Cost Of Seeding Your Lawn
Lawn seeding is another great way to improve and/or maintain the long-term health and vibrancy of your lawn. It depends on how large of a lawn you have, but the average cost of seeding your lawn is between $850 $1,700. The more area you need seeded the higher the price because it will take longer, and you will need more seed to finish the job.
First Steps For The Ultimate Lawn And Garden Services Business Plan
You can create the ultimate lawn service business plan if you take it one step at a time. So, where should you begin?
First, you need to decide what type of lawn care business you want. Will you specialize in commercial lawn care, or residential homes? These choices will influence everything in your business plan. The type of services you’ll provide and how big you think your business can grow will determine how much potential your business has to earn money. According to Lawn & Landscaping Magazine’s 2019 survey, 19% of lawn care businesses earned less than $50,000, and 23% earned between $50,000 and $199,999. The top 24% of lawn care and landscaping businesses earned more than $1 million.
Chances are, you won’t begin your lawn care business at the $1 million level. But you don’t need to go in at the bottom, either.
How To Get Customers
For the first year since the opening of your business, you will need an aggressive marketing plan to get enough customers to your business.
You will need to advertise your services to as many customers as you can to make yourself discoverable to potential customers.
For instance, you can go after the following traditional low-tech ideas to market your business:
- List your business in the local Yellow Pages directory
- Post ads on bulletin boards across local grocery chains
- Print business cards and free brand merchandise to giveaway to potential clients
- Get eye-catching trailer graphics to use it as a moving billboard for your business
Leverage your personal network to spread the word about your business in their network. Referrals are powerfularound 83% Americans purchase a product or a service based on word-of-mouth recommendation.
You can also incentivize referrals as a strategy to market your business. For instance, give your new customers an attractive discount or a free service in exchange of every new referral they can send your way.
You can also volunteer to offer free lawn mowing services to your community church or houses with elderlies and differently abled members.
In addition to being a warm gesture to your community, this will help you get your name out and increase the likelihood of getting referrals from people who know you.
Here are a few brand merchandise ideas you can design to promote your lawn care business:
- Door hangers
- Pens
- Business cards
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Why We Chose Lawn Love
Lawn Love is a great provider for anyone worried about getting all of their lawn care needs covered in a single plan. Because Lawn Love acts more as an aggregator site, customers are able to customize their lawn treatment plans to receive any service they are looking for, as well as the frequency of service.
We recommend you get your free lawn analysis from Lawn Love to find a local provider that works for you.
Popular Lawn Care Services & Costs
- Residential or Commercial
- Landscaper Insurance
Prices you will pay for lawn services will vary based on your yard size, the location of property, current health of the yard, and if it’s a residential or commercial property. Climate also makes a big difference, especially in wet climates. This will dramatically increase your yearly cost because the rate of growth of your grass.
Typically, a lawn care service provider will provide a quote based on the square feet of the yard and if there are any obstacles. This means you can get a fairly accurate lawn care quote just from a phone call or instantly here on HomeGuide.
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The Better Approach Would Be To Ask This Simple Question:
Am I better off buying this piece of equipment at this stage of my business or would it serve me better to borrow it from a fellow landscape professional or rent it and pass that cost directly through to my client on that job?
It’s this kind of questioning about spending money that will help you avoid leaking all your profits out into purchases that may not be the best use of working capital at that stage of your business growth.
Finally Keep Up With Market Changes
Every year, or even every quarter, look into how much other companies charge for similar services. Once you build your client base, you can also ask how they feel about your services. Youll want to know if they think your prices are fair and reasonable, and how much theyre willing to pay.
If a few customers decide to leave you, ask them why. Take note if its because your prices are too high. You may want to make a change. Alternatively, you can also offer a seasonal deal or package.
When it comes to how to price your lawn care, do what you can to serve your clients, offer them great quality, and stay profitable. And above all, remember prices can change. Keep up with the market and you’ll keep your business going strong.
*Monthly payment calculations do not include initial premium down payment and may vary by state, insurance provider, and nature of your business. Averages based on January – December 2020 data of 10% of our total policies sold.
Emily Thompson
I earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin at Madison . After realizing my first job might involve carrying a police scanner at 2 am in pursuit of newsworthy crimes, I decided I was better suited for freelance blogging and marketing writing. Since 2010, Ive owned my freelance writing business, EST Creative. When Im not penning, doodling ideas, or chatting with clients, youll find me hiking with my husband, baby boy, and 2 mischievous mutts.
