Planning a landscape and lawn care business

Owning and starting a landscape and lawn care business can mean much more than simply cutting the lawns of homeowners and local businesses.

Owning and operating a professional landscape and lawn care business means knowing how to use available information from land-grant universities and state lawn care and landscape associations.

Using this information can help a novice owner grow in knowledge to become a professional. This will help set apart a landscape and lawn care business from others in the same town or neighborhood that offer grass cutting services.

Use this information in the planning stages to launch the business and make a favorable impression on homeowners and local businesses. Be careful not to get bogged down in the academics. After all, homeowners and small business owners don’t want a doctoral thesis on earthworms. But they need knowledge for healthy lawns and plants and you can offer that to them.

Click on the university Web sites in your state that teach agriculture methods. In Ohio and Pennsylvania these are Ohio State and Penn State respectively. In fact, any of the Big Ten schools qualify. In California, UC Davis and the Cal Poly schools will qualify.

For more information, go to the Association of Land Grant and Public Universities. http://www.aplu.org

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Find local offices for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.usda.gov

Log on to usda.gov and go to the “agencies and offices” tab in the center of the page. Then under “agencies” click on to agricultural research service (ARS) for a national map and click to the local state maps and locations.

Log on to local state associations such as the Pennsylvania Lawn Care Association at lawncareofpa.org. Read the information that is geared to professionals and to homeowners.

Know the issues that homeowners face and be prepared to address those issues. This will differentiate your landscape and lawn care business from others who simply go out to cut grass. Use pertinent information in promotional flyers.

Invest in Lawn Care Equipment

A Honda push mower may cost up to $800 while a cheaper model may go for $ 275. But if the more expensive model is easier to start and lasts longer between maintenance cycles then the higher cost may prove worthwhile. Count it as a strategic expense.

Build a Network

Develop a professional network of landscape professionals who can plan, install, and repair sprinkler systems and determine which plants will grow best in the local conditions.

Budget

List out all the expenses associated with start-up costs of the business such as equipment purchase or maintenance, promotional fliers, and even a simple brochure-style Web site. Plan to buy business cards.

Write a fact sheet using important information from the industry association sites to gain credibility and confidence with homeowners. They need a reason to choose your services other competitors – even if you might be charging a bit less but certainly if you’re charging more.

The more knowledge that is available and offered to customers, the greater the chance they will choose to do business using your landscape services.