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Introduction

1. Why The Landscaping Business?

The smell of a freshly cut lawn. The pleasing look of a well-trimmed hedge. The sweet fragrance of a flowering lilac shrub. The stunning beauty of a hundred colorful tulips bursting forth in unison. The tranquil feeling of watching ferns and hostas unfurl each spring.

Your foray into the world of landscape maintenance encompasses all these things and so much more. Working outdoors, helping to beautify someone’s property, is both rewarding and satisfying. Consider the advantages of running your own lawn care and gardening business:

• You will work in a fascinating field. The variety of yard and garden work is staggering. When you work on beautifying lawns and gardens with ornamental shrubs and plants, there is no end to what you can learn. Those who work in the field often become passionate about it.

• It offers a healthy lifestyle. Gardening and yard work are great outdoor exercise. That’s not to say that every day and every job will be a test of your physical fitness and endurance (although you will experience such a test on some days). But even simple jobs such as pushing a mower, bending to pull weeds, or planting flowers provide a great workout. It is a very active lifestyle. After a good day’s work, you’ll sleep well.

• The job is satisfying. There is little more rewarding than being able to see what you have accomplished with your own hands at the end of the day. You may be dirty, you may be wet, and your muscles may ache. But nothing can take away that feeling of satisfaction as you look over your handiwork. It’s a wonderful feeling that will make you feel good inside.

• The landscaping industry is booming. There has never been a better time to enter the business. The lawn and garden industry is huge now and it is growing. Baby boomers, the largest demographic, are starting to retire. They love their gardens and they love to garden — and they are going to need some help. In a 1998 survey, the National Home Center reported that in the United States, baby boomers account for half the business in the multibillion-dollar-a-year lawn and garden industry. The Professional Lawn Care Association estimates that the service portion accounts for about 10 percent of the industry as a whole. In Canada, the numbers are smaller, but the proportion is the same, if not larger.

• You can be your own boss. Working for yourself allows you great freedom. You can be as busy as you want to be. You can grow your company to a comfortable level and make an excellent living, or you can expand your business and make even more! If you want to take two months off in the winter, it’s up to you. You will have complete control of your business.

• The start-up costs are low. Compared to many other businesses, there is little capital needed to start a landscape maintenance business. This is a home-based business, so you won’t incur costs such as rent. You’ll also benefit from the many tax benefits of having your office at home. You’ll need some basic equipment, but you can begin work with just a few items and then expand as the money starts coming in.

2. How This Book Will Help You

This book has been designed to tell you everything you need to know to start and run your own successful landscape maintenance business. It will teach you the basics of lawn care and gardening and will provide advice on many aspects of running any business. Once you’ve read this book, you’ll be able to hang out your shingle and get to work.

As you move along in your career, you may want to add to your knowledge base by doing some self-directed study or by taking a course. Many continuing education departments offer evening courses on plant and lawn care, and some colleges offer one- and two-year programs dedicated to the field of landscape maintenance. Part-time programs are sometimes available, allowing you to continue to run your business while studying to increase your expertise.

The book is divided into three parts, which cover all aspects of starting and running a landscaping business:

• Part 1: Starting Your Business. Here you’ll learn all about what happens before you open the doors to your business. This section covers important issues you should consider before committing to this business and advises on how to start planning for it. Once you are sure that the landscaping business is for you, you’ll move on to information describing how to set up your office, your shop, and your truck, and what equipment you will need to buy. You’ll also find many practical ideas about how to organize, how to accessorize, and how to computerize your new business.

• Part 2: Running Your Business. You won’t be successful if you don’t spend time on the business end of your business! This section covers marketing and managing your business, including keeping records, working with employees, and staying organized. A highlight of this section is the three chapters that take you through a typical job from start to finish — from the point of first contact right through to pricing, scheduling, and follow-up.

• Part 3: The Services You Offer. This section covers all the “how-to” aspects of the actual work you will do. It includes a crash course in how to cut a lawn, when to mulch (and when not to), when to power rake and aerate, and how to prune and trim plants. You’ll also learn a few “green industry” essentials, such as the best fertilizers to use and tips on other services you might offer, including off-season work.

In writing this book, I have drawn on the experience I gained running my own landscaping business for ten years. I also include tips and tricks of the trade that only experience can teach. Of course, not every pearl of wisdom offered will apply or appeal to you, but many will, and I hope they help ease your road to success.

3. A Note On Experience

If you already have some experience in the field of landscape maintenance, you have an advantage, though I think you will still benefit from reading this book to pick up some pointers and learn new techniques.

If you are completely new to the industry, you have a lot to learn. Not to worry though; you are well on your way by relying on this book. To quote the old adage, “The longest journey begins with a single step.” Don’t be intimidated by focusing on the entire journey — just look ahead to the next step and enjoy the ride!

The instructions offered in this book will greatly reduce the learning curve that you have ahead of you, but they will not replace actual experience. To help you get started on the right foot, consider the following ideas:

• Get some on-the-job training. Consider working for someone else for a year or so to learn the ropes of landscape maintenance. Alternatively, if you know someone who already works in the field, ask if he or she would be willing to spend some time with you. At the very least, try “spying” on some experienced gardeners. Watch their techniques, their systems, their routines. Take notes. Learn.

• Keep to the middle of the road. For the first year at least, do not head to the most prestigious neighborhoods, where the lawns are all kept in mint condition, and say “no” to large or complex jobs that come your way before you are ready for them. Stick to middle-class areas where the occasional error will not be grounds for cutting off your services! These jobs may not pay as well, but they provide a great starting point. Once you have more experience, you can choose whether to stay in this market or move on to a different clientele.

• Practice! You can practice in your own yard, in your parents’ yard, or even at a good friend’s yard. But practice, practice, practice!