Starting a Profitable Lawn Care Business Made Easy
A lawn is a green space covered with grass in your backyard. A lawn makes a house perfect and adds beauty to your home. People who can afford a lawn use it for various purpose especially to morning or evening walk. A lawn is generally covered with grass but these days’ people also use synthetic grass.
Nevertheless a perfect lawn is the one that has original grass and is watered and maintained regularly. People particularly care to maintain their lawns perfectly by ensuring that it has perfect green grass, no weed and is trimmed perfectly.
Thus lawn care as a business has seen a rise where people hire lawn care businesses to maintain their lawns perfectly. Maintaining your lawn is not that expensive yet it depends on you what kind of maintenance you want and how many times you need lawn care service in a month.
With the rise of lawn care there has also been a rise in lawn care business that is seeing immense growth. If you are interested to invest in lawn care business then this article is for you which has all the necessary tips you need to start and move your business forward.
Lawn Care Business: An Overview
An idea to start a lawn care business isn’t a bad decision but is rather very good. But not all ideas can be turned into fortune just because those ideas are good. In order to make your business idea a reality and a success there is much that you need to do. One such thing is understanding your business.
Understanding requires understanding the lawn care industry not as an outsider but as an insider. In order to understand it would be better for you to first work in the business as an employee for at least a year. This is will give you deep insight regarding the lawn care business its pros and cons, chance of success and failure, investment and return on investment.
The other way is to network with people who are in this business. Understand their perspective and their experience in this industry but it would at the end of the day will remain only their perspective.
You can also do deep research on this topic by accessing through online blogs, websites, books and journals available. Moving ahead, the next step forward is accumulating all the information you have gathered and writing it in the form of a plan which is well structured having a definitive strategy regarding your business and how you plan to execute it.
A business plan makes everything that is in your head into a written work that can easily be accessed and can be explained to others as well. The business plan you write should have all the details required to start your business. It should cover every aspect of your business right from finance to expertise to employees to return on investment.
Understanding the Lawn Care Business Market:
Lawn care business is not that simple. The first question that arises is how will make your space in the market? How will you get your clients given there are many other competitors in your market? Since everyone doesn’t have a lawn and even if they have not everyone subscribes to lawn care service then in such conditions how will you manage to get enough customers to ensure your business growth?
Such questions need an answer and unless you don’t get those answers there is not point of moving ahead. Lawn care market though has a big presence but its operation is spread in localities. You will rarely find any lawn care business operating as franchise or has a big name in the market. This makes your job tough to understand the dynamics of lawn care business.
What will work at work place may not work at another place and that is where application of mind is necessary for you. Thoroughly review the ground situation, analyze it and then move ahead with your business plans.
A lawn care business renders service of cutting grass lawns, removing debris, trimming the edges of grass, maintenance of turf, which also includes removal of weed, fertilization, watering prescription and removal of pests. The service of lawn care is rendered usually on weekly basis which may also be that of fortnight or monthly depending on the requirements or requests made by the customers. You would be rendering your service to both commercial and residential customers.
A Day at the Lawn Care Service:
In most cases the schedule for lawn care is fixed early which mostly a certain day of a week or month. You would be visiting the place along with all your necessary instruments, pesticides and fertilizers. It is obvious that you may not be present alone at the site and you will also need an assistant who will also share the work with.
Before visiting the site you will have to check the condition of your tools, equipment and machines. Maintain them properly before you visit the site. The next operation is at the site where you will be doing the job prescribed by your customer or as per your opinion necessary in consultation with your customer. The rest of time will be spent in doing the aforesaid job like trimming, watering, fertilizing, sprinkling pesticides and fertilizers and whatever it is dimmed fit for the situation.
After finishing the job and meeting the customer you will have to return back to your office, give the status report of the job done, any special mentions necessary, repairing of tools if necessary and also marking the next date of service along with special instructions as given by your customer.
Your Target Market:
Your target market will be both commercial as well as residential customers. Commercial customers who are willing to go for a long term contract are the best as they help you will planning your long term financial goal along with providing business stability. Commercial customers also are willing to pay better money in comparison to residential customers and they are more likely to call you often.
Regular visiting on weekly or twice a week basis will help you in charging better fees. For commercial customers you also have that added advantage of maintaining larger piece of lawn and to do much more work in comparison to residential customers thus increasing your fees. Residential customers are also not bad given they go for long term contract and give you regular work. You can fix the service charge for both at different prices as per the market and your expertise.
Making Profit through Lawn Care and Growth Potential:
You will be charging for each of your service you render to your customers. The charge per service depends on the service you render. Trimming of grasses, maintaining the debris, removing weed, water generally count as one while fertilizing and removing pests is counted separately which is done once in a month or so.
Charging fees for your service and the amount for your service depends upon the market condition of your locality and also the service which you have rendered including the quality, time taken and the machines used.
Servicing for big lawns requires double force, crew, tools, machines and resources which should be completed in record time. Such quick and efficient service is what one pays for and therefore such factors will count while estimating your service fees.
The potential of growth in lawn care business is immense. It also depends on your will to grow which means that you have to increase the crew size, deploy more staffs, and increase the number of tools, equipment and machines. Along with this you will also need to increase the vehicle on which you will carry your crew along with their tools.
