Snow is finally hitting the ground and that means for a lot of Lawn Care and Landscaping companies it's time to break out the Winter Machines! To keep business rolling in the winter months snow removal is a necessity and we sat down with Brian from Brian's Lawn Maintenance to get a glimpse into his operation.
"With the upcoming Holiday season and the influx of visits to the shopping malls, we can be assured of one thing, that the cold winter weather is finally here. That is definitely the case up here in the Midwest and in Michigan, where I live.
From December through March, we can have some of the craziest times of the year, and no, it's not because of long lines at the mall or crazy family stories at holiday parties. I'm talking about the dreaded snowstorms, lake affect snow, and crazy ice conditions we can experience this time of year. No worries though if you're built for the tough and challenging conditions that the snow and ice game can throw at you. I will be the first to admit, doing snow removal is not for the faint at heart. It requires some serious muscle, both in terms of equipment, and will power. Long dark nights, sometimes zero visibility conditions when removing snow, and working around the clock to restore order, are just some of the images that pop into my mind.
This is my first official year jumping into doing snow removal on a professional level. We've done snow and ice control for a few years now residentially, with snow blowers, shovels, and the basic of equipment. But this year, we threw down, and we upped our game big time. We purchased a new 2017 F250 pickup, along with a brand new BOSS DXT snowplow. I guess you can say we went all in on this one. Safe to say I have been very excited about getting into the commercial side of the business for a while now, and with the addition of our new equipment, we've been able to do just that.
Although having proper equipment can be a major benefit to getting the job done easier, quicker, and with less wear and tear, it doesn't mean there isn't a skill set to be acquired to do the job right. We've been able to tackle a few storms now, and let's say the learning curve was zero to sixty. There was probably more anxiety in dropping the blade the first time at my residential driveway, than almost anything else I can remember doing this year. All the unknown's, all the questions about best practices and techniques. You can learn and study all you want, ask questions until your face is blue and your mentor's ears are ringing, but sometimes you just have to get your feet wet and go do it.
So far it has been a learning experience but I feel like were getting the hang of this snow game. After getting done with our rounds, which can take 6-8 hours, I still have this grin and expression on my face of: that's it? Let's do more.
Let's be honest, the money is there if you do it right. Some guys can make more in a night than some people make in a week, if not a month. I can't say for sure where we're taking our snow and ice game, since this is my first season offering the service big time, but I am feeling extremely optimistic. I understand the expression now where people call it "white gold".
Only time will tell how much more vested we'll get in the snow game, but I can tell you this, if it's like what we've been experiencing so far, we just may bump things up a notch next year!"
TO follow Brian and his Snow Removal journey head over to his Instagram page @BriansLawnMaintanance and give him a follow!
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