A landscaping business is a great way to start a career as a small business owner. You can start your lawn care service and become a one-person show or expand it into something more and hire employees. While starting up an entire company from scratch might seem overwhelming, we’ll walk you through the steps in this article.
7 Tips to start a landscaping business from scratch include:
- Having a business plan.
- Choosing your lawn care services.
- Having the right equipment and tools.
- Having a dependable vehicle or trailer.
- Choosing your prices.
- Having the correct business permits and licenses.
- Deciding on branding and marketing.
Create a Business Plan
A formal business plan describes your company’s current state, what you want to achieve, and how you will get there. It’s important to know what should be included in your business plan before you write it. You can find a sample template online or use templates from other companies in your industry if available. If not, create a list of things that need to be included in your business plan based on recommendations.
There are two main ways to create a good business plan: write it yourself or hire someone else to do so for you. Suppose writing isn’t one of your strengths. In that case, hiring an expert with experience writing these documents might be a good idea, especially if there are complex elements involved with starting your landscaping company (such as finance). However, if writing isn’t too difficult for you, then feel free to go ahead and write it yourself!
The most important thing about this document is ensuring it has information about all aspects related directly or indirectly to starting up, such as marketing strategies (how much time), funding needs (how much money), operations costs, etc.
To learn about the biggest overhead cost in a landscaping business, check out this article.
Choose your lawn care services
Lawn care services:
- Lawn mowing involves cutting grass and trimming hedges.
- Aeration consists of specialized equipment to remove tiny cores from the soil. The purpose of aeration is to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the root zone of the grass. When performed correctly, this process can help improve your lawn’s overall health and appearance.
- Mulching is the process of applying a layer of organic material over the property to aid in moisture retention and ultimately keep your grass green and healthy.
- Tree pruning and removal involve removing dead or dying trees and cutting back overgrown trees to make them more manageable.
- Seeding is the process of planting seeds in your yard. It’s an important step in establishing new grass or plants in your yard and can be done year-round. Seeding can help give a lawn a fresh start.
- Edging consists of using a machine to cut the grass at the edges of your lawn so that it’s straight and neat. This is especially important if you have a formal or circular-shaped yard. Edging adds beauty and cleanliness to your property; when done properly, it can make all the difference in how your lawn looks.
- Grub control refers to killing off grubs (young larvae) that live under turf when they hatch from eggs laid by adult beetles during rainy seasons such as springtime. Grubs are more common in areas with wet springs because they thrive in moist soil conditions like those found near bodies of water—and there’s nothing worse than finding yourself with an infestation! Even though this service can only occur once per year (usually between late May through September), it’s still worth doing because these pests can cause major damage if not controlled quickly enough–and besides, this service works for other types of pests too! So don’t forget those pesky critters when planning the services you’ll offer.
Buy the required equipment and tools
To start a landscaping business, you must buy the right equipment. Buy the right tools and equipment for the job.
The last thing you want is something that doesn’t work well or doesn’t help your productivity! So, make sure it’s good quality stuff! This will allow you to do your work efficiently and effectively.
It would help if you also considered cost when buying anything new since it means more money out of your pocket every month/year depending on how often you use them or how long they last before needing replacement parts (or even being thrown away).
To learn about landscaping social media post ideas, check out this article.
Choose your prices
You’ve researched the market, but now it’s time to set your prices. The easiest way to get started is to find out what other landscapers are charging in your area and then decide how much you want or need to make. For example: if you need $50k a year and all of the companies around you charge $60k for similar services (and there’s nothing else about them that makes them stand out), then go ahead and match those prices. If their prices are all over the place, pick a number between their lowest and highest rates—you’ll still be above average but not so much that people will think twice before hiring you (or worse yet, walk away entirely).
If it turns out that no one else around charges what they do, keep looking until someone does charge at least somewhat close to what they’re charging. Then ask yourself how many lawns would have been done by those other companies if their costs were lower.
Have a Dependable Vehicle
If you want to start a landscaping business, the most important thing is a dependable vehicle. It should be large enough to carry all of your equipment but small enough that you can drive it easily. A good vehicle will help you get more clients and look like a professional business.
Business Permits and Licenses
You will also need to obtain business licenses from the state, city, or county where you plan to operate. The requirements for this vary depending on what type of business you are starting up but usually involve an application fee, proof of liability insurance, and submission of information about yourself and your company. Once you’ve submitted all the required paperwork, you should be able to receive your license within a few weeks (usually). If you’re unsure what kind of business licenses are needed in your area, check with local authorities or visit their websites for more information.
Branding
Branding is an essential step in building a landscaping business. Branding includes creating a unique name for your landscaping company and designing an original logo that reflects the style of your business. Your customers will see your brand every time they drive by, so you want to ensure it’s eye-catching and memorable.
A good brand will help people remember who you are and why they should hire you instead of another company in town. A great brand should also reflect what makes your company unique: Is it all organic products? Do you offer organic pest control services? Whatever it is unique about how you do business, make sure that element is reflected in all aspects of branding!
Marketing
There are various ways to market your landscaping business. A website is one of the most important things to have. Your site should be easy to navigate and professional-looking, but also give people the information they need about the services you offer and how you can help them.
When deciding what social media sites to use, consider what will get the most attention in your area. For example, if most people in your town use Facebook, that would be the best choice for marketing purposes. If they are regular users of Twitter or Instagram, then those would be good choices too!
Make sure that whatever network(s) you choose has enough followers who live nearby so that when someone is looking for landscaping services near them, it’s more likely their friends will see it first (and remember what brand name was used).
The next step after setting up a website and social media accounts is advertising! Think carefully about where exactly within each city or town will reach out exactly those who may need help landscaping around their house. What kind—and size—of businesses might hire them out? How often should I advertise per week? These questions need answering before moving forward because once they begin, there’s no stopping until finished!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do landscapers keep track of clients?
Landscapers keep track of clients using CRM software such as Hubspot, Pipedrive, or ClickUp. Some may even use calendars because they like pen and paper. However, the software helps keep a record of everything necessary.
How do you manage a landscaping crew?
To manage a landscaping crew, ensure a good system is in place. Employees or contractors need the correct training and motivation to continue working. Once you have a good team, you can enjoy the business a little more.
How do I start a landscaping business in Texas?
Focus on obtaining the proper licenses and getting to know the surrounding area. The land is different all over Texas, so some services will do better than others, depending on the area you’re working in.
To learn more on how you can start your own landscaping business, check out my startup documents here.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.