How to Start Your Own Business in Landscaping

If you love working outdoors, have a keen eye for layout and design, and possess a talent for knowing where and how to plant things that will successfully grow, you may be ready to nurture your backyard hobby into a full time career as the owner of your own landscaping company.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Digital camera
• Computer
• Landscaping design software
• Landscaping equipment (mowers, blowers, shovels, rakes)
• Start-up capital

1. Decide what type of landscaping business you're the most passionate about. Examples: residential, commercial, playgrounds, parks. Decide whether your scope of responsibility will strictly be the design of master landscaping plans (which will then be turned over to someone else to implement); the supervision of a landscape team that does the planting; the coordination/supervision of contracted staff who install complex irrigation systems, water elements, recreation equipment; and/or the maintenance (watering, mowing, fertilizing, pruning) of landscaped properties.

2. Enroll in accredited university landscaping classes to supplement your knowledge of horticulture, ecosystems, plant diseases, weather patterns, landscape design, and construction. Supplement your landscaping education by subscribing to landscaping trade magazines, going on garden tours, and taking CAD engineering classes to familiarize yourself with the software programs that today's landscapers often use as the first step in planning new projects.

3. Take a part-time nursery job or get an internship with a landscaping company that will give you hands on experience insofar as the business aspects of landscaping, the cost of materials and services, meeting deadlines, and working with subcontractors and a diverse public clientele.

4. Supplement your educational and employment activities by offering to landscape the yards of your family members, friends and associates. Always take before and after pictures of your work to add to your portfolio.

5. Research your regional competition to determine what types of landscaping services they are performing for their clients and what they are charging. The fees you charge will be based on the cost of your materials, personnel salaries and labor, and overhead expenses such as the lease of an office, equipment, phones, and insurance. Websites such as Cost Helper (http://www.costhelper.com/cost/home-garden/landscape-design.html) are a good starting point because they offer estimates based on the size and duration of the project so that you can determine what you need to charge in order to realize a profit. This website also includes a Better Homes and Gardens link to a list of questions that homeowners should ask prospective landscaping companies. These questions can assist you in preparing for interviews with new clients.

6. Drive around the neighborhood and make note of the yards that are particularly attractive. If the homeowners happen to be outside, compliment them and ask who their landscaper is/was. People tend to be chatty when it comes to pride in their surroundings and you can learn a lot about what types of services they like. This information can then help you develop your own unique slant and approach to landscaping installations and maintenance.

7. Take the Landscape Architect Registration Exam. If you have an expectation of doing more than just mowing client's lawns on weekends and occasionally planting flower beds for them, you'll need to pass this exam in order to get your license and establish the credibility necessary to land well paying assignments from homeowners and businesses. Once you have your license, most states will require you to take continuing education classes in order to keep the license valid.

8. Develop a business plan that addresses what type of landscaping projects you plan to do, how many staff you'll need, what type of equipment you'll need to own or lease in order to accomplish the jobs, what sort of subcontracting relationships you'll need to establish (i.e., plumbers, masons, electricians, pool builders), what your fee schedule will be, how you plan to market your landscaping business, and what your plans are for growth in the next 3-5 years. The more detailed and realistic your business plan is, the better your chances of getting a loan from a bank to get everything underway. If you've never written a business plan before, the website of the Small Business Administration can walk you through the steps.

9. Choose a business bank to handle the financial details of your landscaping business. In doing your comparison shopping on which bank in your community is best suited to your needs, you'll want to look at its history, its stability, and the fees it charges for loans, ATM's, overdraft protection, checks, automated payroll, and online banking services. Sit down with a loan officer and explain the vision of your company.

10. Hire an accountant to keep track of your income, expenses, payroll, billing statements, and tax deductions.

11. Get a business license, apply for a federal tax ID number (essential in competing for bids), and establish a corporate identity with the Secretary of State's Office. The website of the Small Business Administration addresses the procedures for acquiring each of these. All of these require the filing of paperwork (which you should discuss with an attorney) and the payment of modest fees.

12. Consult with your insurance agent on what types of insurance (including workers' compensation) you'll need to carry. Companies such as Landscape Contractors Insurance Services, Inc. and Contractors Advantage Business Insurance deal specifically with landscaping ventures. A visit to their websites provides an overview of considerations such as loss of income, equipment replacement, and pesticide use.

13. Network with real estate agents and contractors who may be able to refer you to clients in need of your landscaping expertise. As part of your promotional strategy, design postcards and brochures that describe your services and fees and offer introductory discounts. If you use an online print shop such as Vista Print for affordable marketing tools, you can even tap their services to mail out your finished product to targeted zip codes. Give talks about plants and landscaping at schools and civic organizations.

14. Take out small ads in weekly newspapers. Most of them offer a discounted rate if you run your ad over an extended period. This will get you more traffic than buying ads in major metropolitan dailies. Check to see if your weekly newspaper includes special inserts. If they do, provide them with a stack of one-page fliers offering seasonal specials or free consultations.

15. Join professional organizations such as The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards and the American Society of Landscape Architects These will keep you abreast of landscaping trends, advocacy issues, and job opportunities as well as provide articles, videos, resources and interviews with landscape professionals.

Tips & Warnings

• Start small. Many a successful landscaping business began with a teen or two mowing a few yards around the neighborhood and then gradually gaining the trust of the homeowners to start imparting advice about plants and trees and moving on to bigger projects. You can do the same. To see if you have an aptitude for planning landscape projects, there are a number of moderately priced software programs such as 3D Garden Composer and Better Homes and Gardens that allow you to practice on a computer monitor first before you ever sink your shovel into the dirt. Many of these have features that let you upload digital photographs of existing properties into the system and then experiment with importing different plants, shrubs, trees, decks, gazebos, and water elements. In addition to a hard copy portfolio of the projects you've worked on, upload your best before and after pictures to your professional website. Include testimonials from your clients. Always leave business cards with your clients after a job is done and ask them to refer you to their friends. Always take your business cards everywhere you go.

• Never work with unlicensed contractors. Never skimp on workers' compensation insurance. There are just too many tools and scenarios in the landscaping business that can translate to an accident waiting to happen.

Resources

• 3D Garden Composer
• Better Homes and Gardens
• Small Business Administration
• Vista Print
• Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards