The landscaping industry continues to increase by over 5% each year. More and more homeowners rely on a professional to manage their lawns, making it a profitable business venture.
Here are a few tips to help you get started on your own professional landscaping business in Ohio.
Step One – Make a Business Plan
Making a plan is one of the first steps in starting a professional landscaping business. Narrow down a few important business components, including how you’ll find customers and how much you’ll charge.
Some aspiring landscaping business owners may purchase an already established landscaping company, but this usually comes at a much higher price.
Answer a few important questions. Will you hire a crew or start the business yourself? Will you seek customers in a specific neighborhood or city to start? What landscaping tasks will you offer? How will you accept payment from customers?
Deep diving into landscaping industry research can help you discover important statistics and information you need when first getting started in the industry.
One way to stand out as a landscaping business is to offer services that your competitors don’t, such as gardening or hardscaping. If you have the tools and knowledge, you can increase your business revenue with these additional services.
Make sure you let your potential and current customers know about your unique business services. In fact, this can make for an excellent marketing strategy.
Step Two – Legalize Your Business
It’s also important to legalize your business. This means getting the business license and insurance policies that your state and county require.
You’ll also need an EIN, which you’ll use when paying taxes. Putting a bookkeeping strategy in place now makes it easier to claim and file taxes.
Make sure your business has the appropriate insurance policies in place, too. A single incident can put you into financial trouble while threatening your business.
Legalizing your business may also open up funding opportunities. With an EIN and business registration, you may qualify for a business loan.
A business loan can help you purchase the landscaping equipment you need to get started, including a vehicle and mowing tools. Taking out a business credit card in your new business name also helps keep expenses separate.
Step Three – Invest in High-Quality Landscaping Equipment
You’ll need good landscaping equipment to make your customer’s lawns look excellent. Also, the better the equipment, the less you’ll spend on maintenance and repairs.
Additionally, choosing the right equipment can help you complete landscaping tasks faster, which means you have more time in the day for more customers, exponentially increasing your earnings.
Of course, you’ll need a good lawn mower. A push-behind is the cheapest option, but it requires more physical work and takes longer to cut larger lawns.
A walk-behind or rider accommodates larger properties more easily. Trimmers, edgers, and blowers are all necessary tools.
If your landscaping business includes adding dirt or gravel to outdoor areas, you’ll also need buckets for skid steer. A durable high-volume skid steer bucket means moving more materials faster while keeping the rest of the yard clean.
Don’t forget about a durable truck for transporting your equipment. Some landscaping companies may use a truck to transport smaller mowers or equipment.
Others may invest in a towable trailer, which gives more room for other tools, like skid steer buckets. Whichever option you choose, ensure you have the right tie-down straps and security measures in place.
Step Four – Make Adjustments as Necessary
The most successful business owners continually evaluate what’s working and what’s not.
It’s always a good idea to reevaluate your plan every couple of months to determine any areas of improvement. Consider what areas of your business you could do better.
Do you have too many jobs and not enough crew workers? Consider expanding your crew. Is it taking too long to complete customer jobs? You may need better equipment.
Is your schedule full, but you’re still barely scraping by after fuel and maintenance costs? You may not be charging enough.
Do you find it difficult to get customers to test out your services? Consider offering one free service with a paid plan.
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The bottom line
Landscaping is an industry highly in demand, with many profit-earning opportunities available to new business owners.
Before you start knocking on your neighbor’s doors, though, make sure you have a business plan and the appropriate licensing and insurance in place.
Then, make sure you have the proper equipment to do the job efficiently and successfully.
