Discover the Fastest + Easiest Way to Start or Grow Your Lawn Care or Landscaping Business!
How to Get New Landscaping and Lawn Service Clients FAST ?
Watch the Lawn Care Marketing Video Below First
Mowing grass and landscaping can be very profitable and easy to get up and running.
Here is a quick outline on the best way to grow your lawn care business:
How To Start a Landscaping Company
- 1. First, make a business plan and stick to it. Be sure to include a budget for your company marketing.
- 2. Next, get some business cards and put up a website. The site does not need to be fancy, just a place potential customers can go for more information about your mowing company.
- 3. Then call, e-mail and Facebook everybody you know and tell them you are now in the lawn care business. Ask them to tell everyone they know.
- 4. Budget what you can spend on equipment. When your just starting, buy used commercial grade mowers and tools. You can get better equipment once you have some cash flow.
- More frequently asked questions on our FAQ page
In order to start up a successful lawn care or landscaping business, there are a few more tips that you need to know. The good news is, starting this kind of venture is not really that hard at all. Just look at all the teenagers running around with a nice landscaping trailer, as well as some decent equipment like zero turn mowers. It doesn’t require much, but you could really use some directions in order to be successful with your company. There are also many yards that need mowing in the United States and the green industry is growing.
Buy an Existing Landscaping Business or Start Your Own?
Many a starry eyed entrepreneur have thought that they could start a mowing service because “how hard could it be? I know how to cut my own grass.” Unless they have no money to start a lawn service, after spending thousands on commercial equipment they soon find that having a good cash flow and making a profit in the low baller lawn care market is not that easy. After a season or two they realize their mistake and sell their accounts and equipment. So should you buy or sell your landscaping business? The best advice I can give about getting into this businesses, and can pay cash, is that buying an existing company is the best way to go. You will pay far less for the used equipment and the existing client accounts will provide some immediate cash flow.
What You Need To Start Your Own Mowing Company
The first and one of the most important things about starting up your very own service is, of course the will and full desire to do so. You should take this venture as an exciting game rather than a hard task. If you are not heartily into it, perhaps you should just go back home. The second thing you will need is to craft your very own business plan for this certain type of endeavor. This would cover giving a good name for your lawn business, making a list of your starting expenses, jotting down a vision and mission statement, as well as coming up with a business plan for long and short-terms goals that you would like to achieve. After that, build up a number of points which will serve as your main keys towards success for the business. Lastly, you should lay out the necessary steps that must be taken by you in order to meet up with your long and short-term goals.
The Maintenance Equipment You Should Have
This is definitely one of the biggest steps that will lead towards prosperity for your startup. As a novice yourself, you need to be oriented with the professional equipment necessary. To name some would be a walk-behind mower and a zero turn if you can afford it, a backpack blower, an edger, a weed eater and, of course the hand tools. These are the main types of equipment that would be essential for the initial chapter of your lawn service journey. For the business end of things it would be a good idea to pick up some lawn business software to keep track of accounts and invoices. Though this equipment can cost you quite a lot, there are ways that you can follow in order to save on them. Rather than buying from the very first equipment store you find, take some time to look through other sources out there. You can also go through sites like your local Craigslist.com and Ebay.com as there is a high failure rate for outdoor service type businesses. If you are not handy with small motor or landscaping equipment repairs, find a good mower repair shop because service is always necessary.
Landscaper Licensing (working legally)
Generally speaking the legal barriers to entry for a grounds maintenance company are very low. You should get a county business license as well as liability insurance. Your liability insurance will run you between $400 and $700 dollars depending on where you live. Some services you may be contemplating offering will come with more stringent requirements. Sprinkler repair or low voltage lighting in many states necessitate a separate licensing procedure as well as testing along with proof of time spent working in the industry. Pest control is highly regulated in most areas as well. However, most landscapers repair irrigation and lighting and spray RoundUp with no problems and it pays very well.
Getting an Employee ID or Tax Identification Number for Your Lawn Care Company
If you starting a new lawn care company it can cost plenty of money getting all the proper legal documents prepared. You are both qualified and competent to complete many of the legal documents that you encounter. Most business documents that you will need are located online in a PDF format. I will walk you through the process of getting a Tax Identification Number. Your Tax ID or Employer ID is like having a Social Security number for your business and allows you to pay taxes. You will need this number in conjunction with your Articles of Incorporation (Corporation) or Articles of Formation (Limited Liability Company) or DBA Certificate (Fictitious Name Filings) to get a business checking account with the business name on it. You will also use this number to build business credit for your lawn care company.
- Step 1: Go to the official IRS website. CLICK HERE FOR A LINK.
- Step 2: Click on the link titled APPLY ONLINE NOW.
- Step 3: Click on the BEGIN APPLICATION.
- Step 4: Choose the appropriate legal structure for your business. We chose Corporation for our example.
- Step 5: Unless you chose S-Corp. Click CORPORATION and continue.
- Step 1: Step 6: Be sure to read the business type description to confirm you have chosen the appropriate business structure.
- Step 2: Step 7: Choose the STARTED NEW BUSINESS button and click CONTINUE.
- Step 3: Step 8: Choose the INDIVIDUAL SELECTION unless your lawn care company will be owned by another Business Entity.
For security reasons we couldn’t show you the next steps, however, follow the directions closely and you are on your way. The entire process should only take you about 12-15 minutes. Services like this would normally cost $50-300. You just saved yourself some valuable start-up capital by doing it yourself. Now you’re thinking like a good CEO.
How You Can Get Grass Cutting Clients
Now that you have everything set to start your business, the final and the most crucial thing you should know is how to bring in customers. This requires coming up with some lawn care marketing ideas. First of all, you can print out some lawn care flyers or door hangers, pass them to your friends or even with your family that would somehow let them do the promotion for you. Those fliers should contain your contact details, of course, so that customers will be able to inquire about your service right away. It would also be best to offer discounts to the very first 20 or so clients so that they will be hyped to avail your services. When starting, the two things you have to have for efficient advertising is a phone and phone number committed only to your business (with a business greeting) and landscaping business cards printed for dispersing to present and prospective customers. Do this since having a dedicated business phone and business cards assist to identify your service company as a genuine and professional lawn care company in the minds of your clients. I recommend Vista print for your business cards due to the fact that they have easy to use software and are very cost effective.
Lawn Care Marketing; How to Start a Landscaping Business Fast Using Online Advertising
Advertising and marketing is exactly what separates the successes from the failures. The objective to remember in all of your marketing and advertising is that projecting and preserving an expert image is essential. You can do the best work in town, however if your business doesn’t project an image that mirrors that, you will continuously struggle to discover customers and work. There are four main outlets for advertising your yard care business that will yield respectable returns on your financial investment.
1) Internet site
There is absolutely nothing that will get you more calls than an expert looking and useful internet site. It is a bigger cost of both money and time in advance, but produces yields that exceed any other marketing technique. As soon as this is done, an internet site will need nothing but periodic upgrading of pictures and updating. A fantastic internet site is the key in the yard care market for numerous reasons listed. To begin with, not many lawn care, pressure cleaning, irrigation repair, and landscape lighting companies have internet sites and the ones that do generally have very amateur or sloppy websites, which does not gain customers. This indicates that there is less competitors online and it is easy to rank your website on the top pages of Google and on Google business listings in a relatively brief amount of time when making use of proper lawn care SEO techniques. Think about adding a local lawn care blog like this one about lawn care in Chicago to your website so that you can easily add fresh content. Even more individuals than ever are browsing the web to discover services because of how easy and fast it is to do and you need to take advantage of that. As an added bonus offer for having a website, you will get a bulk of the calls from individuals that possess second homes in your area or that are out of town and forgot to make plans for their lawn service. These people are frequently the very best customers since: 1) They aren’t there to complain about anything and 2) They are generally going to pay greater rates because of their have to get it done. This lets your consumers contact you by any means of email or contact form on your website so that you can begin to build an e-mail list to send out landscape discounts or fast communication with your clients which will conserve you hours of time and energy over the life of your business.
