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Overgrown cemetery plot.

How do I charge for overgrown and neglected cemetery plots…

How much money to charge for an overgrown cemetery plot a customer wants you to clean up.

Today’s blog post is a questions from a recent customer who purchased the Grave Care Business package.

“Hello. I am focusing on grounds maintenance in my new Grave Care Business. A recent new customer wanted me to care for her husband’s grave site. She knows I charge $25 to maintain a double plot but when I got there the grass was knee high. It hadn’t been cut in over a year. How much money do I charge for overgrown and neglected cemetery plots and what’s the best method of cutting high grass so it looks good?”

Overgrown cemetery plots normally require at least 1 1/2 times your typical charge. Sometimes, you should charge double depending how much additional work is involved.

When grass is very high you will need to make at least two passes with your lawn mower. Set your blades as high as they will go for your first pass. Use a straight-line mowing pattern (left-right or front-back). When you are finished with the first pass, rake excess clumped grass and remove it from the cemetery plot.

Now, lower your blades to the correct height for that type grass and make a second pass. For the second pass, choose a different mowing pattern. If you did left-right on your first pass, mow front-back for your second pass.

It is important to rake excess grass away. Unkempt gass will never look good after your first service. Once grass gets leggy, stems close to the ground become thick and discolored. Let your customer know it will take at least two services before it begins to look like a lawn again.

After your initial servicing of an unmanicured grave site, resume your standard charge as long as the customer agrees to regular servicing.

Don’t forget, the Grave Care Business program includes a large pricing guidebook that tells you how much to charge for certain services.

Visit our home page for more information.

GPS for Grave Site and Cemetery Georeferencing

GPS Datalogger for Grave Site and Cemetery Georeferencing as a Business.

If you have read our materials on Starting and Operating Your Own Grave Care Business, you already understand the economic potential of adding a georeferencing component to your business. GPS allows you to geo-tag individual grave sites as well as entire cemeteries.

In addition to georeferencing grave sites a GPS data logger gives you an ability to document your own presence at a particular grave site. This comes in handy should a remote customer ever question your work at their loved-one’s burial site.

We go further into business potentials in our program. The main purpose of this posting is to tell you about one of the most enduring GPS receivers still available today.

Turn-by-turn GPS vs. Hiking GPS

There are many GPS receivers on the market today. These days, when you hear the term GPS, you may think about the GPS many people have in their cars. While turn-by-turn GPS receivers are great for driving instructions, they are not ideal for our purposes here. Hiking GPS receivers are more inline with they type of GPS tool you will need to properly perform your functions.

There are several important functions your GPS must provide to be beneficial to your grave care business.

1) Easy to read, view, and navigate the menu.

2) Ability to set tracks, routes, and waypoints.

3) Compatibility with Google Earth, Other Aerial Programs, and/or Topographical Mapping Software.

We have found one particularly good GPS tool that has lasted us 5 years and helps us everyday in our datalogging tasks.

Garmin Etrex Legend

Our Garmin Etrex Legend has been our workhorse GPS for almost 5 years. We purchased the unit from Best Buy on sale for a little over $140. Though its price has dropped dramatically it’s quality has remained the same (and, through firmware upgrades, improved).

The Etrex Legend is water resistant, has a clear greyscale display, is easy to handle, and is intuitive.

Using a thumb-manipulated joystick and 5 side buttons, the user is able to navigate from screen to screen, set and name waypoints, breadcrumb tracks, and navigate routes.

The Garmin Legend connects to your laptop computer via a peripheral computer cable. Etrex Legend models are compatible with Google Earth which allows uploading of complete data sets ready to be synchronized with photographs or video of your grave care maintenance work.

For more information on how to perform this work, check our main web page: www.GraveCareBusiness.com

For the exact GPS unit we use in our daily work, check the Amazon.com link below. You can purchase it for one of the best prices available on the web.

The adventure pack including an Etrex Legend:

The etrex Legend

No Excuses

So, you’ve decided to start your own grave care business.

Grave Care Business – No Excuse Not To Start Now

So, you’ve decided to start your own grave care business. You’ve decided to start your own grave care business during the worst economic recession in our lifetime. Gas prices remain at historic highs and financial lending institutions hold iron fists over money loans that were so easy to qualify for only 12 months ago.

Now, some entrepreneurs have marched into business ownership in easy times – times of economic stability when money flowed easily and all you needed to do was perform satisfactory service to be successful. Other entrepreneurs have received their business licenses in times of trial and upheaval, when the very foundations of our small-business economy has been shaken.