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How To Make Your Lawn Care Business Legal
So youve decided to take the plunge and open a lawn care business. Youve done your homework on things like how to start a lawn care business and how to set lawn care pricing and quotes, and youre ready to get started. But before you begin to purchase equipment, theres one crucial element you need to examineand thats how to start a lawn care business legally. There are several things you must do to make your lawn care business legal. Lets take a look at the steps you need to take before you open your doors for business.
Why We Chose Weed Man
Weed Man offers eco-friendly and natural solutions to lawn care, with organic lawn dressing designed for optimal lawn health. The lawn care provider also uses a proprietary golf course-quality fertilizer on customers lawns.
You can find quote information for Weed Mans services on the companys website.
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How Do I Calculate Lawn Care Profits
Calculating job profit is a quick way to figure out how much money youre making.
Why calculate job profit? It helps you understand if youre under-bidding jobs, if there are better ways to get the jobs done, and other strategic decisions you can make to ensure your company is more profitable.
Edward Ramsden, owner of Enviromasters Lawn Care, walks us through how he does job profit calculations below:
This Still Holds True: Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan
When I started my business over thirty years ago, my expenses were low. I bought a pickup truck for $5,000 and some tools for around $1,500. I had a computer from college and that was it. So I mean it when I say, you can start a landscape company on a shoestring.
What you cant do is grow a landscape company that way. I know because I did it that way for about 10 years. It was a hand-to-mouth existence, professionally and personally. I woke up one day and realized that was no way to live and I wanted something different.
So, I dove into the work needed to really build a business that would pay me more than an hourly rate. That takes effort and commitment and you dont do that work alone. You do it with professionals at your side — lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, financial planner and maybe even a and a business coach . And you do it by putting your dreams and aspirations on paper and then building an action plan to get it done.
Yes, it costs a lot to run and build a landscape company. The overhead is high, the time investment is high, and the mental investment is high. Its a labor intensive profession. But if youre up for all that, just make the commitment to put together a solid plan, to get to know your costs, to be responsible and accountable, and then go for it. Itll be an adventure that has the potential to make you good money while you create slices of paradise for others, I promise.
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Get Business Licenses And Certifications
Its essential to do things by the book and ensure your lawn maintenance business doesnt violate any local laws. There are lawn care licenses and certifications, but they vary from state to state.
Most states dont require licenses or certifications if youre looking to start a basic lawn care service. Check your states lawn care licensing requirements before launching your business.
There are also specific licenses and certifications needed if you want to expand your business and offer additional services. For instance, each state has different requirements regarding the use of fertilizers and pesticides. You can check with the Department of Agriculture to find out your states specific requirements.
The #1 Step To Setting Lawn Employee Wages
Whether you choose to pay an hourly wage, pay by day, or pay based on performance, there are a wide variety of factors to consider when determining pay structure.
Performance pay is becoming more and more popular in the industry and gives the employee more ownership over a job.
In this case, pay is based on each job instead of an hourly rate. A little skin in the game. Though, well cover more on this later.
Now, lets look at a few of the factors that determine how much to pay lawn care employees:
- Location
- Different areas of the country pay more or less as a result of factors like cost of living, taxes, etc.
Also, here are a few factors to consider that relate to employees:
- Experience
- Performance and amount of callbacks
- Attitude, work ethic, morals, and loyalty
- The employee’s ability to work well as a part of the team
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Frequently Asked Questions About A Lawn Care Salaries
The national average salary for a Lawn Care is $33,545 per year in United States. Filter by location to see a Lawn Care salaries in your area. Salaries estimates are based on 1793 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Lawn Care employees.
The highest salary for a Lawn Care in United States is $47,332 per year.
The lowest salary for a Lawn Care in United States is $23,774 per year.
Step : Plan Your Business
A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:
Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.
What are the costs involved in opening a lawn care business?
The costs include obtaining a simple business license, equipment, supplies, promotional signage, flyers, business cards, a website, Internet connection, and having a pickup truck .You can have very modest liability insurance for this business however, you will need to pay for workers compensation insurance if you hire employees.A typical start-up budget for an owner/operator business with no assistants is under $3,000 and consists of:
- Mower – $500
- Oil and Gasoline – $20 per tank needed.
