How to Start a Lawn Care Service
Nothing increases a home’s curb appeal like a well manicured lawn. However, many of us don’t have the time or the talent to do the job ourselves. There is much more to maintaining a lawn than simply fertilizing once a year and cutting it every week. Any homeowner that is serious about lawn care knows that there is a lot of hard work, money, and know-how behind that pristine turf.
Although you will find many homeowners that do their own lawn maintenance, there is an ever-increasing number that have handed over the job to a professional lawn care service. They have come to the conclusion that their time can be put to better use. A professional service will do the job more efficiently and will produce superior results.
Some estimates put the number of lawn care service companies at around 20,000 in the U.S. alone. That’s not even counting all the part-time businesses that do most of their work on the weekends. While this number can be intimidating from a competitor standpoint, there is a reason why so many people are doing this – There is money in it. Not only that, but the demand shows no sign of weakening.
If you want to start a lawn care business, you should work for another company to learn the ropes. You want to make sure you will be able to offer your customers quality service, and you can’t do that without experience. Take a few months in the summer and get some experience as a lawn technician – you won’t regret it.
Of course, there are other ways to get into the business. You can teach yourself everything there is to know by reading books and visiting lawn care websites or, if you have the money, you can simply hire experienced staff.
One of your biggest startup costs is going to be your vehicle. Ideally, you’ll want to have a heavy-duty pickup truck and a trailer to carry the equipment you’re going to need. Once you’ve got your truck, you’ll need a riding mower, a push mower, an edger, line trimmer, spreader, sprayers, hoses, and numerous miscellaneous tools such as rakes, shovels, etc.
Another reason to have a heavy-duty pickup truck is that you will be loading it up with bags of fertilizer, grass seed, weed control, soil, and any specialty equipment you will need to rent such as a de-thatching machine, and an aerating machine. Did I mention that you ought to be in decent physical shape?
Your lawn care service should provide basic lawn cutting and trimming along with the following services:
Fertilizing
Aerating
De-thatching
Weed control
Edging
Seeding/Patching
Sod laying
Grub/pest control
If you don’t have extensive experience (or knowledge) in all these areas, make sure you get it, or you hire someone that does. The last thing you need is to be taken to court to pay for a lawn that your company messed up. And believe me, it’s easy to do.
The great thing about a service like lawn care is that most of your customers are going to be on contract. Not only is this money in the bank, but if you schedule your homes properly, you’ll be able to go from one house to the other on the same street without having to pack up your equipment and drive to your next location.
If you’re a single operator, you should be able to get $30-$40 per hour while you’re working. Keep in mind that once you get into an efficient routine, you’ll be able to get more done, and thus, increase your hourly rate without charging the customer more. An average lawn maintenance company should bring in at least $50k/Year for the owner, once established. That’s provided you’re booked every day.
Your first year is going to be the toughest, obviously. Until you start getting a steady stream of referrals, repeat customers, and contracts, you’re going to be spending a lot more time marketing your business. Although it’s absolutely necessary, you’re not making anything while you’re delivering flyers or knocking on doors.
When you’re first starting out, a good rule of thumb is to make sure you’re out there flyering neighborhoods or knocking on doors to offer free estimates if you don’t have any work lined up for that day. You need to get some momentum going and you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. Once you’ve been in business for a few years, you should have a full schedule of regulars and the odd referral.
Do you necessarily have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to start your lawn care service? Not at all – there are many that have gotten started by using their current vehicle and buying everything used – including the trailer.
Don’t try to save money by buying consumer grade inventory – even if it’s new, it’s not going to last one season. You need to buy professional, contractor grade equipment and tools. Look for used equipment online at Ebay, Craigslist, Kijiji, or USFreeAds. If you’re lucky, you should be able to get started for a few thousand dollars (not including the truck and trailer).
