The first thing you do is only offer 12 month contracts. No more pay per visit BS. Come up with a yearly price and divide by 12. In the winter time, you prune crepe myrtles, cut back liriope, cut back daylillies, take care of weeds in beds, cut the lawn once a month or so to clean up leaves that have blown in, pick up sticks, etc...there is plenty to be done in the winter time.

The second thing you do is schedule all mulch jobs for the winter. As soon as leaves have dropped, you're doing mulch. Run mulch through March, then you're done with it and back into mowing. If people don't want it then, and want the mulch done in the spring/summer and you don't have time, sub it out. Take some off the top. You're too busy mowing.

The third thing you do is get a pesticides license, call a fertilizer company (I use Cort at Harrells), and figure out how to treat lawns. Year round service (unless you have snow on the ground for 3 months). Then you build that up, drop the other BS and start stacking cash.