The first steps to starting a lawn care business from scratch
Last time I talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the lawn care business. It's my opinion that lawn care is one of, if not the easiest business that exsist to start up. and one of the very few business's that can be profitable from the first day forward when it's done correctly.
I will eventually in later post's get into all the details of all the necessary steps to getting your business started but today I'm going to give you a quick overview of the steps to take to start a lawn care business very small, with very little money to invest, assuming that you already own a vehicle to use in your business.
The best time to start a lawn care business
Lawn care is actually a year round process so there's always something to do, so you can of course start your business at any time of year. In the Fall there's fertilizing, leaf cleanup and many other things a home or commercial property owner may need help with. However the ultimate time to get new customers is Spring. Spring is when the grass begins to grow and most home owners as well as commercial property owners start to focus on the outdoors aspect of their properties. Home owners are eager to get there landscape looking nice in the Spring.
The first step in starting a lawn care business is getting the right equipment and tools
Having the right tools or machines is one of the most important decisions you will make in starting your business. But that doesn't mean that you have to spend a lot of money on them when starting your business. You've probably saw lawn care companies in your area with large trucks and large mowers that cost thousands of dollars. These people are usually either established businesses who have been in business long enough to build a good stable clientele or a new business who is heavily in debt, not making profit and will soon be out of business. and the customesr they do have will be calling someone like you to do their lawn care.
The biggest mistake I see new business startups in lawn care make, is trying to be to big to fast. In my opinion the key to building a successful, profitable lawn care business is avoiding debt as much as possible. If you have cash on hand to spend, and want to buy some nice equipment that's great. but all you really have to have to start is a decent lawn mower, a weed trimmer, a leaf blower, an edger, a set of hedge trimmers and a means to transport them and you to the job. If you don't already have these, you can buy them all for less than $500. and make back your investment in 1 to 2 days. You will of coarse need bigger and better equipment as you build your clientele and increase your income to support the purchases.
The second step to building your business is getting customers
There is one step that I've skipped that you may want to take care of before getting customers. But most people take care of this a little later after the business is up and running. Getting legal and insured. Check with your city or county on what business license is required for a lawn care business. It's usually pretty simple and inexpensive to take care of this.And you can buy a liability insurance policy for around $300 per year.
As I have mentioned before, lawn care is in high demand in most parts of the country, and getting a few customers to start out in business does not require a big advertising budget. In fact, it doesn't require a budget at all. You can buy 500 business cards online for $10, and advertise on craigslist for free. I personally have found that one of the most effective ways to get customers is to simply walk around the neighborhood or knock on doors, introduce yourself and give them a business card. You'll be surprised at how many people will be happy to get your information and will call you for lawn care service.
In a nut shell, starting a small business in lawn care is one of the simplest, easiest ways I know to start a profitable successful business. All you really need is some basic lawn tools, a few customers and the will to work hard. If it's done right, within 2 years, with some hard work and ambition, its possible to find yourself running a very profitable, debt free, business with employees and the best equipment on the market.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
The Pros And Cons Of Starting A Lawn Care Business
Here's why starting a lawn care business could be a good decision
If you're reading this you probably mowed your neighbors lawn to make a few bucks when you were in school or maybe even did lawns in the neighborhood as a young entrepreneur. And maybe now considering doing it again for some extra cash. Well, that just may be a very good way to make your extra cash. Or become a millionaire in a business which is today an estimated 40 billion dollar industry in the US.
Whether your looking to make a few extra bucks, become a huge nation wide business or something in between, a lawn care business can be a very good way to do it. And here are a few reasons why.
The demand for lawn care is huge
Americans today live very busy lives and a large percentage of those who live in single family homes either are unable, or prefer not to do their own lawn maintenance. Couple that with the fact that bare minimum lawn maintenance can cost less per year than the cost of the machine, tools and the time of doing the job themselves and hiring a professional company for lawn maintenance makes very good sense. I won't get into all the stats on just how big the demand for lawn and landscape services is but if you're interested you can see them at the National Association of Landscape Professionals site.
If you live in average small town America and want to make a living working alone i.e with no employees and very little expense of getting started you should be able to do it, and never travel more than 10 miles from your home. I myself live in a small town where the population is just over 3000 people. and did it for 5 years. And travel distance goes down to 5 miles if you live within 10 miles of a major city. If you're worried about competition, odds are good that you don't need to. Even though you think the competition may be very high in your area, it's been my experience and opinion, that the demand for lawn maintenance out weighs the supply in almost every area in the U.S. even in my own business here in the tiny town I live in, I often get calls from frustrated potential customers during the middle of summer, telling me they've called multiple services and everyone's schedule is full and they're all too busy to do their lawn care.
Lawn care business startup cost can be very low
Startup cost of coarse depends on how large or small you want your business to begin. But compared to the cost of starting most other businesses, lawn care is very low cost whether you start large or small. My personal advice to anyone who wants to start a lawn care business, is to start very small. If you own a small pickup truck or van you already have the most expensive piece of equipment you need to start your business. This is what makes lawn care such an appealing business. If you live in an average subdivision in a suburb in the U.S, are willing to work, own a lawn mower and a weed trimmer It's possible to literally start a thriving, profitable small business with little to no experience, no money and no vehicle.