It should be clear by now the category into which all of you fall.

For many small-business entrepreneurs starting their own businesses, these challenges are felt in more personal terms. Perhaps you are starting a grave care business because you have given up looking for a job – or you’re struggling in a failing career path in this struggling economy. Maybe you have a job but you need extra money to help with unexpected bills or credit card debts. Maybe you have always been intrigued with cemeteries and gravestones and you want to explore your fascination while making a nice income. Maybe you just want a better life for yourself – a life where you can be the boss and dictate your own destiny – a destiny where you can expect more than just a 9 to 5 and a paycheck every two weeks.

In the face of our current economic challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on a typical work path. You may find yourself saying “why bother” and continuing with the same day-in day-out unfulfilling job just like your friends do and your parents (or children) expect you to follow..

You can take that road and it may work for you. But at this difficult time, that approach won’t get you where you want to go in your life. You have an entrepreneurial spirit. It can’t be taken away from you. And no amount of outside influence should keep you from your goal of starting your own business and creating your own destiny.

The businesses we revere and the business leaders we admire didn’t sit back and wait for a perfect economy. They didn’t twiddle their thumbs awaiting a gold-lettered invitation to join the entrepreneurial class. They didn’t let naysayers influence them to give up on their dreams just so they could become another hourly employee working for a faceless corporation making money – and making a destiny – for someone else instead of themselves.

Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no standard remedies, or go-to fixes this time around. But, like those you admire, you should not let the obvious obstacles of today’s world block your path.

Yours is the great American story – the story of starting a business in uncertain times – the story of taking your life and your destiny in your own hands when so many around you are drowning in self-pity and despair.

So now, it is abundantly clear that you need to take your direction and start doing things a little differently. In your own life, you need to adapt to this continuously changing economy, keep gaining new skills, and keep taking risks as new opportunities arise.

I know starting a new business in troubled times is a challenge. But it is also a privilege and it is the greatest opportunity you may ever have. Times like these that force us to try harder, work smarter, to discover paths we never knew existed. Greatness lies within you. So don’t ever shy away from your entrepreneurial spirit. I can promise that you will be forever better if you take the small steps now to start a business of which you’ve always dreamed.

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The GraveCareBusiness.com business package is designed to help you start and operate a successful Grave Care Business. Visit our home page to learn more about the business. The business program is currently on sale for under $30 and will be shipped promptly as soon as we receive your order.

Hard work comes before smart work.

Allow us to help you with much of the smart work in starting your Grave Care Business. We have done much of the leg work for you.

by: Grave Care Business Program

A Business Adage Gets Debunked

A business professor during my senior year in college used to tell us to “work smart, not hard.” His words have stuck with me through the years. Every time I face a new challenge I think back to his posture in front of a classroom full of students yelling his motivations.

Something has struck me recently though which may act to debunk his famous words. It seems, no matter how smart I think I am, working hard must always come before I am able to work smart.

Have you ever known people who always seems to have all the right answers (at least they think they do) but they are never willing to put in the hard work to make their smarts pay off? What do you notice about people like that? The thing I’ve noticed is that that they are always out-thinking themselves. They always have a better idea but they never get anything done.

Now, I’m certainly not against working smart. Education is the path to a fulfilled life. But, when starting your own business such as a Grave Care Business, hard work, in the long run, will be the key to your success.

Sometimes smart work is hard work. The Grave Care Business program has already taken care of much of the hard work. Allow us to help you with much of the smart work in starting your Grave Care Business. We have done much of the leg work for you. Once you read through the business training course we provide you will see there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

Simply follow the proven methods and offer the proven services to your customers and you will find you smart work and hard work will come much easier.

For more information on the Grave Care Maintenance business, visit our home page at the link above.

Grave Care Business. 10 Reasons to start now.

10 Reasons to start your own grave care business.

10 Good Reasons to Start Your Own Grave
Care Business

If you want to start a small, highly profitable business, please
take a minute to consider purchasing our Grave Care Business
program. This is a huge business package to help you get started.

1) Set your own hours:

If you want to work a few hours per week in
your spare time or if you want to work full time year-round, the opportunities
are all yours in a grave care business. It really depends on you and your goals.
One of the purchasers of our program does all his work in the mornings and he
finishes before noon three days per week. Other people work 40 hours per week
year round. Whatever your goals, our grave care business program will help you
get there.