2) Word of Mouth
This could appear simple or insignificant, but you would be shocked the number of people do not utilize this technique of getting their company name and reputation out there to the degree that it could be utilized. This is a great tactic and everyone likes to hear about others experience with a landscaping company. This method is not actually efficient till you have a few customers, but once you do make sure to ASK to suggest your business to possible new customers. Be direct about this and even provide to contact anyone whose name they offer you. Don’t be excessively aggressive about it to the point of being annoying, however being assertive and considerate and you will find that this is a great way to obtain new clients. Offer a business card for the customer to keep and even an extra one that the customer could give to someone that they know. One of the very best rewards of word of mouth marketing is that you will oftentimes get numerous consumers in one area. This is extremely advantageous since close together houses require less travel time and correspond to greater profits per hour. Most importantly, this approach of advertising doesn’t cost you a penny!
3) Yellow Page Ads
This method of marketing your business is good (maybe for a little while longer) but not that popular anymore since the internet, however it is still efficient, particularly with the older generation who prefers using the Yellow pages instead of the internet. Make certain you speak with an agent and ask for offers such as a two for one cost where you can promote under both landscaping and lawn care or a little freebie included somewhere such as a complementary pressure cleaning advertisement or text ad. Most of these service companies are hurting, for business with the increase of the Internet, so use that to your advantage. The main issue with Yellow page ads is that every company in your area has one, so ensure that yours stands apart. Hand over a little more cash for a slightly larger advertisement with your site, contact number, services, and anything that sets you apart or that will help you stick out and it will pay huge dividends. Make sure that it is interesting, to the point, which it lets individuals understand what they are getting the moment they see it. These ads can get a bit costly, particularly if you are in a huge city given that rates is based upon distribution, but most of the times is worth the investment if you are wanting to grow your business.
4) Direct Circulation Mail
Direct circulation is preferred, but has definitely dreadful returns on your effort and time most of the times with an extremely low conversion rate. I have discovered that it is worth it to do this just in locations where you currently have a customer so that that in your copy you can state something along the lines of “(Your Company Name) is presently doing work for consumers in your community and would like to provide our expert services to you also.” Then list the types of services that your business offers and if there are any specials that you might have. Because putting mail in people’s mailboxes is against the law, just attach your business card to the flag of the mailbox. These fliers should look professional and only be twice the size of a business card. When writing your marketing copy, don’t let clients infer that you are the most inexpensive around, however rather that you are the very best and that you are an expert in town. Fighting low price wars is a losing situation for everyone, so do not play that game.
Pricing Your Landscaping Services
The average cost of lawn services varies depending on a number of things. For instance, typical services include prices for services such as regular lawn maintenance which includes edging, mowing and blowing, fertilization, weeding beds, hedge trimming, shrub removal, replacement or moving, grass replacement, landscaping, irrigation among other lawn services. These services in most cases are priced separately however sometimes they might be priced together into one monthly service price. It is always advisable to go for a package service price because the packages come at discounted prices. Below are the average prices of different lawn service packages offered;
1) Weekly lawn cut
The average price of a weekly lawn cut depends on a number of factors such as the size of the lawn, location, obstacles etc. For a lawn_business_pricing_examplehalf an acre lawn, the average price of a weekly cut is between $20 and $40 depending on the factors such as how quickly your lawn can be mowed. The cheapest prices are charged on flat lawns on open properties that are small in size because they are the fastest to lawn. The presence of any obstacles in a property can also increase the price of a weekly lawn cut. This is because obstacles increase the time taken to finish mowing a lawn. Examples of obstacles that may increase the average weekly lawn cost include, trees, outdoor furniture among other obstacles. The proximity of your property to the service company also affects the price. For instance, the closer the property is the cheaper the services will be.
