When you think about landscaping as a business option, you’d think, “Is it even profitable?” Well, that’s where you are wrong. Landscaping is a billion-dollar industry, and a recurring service needed worldwide. As long as people build homes and want to keep up the look of their house, the landscaping business isn’t going out of the market.
However, as lucrative as the business idea is, getting started with a landscaping business is no joke. You must pick apart the logistics, take care of the finances and find new clients. Sounds hectic and complicated, right?
In this article, we will explore all the top tips and proven ways to get started with your landscaping business in just ten simple steps.
Table of Contents
Why Should You Start a Landscaping Business?
According to reports published on Markets and Research, the landscaping market will grow by 4.9% by 2025. But why this sudden rise?
People’s lifestyles are the main reason. With the rising rate of home sales globally, people now prefer to spruce up their homes with gardens. From gardening sets to maintaining the pristine look of the lawn, people spend a lot of time, money and effort on the look of their home.
Hiring landscaping services allow people to keep a check on the heavy-duty work. Consumer demand is continually contributing to the growth of this business model.
So, how do you establish your place in the middle of it? Sometimes, understanding the ups and downs of starting a new business improves your decision, so let us explore that.
Advantages of a Landscaping Business
- It is a billion-dollar industry and growing at a rapid rate
- It provides individuals to have flexible work timings
- It helps the community
- It helps you build a satisfied clientele
- It allows you to kickstart your brand
- It allows you to work outdoors and transform people’s yards and gardens
Disadvantages of a Landscaping Business
- It has fluctuating market needs throughout the year
- It requires a hefty initial investment
- It requires a lot of physical labour
- It brings a lot of business-related stress
- It can be a little complicated for new business people, especially managing taxes and financing.
Getting started with a landscaping business can initially cost around $10,000 to $15,000. This involves the equipment, transportation, and accessory elements. The amount isn’t tiny, so it might seem a bit out of reach. So, planning is crucial in that case.
But the good news is that once you have the set-up sorted, a well-running landscaping business makes a minimum of $17-$20 per hour, which is much more than minimum wage. You can make a steady profit with exemplary dedication and clientele with your work.
10 Steps to Start a Landscaping Business
If you are convinced about starting your landscaping business, here’s a secret 10-step process to make it a reality.
1. Have Some Experience
People’s homes are their prized possession. So, when it comes to landscaping, chances are that they would want to invest in someone professional and with good experience.
Your first step to starting a successful landscaping business is to gain relevant experience. It could be from watching YouTube videos, getting professional trained, or even working pro-bono in your or your family’s backyard.
As you do this, document the process of creating a portfolio. Ensure that you include “before” and “after” shots because that’s what your potential clients want to see. Also, have a social media presence and collect testimonials from every initial client you work with.
Having a proper portfolio helps you create credibility and enables you to impress your customers without needing to say much.
2. Choose Your Niche and Services
When you think about the landscaping business, the services are diverse. You could repair the broken garden beds, clear out the weed growing in the yard or clean the driveway. The options are diverse.
Some landscaping businesses with multiple employees might offer all of these services. However, it’s better to narrow down your niche when you are just starting.
Ideally, you want to start with what you know and are confident doing. It could start with the basic landscape design or deal with the repair. What you choose depends on your expertise and the demand around you.
Do thorough market research within a 20-mile radius of where you live. Find out what kind of landscaping services people look for more often. This will further allow you to choose the correct niche and service.
Also, pick services that will be in demand throughout the year. Since landscaping is often a seasonal requirement, diversifying your services provides better leverage.
3. Name Your Landscaping Business
Businesses are all about branding. If you want it to grow exponentially in the future, you must brand it as a standalone frontrunner. To do that, you need to start with a good business name.
You want to pick a business name that represents you, is unique and easy to remember. Also, you want to ensure its future-proof, which means that other businesses in the industry shouldn’t use it. So, trademarking the name could be a good option. But don’t think about it right away.
Picking out a business name is tricky, so get help from the people around you. Look into the kind of names your competitors have. Use a business name generator online. In short, take your time because this will make or break your business.
4. Acquire the Required Insurance, Licenses
Starting a business means that you have to register it legally. This involves acquiring a business license to get the relevant insurance for the future.
The process is extensive and will depend on the country, state or even city you live in. Ideally, we’d recommend following the legal protocols, so you don’t get into any trouble in the future.
