On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 19:25:43 +0100, Broadback
wrote:


If you are not able to work out your costs, a decent profit and then fix
a price I think you may be better working as a wage slave.

It's not a particularly rosy outlook, if you do those sums as I did
many years ago you find you need far more than most potential
customers are willing or able to pay. Most folks who need to employ
garden help either employ their own staff or make do with anybody they
can get on the cheap. There's probably a few exceptions in some more
affluent areas of the country. I'm afraid there is still a prevailing
feeling that 'anybody can do a bit of gardening'. They don't seem to
learn even when they've paid peanuts, got the monkey and seen the
disastrous consequences in their own garden. Having said that for
those who are prepared to pay properly, you still have to make sure
it's a gardener you're employing and not a cowboy - see the work, get
references etc.
For the OP, please be honest about your lack of experience, you will
find some customers willing to help/allow you learn on the job, some
of them may even be able to teach you a thing or two but don't expect
to earn top whack until you're worth it. For really good practical
experience you need to work with skilled people so try and get some
part time work with established businesses to help pay the bills. Some
experience in a commercial horticultural enterprise like a nursery is
also a big help - in that environment you get a lot of plant material
through your hands, you learn to *see* plants when you look at them
and learn to see what they need. You also learn to work efficiently
under commercial pressure with skilled people who already know how to
do it - you measure yourself against them.
Rod

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