2) Weeding Beds
The average price charged for weed beds monthly is between $25 and $50. The price can however vary depending on factors such as how many weeding sessions are required and also how big the garden is. The bigger the beds are, the higher the cost of maintaining them. There are cheaper ways of eliminating weeds on your beds through mulching which is effective and capable of eliminating the cost of weeding beds completely.
3) Spring Cleanup
Lawn services also include spring cleanups which cost an average of $200 for a half acre plot. The price however varies depending on the number of times spring cleanups are done. Spring cleanups are vital if a fall cleanup has not been done. In cases where a fall cleanup was not done, the average price of a spring cleanup is bound to be higher. In cases where a fall cleanup was done, then the price will be lower. Otherwise, the price of a spring cleanup is generally based on the accumulations over the winters that are composed of leaves and sticks. The number of beds also affects the price of a spring cleanup. For instance, the more the beds the higher the average price because edging is a labor intensive lawn service.
4) Trimming Landscaping
Landscaping is also a common lawn service. The average cost of landscaping depends on a number of factors such as the number of shrubs, ornamental trees, and hedges in a property. This is because landscaping property with numerous shrubs, trees, and hedges is more labor intensive. The nature of your landscape also affects the average price of landscaping. Extensive landscapes take longer to be trimmed and maintained therefore making it more expensive. The last time your property underwent landscaping also determines the price. For instance, if it has been years since your last landscaping, then the price will be higher because it will take more time and labor to clean up the clippings and reshape the land. The expertise of the landscaping workers also affects the price. For instance, hiring the services of a professional landscaper will cost more than using an unskilled landscaper. With all the above considerations, the average price of trimming landscaping is $175-$400 for a typical ranch house that is surrounded by shrubs, hedges, and trees.
5) Fall Cleanup
Fall cleanups cost an average of $200-$500 for a half acre plot with a partial shade. Like spring cleanups the average price depends on the number of times fall cleanups are done. The average price also depends on the number of trees you have on your property. I.e. the more trees you have, the more leaves you will have to clean up which costs more. The number of adjacent trees around your property also contributes to the average price of the fall cleanup lawn service. If you have neighbors’ who have trees, the fall cleanup is bound to be more as leaves get blown into your property which will increase the price. Another factor that might affect the price of a fall clean lies in the disposal of the leaves. The cleanup leaves can be disposed in two ways i.e. the leaves can be disposed as trash, left to be blown into woods, or they can be removed by the lawn service company which usually comes at an additional charge. Depending on the above factors, the average price should not exceed $500 for a property less than half an acre. This is also a good time to winterize the irrigation system.
6) Chemical Program
Chemical programs are also common services. Chemical programs, unlike other lawn services, are done less frequently. The average price of a chemical program is however higher because the service involves chemical use as the name suggests which are expensive to buy. The average price of chemical programs is also usually higher because of the legal requirements often associated with applying pest control chemicals. Among the factors that affect the average price include the size of the lawn. The price of a chemical program is solely based on this. With all the above factors in play, the average price of a chemical program is $400-$700 annually for a half acre lawn. In conclusion, the average cost of lawn services depends on the above factors. The main considerations affecting the price of the above services include the size of the lawn, the frequency of the service and lastly the type of labor hired. It is important to note that packaged lawn services have a lower average cost as opposed to individual services. Some Final Thoughts This is a very difficult field to enter and make decent money. For every big company with a dozen trucks and a million dollars in revenue, there are a hundred struggling or near bankrupt landscapers. Let’s face it, anybody can cut grass and pull weeds, and that is the problem. There is a big difference between having the ability to maintain a nice yard and having the business acumen needed to make a profit doing it for others. In the end this is a business just like any other. You need to know how to control costs, manage employees and provide customer service. If you are not good at all of it, it will be your lawn care business listed for sale on Craigslist next year. You can find all our content on our sitemap.[one_third_first] Lawn Care Business Plan TemplateHow to Choose A Catchy Name For Your Landscape BusinessChoosing Landscaping CompaniesBest Lawn Care Software Reviews 2016 – 2017 Landscaper Marketing and the Yellow PagesSeven Lawn Care Marketing Ideas [/one_third_first][one_third] Lawn Business Mission StatementGrowing Your Landscaping Business Landscaping Business Cards Starting a Lawn Business with No Money All About Owning a Landscaping BusinessLawn Business Equipment Cost [/one_third][one_third_last] AboutContact Me Lawn Care Business Lawn Care FlyersLawn Care SEO Lawn Care Business PlanBuilding a Mobile Lawn Business Website [/one_third_last] [/expand]
How do you feel about the saturation of page 1 with sites like Angie’s List, etc.?
Hey, that’s life with the “big boys.” Sites like Home Advisor (used to be Service Magic), Thumb Tack, Lawn Love, Green Pal, Lawn Starter etc. are just SEO companies that realized that in the Green Industry landscaping websites were doing a piss poor job of optimizing for ranking. If you look in most big cities, it is those type of sites that rank because they understand how to get on Google.
However you can compete and beat them if you know what to do. So, what to do? Start watching the lawn care SEO videos HERE
Hi, I’ve been recently wanting to start my own landscaping and designing business. I have the basics (mower, weed eater, blower, shovels and etc.) I recently started putting flyers out in new housing developments, apts complexes, and developments near me. My father is a very successful business man with multiple businesses under his belt. I have the clientele and the equipment and I’ve been making good money cleaning up yards. I’ve heard a good horticulture knowledge would help but is it needed? And also, What are some good ways to keep business steady during winter and slow seasons.
Hi Gage,
Of course knowing the basics and the common plant + tree names in your area is important. However as you grow you you can hire “horticultural knowledge.”
As for wintertime work, a buddy of mine in Texas says his Christmas lighting installation business makes as much in two months as his landscaping business in 10. And, uh, whats with the flyers? It is cheaper to get on Google than to print + pass out flyers.
I watched the “make a million dollars in lawn care + landscaping business” and it seemed a bit hyped. Can you really make that much money with a landscape business?
Well, you can make MUCH more than a million a year, but I think you meant in the first year.
I think the numbers were VERY conserative in terms of website traffic and conversion to phone calls.
As I stated, a $1000 average per job is very low, as a thousand dollare landscape install is very small.
Push the number to $3000, a more realistic amount, and for just that ONE keyword “landscaping San Diego” you are already at a million dollars.
Marketing IS business. Get that right and you are successful. Math is math 🙂
Can you estimate yearly salary of a small business of 2 people assuming that they’ll be doing mostly residential work and lawn care (no hardscaping). Would it be what’s left over after expenses? Or would our salaries be cut significantly since we would need the money to be redirected to the growth of our company?
Also, if we already have the equipment and all we need is the paperwork to “be official”, how many residential customers do you think would be sufficient to cover startup costs?
Thanks for the article man, really helps a lot.
Hi Cyril,
I’m not an accountant, I only play one on the internet 🙂 That said, there are so many factors involved in your question, it is like “How blue is the sky?”
One thing doesn’t change: the faster you add customers the less important your question becomes. My advice? Get listed in the Google Business Box and get ready to be busy.
HELLO,
HOW DO I RANK MY WEBSITE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF GOOGLE. ALSO WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE IN LANDSCAPING/LAWN CARE BUSINESS.
The biggest challenge in the lawn care + landscaping business is getting customers. If you have enough clients paying you money, you have a successful business. The fastest way to get those customers is to rank on Google for your keywords. The fastest way to rank on Google for your keywords is to watch my videos.
Problem solved 🙂
Thank you for all the tips for a lawn care start up. I’ve had 5 years of lawn care services but have had a hard time to get fall jobs like leave removal and winter snow removal work. I’m picking up on our gutter cleaning due to my web site. I have pages for every service I offer. Any help would be appreciated.
