how much do you charge

[hanhol]

hello all, im a student gardener and myself and a fellow student are hoping to start up a female gardening service for oaps and woman on their own etc...wats the going rate a person would be expected to pay? do prfessional gardeners charge more?
we aim to do tidy ups, weeding, mowing and that kind of light work thing>
thanks

[shaking]

�10 per hour should get you off the ground

[EmEd1984]

i pay mine �10 per hour (north west), perfectly reasonable. perhaps though, rather than by the hour, you can charge by the job for your target market? eg. �5 for cutting the grass, taking an average of say 15 minutes?

here's a mega old ab thread: http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden /Question134780.html

[landscaper2]

I'm wondering why you are targeting oaps and women on their own. If you are serious about getting into the gardening business you cant afford to limit your client base. Continuety of work is the answer. �10.00 an hour is OK for a bit of part time extra money, but 8 hrs per day x 5 days per wk = �400 pw = �20,800 per year. Unfortunately you will not work every day, so when you factor in holidays, bank holidays, rainy days, short winter days, transport/fuel/equipment and maybe VAT etc, you will see why 'professional gardeners' charge more!!