Landscaping Service
What will I be doing ?
Landscaping services do much more than just cut the grass. They are paid for designing, selecting, installing and maintaining lawns, shrubs and other landscape components. Some specialize in the design and hire contractors to do the dirty work while others prefer to get dirty rather than design. Those who do both well have greater potential for profits.
What will I need to start ?
A landscaping service owner must have an extensive knowledge of plants and their care. He or she must know how to select hearty plants and keep them so. In some cases, a landscaping service is called in to correct problems.
To start a successful landscaping service you must be trained and experienced in the field. Most people in the business have developed experience working for someone else for at least five years. One season of cutting lawns isn’t enough. Many in this trade have some formal or self training in landscape design.
You may or may not need many tools for this business, depending on whether you expert to get dirty. Landscape designers can work with pencil and paper or computer. Installers and maintainers will need the standard array of tools : shovels, rakes and trimmers, as well as a lawnmover.
Who will my customers be ?
Customers for your landscaping service include home owners, apartment owners and managers, general contractors, retail businesses, manufacturers’ offices, schools and churches. If you have more experience working with one of these customer groups, focus on them until your business is built up. Of course, if there’s already too much competition in your area for one type of customer, look to others.
How much should I charge ?
Landscaping services set an hourly rate based on supply and demand. If there are many competitors, the supply may be high and prices lower. An alternative is to offer services that are in short supply and/or high demand.
The typical rate is $30 to $75, priced by the value of the job and the time required. A simple landscape design requiring 10 hours may be priced at $500 while an annual maintenance contract of four hours a week can be priced at $8,000 or more.
How much will I make ?
Like many service businesses, an established landscaping service can keep overhead expenses down by working from home and managing costs. In fact, overhead expenses (office, phone, advertising) should be about 25 to 35 percent of income. That means a successful one-person landscaping service can earn a net income for the owner of $30,000 to $60,000 or more a year.
How can I get started ?
Many landscaping services start by working part-time on weekends to develop skills and customers, building into a full-time venture. Some offer limited services but spend any available time studying landscape design and related fields that will offer them greater income in the future.
Start by deciding what type of landscaping service you want to offer now, in two years and five years. These are your goals. Then begin planning. Start gathering tools and equipment, learning what you need, looking for customers that fit those goals and studying your competitors for opportinities to excel.
The SIC code for landscaping services is 0782-04
From the book of Dan Ramsey, Title : 101 Best Home Businesses, CAREER PRESS, 3 Tice Road, P.O. Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417, 1-800-CAREER-1, 201-848-0310 (NJ and outside U.S.), FAX : 201-848-1727
You should check these out :
