need a mowing and ask them if they have any need for a worker for yard work.

If someone needs leaves raked,do it.

If someone needs hedges trimmed,do it.

If you can show to others how handy you are they're more likely to ask you for a job.

 

[lewj24]

Maybe you need a Tripwire offer, so good it can't be ignored. "I will mow your lawn right now for $5". Then, you can up-sell them on a monthly service package, or extras like hedgeclipping. I also assume that you started with friends and family. Word of mouth be powerful stuff.

I just feel like this is a losing scenario. $5 bucks will definitely give me some lawns. But one day when I want to raise prices what stops them from just firing me and hiring someone else/doing it themselves? I guess the goal would be to become so great at mowing lawns and have so many clients that they will want to keep me for a higher price?

I used to do door-to-door sales. Once you had been on 3-5 outings (one day out was 12pm to 9.30pm) where you got to watch your trainer, then after you had spent 1-2 days knocking doors and introducing your trainer, and after you had spent several hours practising your pitch each day, and after several more hours practising dealing with negatives (small rejections) each day, you were expected to knock 100 doors and from that you could expect 5-10 sales.

I'm not saying you need to do all of the above, but just doing 10 knocks, I bet you hadn't even stopped stammering yet.

You probably spent longer printing your flyers than you did knocking doors.

And from 10 people saying no, you've come up with a whole make-believe scenario on why you are "100% sure" it's down to timing - without a single person mentioning timing.

I feel like this is a completely different scenario that isn't comparable to mine. But it depends on what you were selling. Were you selling a service that they already have someone or themselves doing for them weekly? I think this is why timing is important in the lawncare business. If you go knocking in the spring when the grass just started growing now these people need someone to mow it and don't have anyone doing it yet. So unless they are set on how they did it last year it will be an easier sell.

You would get less grief if you continued until you got at least one yard.

Prove to yourself you can persevere and sell.

I know I can persevere. I have done it before in other things. I was trying to figure out this market so I don't waste my life doing this. I will be pissed if i take your guys advice and get a couple lawns and then spring hits and I get 100 right off the bat.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JoeB]

I feel like this is a completely different scenario that isn't comparable to mine. But it depends on what you were selling. Were you selling a service that they already have someone or themselves doing for them weekly? I think this is why timing is important in the lawncare business. If you go knocking in the spring when the grass just started growing now these people need someone to mow it and don't have anyone doing it yet. So unless they are set on how they did it last year it will be an easier sell.

If I said:

"Tomorrow, if you can find someone who needs their lawn mowing, I will give you $10,000"

Do you think you could?

Do you think you would knock more than 10 doors?

And after you got that first sale, do you think you'd stop telling yourself reasons why 'no-one' wants their lawn cutting?

I was trying to figure out this market so I don't waste my life doing this. I will be pissed if i take your guys advice and get a couple lawns and then spring hits and I get 100 right off the bat.

I think this highlights what your problem is.

 

[BlakeRVA]

My pastor told a story yesterday which I believe is relevant:
"When I was in high school I played on the soccer team and we had a coach who was very adamant about the team being in great shape. He would never say it, but the players who worked the hardest at being in good shape were his favorites. Every season he would strongly encourage each team mate to join the cross country team so they could really take their conditioning to the next level. I hated running, but I followed his instructions because I wanted to be on his good side and become a better soccer player.

Once I got on the cross country team, I found out it wasn't all that bad - most the runs were only 4 or 5 miles. One day after I had been doing it for about a month, the cross country coach began mapping out our run for the day. As I watched him draw it out for us, I noticed he had already drawn a route at least 7 or 8 miles long with no turn around point. By the time it was all said and done, the run was about a 15 miles long. I trusted the coach, so I figured I would try my best to complete it. So we began running and I was with two of my team mates and we slowly made our way through the run. 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, 4. Eventually we made it about 6 or 7 miles and decided we couldn't make it. So we went into a local church and called for someone to come pick us up and take us back to the school.

The next day, I went into the cross country coaches office and submitted my resignation from the team. I don't regret quitting the team, I hated running. The one thing I do regret though, is not finishing that run. I deprived myself of being able to say "I did it. I completed a 15 mile run." And that, is what I regret."

How does this relate to you?

Right now you are quitting the team before you even started your first run. This idea of yours is only a failure if you quit now. Your first customer or sale is always the hardest, but the sweetest when you earn it. If you can earn one customer, you can earn one hundred. If you can earn one hundred, you can earn one thousand. And on, and on it goes.

Don't give up now.

 

[Tapp001]

I just feel like this is a losing scenario. $5 bucks will definitely give me some lawns. But one day when I want to raise prices what stops them from just firing me and hiring someone else/doing it themselves? I guess the goal would be to become so great at mowing lawns and have so many clients that they will want to keep me for a higher price?

You can make it clear that its an opening offer, a one time thing. You are selling them one mowing for $5, then up-selling something else. Once someone buys one thing from you, they are likely to buy more.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Can you give some figures on what you were expecting...

What ratio of houses would sign up?

How much you would charge?

What your profit would be?

 

[BlakeRVA]

I know I can persevere. I have done it before in other things. I was trying to figure out this market so I don't waste my life doing this. I will be pissed if i take your guys advice and get a couple lawns and then spring hits and I get 100 right off the bat.

Be honest with yourself. You know that timing is not the issue here. If I have already hired someone to do my lawn this year, why wouldn't I hire the exact same person next year unless someone else came along with a better offer (YOU!). You need to explain to your customers why YOU are the better man for the job than anyone else.

