Hello!

Hello! My husband and I are starting a landscaping and snow plowing company. We just purchased our plow yesterday, and my husband is out with it now today (as we are getting 6-8"!!). We are planning to focus on hardscapes, because that is what he really enjoys doing. I will be doing all the business stuff (I have a BA in business administration) and some of the general lawn care & helping him if he needs it. We are just getting everything in order right now and working on marketing. We have our LLC, EIN, bank account, all that stuff. We need to purchase a zero-turn mower for spring, but I think we have everything else for now. We have very little money to start up and are using our credit cards for big purchases for the business (I know...ouch). I have never worked in landscaping, but my husband went to school for it and has been doing it for about 10 years. We are open to any suggestions or ideas you may have! I am very happy to find this website. Since we are both new to this, we'll take any help we can get!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi tntliska, Welcome to our forum! Did your husband work with another lawn care business? How are you planning on getting new customers? Give us a little insight into the lawn care, snow plowing and hardscape plan. Also what equipment are you looking to purchase on credit?

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Yes he has worked for 4 larger companies in the past, and we decided it's time for him to make money for us and not someone else! I have the business background, so I can run that end of it, and he has the landscaping experience and education. We need to buy a zero-turn mower yet and a leaf blower (that's what I'm being told =).
My last post was the day after we purchased the plow....that turned out to be a good move! We should have it paid off no problem this winter. It is snowing like crazy here.
As for new customers....really not sure and that is making me nervous. We ordered brochures and are waiting for them now. Once we have them, we plan to visit businesses we'd be interested in doing. We need to find out the process for bidding for commercial accounts (I posted that question in another thread).
We don't plan to do a lot of residential, but will probably advertise on Craigs List, since that is free. We will probably also go to residences that we'd be interested in doing.
As for snowplowing, he is a sub-contractor right now, and it is working well for us.
Once we are up and running, I want to become a member of the BBB and whatever else is in our area. I also want to get my husband certified in hardscapes, and a few other things to boost our credentials. I want our company to be very professional.

Any thoughts?

[Steve]

Yes he has worked for 4 larger companies in the past, and we decided it's time for him to make money for us and not someone else! I have the business background, so I can run that end of it, and he has the landscaping experience and education. We need to buy a zero-turn mower yet and a leaf blower (that's what I'm being told =).

What is your plan on the zero-turn? Have you figured out what you are going to be spending on it? Any thoughts as to why not start with residential lawns and start with a basic 21" mower? It would be a nice and cheap way to get started and not have mower payments hanging over your head.

My last post was the day after we purchased the plow....that turned out to be a good move! We should have it paid off no problem this winter. It is snowing like crazy here.

How have you liked your subcontracting arrangement so far? Would you suggest others who are just getting into snow plowing, try this first before doing it on their own? Any advice as what they should charge or how they should go about getting their foot in the door being a sub-contractor?

As for new customers....really not sure and that is making me nervous. We ordered brochures and are waiting for them now. Once we have them, we plan to visit businesses we'd be interested in doing. We need to find out the process for bidding for commercial accounts (I posted that question in another thread).

What are your thoughts on why you decided to go with brochures? Also what are your thoughts on why you are deciding to go for commercial and not residential accounts first?

Once we are up and running, I want to become a member of the BBB and whatever else is in our area. I also want to get my husband certified in hardscapes, and a few other things to boost our credentials. I want our company to be very professional.

Would it be easier to get started with the hardscaping with residential customers first before you offer it to commercial customers?