If you are in the United States, you can check out this link for registering your business. However, we’d still recommend that you do proper research before starting. Talk to a lawyer if needed.
5. Rent or Buy Equipment
The success of a landscaping business is heavily reliant on the equipment. You will need an extensive range of equipment, depending on the services you plan to provide.
This might include:
- Push mower
- Edger
- Leaf blower
- Garden hose
- Rake
- Lawn bags
- Shovel, spades and shears
- Soil knife
- Weeder
- Saw
- Spading fork
- Safety equipment, etc.
That is a long list of equipment that costs a lot of money. So, should you invest more, buy them all, or wait things out and rent them.
This is a subjective question and depends on your requirements. Do you have a good network of steady clients? Is your business picking up well in the community due to less competition?
Since the landscaping industry is expanding, more and more people are getting into this business. So, the competition is increasing. It’s better to assess what’s best for you in the long run before blindly investing all your money in buying the equipment.
6. Build a Great Landscaping Team
You might start your landscaping business alone, but in the long run, you have to consider hiring more people. It could be full-time employees or part-time contractors.
Not just for the extra hand of help, but with a team, you can diversify your services. You can hire people to do a service you aren’t comfortable with.
Also, when it comes to building a team, hiring locally and from the community. Not only is it a way of giving back, but it also enhances your network of clients.
Hiring a team also allows you to increase your revenue generation as well. You also get to contribute to the economy, which is a bonus.
7. Set a Marketing Plan for Your Landscaping Business
Competition in the market is rising. You want to outdo your competitors with a landscaping business, and the only way to do that is by marketing your business online.
Word of mouth is effective but very old school. So, switching to online marketing tricks is your biggest weapon. You can reach your target audience easier and engage with them too.
When hatching the marketing plan, focus on two things: setting up a Google Business account and leveraging social media platforms.
Platforms like TikTok and YouTube offer an excellent platform to attract your target audience and create personal branding online.
8. Get Your Name Out There
When starting a landscaping business, it’s common to have a rough and slow start. Building your brand is crucial to being recognized as a leading name in the industry.
The easiest way to get your name out in the market is by ironing out the essential details. You want to prioritize customer experience over revenue generation – especially at the start.
Also, focus on distinguishing yourself in the market. The logo, color palette, typography, etc., in your branding, makes a lot of difference.
Following the curation of the branding, the next thing to focus on is publishing your services via pamphlets, marketing materials and even social media posts. It might cost you a little extra, but it builds trust and cements your place as a legitimate brand.
9. Deliver Quality Work
Customer experience can elevate your business from rock bottom to the top. If you are consistent in your work, chances are that it will eventually triumph over all the odds.
But consistency is key.
Also, when you deliver quality work, it builds trust and brings recommendations. Since people are more likely to trust real-time reviews, the power of quality work can take you a long way.
Your aim with the process is to focus on providing elite and ever-improving services to your clientele. The better you get, the more likely you are to acquire an extensive network of clients.
10. Get Your Business Financials in Order
We are talking about your charges. This again depends on the market requirements and the kind of research you indulge in. Ideally, we’d recommend starting with a price sheet. Doing so gives you a standard rate to present to all your clients.
The standard market rates for landscaping services are either per-hour based or per-square-foot based.
The rates will decrease or increase depending on the experience, credibility and the kind of equipment that the business is using. Always offer fair rates and competitive pricing as per market requirements. The last thing you want to do is quote a much higher price than your competitors offer.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Landscaping Business?
The initial set-up cost of a landscaping business is relatively high. That’s one of the reasons why most people often refrain from kick starting their own business.
As a start-up, the rough estimation of starting a landscape business depends on two factors:
You must start from scratch – get all the appropriate equipment and logistics. It might cost you upward of $10,000 to $15,000, which can be a hefty initial investment.
You have the essential equipment – this might require an upward of $2000 to $5000, which is comparatively much less.
When you are just starting, try to find ways to save as much as possible. Cut corners and look through the inventory for the equipment you already have.
Conclusion
With that, you have all the relevant information you need to know about starting your landscaping business. The initial process is the most challenging. You will question your options and face a lot of roadblocks, but consistent work reaps good results.
Your work focuses on creating a business you are proud of. And the easiest way to do that is by improving your skill set. Focus on building a personal brand and offer quality work. That’s all that matters in the end.
About Carson Derrow
