Starting your own lawn care business can be a very lucrative venture if you make wise decisions along the way. Some of the most crucial steps to owning your own lawn care business happen before you even start taking clients. The research you do before you start your lawn care business is what will set you up for long term success.
Thankfully there are many lawn care business professionals who have traveled this road before you. They are able to look back and give advice about what they wish they’d known before starting their business. They want to share what they think is important to know before you jump in with both feet.
If you’re wondering what tips are out there about what you should know before you start a lawn care business you’re in the right place. Sometimes the advice out there can get a little overwhelming and not every tip is as valuable as another. Here are five things you really should know before you start your lawn care business.
1. Start Small And Grow From There
This isn’t just a reference to how many clients you take on at a time. Although it’s definitely important not to overcommit yourself, there’s more to this advice than meets the eye. Starting small also includes the list of services you offer. Be sure you’re clear about what skills you have and what you can do for a client. It’s better to start off narrow and grow as you gain experience.
If you aren’t able to do something it’s best to just be honest with a potential customer. Not delivering on a promise or ruining someone’s property isn’t going to be profitable for you at all. Instead, focus on the skills you do have and expand what you can offer as you grow your business.
You can offer more services as you gain experience or if you hire someone with a different skill set. Doing a smaller job really well is going to be better than trying to take on a job you can’t do at all. Be honest with yourself and your clients when you’re starting out. Starting small gives you room to grow, and that’s a great thing.
2. Be A Subject Matter Expert
This is a term that gets tossed around a lot and doesn’t always get defined extremely well. If you’re starting a lawn care business you should be an expert on the things you’re offering to your clients. If you offer landscaping services, for example, you should be able to answer questions about the best plants for your specific area’s climate.
Make sure you’re able to be dependable when you’re asked questions about lawn care and the services you provide. This doesn’t mean you have to know it all, but you should at least know how to find the best answers when you don’t know something right away. Make sure you’re the expert your customers want to come to when they have lawn care questions.
3. Don’t Buy Too Much Too Fast
When it comes to the equipment you need sometimes it can feel like you need every single thing out there to get started. That’s not always the case. Just like you don’t want to overcommit to services you can’t offer, you don’t want to commit to equipment you can’t use. The more you buy the more you’re starting off in debt and that’s not a great place to be.
Be smart about the equipment you purchase, especially at first. You can look for good deals at auctions or other similar types of sales. You don’t have to buy everything brand new, and sometimes the equipment being sold as used has hardly been touched at all. Buy what you know you’ll absolutely use and go from there. You can always buy more later.
4. Make Sure You Know Your Local Business Requirements
This is something people don’t always do enough research about in their initial planning phase. You’ll need to look into what licenses your county or city requires, and think about things like taxes as you’re setting up. You can visit your local county clerk or state department to get some of your questions about starting a business answered.
When you find out what you need to have to start a business you’ll be able to make more informed decisions. There could be fees involved that you hadn’t considered before and that might make a difference in what you decide to purchase at first. Don’t forget to check into this early on in the process instead of waiting until the last minute.
5. Plan Ahead For Winter Months
If you’re going to start a lawn care business your clients probably aren’t going to need you as much during the colder seasons. The good news is if you plan ahead you might be able to just take winters off and enjoy your downtime. You just have to make sure you’re always thinking about how you’re going to cover bills and other expenses when you don’t have a steady influx of business because the weather is chilly.
If you want to continue to have an income stream during the winter you may have to consider offering services like snow removal. Lawn care is definitely going to be a seasonal dependent income, especially if you don’t want to offer cold weather-related things to your clients. Keep this in mind early and often as you’re planning out starting your business.
Conclusion:
Starting your lawn care business is something that should be exciting. It’s just also important to make sure you’re tempering your excitement with real advice from pros that have already been in your shoes.
If you follow the advice you’ve read about here your more likely to have a smoother transition as you start your own business. Planning ahead will save you tons of headaches in the future. Keep what you’ve read here in mind and then enjoy the process as much as you can. It’s going to be a great ride.