- Promotional Signage – $100 for magnetic signs
- Flyers – $50
- Website Creation Free to $500
- Internet Services – $50 to $75 per month
- Insurance $50 to $200 per month
- Pickup Truck Lease – Nothing down with good credit, $299 per month plus $100 per month for insurance
Read our lawn care business purchasing guide to learn about the materials and equipment you’ll need to start a lawn care business, how much to budget, and where to make purchases.
What are the ongoing expenses for a lawn care business?
The ongoing expenses include labor cost, truck and equipment maintenance, and operating expenses. A typical monthly expense budget for a small operation with a home-based office would be:
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How To Manage The Challenge Of Seasonality And Regionality
If you are considering starting a lawn care business on the side, you can keep your main source of income without worrying about the off-season downtime. You can send your lawn care services into hibernation while you focus on other areas of specialization.
But if you want to plunge full-time into lawn care business, its a good idea to reserve some amount of money as emergency money for your business to weather the storm, in case you run into a bad year or a slow season. You will have to create that emergency fund out of your earnings from the previous year.
The demand for lawn care services usually spikes between early April to mid-October, depending on which part of the US you are in. It can be off-putting to imagine the seasonal nature of a lawn care business. But dont worry, the seasonality of a lawn care business can actually be a blessing in disguise.
For instance, you have to begin marketing your services to your customers as early as March, the beginning of the spring season in the US.
Advertising early gives you a head start among your competition and helps you plan your pricing, hiring, and other cost-related strategy well.
In the lawn care business, the weather is your best friend. The US climate can be very finickyfrequent heat waves, hurricanes, and tornadoes can be a show-stopper for your business.
In addition to being a seasonal business, the region where you are located also influences the sustainability of your lawn care business.
How To Pay Yourself
Experts say there are some basic owners salary benchmarks for the green industry. The owner of a business doing $300,000 in sales will probably pay himself $36,000 annually before dividends. This is about 12 percent of sales.
Therefore, if your business does about $500,000 in sales, youll make about $40,000 before dividends. And, for companies that are in the $1-million range, owners are looking at a salary of $60,000 to $70,000 .
Industry best practices say any landscape business owner needs to master job costing before they can truly know how much their business can make and how much to pay themselves.
Any tips to share? Let us know!
*This article is an update to an original article we ran in 2013. Updated Nov. 1, 2021.
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Cost Of Starting A Lawn Care Business
7 min read
Starting a lawn care business can be a rewarding, lucrative profession if you can get it off the ground. But as the saying goes, you typically do need to spend some money in order to make money.
How much money do I need to start a lawn care company? The cost of starting a lawn care business can be as low as $500, but a successful business requires some investing for equipment, marketing and sometimes hiring additional staff. You can start your business as a solo endeavor where you do all the work yourself, or you can hire part-time, full-time or on-demand labor.
Most lawn care businesses typically range from $5,000 – $8,000 in order to get started .
When planning your business, you may want to consider the following types of cost:
- Business structure
- How to impress potential clients without a lot of cash
What Are Top 5 Best Paying Related Landscaping Business Jobs In Georgia
We found at least 5 jobs related to the Landscaping Business job category that pay more per year than a typical Landscaping Business salary in Georgia. Top examples of these roles include: Vice President Landscaping, Horizon Landscape, and Director Landscaping.
Importantly, these example jobs are paid between $2,248 and $59,666 more than the average Landscaping Business salary of $49,897. If youre qualified, getting hired for one of these related Landscaping Business jobs may help you make more money than that of the average Landscaping Business position.
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Grow Your Lawn Care Business And Watch It Thrive
Building a successful landscaping business requires hard work, determination, and perseverance. There will be some ups and downs during your first year, but if you stick with it and implement some creative marketing tactics, it can succeed.
Follow the tips abovelike building a website, claiming your Yelp Business Page, and starting a referral programand youre sure to get your new business off the ground and turning a profit.
How Not To Value A Landscaping Business
40% to 60% of sales + inventory or 1 to 1.5 times revenue
Over the years many business owners have been told that their companies are worth some percentage or multiple of sales/revenue. This is not a reliable valuation method.
According to the 40% revenue + inventory method above, a company doing $2 million in revenue with $200,000 in inventory is worth $1 million.
What if the owner underpriced their work and the same company was losing $25,000 per year? Would you pay $1,000,000 to lose money?
We didnt think so.
While your revenue number demonstrates the size of your business it is not a sensible method of valuation by itself.
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