What are the disadvantages of a landscaping business?

What Are The Disadvantages Of A Landscaping Business

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There are many disadvantages to a landscaping business. Like many entrepreneurial endeavors the more deeply you get into it, the more you learn about its challenges. Attractive as the idea of making outdoor areas beautiful, there are disadvantages to developing a landscaping business.

The disadvantages of a landscaping business include the lack of a specific definition making certification and licensing difficult, the need for an extensive knowledge base, physical labor in all sorts of weather, competition is intense, it is seasonal work, landscaping is not a one-and-done operation, maintaining good personnel, keeping up with regulations, high cost of insurance and the need for general business acumen.

Here are ten disadvantages to starting up a landscaping business: 

What are the disadvantages of a landscaping business?
  1. Lack of a specific definition of “Landscaping Business”. Only a few states require a license to start a landscaping business. While several might require sub-licenses, such as certification to apply pesticides, fertilizer, or insecticides, or to handle heavy equipment, most have few regulations that are specifically for “landscaping.” This means that “some guy” with a rake and a lawn mower could style his side hustle as “landscaping.” That’s bad news for individuals who take classes in drafting, horticulture, equipment operations, and more.
  2. A real landscaping business requires extensive knowledge of geological features and plants to maintain long-term success. If you hope to get in with the big projects, such as condos, parks, and other extensive outdoor designs, you will want those classes that apply directly to your business. In addition, you will need to learn about the processes of running a business – record keeping, invoicing, billing, collections, hiring, housing equipment, depreciation, and much, much more. Landscaping is a lot more than lawn mowing in the summer and chainsaws in the winter.
  3. Outdoor physical labor in all weather. While you might be able to sit in an air-conditioned office and create plans or even models of a park or plan, eventually someone has to get out there and move the earth, set up the flower beds, put in the walkways, the sprinkler systems, and all the rest of it. That means that someone, and that could be you if you are a sole proprietor, is going to have to be out in the hot sun and the cold winter taking care of the hands-on part of landscaping. 
  4. Competition is intense. If you want those big jobs, you’ll need to learn how to bid on them. There aren’t that many housing complexes, golf courses, or parks installed every year. If you aren’t good at the bidding game, you can lose your shirt by bidding too low, or you can lose out on getting good jobs and wind up doing floral arrangements in corners of parking lots. 
  5. The steady work is seasonal. Mowing, raking leaves, removing debris, weeding, lawn improvement, pest control, and more tend to take place in the summertime. While there might be a few jobs, such as snow removal, that can be traded off, most landscaping care is done during the warm, growing months. 

We Answer: Is Being A Landscaper Hard?

What are the disadvantages of a landscaping business?
  1. Landscaping is never done once and it’s done. Wind, water, and sun all have an effect on the way earth and stone fit together in a location. Plants grow, sometimes with good results and sometimes with challenging ones, such as when it rains so often that it is hard to keep up with lawn mowing yet the ground is too wet to run a wheeled vehicle over it. Or when freezing and thawing heaves the squares of pavement out of place, or a tree falls over in high winds. 
  2. Maintaining good personnel. To keep a good staff all year round, you will need to pay a competitive wage or have some sort of alternative work for the times when your hands-on ground team can’t be in the field. Getting and keeping good people who know a hosta from a plantain can be a challenge, especially in our modern age of youngsters who grow up knowing how to use a smartphone, 24/7, but can’t figure out what to do with a tomato plant that isn’t blooming. 
  3. Keeping up with local regulations, as well as state and national laws about vegetation, land ownership, and more. It isn’t enough to know about the real landscape, you need to be informed about the legal landscape, as well. 
  4. High cost of insurance. Not only will you need to be able to pay for that rock that the lawn mower threw into an expensive plate-glass window, but you also need medical coverage, workman’s compensation, and unemployment insurance for your people. Having good workers in your jobs will boost your reputation and get you more jobs. But it is a balancing act because you don’t want to grow so big that you cannot keep up with the work in question. 
  5. Need for general business acumen. You need people skills, as well. You will need to talk to people about prospective jobs, expectations on the job, work performance, job expectations and so much more. If you want a job where you just commune with the trees, landscaping probably isn’t your bag. 

The Big Bottom Line

What are the disadvantages of a landscaping business?

Let’s face it: Landscaping is one of those jobs that requires constant self-education, continuous upgrading of skills, good communication, and – above all – a willingness to work hard. In the office or on the ground, you can expect to put in some long hours planning, communicating, and doing at least a portion of the hands-on execution of your landscaping plans. 

If you want to do it right, you will need classes in drafting, horticulture, ecology, economics, human resources, business management, and more. To do landscaping right, you need a team, and that can be expensive as well as challenging. 

You are going to compete with the high school kid or retiree with a lawn mower and rake, and you’ll be at a disadvantage because they have other sources of income. So, unless you are making this a side hustle, you will need to plan carefully to make a living as a landscaper. 

We Answer: Is Landscaping A Seasonal Job

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to know local regulations?

Because many city ordinances for homeowners and renters often have to do with the kinds of plants that can be grown in a particular area. You need to know about grass height, whether vegetable gardens are allowed, what kinds of trees you can plant, and whether a species that is being sold as ground cover is considered invasive in a particular location. You also need to know about vehicle safety, and how to negotiate with local authorities in case a tree needs to be removed and a roadway might be unsafe for a brief while. 

What is a good way to move beyond a lawn mower and rake landscaping business?

To get serious about landscaping, take some landscape drafting classes at your local college. Some technical colleges have career tracks that can lead to a landscaping career. Take classes in botany and horticulture. Volunteer some time with your local parks board or state conservation department. Keep in mind that this needs to be something that you truly love, because college classes are expensive, volunteer positions are not always available, and you’ll have a lot of work ahead of you before you make enough money to pay off those student loans. 

What if I find I like doing one part of landscaping, such as planting flowers or drafting designs, but don’t want to run a whole company?

Then you might be happier looking for a job with a landscaping company that is already established. You can get a job (perhaps) doing the thing that interests you without engaging in the parts that you find uncomfortable. However, in that case, you might find yourself doing things that you do not enjoy, working long hours, and perhaps being in charge of your transportation to and from jobs. Or you might work long summer hours and get laid off during winter. 

I want to specialize in planting flowers. Is there a landscaping job that would let me do that?

If you are willing to work for a large landscaping company, there are probably many positions that will let you plant flowers, immature trees, and more. If you are part of a landscaping team, there is a chance that planting and maintaining flower beds could be your whole job. Keep in mind that you would probably be working for someone else, but you would be able to work outside, enjoy a wide variety of plants, and have plenty of opportunities to get your hands dirty.

Is there a job I can get hugging trees?

Given that steps are currently being taken to protect famous trees from tourists tramping around and compacting the ground near their roots, possibly not. However, if you truly like trees, you might be able to get on with a reforestation project. Planting tiny trees isn’t quite like hugging them, but it is probably a lot more useful for greening up the planet. 

To learn more on how you can start your own landscaping business, check out my startup documents here.

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