Lawn care business is job for all seasons

One of the good things about southern Louisiana for those that work in the lawn service industry, is that although it may slow down during the winter months, there generally is business to conduct all year.

Karl Falcon owns, and with employees Sandie Pontiff and John Youman operates, AAA Lawn Care of Houma. During the five years he has been in business, Falcon has learned there is more involved with this job than many people might realize.

Lawn care should not be stereotyped as simply a summer job for the kid down the street who charges $20 for work the customer has to touch up anyway. Nor is it simply something available to fill time for the post-retirement group.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, landscaping and grounds keeping, all part of lawn care, account for more than 1.4 million full-time jobs in America.

Of that number, companies that provide landscaping to commercial properties as well as personal dwellings employ 36 percent of all grounds maintenance workers. Those companies include an estimated 402,000 self-employed individuals who deal directly with customers on a contractual arrangement.

It was already 84 degrees outside Friday when Falcon and his crew began their day on location at 7 a.m. Each trained and skilled participant unloaded equipment from a covered utility trailer while the boss prepared an ice chest of bottled water for he and his employees to remain hydrated in the sweltering August heat.

Taking a few minutes before shifting into high gear, Falcon, 43, explained that he was born and raised in Terrebonne Parish. He was educated in workplace safety and conducted coding inspections for companies with both offshore and on-land facilities prior to becoming an entrepreneur.

“I decided I wanted to get out of that field,” Falcon said. “I got tired of being offshore for 30 or 40 days, and decided I wanted to do something to be able to be home a little more with my family. Then a friend introduced me to the lawn care service.”

With a list of contacts and new equipment, Falcon began his career in which paying customers expect nothing less than horticultural perfection.

In addition to mowing and trimming grass, AAA Lawn Care works flowerbeds and offers landscaping with Youman specified as a certified and licensed agricultural arborist.

“I have many years experience doing landscape art,” Youman said. “I enjoy doing this type of work and found a good guy to work with.”

“We run Monday through Friday, probably from 6 or 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.,” Falcon said. “We do get some slack time in the winter. That is another reason I enjoy this job. Because I like deer hunting and that is where I stay in the wintertime.”

Falcon said he has 60 percent commercial and 40 percent residential clients and charges a rate based on the size of property involved. “A lot of it has to do with how much edging and weed eating you have to do, and how much time it takes to get it done,” he said of the competitive business.

One element Falcon said plays a factor in bidding for a job, but is essential when considering this as a value-added business as related to prices, is the insurance coverage he carries.

“We have general liability, which covers in case we break anything, bust a window or what have you, and we have workman’s compensation, and we have a commercial auto policy,” Falcon said. “If you are a business owner [wanting lawn service], one of the most important things that should be asked for and demanded is that everybody carry the insurance.”

Falcon said if there is any specific internal industry problem, it revolves around individuals working in lawn care without appropriate insurance coverage, who underbid companies that charge more on paper only because they are covering their insurance costs. “The business should demand to have the certification for proof of insurance. It makes it harder for the guys that carry insurance as is required. So [potential clients] should demand that coverage. Nobody is protected if [lawn care companies] do not carry insurance.”

Those working in lawn care need to be mindful of more than how much to trim off the St. Augustine during summer or winter. Appropriate plant selection for climate conditions in landscaping, the application of pesticides and fertilizers in the correct amounts, and what can be done during a given amount of time before the next rain are but a few elements that take more than guess-work to be properly performed.

Turf grass, from home lawns to corporate campuses of golf courses, require professional attention if property owners want them to remain both aesthetically appealing and environmentally healthy.

Consumers spend in excess of $40 billion a year to maintain and improve private lawns, according to backyardnature.com. Some lawn care professionals contend that properly kept property is not only an appealing plus to people, but offers beneficial green space for humans and wildlife. For the right individual, Falcon said, it is not a bad way to make a living.

“You can probably make $50,000 a year [as a one-man operation] if you are doing it right and pick up the right customers,” Falcon said regarding reasonably expected income for a small lawn care business.

“It’s not just going out and doing your basic grass cutting,” Falcon said. “You hire a professional service to take care of your lawn. It is not just some guy coming out to do it for a couple of bucks.”

AAA Lawn Care owner Karl Falcon says his business is a cut above the competition because of the custom service they offer and the value added element of being fully insured. MIKE NIXON