cp3
Opal
Posts: 7,895 Likes: 34,435
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Post by cp3 on Sept 9, 2018 19:04:29 GMT -6
We are home from our weekend away. Both girls had a blast. We got to squeeze in a visit with my grandparents while we were there which was nice. My grandmother has Alzheimer's and my grandpa has heart surgery schedule this week so I'm grateful for any time I get to spend with them.
I need to unpack and do laundry but for now I'm rocking the baby to sleep with a glass of wine.
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klondike
Sapphire
OHIO
Posts: 4,412 Likes: 12,161
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Post by klondike on Sept 9, 2018 19:15:07 GMT -6
rvasc , I wouldn't lie. I'm not against lying, but what if he comes outside to talk to your lawn guy at some point. Awkward. I'd say that you are happy with your current lawn service, but if anything changes, you'll get a quote from him. I'm all for promoting your own business, but it's tricky with neighbors & friends. He could've just said 'Hey I do landscaping now so if you're ever in the market, feel free to get a quote from me.' And not over text where the person has to think of a non-awkward reply. I lucked out and a friend’s in laws have a lawn mowing company and sent me some of their overflow. I have a list of commercial jobs I plan to try to bid on next summer (locations that I think won’t be total pains to do) but my residentials have come from word of mouth or people seeing me mowing and asking for a quote for their place too. At most, I considered doing a mailer for our neighborhood or possibly a few nicer neighborhoods in our area to try to get some nice residential jobs in one spot. But that’s it. I’m not cold calling or knocking on doors. I left that behind with llr. You're going about it the right way. We always had acquaintances approach us when we had our businesses and some people make it so awkward. I'm happy to throw business your way if possible, but don't put me in a tough position.
GL to you. I hope you get some new business. Our newish landscapers are great with communication. They text if they are running a day or two behind due to rain with an eta. Our old ones didn't do that.
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Post by sweptaway on Sept 9, 2018 19:18:56 GMT -6
footloose do you have a recipe for those muffins?
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Post by frantastic on Sept 9, 2018 19:19:40 GMT -6
Help me not hurt MH.
One of the first things I said to him this morning was “please no Sunday funday” aka getting day drunk with the guy next door. Now he’s passed out in bed, the neighbor finally went home, and I just spent the last 30 minutes cleaning up all of the wings and sauce in the kitchen. 😡😡😡
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tater
Emerald
Posts: 10,939 Likes: 49,452
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Post by tater on Sept 9, 2018 19:21:51 GMT -6
Help me not hurt MH. One of the first things I said to him this morning was “please no Sunday funday” aka getting day drunk with the guy next door. Now he’s passed out in bed, the neighbor finally went home, and I just spent the last 30 minutes cleaning up all of the wings and sauce in the kitchen. 😡😡😡 time to wake him up with some ice down the shirt.
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Post by thebanich on Sept 9, 2018 19:35:37 GMT -6
It’s pouring rain so I opened the window to enjoy the sound. It would be really relaxing if the 2yo wasn’t wallowing all over me.
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Post by readyornot on Sept 9, 2018 19:36:56 GMT -6
readyornot, let us know how it is! DS is dying to try it It was good! I wanted there to be Oreo pieces swirled throughout, but it's just vanilla ice cream. The bottom part (where most of the sweet cream is) is SUPER sweet, I couldn't finish it. But it was overall really good!
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Post by readyornot on Sept 9, 2018 19:41:29 GMT -6
rvasc I would just tell the neighbour that your yard guy is a long time friend and you will continue to use him. He doesn't need to know that it isn't true and he shouldn't be trying to drum up business that way through text. It puts people on the spot. This is exactly what I was going to say!
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gimmeaQ
Opal
Posts: 7,738 Likes: 34,881
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Post by gimmeaQ on Sept 9, 2018 19:59:12 GMT -6
Help me not hurt MH. One of the first things I said to him this moirning was “please no Sunday funday” aka getting day drunk with the guy next door. Now he’s passed out in bed, the neighbor finally went home, and I just spent the last 30 minutes cleaning up all of the wings and sauce in the kitchen. 😡😡😡 No jury will convict.
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tater
Emerald
Posts: 10,939 Likes: 49,452
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Post by tater on Sept 9, 2018 20:06:23 GMT -6
I left my purple shampoo in too long. Let’s hope my boss doesn’t notice my lavender ends tomorrow 😬
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Sept 9, 2018 20:09:22 GMT -6
I lucked out and a friend’s in laws have a lawn mowing company and sent me some of their overflow. I have a list of commercial jobs I plan to try to bid on next summer (locations that I think won’t be total pains to do) but my residentials have come from word of mouth or people seeing me mowing and asking for a quote for their place too. At most, I considered doing a mailer for our neighborhood or possibly a few nicer neighborhoods in our area to try to get some nice residential jobs in one spot. But that’s it. I’m not cold calling or knocking on doors. I left that behind with llr. You're going about it the right way. We always had acquaintances approach us when we had our businesses and some people make it so awkward. I'm happy to throw business your way if possible, but don't put me in a tough position.