You may also need to open more offices at different place of operation and increase the overall staff in your office. Well these steps will be subject of future as there is a lot much to do before you grow that big.
Office and Legal work while starting your Lawn Care Business:
Consult a legal advisor or a person already in business to know what legal formalities you need to fulfil in order to start your business. There is not much required to start your business apart from general registration of your business, your tax account, basic expertise certification and few more. You don’t really need to have a sophisticated office for your business as you can easily operate from your home.
The only space you need is to keep your tools, machines and vehicle. If your house has that enough space then it would be best or else you can just lease a warehouse and park your vehicle at the parking.
Getting your Tools, Equipment and Machines:
Well to start your business you will require various tools. Some of them are:
- Mower
- Leaf Blower
- Trimmer
- Hand Tools
- Oil and Gasoline, etc.
It would be better to own all these tools at once since they do not cost much and you can even own at least two set of all these tools. The cost for the same will not be more than few thousand dollars at max. You may also lease them if you have budget constraint but the best thing will be to have all things new. Regular oiling, repairing and maintenance will increase the life of these tools.
Transport Vehicles:
You will require a transport vehicle to carry all your tools along with your crew. Generally a two member crew is enough for a day job at medium sized lawn. You may lease a mini sized truck or a van whichever you dim fit and whichever can accommodate the crew along with the tools and equipment. Owning the vehicle is not necessary nor advisable unless you already have one.
The best thing is to rent or lease one such vehicle and you have many customers to attend in a single at different location then two such vehicles which will be cheaper on monthly or yearly basis. It will only consume road tax, fuel and other general maintenance charge.
Hiring workers, trained staff and other employees:
You will also need someone else apart from you to assist you in your lawn care service business. You will at least need one person along with you if you are the one doing the main job at the site. A trained staff who knows the job of lawn care would be best along with a general labor to assist him who also knows how to drive.
In case you are maintaining your office and a separate customer care center then you will also need an employee who will manage the same. This job can also be done by you in your initial days when you will have limited employees and you may hire someone at later stage as and when you start to get numerous customers.
In case you are the one who will do the main job of lawn care then it is obvious to expect that you know your job well and you are trained in all the services that you aim to render. In case you are not you can hire an expert for the same.
Capital Investment Required:
Not much capital is required in this business as all the resources are quite affordable apart from your vehicle which is better to be leases at cheap price. A second hand vehicle will be suitable for the same. Your business plan will indicate the money required to start your business and it will not be more than few thousand dollars at max. Therefore you will also do not need to take any kind of loan or require investment.
Business Growth and Marketing:
As your business starts it also requires that you start to think about growing your business. Your effective lawn care service is the best USP for your business to grow. Such service business grow more on word of mouth rather than paid ads or marketing. Yet you can promote your business through digital marketing and traditional marketing.
You can advertise through newspaper pamphlets, through your business card and posters. You should also put big hoardings on your service vehicle of marketing. Such businesses especially in their initial stage grow through marketing at small levels, through word of mouth from your satisfied customers. Therefore focus on rendering the best possible service and there is good probability that you will gain new clients.
As you grow you can change the mode of marketing by investing in big billboard ads, posters, newspaper ads, digital market and many other methods of marketing by hiring a marketing team.
FAQS
To make a profit in the lawn care industry, you should focus on providing quality services at competitive prices, focus on customer service, utilize the most efficient and up-to-date equipment and technology, and maintain a reliable and capable staff.
The necessary equipment for a successful lawn care business includes, but is not limited to, mowers and trimmers, hand tools, fertilizers and weed control supplies, and any specialized items such as aeration and dethatching machines.
Services you can potentially offer your customers could include lawn mowing, edging, leaf removal, weed and pest control, aeration, dethatching, soil testing and fertilizing, overseeding and sodding, and general spring and fall cleanups.
There are many ways to market your lawn care services, such as through advertising in local newspapers, radio or television commercials, door-to-door flyers, lawn signs, online advertisements, and by joining local chambers of commerce or trade groups.
Depending on your area and the types of services you are providing, there may be different licensing requirements to operate a lawn care business. Be sure to research state and local laws and obtain any necessary licenses, permits, or certifications required by your jurisdiction.
The best way to calculate your lawn care prices is to first assess the type of services you are providing, the size of the property, any extra materials or equipment needed, and the local competition. Once you have this information, you can set prices that are competitive and reflect the value of the services you are providing.
Yes. It is important to carry liability insurance to protect your business and employees in case of any accidents or injuries that might occur while providing lawn care services.
Different areas have different climates and growing seasons, so the best time to offer lawn care services will vary depending on your location. Generally, most lawn care services are offered from the late spring through the early fall months.
The key to succeeding in the lawn care industry is providing quality services consistently and efficiently. Utilize the most up-to-date technology and equipment, focus on customer service, and strive to employ a reliable and capable workforce.
It is important to protect yourself and your workers while operating a lawn care business. Take the necessary safety precautions such as wearing proper clothing and eyewear, using the right tools for the job, and following any manufacturer guidelines or safety warnings.
