How much does it cost to start a landscaping business?

Starting any new business can be an experience to deprive you of sleep and bite your nails, and starting a new landscaping business is certainly no different. It takes time, money, perseverance and, sometimes, good luck.

One of the frustrations I hear from landscaping companies is that money always comes out faster than it is coming. Newly minted gardening professionals complain that every time they turn they have to buy something just to get the job done.

My answer to all the challenges and problems that may arise when starting a new landscape business is the same for each new owner: take the time to write a good business plan.
Many problems can be avoided if you understand where you want your new business to go from and how much it will cost to get there. The good news is that you can start a gardening business for little money if you are willing and can start small enough.
We still had much ahead, so much to learn. We were operating 100% in our desire to learn and do the right thing for our customers. We did not have to spend upfront to start working. Often, customers bought the materials directly. Basically, we had to introduce ourselves, do the work and keep our passion alive.
Here are several key elements that you should keep in mind when embarking on this adventure called landscaping:

1. Team

While you can manage without one at the beginning, sooner or later, you will definitely be considering a truck. When you do, check your wishes at the door about that shiny new monster with chrome and custom graphics, and look carefully at what you can really afford and what will do the most work for you. I started with a collection of used Ford Ford 1984 flares. Less money through the door means more money in your pocket.

A common strategy for startups in the landscape is to stay relatively small and flexible: a pick-up, a trailer, and some small equipment selections to begin with. As more and more needs are identified, select the necessary tools to address them. Simple truth? Just be careful. If there is not a plan for the amount of money you will spend on tools and equipment at the beginning of the year, it may increase at the end of the year, having spent too much and eroding your profits. Or worse, find out you have no money to pay your taxes!

The best approach would be to ask this simple question:
Is it better to buy this piece of equipment at this stage of my business or would it be better for me to borrow it from a landscaping partner or rent it and pass that cost directly to my client in that job?

2. Labor rates

What to charge your clients for their time is always a sensitive issue. If you have been working for another gardening company for a year, or maybe for 10 years, then you know how much you have been paid as a worker for each hour you work.
What makes this question so difficult to answer is that what it charges has less to do with what you personally want to earn per hour and more with all the costs associated with running your business (every hour).

Before establishing a labor rate per hour, you want to know how much it will cost you at the end of the year to have run your business during that year. You must understand your general load and work that number on your work rate. In other words, how much does it cost to manage your business for a day or even an hour?

3. Products

Needless to say, it costs a lot of money to build or renovate a landscape. To do a job, you have to spend money in advance to get all the products you will need to build that picture. It even costs money in advance if you are running a maintenance company: mulch, fertilizer, and plants, just to mention a few expenses.

4. Guarantees

The landscape industry has a long history of offering unqualified guarantees to its customers for plants. The big stores have made this very difficult for smaller nurseries and landscaping companies.

Conclusion

Yes, it costs a lot to run and build a landscaping company. The overload is high, the time invested is high and the mental investment is high. It is a profession of intensive work. But if you are prepared for all that, just make the commitment to put together a solid plan, know your costs, be responsible and accountable, and then do it.