How to Start a Landscape Company - Starting a Landscaping Business

landscape company

Start Your Own Landscaping Business

Imagine having a high paying job that lets you spend time outdoors and use your creativity to create beautiful landscapes.

Landscaping involves planting and caring for trees, shrubs, flowers, groundcovers, and grass. It also includes design elements such as walkways, decks, retaining walls, patios, lighting, and anything else external to the building.

Some typical projects that landscapers design, install or maintain include:

Residential yards and estates
Public and private school grounds
Public parks, recreation sites, and streetscapes
Civic center landscapes and waterfronts
Business courtyards
Golf courses

Is there a market for your landscaping business? Yes! Beautiful formal and informal landscapes are becoming increasingly important to busy North American homeowners who have limited time to perform their own maintenance.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the demand for landscaping services is growing faster than the national average for all occupations.

As long as you have the desire, you can become a landscaper and start your own landscape company. No special education or experience is necessary to break into this career and succeed. You don't need a college degree or a lot of money to get started in the landscape business.

If you would like to be paid to landscape, the FabJob Guide to Become a Landscape Company Owner is for you! In this e-book you will discover how you can get started and succeed in this exciting career.

Author Janet Hartin has worked in the landscaping industry since she was 16. An Environmental Horticulturist with University of California Cooperative Extension, she has taught over 100 classes to private and public landscapers and published over 300 articles on plant selection, plant maintenance, water conservation and irrigation, sustainable landscaping, green waste management, and pest identification and management.

In this guide you'll find valuable insider advice on all aspects of making it in the landscaping business. Find out how the owner of the largest residential landscape company in Southern California got started, and valuable tips for success from more than a dozen other successful owners of both small and large landscape companies.

The guide covers topics of vital importance to anyone who wants to become a landscape company owner, including:

How to Be an Expert Landscaper

Planting and maintaining turf (grass)

How much to water (plus advice on the best time of day to water and how to avoid water waste)
How to determine fertilizer needs
The right equipment for mowing
Recommended heights for different grasses
Information about grass cycling
Common turf problems and how to avoid them
How to take a soil test to identify disease
What to do about insects

Planting and maintaining trees

Selecting trees to fit your client's space
What to watch out for when selecting trees
Protecting trees in transit
Proper planting techniques
Watering and fertilizing trees
How and when to prune
How to develop the right branch structure
Damage and hazards to avoid

Planting and maintaining bedding plants

Bedding plant selection
How to avoid robbing plants of nutrients
How to get the right soil pH
How deep to plant and how far to plant from trees
How to space plants to create beautiful, full blooms
Bedding plant maintenance, including how often to remove wilted flowers and how often to prune
Causes of plant decline and death
The easiest way to cut down on weed problems

How to minimize winter damage from snow, ice, frost, salt, rodents and deer

Landscape design software (includes links to free trials)

How to do eco-landscaping (environmentally friendly landscaping)

Integrated pest management
Water-efficient landscapes
Compost in landscapes
Energy-efficient landscapes
Sustainable landscapes

How to Start and Manage a Landscape Business

Choosing a niche

Residential landscaping
Commercial landscaping

Options for starting your landscape company

Buying a company or taking over a route
Starting a new company
Franchising

Start-up basics in the U.S. and Canada

What to include in your business plan
Naming your landscaping business
Legal matters and types of insurance for landscape companies
State landscape contractor licensing information plus other types of licensing

Financial matters

Fixed and variable expenses to expect
Sources of start-up funding
Budgeting for success (includes sample budgets for a landscape company)
How to set your fees

By the hour
Flat monthly fee
By the job
By area (square footage)
Charging for supplies

Equipment and tools

What you'll need (includes a checklist of lawncare tools, hand tools, hauling and cleanup tools, water tools, attire, and more)
Saving money by buying used equipment
Where to get equipment
Buying versus leasing

Working with staff or contractors

Evaluating your staffing needs
How to increase productivity with incentives
Dealing with personnel issues
Ensuring staff safety

Getting and Working with Clients

Marketing to residential clients

Getting word of mouth referrals
Effective advertising techniques
Creative ways to get publicity

Marketing to commercial clients

Meeting with decision-makers
The bidding process
Getting referrals from other businesses
Getting government contracts

How to land the job

Assessing client needs
Conducting an onsite survey
What to wear to a client meeting
Creating a landscaping project timeline
What to include in a client contract (includes a Sample Landscape Maintenance Contract)
How to avoid losing potential clients

Developing good relationships with your clients and having them trust you
Getting paid and avoiding delinquent accounts
Lucrative ways to keep busy all year including fall and winter activities such as:

