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Before heading to the sledding slopes, there's money to be earned by helping neighbors clear their driveways! Here we talk about snow shovels, snow blowers, and salting options:

 

If you only have a handful of driveways to clear then snow shovels should be perfectly fine. There are numerous options to choose from for varying snow conditions. We would recommend you purchase at least a couple of different shovels because of this. Also, each will use different muscles which you will be thankful for and it always helps to have a backup in case one breaks.

 

These are our favorites...

Great 20" all-rounder snow shovel:

 

Great 27" shovel for pushing around a few inches of snow:

 

 

Great 18" ergonomic shovel for deeper snow:

 

 

Ice Scraper - very useful to have one on hand for when you need to remove clumps of ice from a pathway:

 

 

Salting:

Once we've removed the snow, if there is anything remaining we lightly sprinkle walk areas with rock salt using a salt scooper. The concern is that any remaining slush will re-freeze and become icy. Even if the temperature is too cold for the rock salt to melt the ice, it will grit the surface and help prevent slipping.

 

We always check to see if the customer has pets that walk on the driveway or pathways. If so, paw-safe ice melt is a safe alternative.

 

Snow Blower:

If you expect to be removing snow from several driveways then you may want to invest in a snow blower. We're already in the Ego ecosystem so we purchased a 2-stage Ego snow blower this year...a Consumer Reports best buy for battery driven snow blowers. The key benefits include that they're eco-friendly and quieter to run (so you won't need ear protection and can run it outside of normal hours). 

 

 

 

 

One key challenge with a battery driven snow blower is you have to be careful with managing the batteries (approx 30-minutes run time per 5.0Ah battery pair). We also purchased a large insulated box for storing the batteries & charger (while we are doing one job we can charge our spare batteries on the customer porch). If you don't want to be messing with managing batteries then a gas snow blower may be the way to go. Just make sure it's self-propelled and that you can adjust the snow chute from the controls...it really helps! Also, our neighborhood sidewalks are 48" wide so we chose a 24" snow blower.

 

Marketing your snow removal business:

As soon as snow is forecasted, our yard sign is out...and we become the Snow Bros! You can also distribute flyers and business cards to your neighbors (just keep in mind that placing them in mail boxes is illegal).

 

 

It's also worth posting on NextDoor.com that you're happy to assist with any snow removal needs. Adding a photo to the post will help with engagement:

 

 

If you have any time left over after you've finish your jobs, you can also knock on doors!

 

Pricing:

We've found that customers prefer to know what a project will cost ahead of time (vs. paying by the hour)...even if you just provide a price range. As you start your business it's better to be safe and quote conservatively. You can always price more realistically the next season when you have established clients and you have earned their trust.

 

Clothing:

You'll definitely want to stay warm out there and investing in quality gloves and winter boots are a must! Black Friday is always a good day for buying your winter gear :)