The Blog of Keith Kalfas

When it comes to fall cleanups, there's more to it than just leaves. Here are three simple yet powerful secrets to help double your earnings:

Secret 1: Charging for Debris Removal

Say you charge $250 for a fall cleanup, which is good. But wait, there's more to it! Don't forget about the debris—leaves, twigs, and such. For every yard of debris you clear, add $60 to your earnings. Imagine clearing three yards; that's an extra $180 for your hard work!

How to Use This Strategy

When you offer your service, explain the $250 base charge for the fall cleanup. Also, let clients know about the extra $60 charge for each yard of debris removed. Being clear about these costs helps everyone understand what's involved and ensures you're paid fairly.

Figuring Out Debris Costs

Before you start cleaning, take a look at the debris. Estimate how much there is. This helps you and your clients know what to expect. Being upfront about these details builds trust.

Keeping...

Hey guys, Keith here.

I hope you had a Great October!

So many things were going on here!

The Biggest thing was the LevelUp Landscaping Webinar.  2 days of lots of fun with friends!  You can get the replay by clicking here!

We're planning another one at the first of the year - I hope you'll be there.

October's podcasts - 

How I Deal with Elderly Customers in My Landscaping Business

"Elderly people are amazing. They're to be respected and honored. That's how you deal with elderly people. If you keep that first in your thoughts, then everything else will fall into place."

- Keith Kalfas

  How Much Should I Charge Hourly Landscaping Jobs?

Before you promise the customer something amazing, you better be very careful about that, that you're inspecting what they expect and you're clarifying the expectations like I've even gone and I'll get a shovel or get some shrub trimmers. I'll do an area for free just a small area...

Hey guys, you know that running a landscaping business can be a truly rewarding adventure. You get to work with nature and make your clients' dreams come true.

However, one challenge that I face, like many other landscaping entrepreneurs, is the phone ringing non-stop.

And the most crazy part is that my phone rings at the worst possible times!

It doesn’t matter if they are new customers, existing customers who have questions or concerns, or even former customers who are looking for my assistance; my phone was always ringing non-stop and it drove me to the point where I can no longer take it.

I love my business, and I deeply value my clients, but finding a balance in this constant phone ringing dilemma was essential. I reached a point where I was intentionally avoiding my business line.  That's not a good sign, but I found the solution!

I’d considered hiring a receptionist to handle my calls, but was hesitant. My business might not have been at...

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog - please let me know if there's something special you want to see here!

First thing I need to talk about is that the GIE Expo is from October 17th-20th.

Equip Exposition is an annual event that helps landscapers, hardscapers, manufacturers, and dealers grow their businesses. Find the newest and best products and pit them against each other at 1,000 exhibits.

 You have only until Sept 7th to get my 50% discount! (Use Keith50 at checkout!)

 Click to get 50% off!

 August's videos - 

Lots of videos last month - from property walkthroughs to seeing me at my in-laws.  

Property Maintenance & Shrub Trimming (All Work No Talk)

This was a fun job!

Overgrown Property Cleanup | How I "WRITE UP" a $2,750 Quote

When I walk a customer's property, I'm attentive, confident, and a good listener. I practice something called "spin selling." It's about asking lots of questions to understand...

Hello! 

They’re saying the first two weeks of July were the Earth's hottest on human record!  I hope you’re well, and making killer money this season!

Videos

 I wanted to let you know about the latest videos I’ve made – starting with how my $700 Minimum is working in my Landscaping Business.  The psychology of this is amazing, and you won’t believe how new customers are reacting to it.

 https://youtu.be/DW0loy9tDeY 

Next, this guy is AMAZING – he removes 2 MONSTER pine trees in just SIX Minutes!!  You won’t believe it!  Watch it here:

https://youtu.be/foReEGz-Nis 

We did a $4,050 Garden Bed Makeover – I was ALMOST finished – and found out there was a mistake!

See it here:

https://youtu.be/pGseU5bvGf4 

Podcasts

Your Customers Are Not Your Friends

Click here to go to the podcast!

Let's be honest. When we are prospecting for a customer, we...

After running my landscaping business for the past 12 years, I've picked up a lot of valuable lessons regarding managing my thinking as well as my finances. 

In today's article, I want to talk about how much you, as the owner of a service business, should pay yourself.

Disclaimer: The information I  that I share with you in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. I'm telling you what I know as of May 2023, but it's important to remember that laws and rules can change.

I highly suggest talking to a qualified professional, like an accountant or lawyer, if you want advice that is specific to your situation. I make no guarantees or promises of any kind, either directly or indirectly, about how full, accurate, reliable, or appropriate the information I give is. If you use this knowledge as a guide, you do so at your own risk. I'm not responsible for any damage or loss that comes from using this blog post or...

In the world of landscaping. Getting things done efficiently and making clients happy is very important. Having a software with all of the functions needed to run your business smooth and organized is a necessity. Jobber has completely changed the way I run my business. Let me tell you how...

I've been using a CRM software called Jobber for 4 years now and it's truly helped my automate parts of my landscaping business  

Theres a powerful feature that  Automates Scheduling and Follow-up and it's become my some of my favorite parts of Jobber. It makes following up with my customers easier, helps me stay organized, and allows me to provide the best customer service to my clients.

Let me explain how these features have made a big difference in my landscaping journey. 

Oh!  By the way, you should take advantage of their trial period by clicking here right now.

Jobber's auto scheduling feature saves you time by suggesting the best times for appointments based...

Starting a business is no easy feat, but running one is even harder. In the service industry, there are seemingly hundreds of things to keep track of. If you try to keep track of. If you do it all manually, you are going to lose things and miss deadlines. If you want to be successful, you have to be organized.

When you first figure out how to get clients and start sending them invoices, you might not think that keeping up with those clients or invoices is all that much work. Although when you, hopefully, become more successful and have dozens or hundreds of clients, those things get very hard to keep track of and it can take ages to schedule and later invoice all of those jobs.

After I got tired of running ragged trying to do this all myself, I found Jobber. While it still gave me the ability to send invoices and talk with customers, it streamlined the whole process and was a literal game changer for my business. Although I am not the only one, there are thousands of businesses...

Creating and growing a business is hard. Really hard. Just when you finally figure out how to get more clients, increase your profits, and actually learn how to run your business, the ugly side of business shows its face. That's right, the taxes and legal side of the business can not be ignored! Even though we badly want to look the other way, the legal side of a business is extremely important, and if you do ignore it, you will pay the price later down the road.

I did the same thing in my business. After years of running it and needing this document or that document for all kinds of circumstances, I thought it would be helpful to gather them all in one place for you guys. There are basic documents every business needs, but as you get more and more legit, you need more and more legal protection which directly correlates to more documents and forms. Exciting stuff I know, but the 16 documents I put together for you guys could save you a lot of money in legal fees. 

When You Are...

This year I am promoting one hell of a deal for all of my followers. I decided to make one mega bundle that I call the Entrepreneur Bundle. This bundle includes all of my courses that thousands of people have used to accelerate their businesses. If you added up the prices of these courses individually, this bundle would cost well over $2,500 but during this holiday season, I am only charging $247 for everything.

The amount of content you will get in this bundle is mind-boggling. There are hundreds of hours of content across all of these courses where I share everything I have learned on my long and hard journey of building a six-figure landscaping business. Plus a lot of this content shows you how to run a small business, which you can take and apply to any industry, not just landscaping.

In this article, I am going to go over everything that is included in this bundle and show you just how much you will benefit from it. I will go through each course and explain the nuances behind...