Fertilize lawns
Clean up perennial flower beds
Truck roses in
Winterize irrigation systems
Prune trees and shrubs
Snow and ice removal
Supply firewood
Christmas tree delivery and set-up
Interiorscaping

PLUS, you will discover:

How to maintain healthy landscapes
Landscaping services with higher profit margins
Why your fees should not be based on what your competitors charge
How to develop your landscaping skills by working for another landscape company
The best industry resources including continuing education, associations, and publications
How to be certified as a landscape professional
Success stories of other landscape company owners, so you can get ideas for your own landscaping business
Samples of what you need to start your own landscape business, including:

Sample landscape maintenance contract
Sample budgets for a landscape company
Sample monthly maintenance schedule
Sample landscaping tools checklist
Sample basic service invoice
Sample detailed invoice
Sample people-hour chart

And more!

The information in this guide can save you many hours of research, help you avoid some common mistakes, and give you advice you need to start your own landscape business.

You can have all this and more for an incredible price. It can cost hundreds of dollars to take courses on starting a business, and chances are they will not include specific information about starting a landscaping business. The FabJob Guide to Become a Landscape Company Owner contains some of the best business advice you could get from other sources, plus much more.

This guide has been selling for $39.95 U.S. SPECIAL OFFER: If you buy the guide today, Wednesday, January 07, 2009 you can have this valuable insider information for the incredible price of only $29.97. You will earn back the price of the guide your very first day in business. But of course this guide can help you get hired as a landscaper much more quickly.

If you believe you deserve to have the career of your dreams, this guide is for you. It gives you what you need to know to become a landscaper and start a landscape business.

Don't miss the opportunity to have the career of your dreams. If you are undecided, take advantage of our guarantee. Buy it, read it, and if you are not satisfied, your money will be refunded.

Ordering is fast, easy and safe. You can receive your landscaper guide within minutes

An e-book is an electronic book which you can immediately read on your computer. It includes photos, color, and you can adjust the type size to make it as pleasant to read as possible. You can also print a copy from your own computer. FabJob.com donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each guide to protecting the rain forests.

Bonus CD-ROM Also Available: If you would like to have a back-up or spare copy of the guide, you can have it on CD-ROM for only $5 more (plus $5 shipping and handling). You will also receive the e-book so you can read it as soon as it is published.

Click here to order your copy of the guide now

Satisfaction guarantee: We are so confident that this guide can help you achieve your dreams, we will give you a refund if you decide within 30 days of purchase that you are not satisfied with the information contained in the guide. Buy now.

205 pages

Availability: You can have the e-book within minutes. Ordering is fast, easy, and safe. (Also available on CD-ROM.)

FabJob.com was featured in the April, 2007 issue of Woman's World Magazine ("Land Your Dream Job" article).

"FabJob Guide to Become a Landscape Company Owner by Janet Hartin is a wonderful resource for anyone considering a business in the landscape industry. This 'How To' guide is well organized and has a tremendous amount of information from How to Do the Job and Managing Your Landscape Company to Getting Clients. I highly recommend it!"
- Steven Jay Porus
Publisher, LandsMagazine
GreenIndustryEducation.com

"There's never been a better time than now to delve into this rewarding profession. If you want a job that allows you to fully appreciate nature, becoming a landscape company owner is an ideal career. Developing your skills as a landscaper is a dream you can realize without getting a college degree. What it does require is a vision, learning a lot about plants from books and real-world experience, excellent people skills, and a solid business plan. This guide is a comprehensive resource for all those things."
- Janet S. Hartin

"This clearly ranks as one of the most helpful and instructive landscape business guides in the market today. Although the target audience are persons considering starting a landscape company, it will also be an extremely valuable guide and reference manual for those already in the business. Besides the considerable knowledge of the business offered directly in the book, the author has provided links and contacts for additional information."
- William Neal Baker
International consultant on turf and tree issues, Landscape Management Instructor at University of California Riverside

"Make more money.
Look to your strengths to come up with ways to make extra money at FabJob.com."
— From the "2008 Money & Investing Guide," by Tamara E. Holmes, Essence Magazine, January, 2008

FabJob Guides have been featured in stories at The Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine sites

For help with ordering call toll-free
1-888-FabJob-1 (1-888-322-5621)

This FabJob guide has information about starting a landscaping business. In the FabJob Guide to Become a Landscape Company Owner, discover how you can start your own landscaping business, be a professional landscaper, and get paid to landscape. This guide has expert advice for anyone who wants to start a landscaping business or landscaping company.