New to lawn care business

[andrewnguyen81]

Hello all ! Hope everyone doing great and getting ready for a new season!! ) I'm fairly new to this business. This is my first season. The guy who sold his business to me recommend me to go into landscaping for making more money. However I don't know anything about landscaping. I just bought a lansdscaping software program to test the water. However I don't know about how to plant flower. How to choose the kind of flower the customer wants...ect. As well as how to approach clients to encourage them to install mulch....ect Any help is appreciated!!!

[LawnBoy0311]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by andrewnguyen81 Hello all ! Hope everyone doing great and getting ready for a new season!! ) I'm fairly new to this business. This is my first season. The guy who sold his business to me recommend me to go into landscaping for making more money. However I don't know anything about landscaping. I just bought a lansdscaping software program to test the water. However I don't know about how to plant flower. How to choose the kind of flower the customer wants...ect. As well as how to approach clients to encourage them to install mulch....ect Any help is appreciated!!! While your new venture sounds exciting a great, wouldn't it have been smart to research ebfore buying a company??????? I REALLY hope it all goes well....

[Steve]

Welcome to our forum!

Lawn care brings you more consistent revenue and landscaping will bring you injections of cash here and there.

Why not first experiment on your property, friends, family member's properties and create some landscapes with different plantings.

Take pictures of what you create then show it off on your website and use it in a before / after sales book on in your marketing material.

If you are unsure of what plants would work, why not talk with your local nursery. They probably know their plants pretty well.

Keep us posted on how it all goes.

[andrewnguyen81]

Thank you so much Steve!! I actually graduated as a hotel and restaurant management bachelor degree. Working in hotel business for 7 years now and do not like it. Spoke to one of my friend and fortunately he moved to other state. Therefore trained my him, bought his business and doing ok for now. I make mistakes here and there but thinking its the cost of lessons. Since I'm still working full time at the hotel I got my trusted guy do the job. I'm lucky enough to have him helping out.
I also just bought your book. Can't wait to read it.
Will keep you guys posted.

[Steve]

Oh great!

What did you think of the process of buying the business? Would you do anything differently if you could do it again? What advice do you have for others looking to buy a business? Any pitfalls to watch out for?

[andrewnguyen81]

Well if I have more time I would learn more about this business. But time wasn't on my side when I decided to purchase it. Lucky for me my friend is a seller and still help and coach up until today. Once I got into this business, I can see a lot of thing to learn. Best of all, I finally found out this is what I really want to do in life. ))

[Greg'slawnandlandscape]

Welcome to the business the way I look at it I mow to make cash and pay running expenses and landscaping I do and I count that as a bonus

[dmcclendon]

Congrats on the new business...the fact that you like what you do will help make it a success. You are on this forum so obviously you are willing to take feedback and study! Study study study!!! Read everything you can about lawn care and landscaping. You should have anursery and landscaping association in your state and they will have great material for what plants do well in your state and which prefer sunlight, shade, more or less water etc.
This is my first season of owning my own lawn care business also BUT I've worked for a few and went to school for it. Hopefully we both have an awesome first year

[Steve]

Lucky for me my friend is a seller and still help and coach up until today.

What kind of issues did you run into that he was able to coach you on? This could help others just starting out as well.