If you already are a landscaper or are debating getting into this field, you have likely asked yourself the question of whether landscaping is a seasonal job. The short answer is no, it is not. To get into the long answer, I’ll take you through all the various jobs a landscaper can take on during the winter to stay busy.
Landscaping is not a seasonal job: landscapers can take on various jobs such as snow removal, Christmas light hanging, gutter cleaning, leaf removal, interior design projects, and jobs to prepare the yard for the next season during the winter. There is a greater demand for some of these jobs over others, so do your research for your specific market to know what is in demand.
These are just a few suggestions on various roles you can take on during winter to keep busy and keep the money coming in. Let’s take a look at a few tips to start prepping for your winter season during the summer and how you can take on some or all of these jobs!
Working with Existing Clients
The best part about the winter season is you don’t have to build up your clientele from scratch. You can pull from the same clients that you’ve been working with all summer. If you’ve done a great job with them on their summer services, there is no reason why they wouldn’t agree to work with you again during the winter. One great tactic for getting the idea planted in their head early is to casually mention it when closing up your summer project with them.
Let them know what variety of services you offer during the winter, and that they can call you at any time to set up a service. This will plant the seed early on and increase the chance of them reaching out to you come winter.
Don’t stop here though, it’s great to get the idea planted early on, but now we have to water the idea. Once the end of summer comes around, reach back out to your clients with a phone call to ask them if they’d like to set up any winter services. Let them know your appointment book is filling up quickly, and as one of your favorite clients, you want to make sure they can get their preferred time for all of their services!
This reminder call at the end of summer further grows the idea you planted in their head earlier on, and also reminds them that summer is coming to an end, and there is a lot to do to get the yard ready for next year.
Another great way to increase your chances of repeat jobs for clients is to give them a coupon for their next service. It could be as simple as 10% or 15% off, but clients will feel good about being rewarded for coming back to work with you. It serves as a thank you to your repeat clients for continuing to come back to work with you.
At the end of the day, you are saving your clients time by offering them your wintertime services. Nobody wants to spend the time finding a new landscaper to help them out in the winter. What’s more, many people like having a single person or group that they go to for all similar services. Just think about how many times we’ve heard about someone using the same hairdresser for fifteen years or only trusting their jewelry to their local goldsmith. Similarly, if you build up a rapport with your client, they will always come to you and only you with all of their landscaping needs (winter or summer)!
This is not to say that you can’t still network and advertise and continue to find new clients to work with. You just don’t have to put as much emphasis on it if you already have a solid clientele lined up from the summer season. Also keep in mind that all of the tips we went over on prepping your winter season during the summer, work both ways. Use the same tips to prep your next summer season during the winter!
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What are the Various Jobs to Do in Winter?
Leaf Removal
This is an easy one because you won’t find too many people who love raking their leaves. Once the busy summer season ends, you can find plenty of jobs taking care of leaves for guests. Honestly, the best place to start (aside from your existing clientele of course) is your very own neighborhood.
Christmas Light Hanging
This is another great one because usually by the time the season is here to hang Christmas lights, the temperature outside is mighty chilly! While many people still love hanging light themselves just out of Christmas cheer, there are a great many people who would happily pay good money so they can stay out of the cold weather themselves. You can hang lights and help put up decorations around the yard. This job alone can bring in great money during the winter season!
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Gutter Cleaning
This is another service that most people don’t tend to enjoy doing. This is where you come in and offer your services. Make your client’s life easy and win yourself some extra work!
Another helpful trick to keep in mind, is if one particular service isn’t gaining too much attention, try bundling it together with another service and setting a higher price. For example, if gutter cleaning is lacking in attention, try offering a package deal where you rake the leaves and clean out the gutters for a client. This will likely increase the likelihood of you winning clients, as you are now taking care of two jobs in one fell swoop!
Snow Removal
Shoveling snow is another big one and one people tend to hate doing due to the cold weather! Not only is it often cold and icy, but many customers also probably don’t have the equipment that a professional landscaper would have. It is far easier for them to hire someone who is properly equipped to shovel snow easily than break their backs doing it themselves.
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Getting the Lawn Ready for Next Summer
Making sure the lawn is properly prepared for next season is a really important part of maintaining a healthy lawn. Jobs such as aerating the lawn, patching up bald spots, fertilizing the lawn, and properly mowing it down until the snow falls are all important to lawn health. These are all services that you can offer to your clients and make good money off of.
You can also offer up your services in taking care of plants and young trees to make sure they survive the winter. Many young trees, shrubs, and bulbs won’t make it through the winter unless they’re properly wrapped or covered. These are especially great services to offer if you know that many landscapes around town have a lot of plants that need to be cared for.
Interior Landscaping Projects
The great part of being a versatile landscaper is being able to work on indoor projects during the winter. Many homes and commercial spaces have curated spaces inside that also require maintenance. Many indoor landscaping projects can get very similar to outdoor projects, so I guarantee most of these tasks will already be in your wheelhouse. If there are new tasks that you haven’t worked on before, then take the time during the slower winter season to learn and sharpen these skills!
Continue to Work Regardless of the Season
The bottom line here is, regardless of season, as a landscaper you can always find work. It’s all about being versatile, being open to learning new skills, and of course, prepping for your upcoming season early on. If you do this properly, you won’t just be busy, you will have a full season all season every season! Good luck!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is it a good idea to take some of my winter season to earn additional permits?
Not only is this a great idea, it is a huge part of continuing to grow as a landscaper. This will help you offer more services to your clients each coming summer and you will continue to earn more money each season as well. If this is something you are interested in doing, I would set aside a designated chunk of time each winter where you will take the time to study and earn additional permits/degrees.
Do I have to take on all of the services listed above?
You certainly don’t have to. I would advise against it. My advice would be to do your research and find out which services are in the most demand in your town. Rather than trying to offer every winter service possible and then ending up exhausted, offer the ones that will bring in the most revenue for you and specialize in those that will make the most financial sense for your business.
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.