2) Unlimited income:

We will not tell you that you can make
$10,000 per month in your spare time. But we will tell you this, if you start
your business right and if you expand your business intelligently, you can make
a tremendous income. Also, as you add crews and employees, they will do the work
and make money for you. If you just want to work a few hours each week in the
summer, you can make great money but if you want to work hard and grow your
business, your income is virtually unlimited.

3) Work outside, have fun:

Grave care is fun and fulfilling work . You
get to work outside in beautiful surroundings. It is peaceful work and it gives
you time to contemplate nature and your environment as you are providing
services to your customers.

4) Buy "toys" like grounds equipment, digital cameras,
decorating supplies, etc:

One of my favorite parts of this business
is being able to look at, test out, and buy great equipment. If you like going
to hardware stores and equipment trade shows then this is an added bonus to your
grave care business. Spring-time is always fun when dealers are begging you to
test out the new spring line up. Better yet, most of the "toys" you purchase for
your business are tax deductible.

5) Work year-round or only during the summer:

Along about September when the grass growth
slows many people think that the grounds maintenance side of their business
winds down for the winter. Nothing is farther from the truth. There are SO MANY
other jobs that you will be able to do for customers that you can stay busy
year-round. Our program illustrates many business ideas that you can use to keep
the money rolling in all 12 months. Actually, some of the customers that have
purchased our program say that they make more during the fall and winter than
they do in the summer.

6) Start your grave care business on a shoestring:

A common question we are asked by people
wanting to start a grave care business is "how much will it cost to start?" Here
is a secret that not many people know. We started our business with less than
$300 worth of equipment. Where else can you start a legitimate business for
under $300?

Don’t make the mistake of over buying incorrect equipment. The
GraveCareBusiness.com grave care business program includes an equipment
selection guide to help you purchase the correct equipment for your business.

7) Decide the types of jobs you want:

You might want to focus on small grounds
maintenance jobs. Or, you might want to go after the photography side of the
business. We outline many area of this business which are proven money makers.

8) Community Relationships:

When word gets out that you own your own
grave care business, you will be surprised how many new and interesting people
you will meet. You will get to bid on maintenance contracts in your town. Also,
churches and cemeteries in your town will contact you to offer you work. This
will introduce you to a wide variety of people in your area opening up many more
opportunities for you.

9) Long term never ending supply of grave care customers:

Most clients that hire you will be your
customers for years and years. There is a very low turn over rate and customer
retention is very stable. Word-of-mouth advertising will help bring more and
more customers to your business.

10) Work from home:

It is true that you will have to leave your
home in order to go out and do your work. But, in most communities, it is
perfectly legal to run a grave care business out of your home if you follow the
guidelines we show you within the Grave Care Business package.

Grave care is perfect for women-owned businesses.

by: Grave Care Business

Though grave care is a great business for both men and women, certain aspects of this business seem to be particularly well suited for women-owned businesses.

We have advised grave care business owners since 2003. During the last few years, we have noticed that more and more women are starting their first businesses. With low overhead, easy start-up, and flexible scheduling, grave care lends itself to women-owned businesses.

Mothers with children in school need flexibility in their day. Grave care allows for a very flexible schedule. Many jobs performed by a grave care business can be performed in 30 minutes or less. It is refreshing being able to run a profitable business while the kids are in school and even do two or three jobs in the afternoon when practice is going on.

Grave care businesses offer a wide range of services to their clients. Many of these services require creativity. Photography and ‘Special Day’ Decoration services are just two opportunities for you to use your special talents in your business.

Women sometimes have a softer touch than men. Customers of a gave care business need that softer touch. They need the nurturing and caring that come naturally to so many women.

If you are a woman considering starting your own business, grave care is a great business to start.

Our Grave Care Business program teaches you practically everything you need to know to start and expand a successful Grave Care Business.

Find more information at: www.GraveCareBusiness.com

Grave Care Maintenance Business blog.

The grave care maintenance blog is where you can come to learn about new industry trends of the grave care maintenance business.

We have exciting information to share with you in 2009.

If you have not already purchased the Grave Care Business software package, we urge you to do so. The business package contains a tremendous amount of information and business tools. You will not find this information anywhere else and it is only available by purchasing the program through our website.

Grave Care is a fun and very rewarding business. You can start in your spare time and grow it to a full-time business.

There are many services you can offer your customers. Photography, Documentation Services, or Grounds Maintenance Services are just a few of the services that we help you start.

To order the full Grave Care Maintenance package, visit our home page at: