soilman
09-23-05, 11:48 PM
I've been getting one job for every 60 flyers I hand out.
There are about 300 houses close enough for me to walk to. So that means 5 lawns that I can mow and edge and rake leaves from, without having a car or truck. At $40 per lawn, that means I can take in about $200 every week or 2. Say $100 a week, to be conservative. Factor in depreciation on tools, over 5 years, means I earn much less than $100 per week.
Lawn mower alone is $500. Depreciate over 5 years, iit costs me $100 per year just to own. Say there are 4 months a year I can mow and rake. That means 1600 gross income a year, and 1500 net income, just taking into account depreciation on the mower. Cost of gas. Oil. Time spent maintaining tools is considerable. For every 2 hours I mow, I spend another hour, I think, changing oil, lubing wheels, fixing starter ropes, cleaning, sharpening, etc.
Now, if I had a truck, or hatchback car, or whatever, and I mowed 10 lawns per week (2 a day), instead of 2.5 per week, that would mean $400 a week, 6,400 per season, A truck that cost 10,000, depreciated over 5 years, would cost me 2000 per year. Things would start to look a little better. Just taking into account depreciation, I would net $4,300 of that 6,400. Of course there are maintenance costs on the truck -- which again, I could do myself. I already have the tools, too. But we are getting to the point where I could earn some money for investors, who lend me money for the truck, and not just for myself.
Yes, the interest I pay investors, would reduce my net income, but I am still doing ok, netting maybe $3000 over 4 months, for 6 10-hour days of work, per week. It comes out to 3.75 per hour. but a lot of that 50 hours per week is relaxed enjoyable labor, changing oil, sharpening mower blades.
I need help estimating how much interest to offer investors.
Also, they are investing in a vegan company that not only does offers customers options like mulching their grass clippings and composting leaves and grass clippings rather than having it hauled away, but can also gently and tactfully make a small remark, every now and then, about how wonderful veganic gardening is. For example I could do something along the lines of what I do at gynecomastia discussion board: under my picture, "animal husbandy is not necessary." My signature "eat vegetables." So maybe I could put on people's invoices "mow your vegetables, eat your lawn." And "No ox is harnessed to my cart; I pull it myself." Or "Free your ox and pull your own cart."
There are about 300 houses close enough for me to walk to. So that means 5 lawns that I can mow and edge and rake leaves from, without having a car or truck. At $40 per lawn, that means I can take in about $200 every week or 2. Say $100 a week, to be conservative. Factor in depreciation on tools, over 5 years, means I earn much less than $100 per week.
Lawn mower alone is $500. Depreciate over 5 years, iit costs me $100 per year just to own. Say there are 4 months a year I can mow and rake. That means 1600 gross income a year, and 1500 net income, just taking into account depreciation on the mower. Cost of gas. Oil. Time spent maintaining tools is considerable. For every 2 hours I mow, I spend another hour, I think, changing oil, lubing wheels, fixing starter ropes, cleaning, sharpening, etc.
Now, if I had a truck, or hatchback car, or whatever, and I mowed 10 lawns per week (2 a day), instead of 2.5 per week, that would mean $400 a week, 6,400 per season, A truck that cost 10,000, depreciated over 5 years, would cost me 2000 per year. Things would start to look a little better. Just taking into account depreciation, I would net $4,300 of that 6,400. Of course there are maintenance costs on the truck -- which again, I could do myself. I already have the tools, too. But we are getting to the point where I could earn some money for investors, who lend me money for the truck, and not just for myself.
Yes, the interest I pay investors, would reduce my net income, but I am still doing ok, netting maybe $3000 over 4 months, for 6 10-hour days of work, per week. It comes out to 3.75 per hour. but a lot of that 50 hours per week is relaxed enjoyable labor, changing oil, sharpening mower blades.
I need help estimating how much interest to offer investors.
Also, they are investing in a vegan company that not only does offers customers options like mulching their grass clippings and composting leaves and grass clippings rather than having it hauled away, but can also gently and tactfully make a small remark, every now and then, about how wonderful veganic gardening is. For example I could do something along the lines of what I do at gynecomastia discussion board: under my picture, "animal husbandy is not necessary." My signature "eat vegetables." So maybe I could put on people's invoices "mow your vegetables, eat your lawn." And "No ox is harnessed to my cart; I pull it myself." Or "Free your ox and pull your own cart."