| Lawn Chores and the Great Outdoors: starting a Lawn Maintenance or Landscaping service |
If you're thinking of pulling an old mower out of the garage, and walking down the street soliciting your neighbors to cut their lawns, you might want to sit back and get a little perspective. As a teenager it may have been easy to maintain your luxuries by cutting a decent pattern in the neighbor's yard, but building a lawn maintenance business that will satisfy your adult needs will require a little more investment and ingenuity.
First, it helps if you know a little more than the average Joe about lawn care. You don't have to be an expert horticulturist or have thumbs as green as the incredible hulk. But you should know the basics of lawn care and gardening. You'll also need a little more brawn than maybe you had as a teenager. Loading and unloading heavy dangerous machinery and handling potentially hazardous chemicals are some of the perils of the job. Also, budgeting for off-season lulls in income will be another concern. If you can cope with these realities maybe you're ready for the flexible hours and the fresh air of a lawn services business.
The Green Team
Lawn care professionals, installation/design/building professionals, exterior maintenance contractors such as pest control technicians and interior landscapers are often lumped into the same category. It is estimated that about 22,000 of these businesses operate in the United States with about a quarter of those owned by the self-employed. They provide services to an extensive market of homeowners, rental property managers and commercial businesses.
The profile for homeowners who consult lawn maintenance services is usually someone who values a well-kept lawn, but does not have the time or know-how to maintain its upkeep. Some consult lawn services for their vacation property, because they are frequently out of town or retired and don't wish to do it themselves. Others require landscaping design, such as people who are putting their homes up for sale or new homeowners who want to update the appearance of their property. Commercial and rental properties that do not have their own staff will also look to lawn care professionals for these services. Groundskeepers of golf courses and public green spaces may need extra help from time to time as well.
Some of the services provided by lawn care professionals are mowing, weeding, fertilizer application, pest control, sod installation or hydroseeding, landscape design and landscape maintenance. Typically, basic lawn services include only mowing and trimming. Trimming often requires more skillful use of equipment and consumes more time. When both of these services are needed, lawn care professionals may employ another person to get the job done in a timely manner. Luckily, most lawns don't require trimming on every service call.
The Green
Typically, you can earn anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 in the first year. On the high end people have made over $200,000 within a few years. Many started their businesses with a credit card or small personal loan. They service 20 to 30 clients per week and do most of their work from April to October. During the fall the primary services requested are raking leaves and winterizing lawns.
It is important to generate enough business during the spring and fall to keep you going during the slower periods Depending on your geographic location, you may choose to offer alternative services during the winter time such as snow plowing or even putting up Christmas lights. Sometimes inclement weather can hold up operations for a day so many lawn care professionals leave the weekends open for make-up work.
Deere, John
As a business owner you should protect your investment by keeping your equipment well-maintained. This includes cleaning the blades off each day and changing the engine oil each week. Less frequent maintenance may include sharpening the cutting blades and replacing air and oil filters.
You should also protect your person because if you are out of commission with an injury, your business will likely suffer. Use protective eyewear and earplugs. Keep your hands clear of cutting or expulsion areas while your equipment is in operation and let machines cool before filling gas tanks.
Estimates & Pricing
Knowing what to charge for lawn care services is an important skill. It is a function of many variables. Most professionals will charge by the size of the property as opposed to charging by the hour. However, various landscape designs might require more time because of inclines or stone pathways. You can compensate for the extra time on these jobs by incorporating a marginal percentage into the fee. 10 percent is usually reasonable.
Also, comparing prices in your market is necessary to ensure you set a competitive range of fees. Overpricing your services could lead potential clients to go with a competitor, whereas pricing that won't sustain the needs of your business could sink it. Checking the prices of competitors is as easy as measuring the size of a property's square-footage and calling companies to come out and give you quotes. Then you can divide the size you measured by the price they gave you to find the price per square-foot. Enlist the help of family members and friends in different neighborhoods to do the same.
It is also important to consider what your operating costs will be when setting prices. Take the amount you would pay for the materials and labor required for a certain task and divide this number by the number of hours it will take for you to complete it. This figure is base number to which you can add your desired profit margin.
Annual Rings
Another method of calculations involves setting the projected amount of income you would like to make in a year, say $38,000. Divide this figure by 12 months to get a monthly income of $3166.66. Suppose you anticipate working 40 hours per week, 4 weeks per month which is 160 hours. Divide your monthly income by the hour per month to get $19.79 per hour. Add your desired profit margin and you have an idea of what you will need to charge to reach your income goal. In this model, all costs of labor and materials would be charged to the client on top of this hourly rate.
Whichever method or combination of methods you choose to set your pricing, finding a reliable way to estimate work will not only ensure consistency but save you time and frustration.
New Growth
Considering these prices you may, after time, want to consider formal training or education to expand your services and ensure your customers get their money's worth. Above your average lawn care amateurs are gardeners and groundskeepers. They tend to existing landscapes, caring for plants and other greenery. They may apply pesticides and herbicides on top of the standard lawn-mowing and cleanup duties. Interior landscapers layout and maintain the foliage in interior spaces such as malls or office buildings. They have an eye for design and choose plants that will best compliment the existing space. They may also supervise holiday decorating.
Professional Landscapers will handle nearly all natural materials from rocks, sod and flowers to ponds and trees. They may even install sprinkler systems. They not only maintain but construct basic designs for outdoor spaces. In some places these professionals are required to have certification from the state. Landscape Designers or Architects are at the top of the food chain and typically work on a larger scale. They might assist Building Engineers to plan the layout of parks or college campuses. Some work with environmental preservationists on protected areas. Most have a bachelor's or master's degree.
Don't forget the paperwork! (on recycled paper, of course)
All businesses include some degree of administrative work. About three hours of each week should be devoted to managing client billing and your own finances as well. Other tasks will include giving estimates, answering phone and email correspondence, scheduling appointments and purchasing supplies. As you grow you may have to hire more personnel, which also involves payroll-related paperwork.
As with all start-up businesses, ample legwork will be required to drum up business. Printed business cards and targeted mailings are popular forms of advertisement. With ingenuity and some luck, by winter time the only thing you will be raking is dough, with a nice tan and healthy physique as an added bonus.
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