Lawn and Snow Removal

While the title of this post is titled lawn and snow removal, what we really want to talk about is how quickly landscape companies switch from doing landscaping to doing snow removal. We talked to one landscaper. He was doing a million dollars in landscaping business alone this year about what he was doing for the winter. As soon as the season is over for landscaping he switches all of his equipment over to snow removal services.

He takes on several commercial contracts for clearing snow from parking lots and roads for companies. Many of his employees will continue through the season with him. They are operating snow removal equipment. Some of the folks working for him will take the winter off to recuperate, travel and do other things. The owner on the other hand must continue working all year round to keep his business running smoothly and make the transition from one season to another.

Snow Removal Change Over

He already has a tri-axle truck which he needs to keep running all of the time in order to make money and he has a tractor with a front end loader and back hoe attachment. The back hoe comes off and he adds a wider front end loader, rents a second one and he is ready to go for the season. Several of his men stay on with him for the winter months while the rest take a vacation and collect unemployment until next year’s landscaping season starts.

This is not a bad way to do business and he has several large contracts in the wintertime.  He is grossing over $1.0 million in sales and is able to pay off the loans for all of his equipment within three years. Of course, he will need to replace some and buy additional equipment. It never seems to end but this guy has a viable business that he is running.

Snow Clearing

If you are a consumer, it is time to think about whether you need to or want to hire a snow removal company for the winter. They will clear the snow according to the contract that you strike with them and keep your driveway clear without the need to go out and shovel snow in the wintertime or purchase your own snow blower.  For some people they would rather spend the money on a snow blower. They know that it will pay for itself within 3 to 5 years depending on the size of the snow blower vs. the cost of clearing snow from their driveways.

In the writers case, my old snow blower finally gave up after 25 years, so I purchased another for $300 and it works great. It will pay for itself with the first year of operation compared to hiring a company to clear snow for me. Others just do not want to deal with any of this and prefer to have someone do it for them.