Now you can plow your driveway or mow your lawn from your phone.

The latest tech start-up to take advantage of the red-hot tap-tap app business model is Plowz and Mowz. As the name suggests, the app allows you to plow and mow your property with just the tap of a button. Think "Uber for hailing a snowplow."

As co-founder Wills Mahoney explains, it used to be that you would have to call a company and then pay price-gouging rates if you wanted snow removed during a blizzard, and that was if the company answered your call. Plowz and Mowz does the dirty work for you, setting you up with an accredited company and getting the job done fast.

This simple concept is starting to pay off for the company entering its third year.

Were in this great environment where everyone wants to tap a button and just get things done, Mahoney said.

See also: Heres how many inches of snow it takes to cancel school in your state

It was a good week for Plowz and Mowz. As the Northeast blizzard dumped two feet of snow on Boston, Mahoney and Co. saw record use of their app, coordinating plows of over 2,000 driveways in a 24-hour period, and helping one snowplow provider walk away with over $10,000 extra in cash, according to Mahoney.

Its an antiquated industry, Mahoney said of the plow business. Were getting these companies customers theyve never seen before, and really drumming up business for these guys.

Welcome to the Uber business model, one that has the ability to make everyday life simpler, more flexible, and more profitable.There has been a wildfire-like expansion of on-demand app services. Uber for taxis; AirBnB for housing; Tindr for dates; Seamless for food; Netflix for video. Its estimated that mobile apps could be bringing in $70 billion in revenue by 2017. Investors are taking notice, pouring money into on-demand anything, from doctor-finding apps, to handyman-sourcing apps.

Plowing driveways and mowing lawns may not be the sexiest service on the on-demand spectrum, but its part of a new wave Mahoney is hoping to ride. Mahoneys company currently includes 30 cities, from Miami to Anchorage, and partners with over 1,300 local companies. The most profitable markets have been Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Boston.

See the original post:
The Margin: Uber for snowplows may be the hottest thing to come out of Blizzard 15

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January 30, 2015 at 12:34 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Lawn Mowing Services