How to Start a Lawn Care Business 1-2-3
Successful businesses have business plans - and starting a business becomes much easier when you have a
plan.
With a lawn care business, you don't have to develop a complicated business plan or hire an expensive
business plan writer to compile a plan for you. If you are starting a lawn service business as a one-person
operation, a simple plan will suffice, and there are free tools online that will help you. See Free Report on Starting a Lawn Care
Business
The main purpose with a business plan is to guide you from start-up to successful lawn care business. A good
plan shows you start-up costs and how many clients you'll need to turn a profit, with a timeline of tasks to
reach your goal.
Bplans.com is a business planning website with hundreds of sample business plans. They have one specifically
for starting a lawn care business. You can see it here: lawn care business plan.
Steps to Start a Lawn Care & Maintenance Service
1. You'll need to get a business license from your local city
or county office (state-by-state listings
here).
2. If you are not using your personal name as your business name, file your business name with the county
clerk. Get a business tax ID from the IRS website. You can also get information at the website about business income tax,
self-employment tax and estimated taxes.
3. It's important to keep personal and business finances separate,
especially come tax time. You can open a business
bank account in a few hours for little cost. It's a good idea to interview a few banks to compare
services. There are many other benefits that a business account can offer, so make sure to ask.
4. Meet with an insurance agent to discuss your insurance options. The
IIABA (Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America) can help you find a reputable agent in your
area. You can also use insurance network websites to get business insurance quotes for free.
5. In order to make the most of the tax benefits your lawn maintenance
business offers, meet with a local tax accountant. If you decide to cut costs and do your own business
bookkeeping, get a business accounting
software program like Quickbooks Pro to make record-keeping easier.
6. Give your customers a professional first impression of your business
when they initially contact you. If you have internet service, you can use a virtual phone and fax service with
voicemail and lots of other features included for less than $10 a month. Month after month, this can add
up to a substantial cost savings.
7. Get business cards and other promotional materials you'll need for your
business like brochures, flyers or postcards. Hand them out to people you know and include them in all
correspondence. Business cards can work surprisingly well as cheap advertising too. 250 Free Business Cards. See also: 30-50% off Postcards, Brochures
and more. Design your own marketing materials online using professional templates. Designs provided,
printing done for you.
8. Set up a website. A website can help you advertise your lawn care
services by showing your previous yard work, including photos (a picture is worth 1,000 words), providing
contact information, offering discounts and detailed information that potential customers want. You can
save money by using a free
website builder. See also: Easy websites for landscapers.
Lawn Care Business Start-up Guide
