1. Decide what services you’ll offer. Landscaping has many meanings. Will you specialize in lawn mowing and maintenance? On high-end landscape design and gardens? Tree removal and trimming? Start with your strengths. This is a good way to get started. Make a name for yourself in one category. You can always expand your offerings later.
2. Come up with a name for your business. Develop a list of catchy
landscaping business names names you like. Useful words or phrases to include in the name are: lawn, landscape, landscaping, maintenance, mowing, lawn care, or lawn maintenance. Once you make your list, put somewhere you can see it each day. Over time, eliminate names from your list till you decide on the winner. Ask friends and family what they think. They may give you a different perspective.
3. Write a basic business plan. Preparing a basic
landscaping business plan will help you decide what services you will provide, equipment you will need, how much you will charge, and how you will market yourself. You will need a business plan if you want to get a bank loan.
4. Legally organize. Many landscaping companies are set up as an LLC or S Corp. You may want to consult with a lawyer or your local small business administration before you decide.
5. Apply for licensing. You may need a license for certain landscaping services such as pesticide spraying, waste removal, irrigation, or just for being a contractor in general. Each state’s requirements are a little bit different.
6. Think about off-season work. In some areas of the country, landscaping is not something you can do year-round. You may want to think about what you’ll do when business starts to slow. Many landscaping companies are able to stay busy with leaf removal, snow removal, and Christmas light installation and removal.
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7. Buy landscaping equipment. Make sure you have everything you’ll need for day one – lawn mowers, blowers, trimmers, hand tools, a truck, etc. If some cases, this may require financing.
8. Set up your online presence. Even if you plan to use traditional, offline methods to advertise, prospects will still look for you online to get more information. At a minimum, you’ll want to set up a basic website and register social media profiles for your business. Building a website is now more affordable than ever.
9. Join local professional groups. Local business communities can be helpful twofold – you can network to find your first customers and learn from professional support resources they offer.
10. Grow your business. In the beginning, you’ll spend a lot of time on marketing to get the word out about your new venture.
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