What do you do in offseason?

HIBERNATE!

 

play golf? :clapping: :laugh:

 

ski, snowmobile, relax, sleep, drink beer.

I might get into ice-management this year for commercial and high-end residential accounts. I experimented with some products last winter and believe it just might work around here.

 

Well, I'm a new biz myself, and I need the year-round income just like most of us (although golf and hibernating are tempting options). I maintain some commercial properties that pay me year-round. I negotiated this by convincing them that they need me all year. They want their parking lots blown off, I do courtesy bed cleanup, prunings, re-mulchings, etc. There may be some costs involved, but it's mostly offset by less gas used due to no (or little) mowing. If the yards are irrigated, offer to do irrigation checks, clean heads, etc. If you talk it right, they're afraid to not have you there all year, even if bi-weekly.

 

I am also here in Jacksonville, and I am trying to figure out what to do this off season. This is my first year in service.

 

If need be...take a regular job for winter to help you pay the bills.If you have spare money from paying the bills and such,get your fliers, door hangers printed for the spring.Purchase items that you can pay for in cash that is needed for the spring.Don't go crazy buying to much stuff...spring is a long way away and you may change your mind next year....
Continue to pound the streets...pass out buisness cards and make contacts and referrels wherever possible.If you haven't asked your customers for referrals do so.They may know of somone that needs a hand at fall clean ups that normally cuts their grass theirselves.
Take the time now not later to get your equipment in shape and ready for spring ( after you are done with the season,not right before the next).
Next year you will hopefully be ahead of the game and will have been able to put away some money for the winter.This is if you do not go crazy with buying to much new equipment. Buy what you need and not what you want.Buy good used commercial if you can and save the cost over new and shiny for another year.
Take your time,stay focused on what it is that you are trying to do and it will happen. Good Luck !

 

Rest, play, rest, play, work every other week on accnts. Dont always get a winter off in florida.

 

That's what I'm trying to figure out... You live in florida and you are worried about the "off season"? I thought things only slowed up a bit in the winter but still grew and needed cut? Here, after the leaves are cleaned up, in the COLD mind you, there isn't any mowing to be done till the middle of march. That's 3 to 4 months of "off season" that one has to plan for all year...

For about 5 winters I worked at a local greenhouse operation and mainly ran the seeding machine planting all the bedding plants and veggies in plug trays for the spring season as well as other greenhouse chores. Eventualy I was able to expand my business to the point where I just didn't have time to be going to the greenhouse anymore, since they needed me starting in mid october thru april, That conflicted badly with my business!

I have been doing ok taking the winters "off" for the past few years, good times to have knee surgeries and whatnot, lol. This season may well be a different story... While I am busier than I have ever been with a full mowing schedule that keeps me busy I have payments coming out of my azz! Never planned on having to buy a newer work truck till my personal truck was paid off, then bought a new ztr this spring on top of that...

Point is, I'm probably going to have to find a winter job again this season! I have no frigging clue what or where though... job market around here is nill for jobs that alow you to only work a few months and then leave and that pay anything decent. Really no sence in even working if it's going to be for $6.50 an hour or something...

 

Off-season doesn't have to be off, I'm in virginia and I think I had 1 or 2 weeks off last winter cauz it was busy busy busy...

Most all of my maintenance gets done when things are slow. Since I use synthetics and other high performance items, most often my equipment sees almost no maintenance when I'm busy, a lot of times the oil is pitch black when I finally get a chance to do it, but again: Off season?

Leaves lasted well into February, I worked on bringing my dotcom online as a Web site, I did oil changes and transmission filter + fluid changes, and spark plugs and I ordered PARTS and went out and got some shelving to stock the stuff on, just stayed busy all winter.

And come march, everything got rolling for real again.

And whenever I'm not in the mood... :sleeping:

 

i am also in jax fla and i work all season. there is leaf cleanup all winter long enough for me to work 3 day a week usually. i work on equiptment and play golf otherwise

 

Besides having to go to work i say hell with work (extra work away from work) and just cut firewood, work inside of my house and guide quail hunts (that is if I am not hunting already). Everyonce in a while I'll take on a brushclearing job that would be a big PITA any other time of the year (cause you'd have to deal with hornets, yellowjackets, copperheads, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and "foilage".

 

Plow snow,relax and enjoy the holidays!!!!

 

I might be selling christmas trees this year but I'm not totally committed to it yet.