A day in the life of a Lawnscience franchise owner

Lawnscience provides a high quality lawn care service for domestic customers and has the most extensive lawn care treatment programme in the UK. Since joining Lawnscience in March 2011, Scott Harrison has been able to enjoy the healthy work/life balance he had hoped for.

6:30AM Wake up and, after breakfast, start getting my children up and ready for school. One of the most important jobs first thing is to check the weather forecast, it could change my plans for the day, but today it is right on track so no worries there. I double check my jobs for the day and ensure my van has all the stock required. I also check if any emails that have arrived overnight may require urgent attention.

9:00AM I am lucky enough to be able to drop children at school every day and this was a key requirement for me when I was choosing a franchised business. I am very motivated to grow my business, but at the same time I have a young family and it's important that I pull my weight in bringing up my children. Having waved my children goodbye for the day, I make my way to a potential new customer to give them a quotation. It is a vital moment for my business to provide the most comprehensive lawn assessment I can, after listening to the customers to ensure I understand what they are asking for. I then design a bespoke treatment programme to match up with the requirements of their lawn. Having completed the presentation, I get the 'go ahead' on the spot and can apply the first treatment there and then.

10:00AM I start treating one of my existing customers' lawns, it's really motivating to see the difference I can make to a lawn after only a few treatments. Having applied today's treatment I make an assessment of the lawn and provide some seasonal recommendations, which results in additional revenue for my business and a really good service for my customer. The icing on the cake is that the next-door neighbour has seen the results of my work and wants me to pop by to give a recommendation.

1:00PM Once I have completed a certain number of treatments, I will canvass some nearby properties to explain that I'm in the area today and ask if they are interested in a no obligation free lawn survey. It is never a bad time to try to grow your business and I allocate a portion of every day to try to build my business.

4:00PM I join a quick teleconference with some of my franchise colleagues as we are doing a promotional video shoot in two days to help market our businesses on YouTube, so the scripts have to be perfect. It all seems to be going to plan – just hope it doesn't rain!

5:00PM I arrive home and clean out my van to ensure nothing is left in overnight. Our sophisticated PC system updates my customer treatment records in just a few minutes, so I have time to spend with my family helping my children with their homework and preparing the evening meal.

6:00PM I check my next day's work and make sure everyone I am due to see is expecting me.

7:00PM It's bath and bedtime for the children, followed by a little quiet time with my wife.

8:00PM Respond to my emails and check my online marketing campaigns to understand if I am being as effective as possible.