How to Start a Landscaping Business: A Step-By-Step Guide

Top Tips For Starting a Landscaping Business

1. Figure out what your landscape business competition looks like.

Before you start your landscaping professionally, ask yourself: Is there even a market for your landscape services?

Think about it: If you live in an area where there’s already a lot of competition, it’s going to be a lot harder to start a landscaping business than if you’re one of a few. The more competition in your neighborhood, the harder it’ll be to get customers. If, however, the landscaping competition is pretty low, you’ll find it easier to find and keep clients.

So how can you tell what the competition looks like in your area?

Online research is one way to do it. Take a look at this article, which lists the states where landscapers are needed the most. You should also do a quick Google search for landscaping services in your location and see what pops up.

If you’re looking at a lot of results, don’t worry – you can still start your landscaping business! It’ll just take a little more elbow grease to find a customer base.

Another great way to figure out your competition is to ask local landscapers for their feedback. A few questions to ask:

• Is it easy to find customers?
• How tough is it to keep customers?
• Do you spend a lot of time marketing?
• Do you have more landscape work than you can handle?

These questions should give you a good idea of what to expect once you start your landscaping business.

Ultimately, the bottom line is this: Don’t start a landscaping business until you have a good understanding of how much competition you’re up against. A little competitive research can make it easier to come up with a solid plan on marketing to customers.

2. Look at who’s doing a good job.

If there’s a landscaping business owner in your area that’s doing some awesome work, there’s no harm in figuring out what makes them so successful. After all, these are the landscapers who’ve gone through the process of starting and running a business…

And if they’re doing a good job, you should pay attention to what they’re doing!

Once you identify popular landscaping and lawn care services in your area, take a look at:

• Their websites – What are they charging? What landscape services do they offer? What kind of customers do they serve?
• Their marketing – Do they send out flyers in the mail? Are they on sites like Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor? Do they have commercials?
• Their employees – How many people do they work with?

While you don’t want to copy them, you can definitely use them as a guide for setting up a successful landscaping business.

If all else fails, ask a successful landscaper out for a beer or coffee. You’d be surprised at how willing other landscapers are to help people get their own businesses off the ground.

3. Plan for lots of busywork.

A lot of landscapers are surprised at how much of their day is spent on admin work, like invoicing and marketing. If you’re not prepared for these unexpected tasks, you could end up spending less time out on the landscape job (and that means less money flowing into your pocket).

Here’s the deal: During your first few months as a professional landscaper, you’re going to spend a LOT of time on busywork. We’re talking about:

• Marketing to customers
• Invoicing
• Registering the business
• Building a website
• Opening a bank account
• Collecting and tracking receipts
• Buying and maintaining equipment

And that’s just the stuff you’ll need to take care of when you’re not out on the job!

This information isn’t meant to scare you away from starting a landscaping business; in fact, it’s the opposite! It’s meant to help you manage your expectations for your first 3-9 months. Don’t get us wrong, this admin stuff never fully goes away – but once you’re settled into your landscaping business, you should be in a good spot where you can get some extra help.

Worried you won’t have time for it all? Consider asking a good friend or family member to help with the workload. Whether your spouse handles invoicing or a friend helps you build a website, asking for help can really make those first few months go a lot more smoothly.

4. Figure out how much $$$ you’ll need.

Here’s the most popular question that people ask when starting their landscaping business: “How much money will I actually need?”

We’ll admit it; It’s a tough question to answer. Landscape startup costs depend on a variety of factors, like:

• Your location
• How much equipment you already have
• Your vehicle needs
• How much marketing you want to do
• Business fees
• And more

For example, if you already have a stand on mower, truck, and leaf blower, you probably only need $2,000-$4,000 for additional landscape equipment. On the other hand, if you’re starting from scratch, you may need a lot more money. To get a quick estimate of how much money you’ll need to get started, check out this online calculator.

Of course, you can always talk to another landscaper business owner to get his or her feedback on how much it costs to start.

No matter how you get the information, make sure you detail two things:

• How much money and assets you already have; and
• What assets/equipment/materials you need to start

The gap between numbers 1 and 2 may need to be filled with a small personal loan or business loan, depending on how large it is. Either way, if you have a good idea of how much it costs to start a landscaping business, you’re less likely to end up spending money you don’t have.

5. Get licensed and insured.

Landscape businesses are pretty lucky in that they don’t need a lot of licenses to start working with customers. Depending on the state you’re in, you may only need a business license, which is a pretty straightforward license to get.

If you’re not sure if your state requires you to get a business license to set up your landscaping business, no problem. Just click on your state in our state-specific business license hub to discover a straightforward guide on how to apply for your business license.

Note: There are a few states that require a landscape license or a license to spray pesticides. Check them out here.

Once you’ve got your necessary licenses in hand, it’s time to get landscaping insurance. Business insurance is no joke – and if you want even the smallest chance at having a successful landscaping company, you have to have it. A lot of customers won’t work with you if you don’t have liability coverage, which can cause you to miss out on some pretty good projects.

Besides, most states require you to have business insurance before you even work with your first client.

Don’t worry, you won’t need complicated coverage if you’re just starting out. Most landscapers will need general liability insurance, which covers you in case of accidents, property damage, or reputation damage (like if you post something untrue about a client on social media and they decide to sue you – really!).

If you’re working with full-time or part-time employees – and even subcontractors – you’ll probably need workers compensation insurance. This type of coverage covers the medical and legal costs of any employee who’s injured while working on the job.

