Landscaping services are a great way to earn a good living in the United States. Per the Insurance Bee website, the landscaping industry in America is worth over $105 billion, with 604,163 landscaping businesses in the U S. employing over 12 million people. Most people think that a lawn service does nothing more than simple landscaping, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. These businesses also do much more than landscaping services.
They also provide chemical lawn maintenance, tree trimming and ornamentation, irrigation services, pest control, and vegetation management services, just to name a few. However, this begs the question, “What other services can my lawn care operation provide during the winter?” Well, my goal is to answer that question for you so you can keep your business afloat when things typically slow down for other landscaping services.
There are several services that your lawn care business can provide to your valuable customers during the winter months. Here are a few ideas:
- Holiday lighting and decoration setup
- Christmas tree removal and taking down decorations
- Winter mulching
- Snow and ice management
- Moving services
- Winterizing yards
- Pressure washing services
- Gutter cleaning
- Weed and leaf removal
- Planting trees and shrubbery
In this article, we will look into ten services that your lawn care business can offer your customers during the winter that will not only help your customers but will also keep your business earning money until things pick back up during the summer months. We will break down each of these services and explain why they would be a good idea, as well as why your customers will appreciate that you are offering these services. Let’s read along to see how we can get your Landscaping service to make money during the months when most lawn businesses are sitting idle, waiting for the summer months to come along.
Holiday Lighting and Decoration Setup
While most people love the cheer and goodwill that the holiday season brings, they don’t like to put up holiday decorations and lighting. Why should your customers have to take time away from their families during the most important season of the year to put up decorations around their homes? Well, if you provide holiday lighting and decorations setup through your lawn care business, they won’t have to. You can take care of this for them.
Although some of your customers may have modest-sized houses, others may have large homes that May provide your lawn care service with several days’ worth of work at a time when most landscaping businesses are not doing much business, if they are doing any business at all. If you play your cards right you can get an early jump on providing this service. According to Yahoo, 27% of all people who put up holiday lighting do so before Thanksgiving.
Christmas Tree Removal and Taking Down Decorations
In the last section, we discussed how you can earn money during the winter months by offering holiday lighting and decoration setups for your customers. Well, guess what? The same people who hire you to put up their holiday decorations will probably hire you to take them down. Sure, people enjoy decorating their homes for the holiday season. However, taking down those decorations is tedious at best. After the holidays, nobody wants to spend the rest of their vacation time taking down decorations.
This is where your lawn business can step in to provide a valuable service to an existing customer while keeping busy during the winter months. One way to secure additional business for your lawn care service is to advise your customers that you provide holiday decoration takedown and removal when they hire you to put up the decorations. You can also ask them if they can provide you with any referrals. They probably have friends who would hire you to put up and take down their holiday decorations as well. This is the perfect way to double your business with one customer while also gaining new customers in the process.
Winter Mulching
Winter mulching is yet another way that you can keep yourself and your employees busy during what would normally be the slowest time of the year for your business. So, why would your customers hire you for winter mulching services? I’m glad you asked. According to the website Family Handyman, the main reason why winter mulching is so important is that it prevents plants from freezing and dying in the winter. Applying mulch will prevent the soil from freezing, which will keep the plants and vegetation alive at a time when most plants die.
What Defines Landscape Industry Trends
Snow and Ice Management
When the weather starts getting cold and the snow starts falling, people are going to need to have their driveways de-iced and want to have that snow shoveled away from their homes. If you live somewhere where it gets really cold, I’m sure that you have seen snow shoveling and driveway cleaning services. Why should you let them offer these services to your customers when you can provide them through your lawn business?
You have already earned their trust by taking care of their lawn during the summer, so why should you let another business take care of them in the winter? Most people prefer to deal with the same company if they can. People do not like change. If your landscaping business provides this service, it’s a win-win situation for you and your customers. You earn money at a time when most lawn businesses are not earning anything, and your customers get to do business with somebody they already like and trust.
Moving Services
If your lawn care business has the manpower, providing moving services would be a great way to make extra income for your lawn business during the winter. Let’s face it, nobody likes to move. Shyft Moving Services says that over 650,000 people hire movers each year. Your lawn care service could be one of those do-it-all businesses that your customers come to rely on for all of their manual labor projects. Of course, you can offer local moving services if you are not comfortable with going long distances.
According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Services, approximately 40 million people move each year. They go on to say that most moves are local moves, with 65% of all moves each year being within the same county. Providing moving services for your customers is a great way to ensure that you continue to take care of all of their landscaping needs. Let them know that by moving locally, you can continue to provide them with all of their lawn and garden projects. This way, you get to keep your customers while providing them with all of the services they need.
We Answer: Is Being A Landscaper Hard?
Winterizing Yards
People who take enough pride in their lawns to hire a landscaping service will undoubtedly hire your business to help winterize their yards. After all, they wouldn’t want to see all of the work you have done throughout the summer perish during the winter months and be completely wiped out by Spring. So, what do you have to do to winterize your lawn? While most people would believe that this is an overly complicated process, it is quite easy.
According to Bob Villa, there are seven steps that you can take to winterize practically any lawn. These steps include:
- Before starting any work, check the pH levels in the soil.
- Remove all weeds.
- Spread your fertilizer.
- Refresh the lawn by aerating it.
- Seed your lawn.
- Cover all of your plant beds.
- Continue to remove debris as needed throughout the winter.
Pressure Washing Services
During the winter, things get cold and wet. This is not the time that your customers will want to do any outside work in their homes. This includes pressure washing. Your lawn business can step in and take care of this for your valuable customers by offering pressure washing services. Besides, this is the time of year when things are usually hazy, dull, and gray. You can convince your customers to let you take care of their pressure washing needs by convincing them that allowing you to pressure wash their homes will brighten things up.
Gutter Cleaning
While you are pressure washing your customers’ homes, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to see if they would like their cuddles cleaned as well. By combining both pressure washing and gutter cleaning services, you could advertise this as a winter special. Most of your customers are probably working people, who don’t have the time to keep up the exterior of their homes while simultaneously trying to find the time to spend with their families. Tell your customers that they don’t have to worry about finding time to spend with their families during the holidays. You’ve got the exterior of their homes taken care of so they can relax.
We Answer: Is Landscaping A Seasonal Job
Weed and Leaf Removal
Weed and leaf removal are part of winterizing a lawn. However, some of your customers may not want the entire winterizing package. They may only want to have the weeds and dead leaves removed from their lawn to make it look nicer during the winter. Be sure to let your customers know that your lawn business provides these services. Nobody likes to get out in the cold and break their lawn. Most of your customers work all week and don’t want to spend their weekends doing yard work. Let them know that you can take care of this, and let them know about the other services you provide while you are removing weeds and leaves.
Planting Trees and Shrubbery
The wintertime is a great time to plant trees and shrubbery. Trees may take years to grow, but if you plant shrubbery during the winter, they should bloom and look beautiful by spring. Let your customers know that your lawn service does every type of landscaping job they can imagine, including planting trees and shrubbery. It also wouldn’t hurt to Market your business as a year-round landscaping service. When the weather starts getting cold, print out some flyers and hand them out. This is a great way to get the name of your business out in the public, while also securing additional business for the winter by obtaining new customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are just ten of the services that your review business can offer its customers during the winter months that will be mutually beneficial to both them and your business. Remember, when the weather gets colder, people will be looking for help with putting up their holiday decorations, as well as taking them down. Those who want a healthy lawn will also be looking at winterizing their yards and hiring your business for winter mulching. Nobody likes to shovel snow or remove ice from their driveways. This is another service that your lawn business can offer its customers.
If you have the manpower, she can always look into providing moving services through your landscaping business as well. Nobody likes to pressure wash their house during the winter. That is a cold, wet, and nasty job that you can offer to your appreciative customers. While you are pressure washing their homes, you can also see if your customers would like to have their gutters cleaned. Winter also brings around lots of weeds and dead leaves. Your Lawn business can take care of that for your valuable customers. Finally, winter is the perfect time to plant trees and shrubbery. Offering a few of these services can help you to make money while other businesses are idle.
What Are The Disadvantages Of A Landscaping Business
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money does the typical landscaping business earn per year?
Several factors come into play when you are talking about how much money a lawn business can make in a year. For instance, the economy in the area in which you operate your business will directly impact how much potential your business has to earn. With that said the average lawn care business makes $40,423 per year.
Which states have the most lawn care businesses?
When it comes to lawn care services, these states with the highest population generally have the most lawn businesses. The three states that have the most landscaping businesses are California, Florida, and New York. Strangely, Texas was not listed among the states with the highest Lawn Care businesses although they are one of the states with the highest populations.
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.