GL to you. I hope you get some new business. Our newish landscapers are great with communication. They text if they are running a day or two behind due to rain with an eta. Our old ones didn't do that.
Really, I’m hoping to get some landscaping jobs next year too. We’ve done one so far and the same client wants a fall clean up as well as he really needs a lot of other stuff done (stumps removed, branches trimmed off the house, etc) so I just submitted an estimate on that. He said he was 99% sure that it would all be approved. He just needed to talk to his parents since they still technically own the house. I love seeing the before and afters on projects like this. Our goal is to beef up the mowing side but to also try to get a handful of $$$ landscaping jobs too. The quote I just submitted was just over 4 digits and should only take 2 days to do. And it’s mostly profit, I just need to rent a stump grinder.
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Sept 9, 2018 20:11:22 GMT -6
I guess for a late FFC- I told H that I would love to be able to pay for someone to mow our yard but knowing the ridiculous rates they charge I would never be able to do it. I really wish I had started this sooner. I was just scared of it not working out.
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gimmeaQ
Opal
Posts: 7,738 Likes: 34,881
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Post by gimmeaQ on Sept 9, 2018 20:20:09 GMT -6
I still have my polly pockets but no one that wants to play with them. I’m torn on giving them to my best friend for her girls or trying to sell them for some extra cash. It’d be a weird coincidence if you were local to me, but someone in a yard sale site just posted that they are looking for Polly Pockets.
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gimmeaQ
Opal
Posts: 7,738 Likes: 34,881
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Post by gimmeaQ on Sept 9, 2018 20:24:09 GMT -6
I guess for a late FFC- I told H that I would love to be able to pay for someone to mow our yard but knowing the ridiculous rates they charge I would never be able to do it. I really wish I had started this sooner. I was just scared of it not working out. This might be weird and tell me to shut up if I’m speaking out of turn, but can you pencil yourself into your week as though you’re a client? I really think that having a nice yard would be good for business. I used to live around the corner from a guy who ran a landscaping business and his lawn was always immaculate. He had his own company’s sign out front (like a contractor sign in the front yard, kwim?) and he did a ton of houses in our town based on displaying his work.
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klondike
Sapphire
OHIO
Posts: 4,412 Likes: 12,161
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Post by klondike on Sept 9, 2018 20:24:23 GMT -6
Pistol, actual landscaping is where the $ is at. Our local gardening center charges 100% of the price of a tree for delivery & planting.
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Jesslfar
Ruby
Posts: 22,584 Likes: 75,084
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Post by Jesslfar on Sept 9, 2018 20:32:50 GMT -6
Pistol, actual landscaping is where the $ is at. Our local gardening center charges 100% of the price of a tree for delivery & planting. That is crazy. Ours make a very good living on doing what people do not want to and doing it fast. They blow in compost, use leaf blowers and bang it out fast and most of their money is in weekly upkeep not initial planting.
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Post by GhoatMonket on Sept 9, 2018 20:38:41 GMT -6
I guess for a late FFC- I told H that I would love to be able to pay for someone to mow our yard but knowing the ridiculous rates they charge I would never be able to do it. I really wish I had started this sooner. I was just scared of it not working out. This might be weird and tell me to shut up if I’m speaking out of turn, but can you pencil yourself into your week as though you’re a client? I really think that having a nice yard would be good for business. I used to live around the corner from a guy who ran a landscaping business and his lawn was always immaculate. He had his own company’s sign out front (like a contractor sign in the front yard, kwim?) and he did a ton of houses in our town based on displaying his work. This becomes a bigger deal as the size of your community gets smaller. Chances of people know that is your house increases greatly. Image matters.
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Post by northernlghts on Sept 9, 2018 20:51:26 GMT -6
Does anyone else remember reading this book as a kid? Picked it up at the library this weekend with DD. I got it to read to her but really it's for me to re-read.
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klondike
Sapphire
OHIO
Posts: 4,412 Likes: 12,161
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Post by klondike on Sept 9, 2018 21:01:21 GMT -6
I remember that book northernlghts. Lobel wrote Mouse Soup and the Frog & Toad series. I think I still have them all.
