Keeping up with the demands of lawn maintenance can be challenging, which is why many homeowners turn to professionals for their needs. But with so many services to provide and the logistics involved with running a business, starting your own company presents its own challenges. Know some tips on how to start your landscaping company to set yourself up for long-term success.
Know What Services You Want To Offer
Landscaping can cover a wide range of different services, whether mowing grass and trimming hedges, irrigation installation, or landscape design work. Landscaping is an umbrella term, but you need to know what you want to provide your clients. Picking a specialization will allow you to focus your efforts on maintaining high-quality work in that area; being a jack-of-all-trades has its benefits, but filling a niche is equally important.
Make Sure You Have the Necessary Equipment
Once you pick your specialization, you need to have the necessary landscaping tools for your discipline. When you offer too many services, that means you need to invest in a lot of different pieces of equipment.
Each one of those pieces, whether hand tools or heavy machinery, comes with an initial price tag and long-term maintenance costs. Invest in only what you need for your particular workflow; having equipment gathering dust from disuse is a waste of your money. If you need one-time pieces of equipment, look into temporary rentals to serve your needs.
Establish Your Area of Operation
It’s a delicate balancing act finding your area of operation; making it too small limits your clientele, but too large, and you risk productivity and monetary loss. Make sure to calculate how much gas you can spend during a typical workday—it can get expensive to drive your employees and equipment around.
Spending too much on transportation costs will only cut into profits, which is another expense that your company doesn’t need. Having a smaller area may limit your options, but it concentrates your clientele, cutting down on travel time and expenses.
Know What You Can Afford
For a fledgling business, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your budget. Starting out, you can’t afford to spend more than you can reasonably handle, and that means considering six months or a year down the line. Know some ways to start your landscaping company and have a tight grip over your initial spending.
