How To Start a Landscaping Business in Eight Steps

No matter your state of business, one thing remains the same for all landscaping businesses. An aspiring landscaping business owner must understand their competitors, the community, and the ecosystem.

What Does Your Target Market Expect?

Consider the community's expectations and ideals. How can your new company meet potential customers' expectations or raise the bar?

To be a successful lawn care company, you must do more than show up with a lawn mower, sprinkler, rakes, and shears. You have to offer something to the residents who live there. What makes your competitors stand out? Do they offer lower pricing, only hire landscape professionals, or have a good word-of-mouth referral program?

Do You Know The Area?

A successful landscaping business understands planting zones. Planting zones are area-specific. A lawn maintenance professional must know:

• What to plant
• When to plant
• When to seed
• When to cut grass and other plantlife

The timing of this depends on local soil quality and weather patterns. A tropical plant can't get planted in a cold environment.

A written plan is the foundation of a business.

Commonly included elements in a business plan include:

• How your business meets a need in the local landscaping services market in a mission statement
• A financial plan or overview of your plan for funding
• Your organization's structure and if you plan on having employees
• Your operational structure and how you will manage your landscaping business and provide day-to-day services
• List of the equipment and landscaping tools you need to be successful
• The pricing of your services
• Your marketing plan

Once you finish your business plan, have your advisers review it and make revisions. After the business is up and running, review it regularly. Your business plan should evolve with you.

Connect With Small Business Advisers

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers resources to boost local small business startups. Its Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) initiative connects entrepreneurs with free counselors who can advise on every stage of planning and executing a business concept.

Because SCORE assigns counselors to advise nearby business creators, these counselors understand the local economy. They can likely assess a new startup's potential successes and strains in the local setting.

You can also find counselors supportive of LGBTQ-owned businesses, native-owned, minority-owned, woman-owned, and veteran-owned businesses.

How can you prepare for your first meeting with your small business adviser? Draft a business plan. Your counselors will go over the plan with you and make suggestions. In preparation, set aside time to create a business plan.

Many entrepreneurs start their new landscaping business using just their own name. Sole proprietors often do this and file a Doing Business As (DBA) form to operate under a different name. For example, Tubbs Sheppard could operate her lawn business under her name or file a DBA to operate as Tubbs' Landscaping.

You may want to pick a business name that is meaningful to your mission. Do not pick a business name similar to any other landscaping firm in your area.

Be sure the internet domain name and social media account names you want are free. Check the Secretary of State's website for your state. If you know that your landscaping business is the only one to claim the name in your area, you are ready to register your business name with the state.

Some business owners trademark their business names or slogans with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), then register the trademark with the state. The whole process takes several months, but businesses do it to protect their intellectual property.

A small business needs a legal business structure before it can be a legal entity. For instance, it could be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. Many of today's small business owners form limited liability companies (LLCs).

Why do entrepreneurs like LLCs? LLCs protect the business owner against personal liability in the face of legal actions. The owner of an LLC can opt for "pass-through" taxation and pay tax through an individual tax return.

You will register your legal entity with your state, typically through the secretary of state or division of corporations. Or you can let our trusted partner LegalZoom handle your business formation filing for $99 plus filing fees.

Get an EIN

Your business name should match what you use to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues EINs. It is free to apply for EIN, but make sure you only request one directly from the IRS website.

Your lawn care business needs an EIN if you hire employees. Sole proprietor businesses must have an EIN to open a business bank account, even if it does not have employees.

Will your company have a permanent staff? Or will you hire people as and when needed? Human resources, business software choices, and IRS compliance all depend on a personnel plan that recruits people with the right skills.

Get Local Business Licenses

You may need state and local business licensing. If you are a specialist, such as a landscape architect, you need a professional license from the state. For example, Pennsylvania requires landscape architects to get a special license. A landscape architect is typically licensed with special training in designing public parks, cemeteries, and other developments.

To calculate your startup costs, wage structure, and business financing needs, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your financial plan for landscaping business finances should include:

• Initial funding
• Funding source
• Operating budget
• Projected two-year balance sheet

What working capital does a landscaping business need? Typically, the business must purchase equipment and products.

• Blowers
• Business cards
• Edger
• Insurance
• Lawnmowers
• Shovels
• Trailers
• Trimmers

Some landscapers decide to acquire office buildings and storage space. If you decide this is the best decision for your own landscaping business, then you will need:

• Business licensing
• Building occupancy and signage permits
• Premise liability insurance

Check the Small Business Administration for funding options, such as the SBA 7(a) loans, microloans, and other popular options. You could also look into SBA CAPLines, revolving or non-revolving credit lines for small businesses.

Web-based accounts such as Venmo and PayPal help customers pay for your services quickly, bringing in a usable cash flow. You can also check your local banks and credit unions for interest-bearing business checking accounts.

After establishing a checking account, order checks and a debit card. You'll have options for applying for a credit card or line of credit from your bank's partners, PayPal, and other sources. Your landscape design business can form a credit profile by using credit accounts.

Today, many property owners seek lawn care experts who focus on organic and native gardening. They also look for landscape architecture experts. Your target market may hope to find professionals who can help plan stormwater and climate-related issues. A landscaper has numerous opportunities to learn and make professional progress.

Here are common recent trends you should consider for your business:

• Commercial landscaping
• Edible landscaping, sometimes called foodscaping, where you plant food or herbs instead of grass or flowers
• Green roof installation
• Xeriscaping which limits the amount of water needed to flourish
• Vertical landscaping

As you gather in-depth knowledge of your craft, you can offer yourself as a speaker for gardening and local business groups. Learning and teaching what you know is a satisfying way to contribute to the community around you.

Network with lawn care industry people, real estate agents, contractors, arboretum owners, zoning boards, and local business meetup groups. Their members have vital knowledge and contacts. Keep an updated profile on LinkedIn and other social media hubs for business, and stay in touch with other professionals.

If you spot a need, you can donate landscaping and gardening work to the local post office, library, farmer's market, or school. Professional signage noting your donation can increase your business name recognition and cultivate a sense of goodwill in the community.

It may not seem like it, but owning and operating a lawn maintenance business has many legal risks. This is known as a liability in the legal world.

Business Insurance

Your new landscaping business needs necessary business insurance before bringing in new customers. Your local car and homeowners insurer can make insurance recommendations for the new business.

Your Business Operations Policy (BOP) can also cover other business law concerns that may pop up. This includes contract disputes from vendors or customers.

General liability insurance and worker's compensation insurance help cover the costs of mistakes and injuries.

Environmental Laws and Regulations

Here are some environmental laws you should know:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates waste and chemicals used in your landscaping business, including pesticides
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizes the EPA to register pesticides
• The EPA regulates herbicides
• Pay attention to local ordinances and regulations concerning burn bans and water usage during droughts
• Know the local zoning laws before you start a contract

Failure to follow local, state, or federal regulations can result in fines or a business shutdown.

Safety Regulations

Landscaping equipment can be dangerous. With the blades and hazardous fumes, the potential for harm to your employees or bystanders is high. To protect yourself from liability, properly train your workers on how to use the equipment. Workers' training must include maintaining their surroundings so children can't get into harm's way with the equipment or drink chemicals used.

Working outside in the heat, rain, or other inclement weather can put your workers at high risk of personal injuries. You must follow Occupational Health and Safety Administration standards and procedures. Give water breaks and monitor for signs of heat stroke.