Starting a lawn care business in not only fairly inexpensive, but can be extremely profitable. Since grass never stops growing, companies in this industry are often provided with an abundance of work. The following article describes how to start your own lawn care business.
What You Will Need to Get Started
A low start-up cost is one of the greatest benefits of starting your own lawn care business. There are two types of supplies that you will need – operational and administrative. Operational equipment is what you will use to perform jobs at the clients location. Starting out, you will just need a pickup truck, a push mower, trimmer, and leaf blower for clearing grass trimmings off driveways, sidewalks and flowerbeds. In addition, you will need some administrative supplies including business cards and a ledger for recording revenue and expenses.
Free Tools and Resources for Small Business Owners
Stick to Basic Lawn Care Services
Most lawn care businesses focus strictly on cutting grass, trimming around trees and walkways, and cleaning up loose grass trimmings. During my few years working in lawn care, this was the strategy of my employer. While additional services can bring in extra revenue, they usually don’t pay as well and take more time to complete. Keeping your services simple allows you to service more customers in a day without purchasing lots of extra equipment.
Tips to Boost the Reputation of your Small Business
Finding Clients for your Lawn Care Business
In the lawn care business, you will encounter two types of customers – residential and commercial. Typically, residential clientele will make up a majority of your business. They are usually working professionals who have little time or elderly people who are physically unable to care for their own lawns.
Tips for Getting Residential Customers – A great way to get residential customers is creating flyers and distributing them in local neighborhoods. You can also offer discounts to customers who recommend you to their friends and family.
Commercial customers are a little harder to acquire since their grounds services are usually contracted through a corporate office or their property leasing company. Real estate companies are a great source of business since vacant properties need to have their grounds constantly groomed to remain presentable for buyers.
Tips for Getting Commercial Customers – Visit prospective business and speak to a manager about your services. Make sure that you have business cards available to give out. If the company already has another lawn care provider, ask what there are being charged and offer to save them money by offering a lower price.
Downfalls and Obstacles to Starting your Own Lawn Care Business
While starting your own lawn care business can be a rewarding venture, there are some challenges. First, operating a lawn care business in some parts of the country comes with limitations due to weather. If you live in an are that has cold winter months, you will need to adapt to keep revenue rolling in. During the fall, you can offer a leaf raking service. Clearing snow from driveways and sidewalks during the winter can also be a seasonal moneymaker. Another challenge comes in the form of competitors. Since a lawn care business is easy to start and operate, the market may become crowded or oversaturated at times. Be patient; Many of these companies are most likely short lived.
Starting your own lawn care business can be a rewarding and challenging experience. Hopefully, this guide will provide you with the ideas and guidance to get pointed in the right direction.
