There are a number of reasons to establish your own landscaping business. Whether you are tired of utilizing your skills and time for someone else while they reap all of the benefits or you have decided that your current job just is not what you are looking for in a career, starting your own landscaping business can be a profitable and satisfying career move. While 
starting any business in this type of economic climate can be difficult, it is possible to create a landscaping business in your hometown that can be lucrative and offers the opportunity for growth and expansion. These are just a few of the steps one can take to start up a successful landscaping business.
The first step towards starting a new landscaping business is establishing a client base. This can be a difficult step because a lot times the clients available are already with a landscaping business. Identifying new clients can be done by exploring new neighborhoods and finding houses that appear to need landscaping duties. Although a tedious process, this is an excellent way to find new clients. If the individual starting up the landscaping business is one that was previously involved in landscaping with another company, it may be possible to take clients from the old business. This can be done easily if the clients were not satisfied with the product they were receiving from the old business or if the new business can offer the clients something they were not getting from the old business. This process is a little more difficult as the individual often has to step on the toes of his or her old boss in order to get the new clients.
The next step to starting a successful landscaping business is to research and understand the rates of other landscaping businesses in the area. Since the business is just getting started, it is probably a good idea to offer prices that are lower than the competition. It important to remember to not undersell yourself and your product. Underselling your product may deter some clients from utilizing your services. A way to counter this is to offer incentives to the new clients in exchange for referrals from the clients. Discounts can also be offered as well as a way to sign new clients or take clients away from other businesses.
In order to get your company’s name out there and let clients know that there is a new company available you should target neighborhoods you may have already worked in. Sending out fliers to these neighborhoods or insert them into mailboxes throughout the neighborhood in order to establish yourself in these areas. It is important to repeat this process several times a year, especially when landscaping is most needed.
The next step to establishing your new landscaping business is to list the business in as many directories as possible. One of the best ways to do this is to utilize the services of the Google directory. When an individual is looking for a new landscaping business, chances are one of the first things they will do is use Google in order to search for landscaping businesses in the surrounding area. Having this directory filled out as much as possible so it is easy for new clients to contact you and your services. There are a number of other phone book and online directories that can be utilized as well.
Starting a new landscaping business can be a difficult process, especially when it comes to finding new clients. Establishing this client base can lead to flourishing business that can have a ripple effect in that a the business will only continue to grow as more clients are referred. In hard economic times starting a new business is difficult but by finding the right client base and providing a quality product, a new landscaping business can be a lucrative and exciting new career.
Photo Credit: You Lazy Sod by Dave Parker/flickr; Me mowing the lawn by Selmer van Alten/flickr
Casey Stevens is a landscaper and really enjoys mentoring those seeking a career in landscape design and management. If you’re interested in a landscape business, check out the listings for a used dump truck or maybe you could use a box truck for your next project.