If you need business insurance, you can get a quote from Simply Business. We specialize in small business insurance for landscapers, so you’ll get personalized coverage at affordable prices. All you need to do is provide a few details about yourself and your business – we’ll take care of the rest.

6. Write out a business plan.

Don’t worry – you won’t need to create a super-official document that will need to be shown to bank managers and accountants. Think of this business plan as a personal roadmap that you can use to achieve your goals.

Here’s why it’s important to create a business plan: You know in your heart that you’re a better landscaper than a lot of other people out there. Maybe you worked for a really terrible boss who charged way too much and paid you way too little. Maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “Hey, I’m actually really good at landscaping – why not make some money from it?” You believe it so much that you’re willing to take this chance and start your own business.

But a feeling only lasts so long – and when that initial motivation burns out, what’s going to keep you moving forward from one goal to the next?

That’s where your business plan comes in.

Your business plan is a written checklist that will keep you on the right path. Ideally, your business plan should be built around three key deadlines:

• Six months after starting your business
• One year out
• Five years out

Once you have these three deadlines down, focus on the first six months after starting your landscape business. Identify what needs to happen for you to consider your business successful. Here are a few questions that can help:

• How many customers will you need?
• What kind of profits do you want?
• What areas will you serve?
• How many employees will you have?
• How will you get new clients?

Keep the answers realistic; after all, you’re probably unlikely to make six figures in profits within the first six months of starting your landscaping business. If you need some help figuring out what’s realistic, get feedback from someone else in the landscape industry. They should help you adjust your expectations or let you know if you’re not being ambitious enough.

Once you reach each milestone, take a look at your business plan to see if you’re on track for success. Are you making the kind of profits you thought you would be? Are you getting enough customers? Have you found new areas to serve?

Ultimately, your business plan can help prevent you from straying too far from the path to success. That way, you won’t end up in a position where you realize – too late – that your landscape business isn’t doing so well.

7. Find your first customers.

If you’ve already done your research, you know that there’s a pretty good demand for your landscape services (and if you haven’t, go back to the beginning of this article right now!). What you need to do now is reach out to those potential customers…

Without wading your way through tons of competition.

For this reason, forget advertising your services on sites like Craigslist and Facebook. Every other landscaper and lawn care business you’re competing with is on these sites – and that means you’ll be fighting more established businesses for their scraps. Check out this article on the key techniques you need to start building up your client list!

8. Determine your hourly rate.

One of the biggest mistakes that landscapers make is that they charge an arbitrary project rate and wait to see if it works for them. The problem here is that if you end up choosing the wrong hourly rate, you could end up losing money – and fast.

Instead, you need to lay the groundwork for determining your best hourly rate – and that involves figuring out how long it takes you to perform various tasks and services. While each landscaper is different, start by figuring out how long it would take you to complete the most common landscaper tasks, like mowing a lawn, mulching, yard clean-up, tree trimming, and more.

Compare those tasks to how much you need to make in a day in order to have a successful landscaping business.

For example, if you need to make $400 a day to maintain your landscape business and pay yourself a salary, set your hourly or project rate so you make that.

If you have a hard time figuring out how much you should charge, don’t hesitate to ask another landscaper for their feedback. They can help you figure out if your hourly or project rate is in the ballpark of what’s normal for landscapers in your area.

Remember, your hourly rate isn’t set in stone. Test out what hourly rate gets you the most landscape projects, or try raising your hourly rate every year to reflect your growing experience.

9. Build up word of mouth about your landscaping business.

Once you’ve started netting your first few customers, it’s time to focus on how you can use them to build word of mouth to bring even more customers.

Word of mouth marketing is a powerful technique that can be used by any small business owner. It’s powerful precisely because it uses trusted relationships to help build trust in your own business.

Let’s take a look at it in action. Say you had a customer call you up at the last minute and request a fall clean-up package. You make the extra effort to get out there and clean their yard up of dead leaves, even though it means having to work late. You even provide that customer with a discount for scheduling a spring clean-up service the following year.

Your customer is so impressed and grateful for your speedy service that they tell their neighbors about your fall clean-up package. Suddenly, your phone is ringing off the hook with new customers who need your help getting their yards ready for the winter season.

Word of mouth marketing plays on our inclination to trust the word of those within our inner circle, like family members, friends, and neighbors. Because we know these people and we trust them, that means we place that same trust in a business that comes recommended by them.

More than any other paid marketing technique, word of mouth marketing can help bring in new customers faster, and come with the additional benefit of involving very little work on your end.

All you have to do is focus on continuing to deliver excellent customer service – the rest comes all on its own!

But what happens if you don’t get a lot of referral business? It could be that you’re just not asking. Don’t be afraid to let your regular customers know that you’re open to referrals. In fact, it’s worth incentivizing them: offer discounts or special services to customers who refer new clients to your landscaping business.

Want more fantastic tips? Download our FREE guide on how to build word of mouth marketing.

Ready to Start a Landscaping Business?

We hope this article helps you with your mission of learning how to start a landscaping business. As you can see, a lot of it involves admin work, like researching your market and applying for any licensing you might need to be official in the eyes of the state.

But once you get that admin work out of the way, you’ll discover that it doesn’t take very long to start working as a landscaper – and if you follow the tips in this article, you may be well on your way to building out a successful landscaping business!

Don’t forget, if you need more advice on how to start a business or you want a few tips on growing your landscaping business, come back to our blog, Simply U. We’re always here to help guide small business owners with real advice you can actually use!