I don't think you have failed. I think your biggest issue is you haven't even tried. But hey, can't say you failed if you didn't even try.

 

[ZCP]

Might be time to watch the exchange between Yoda and Luke in Empire Strikes Back. I'm serious. Any more advice from me will come after you check back into this thread and said you have rewatched it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Guest34764]

You're thinking about it too much again.

For the sake of yourself, go out there and get at least one job offer.Don't reply with excuses, if you're going to quit just say it.

Are you going to quit after 10 houses?

p.s. make sure to hit that like button on other posts if you want people to reply to your thread.It shows us that you care about what we're saying and we're not just wasting our time.

 

[ilrein]

1. Start by not doing illegal things.

2. Also don't share your illegal activities on the forum where others might associate those things with the forum.

3. Get a job, learn how to earn money, read the forums, then try again.

I think the OP is a bit confused. GIMP is free software and totally legal. It's only illegal if he stole a trademark, using the tool to make your own art is fine.

And @lewj24, why didn't you just go door to door knocking and asking to offer your services? Wear a polo and some nice pants. Borrow an iPad and use it to take notes.

You didn't need to spend a penny on marketing services. All you did was hide from selling yourself -- your single greatest asset.

 

[Yoda]

Might be time to watch the exchange between Yoda and Luke in Empire Strikes Back. I'm serious. Any more advice from me will come after you check back into this thread and said you have rewatched it.

F*cking Luke, man. Some days we've had...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[D.Fox]

So you read books about businesses but you couldn't accomplish a simple lawn mowing job ( not a business yet ). First get a job and learn some structure, without structure you're going to keep flip flopping your whole life. Save money and try starting smaller, like getting free stuff from Clist and flipping it. Why waste money when you barely have any to begin with? Not every idea is going to be lucrative and that's fine ; move on and try something else.

 

[Guest34764]

I think the OP is a bit confused. GIMP is free software and totally legal. It's only illegal if he stole a trademark, using the tool to make your own art is fine.

Lex is talking about day 3 on Lew's list.Re-read it


"3 days ago I put 180 of those ads in mailboxes around neighboring subdivisions. One higher class and one middle to lower class. I know this is illegal but felt it would seem more professional than taping it to their front door. Total Cost: Free besides gas"

 

[RussRussman18]

Here's an idea that I've been toying around with (trying to perfect it). There are tutorials on youtube about how to "super clean" windshields and restore headlights. Here are the best ones I've found:

The way I see it, all you have to do is get people to see the ad for this service ONE time, and EVENTUALLY a lot of them will end up using your service. Sure, they won't think much of it at first. But the next time they look at their car, they'll think "my headlights and windshield ARE kind of smudged... it would be nice to get that 'just out of the dealership' look to them again". And eventually that seed will grow into a sale

It's worth a try at least... low startup cost and pretty easy to learn

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[lewj24]

If you guys insist I guess I will say that I am quitting the lawncare thing. I may pick it back up in the spring though. I am going to get an income from some job and try to learn how to do different things like all of the ideas in this thread. I am not passionate enough about mowing lawns to get a ton more no's or do it for $5. I started this just to see if I could start executing on something and make some money on the side. And I had a free mower and weed eater at my disposal.

You guys are all about hustle which is cool. I get it, execution is the most important thing. Maybe I do think too much but I am looking at this while thinking about the opportunity cost. Why get a thousand more nos when I could spend that time trying something else? And then if I decide to try it again in the spring it should be easier. I could be completely wrong about the spring thing. And maybe you guys are right and I am just making excuses. All I know is I thank all of you for trying to help me and I will always look back on this thread to learn from it. Maybe 5 years from now I will look back on this and I will realize I quit everything I start. Or maybe I'll look at this and be happy I didn't waste my time on lawncare. Time will only tell.

 

[458]

Your soft bro.. no one needs there lawn cut, especially by you. I used to do what you did but for a different service, the reality is, everyone already has someone. The Fastlane is about thought as much as it is about action. Think before you speak, think before you act.

 

[1step]

@SeanKelly do you ever get new customers at this time of year?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[seanjohn]

A few years ago my friend started a window cleaning business -- mostly for beer money and to pay off tuition.

I made him a quarter-page flyer (based on techniques from the book "CA$HVERTISING") that he photocopied (for 10 cents a copy, cut in quarters, meaning 2.5 cents per flyer). I told him to use card stock, but he was too cheap and used regular paper instead.

He distributed to about 200 houses. Knocked on most doors. Did estimates and booked some jobs on the spot. Followed up with people who weren't home the next day.

Did about $25,000 in sales in just one summer (May to September). Total marketing materials cost: $5.00.

He's in accounting now, but if that wasn't his career path, he'd still be running the window cleaning business.

Oh, and it wasn't a lucky one-off thing either, I did the same thing for my girlfriend at the time. Wanted to start a home cleaning business.
Same quarter-page flyer. Only 100 flyers -- 10 responses. She picked 5 clients that carried her through school for the next 3 years... she averaged about $20.00 an hour, and worked on her own terms and hours.

Don't make excuses.

 

[Scot]

Okay, you guys are right. I think I just got caught in a game of Wantrepreneur. I wanted to be a big official company and thought websites and flyers were the way to go. I will start knocking on doors asap. Maybe you're right SinisterLex, maybe I don't know how to earn money. I guess I didn't like your comment because it struck me deep. Basically you are saying my years of studying sucked and were unproductive. So I said screw you I don't agree! Well I just need to take more advice and learn to get over myself.

Something to think on. If a criticism offends you.. Take a moment to think about why it offends you, because maybe it's true.