It's possible to start a lawn care business with little or no experience
If you do have some level of experience cutting grass or doing lawn care tasks, your ahead of the game already. However, It doesn't take a lot of experience or training to do minimum lawn care tasks. Most small lawn care business's start out by doing minimum necessary services such as mowing grass, trimming shrubs etc. If you don't have any experience at all, you can jump online and learn to safely operate a lawn mower, weed eater, and hedge trimmers in 15 minutes. And then get your experience as you work developing and running your business. As you gain experience and grow your business ans expand into other area's such as chemical treatment you will need some level of training as well as licenses. However it is not necessary to start.
Here are a couple of reasons that a lawn care business may not be a good decision
Lawn care is hard physical labor
As in any business lawn care has negatives as well as the positives. If your business plan is to start on your own with no employee's, you'll be doing the actual work yourself. If you do not enjoy working outdoors in the elements or don't enjoy hard physical labor, lawn care may not be for you.
Lawn care can be somewhat seasonal work in most parts of the country
Here in much of the U.S the growing season is only 5 to 6 months of the year. This means the grass and most shrubs and flowers stop growing and no longer need to be mowed and trimmed during the winter months. If you want to have work during Winter you'll need to branch out into area's of the business other than just grass mowing. Most established lawn care companies offer their customers a full service lawn care plan which includes Fall leaf cleanup, debris removal, fertilizing, holliday light setup, snow removal and other task which need to be done in winter.
Any business has pros and cons. And when it comes to starting a business, whether you just want to make some extra cash doing part time chores or grow a large national business, for the person who enjoys outdoor work and being their own boss, It's my opinion as someone who has started with nothing and built a successful lawn care business, that this is a business that can be started very easy and limited in potential only by the entrepreneur ambition.
If you're reading this you probably mowed your neighbors lawn to make a few bucks when you were in school or maybe even did lawns in the neighborhood as a young entrepreneur. And maybe now considering doing it again for some extra cash. Well, that just may be a very good way to make your extra cash. Or become a millionaire in a business which is today an estimated 40 billion dollar industry in the US.
Whether your looking to make a few extra bucks, become a huge nation wide business or something in between, a lawn care business can be a very good way to do it. And here are a few reasons why.
The demand for lawn care is huge
Americans today live very busy lives and a large percentage of those who live in single family homes either are unable, or prefer not to do their own lawn maintenance. Couple that with the fact that bare minimum lawn maintenance can cost less per year than the cost of the machine, tools and the time of doing the job themselves and hiring a professional company for lawn maintenance makes very good sense. I won't get into all the stats on just how big the demand for lawn and landscape services is but if you're interested you can see them at the National Association of Landscape Professionals site.
If you live in average small town America and want to make a living working alone i.e with no employees and very little expense of getting started you should be able to do it, and never travel more than 10 miles from your home. I myself live in a small town where the population is just over 3000 people. and did it for 5 years. And travel distance goes down to 5 miles if you live within 10 miles of a major city. If you're worried about competition, odds are good that you don't need to. Even though you think the competition may be very high in your area, it's been my experience and opinion, that the demand for lawn maintenance out weighs the supply in almost every area in the U.S. even in my own business here in the tiny town I live in, I often get calls from frustrated potential customers during the middle of summer, telling me they've called multiple services and everyone's schedule is full and they're all too busy to do their lawn care.
Lawn care business startup cost can be very low
Startup cost of coarse depends on how large or small you want your business to begin. But compared to the cost of starting most other businesses, lawn care is very low cost whether you start large or small. My personal advice to anyone who wants to start a lawn care business, is to start very small. If you own a small pickup truck or van you already have the most expensive piece of equipment you need to start your business. This is what makes lawn care such an appealing business. If you live in an average subdivision in a suburb in the U.S, are willing to work, own a lawn mower and a weed trimmer It's possible to literally start a thriving, profitable small business with little to no experience, no money and no vehicle.
It's possible to start a lawn care business with little or no experience
If you do have some level of experience cutting grass or doing lawn care tasks, your ahead of the game already. However, It doesn't take a lot of experience or training to do minimum lawn care tasks. Most small lawn care business's start out by doing minimum necessary services such as mowing grass, trimming shrubs etc. If you don't have any experience at all, you can jump online and learn to safely operate a lawn mower, weed eater, and hedge trimmers in 15 minutes. And then get your experience as you work developing and running your business. As you gain experience and grow your business ans expand into other area's such as chemical treatment you will need some level of training as well as licenses. However it is not necessary to start.
Here are a couple of reasons that a lawn care business may not be a good decision
Lawn care is hard physical labor
As in any business lawn care has negatives as well as the positives. If your business plan is to start on your own with no employee's, you'll be doing the actual work yourself. If you do not enjoy working outdoors in the elements or don't enjoy hard physical labor, lawn care may not be for you.
Lawn care can be somewhat seasonal work in most parts of the country
Here in much of the U.S the growing season is only 5 to 6 months of the year. This means the grass and most shrubs and flowers stop growing and no longer need to be mowed and trimmed during the winter months. If you want to have work during Winter you'll need to branch out into area's of the business other than just grass mowing. Most established lawn care companies offer their customers a full service lawn care plan which includes Fall leaf cleanup, debris removal, fertilizing, holliday light setup, snow removal and other task which need to be done in winter.
Any business has pros and cons. And when it comes to starting a business, whether you just want to make some extra cash doing part time chores or grow a large national business, for the person who enjoys outdoor work and being their own boss, It's my opinion as someone who has started with nothing and built a successful lawn care business, that this is a business that can be started very easy and limited in potential only by the entrepreneur ambition.
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