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klondike
Sapphire
OHIO
Posts: 4,412 Likes: 12,161
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Post by klondike on Sept 9, 2018 21:13:32 GMT -6
Pistol , actual landscaping is where the $ is at. Our local gardening center charges 100% of the price of a tree for delivery & planting. That is crazy. Ours make a very good living on doing what people do not want to and doing it fast. They blow in compost, use leaf blowers and bang it out fast and most of their money is in weekly upkeep not initial planting. I looked at a hemlock at the garden center thinking they could plant it quickly. The tree was $200 and $189 for delivery & planting without tax. That total is more than our monthly invoice for mowing & edging. Our landscapers don't charge that much, but they are backlogged. I will wait for them.
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Jesslfar
Ruby
Posts: 22,584 Likes: 75,084
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Post by Jesslfar on Sept 9, 2018 21:13:43 GMT -6
Does anyone else remember reading this book as a kid? Picked it up at the library this weekend with DD. I got it to read to her but really it's for me to re-read. I do.
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Jesslfar
Ruby
Posts: 22,584 Likes: 75,084
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Post by Jesslfar on Sept 9, 2018 21:18:13 GMT -6
That is crazy. Ours make a very good living on doing what people do not want to and doing it fast. They blow in compost, use leaf blowers and bang it out fast and most of their money is in weekly upkeep not initial planting. I looked at a hemlock at the garden center thinking they could plant it quickly. The tree was $200 and $189 for delivery & planting without tax. That total is more than our monthly invoice for mowing & edging. Our landscaper don't charge that much, but they are backlogged. I will wait for them. Usually the landscapers are purchasing at wholesale and are charging you for the design if they did one for you and the actual planting. The planing is done by a lower paid employee than the one designing the yard. My gardener charges x to plant any tree regardless of tree cost. They buy them at wholesale but the cost to the buyer is slightly more than resell but not a ton.
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klondike
Sapphire
OHIO
Posts: 4,412 Likes: 12,161
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Post by klondike on Sept 9, 2018 21:26:24 GMT -6
I looked at a hemlock at the garden center thinking they could plant it quickly. The tree was $200 and $189 for delivery & planting without tax. That total is more than our monthly invoice for mowing & edging. Our landscaper don't charge that much, but they are backlogged. I will wait for them. Usually the landscapers are purchasing at wholesale and are charging you for the design if they did one for you and the actual planting. The planing is done by a lower paid employee than the one designing the yard. My gardener charges x to plant any tree regardless of tree cost. They buy them at wholesale but the cost to the buyer is slightly more than resell but not a ton. I didn't mind paying more for the tree at the garden center to just get it done. No design involved, just one hole. Our landscapers charge a flat fee also and have a better warranty. If this stupid rain stays away, hopefully they will get caught up & get me on the schedule.
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Yogurt
Emerald
Posts: 11,889 Likes: 42,317
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Post by Yogurt on Sept 9, 2018 21:29:21 GMT -6
Does anyone else remember reading this book as a kid? Picked it up at the library this weekend with DD. I got it to read to her but really it's for me to re-read. I just bought it for a few cents at our library book sale!
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Post by footloose on Sept 9, 2018 22:27:57 GMT -6
footloose do you have a recipe for those muffins? Sorry I had left for work, so here you go. pin.it/hnoj5w4f4fyyrhI call them Monster Muffins to explain them being green and she doesn't question it, but would say food colouring if she did 😁
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Sept 10, 2018 5:43:39 GMT -6
That is crazy. Ours make a very good living on doing what people do not want to and doing it fast. They blow in compost, use leaf blowers and bang it out fast and most of their money is in weekly upkeep not initial planting. I looked at a hemlock at the garden center thinking they could plant it quickly. The tree was $200 and $189 for delivery & planting without tax. That total is more than our monthly invoice for mowing & edging. Our landscapers don't charge that much, but they are backlogged. I will wait for them. I figure my stuff on an hourly rate. But I don’t tell my clients what that rate is. The quote I just have I broke it down to $x for stump removal, etc. but in my head I figured roughly how much time we will have invested in the project and figured that into the price. I also hid the cost of the stump grinder in the stump removal line too.
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Post by angelashly on Sept 10, 2018 6:55:32 GMT -6
I just saw a commercial for Polly Pockets, and I am having major flashbacks. The kids said they wanted one, and I responded with, "Oh, you are definitely getting one." DD wants one too and I am so excited.
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piratecat
Diamond
Posts: 36,035 Likes: 143,914
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Post by piratecat on Sept 10, 2018 8:35:35 GMT -6
I still have a lot of cleaning to do. But I’m researching electric cars and pretending we can afford them. Oh man this reminds me. Last weekend we saw a Tesla that was like a small SUV. It was super sexy. I want whatever that one is 😂. Must not be the "affordable" Tesla model.
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