Sincerely diamond cut lawn care
Hi Luke, as I always stress, if you want more snow removal work, or any other type of outdoor jobs, the internet is your best bet. I’ve seen people on YouTube push the Craigslist approach, but that is a very short term strategy. Craigslist is “Lowballer Central” and you just won’t get paid what you need to make in that arena.
I checked out your site, and for example on your snow page, you have too little content (words.) Take that page and boost the text to 1200 words, maybe by telling visitors the things they should look out for if they do it themselves.
Make sure you geo-tag your photos on your page, but also inside your Google for Business listing. In my SEO videos I explain how to do this, best of luck!
Thanks for the great landscaping company information. I bought a $47 dollar e-book that wasn’t nearly as good as your free website information. I’ll check out your SEO videos (even though I don’t have a website yet)
Thanks for the kind words John. My videos can save you thousands of dollars on building your own website.
If just your website is not ready.and your product is ready can I buy it now,I will pay you by PayPal and you can product to my email address
The value of SEO is incredible in the lawn care industry. In fact, it’s 100% of our marketing. Actually it’s more like 600% of our marketing because we generate so many leads we turn hundreds of them away every season! Both for summer lawn care and for winter snow removal (in our snowy Canadian region). Of course, your value from Google all depends on how many people are searching for lawn care services in your area. If no one is searching, ranking would be like plastering a billboard on the moon. Nice sign, no one going to see it. Hope that helps the budding online stars.
Could you please advise when your googlephat site would be open ready to sale your local seo product
Hey Peter, I’m working HARD on it (wife in background yelling “get off the computer, its nearly midnight!”)
My main obstacle is translating “latent semantic indexing correlates directly with the new AI Google Upadate in terms of CTR” into:
1. do this
2. do that
But soon, I PROMISE before Oct 1. If I’m not up by OCT 1, I’m giving away a bunch of stuff to everyone who has been waiting…
Hey man I’m looking to start my own landscaping company and I would love to buy equipment
If the product is ready but just not the website is it possible just to buy the product and pay you directly by PayPal and you can send it to me by email as I really need to get customers for my lawn mowing business.thanks
Hi admin56 it looks like some good advise. I’m currently considering starting a lawn care business, just trying to do more reaserch about it. I like to hear great testimonies about how people got started in there business and there success stories? How did you get where you are today salary wise? One of the reasons I’m considering the business is the schedule and potentially good salary.
At first your shedule will be (if you are getting website traffic) every waking/sleeping hour. When you are not working you will be thinking or dreaming about it. As for salary (if you are getting website traffic) will be the lowest amount you can pay yourself to cover your NON work expenses x your best tax write-offs. I mean, you NEED a boat to repair that irrigation pump footer in the lake right? And you NEED a reliable 2015 four wheel drive truck to pull the boat, right? Real quick, a tax ATTORNEY is only SLIGHTLY more than a tax accountant. If things start going well, get the attorney.
Hello
I was thinking about starting a lawn mowing business, however I am more interested in managing the business than actually doing the work. I was wondering if it’s possible to have people work for you and it being successful.
Thank you
Hi Dave, and the answer is yes, eventually. I can only speak from my experience, but in my world, things ONLY got done right when I supervised the work. Later, I just supervised the foremen, but I still had to get my own boots on the property. I don’t think you can just go hire a foreman + some workers and call it a day.
so when will your google slam membership be ready for sale?
Hi Robert, I had planned it for August 15, but a family emergency is taking me out of town for a week or so. Maybe Sept 21st or 25th?
What should I be using to track accounts and payments?
You could buy specific lawn care software, but until you have a lot of customers, just a spreadsheet app on your phone will work nicely.
Hey great article man, tons of good info. I’m 18 and have been working for an excavation company and have saved up enough money to buy a zero turn mower, a trailer, a weedwacker, and a blower. I’m ready to go out on my own and make my own money. Any additional advice?
First, BLOW UP your FB + IG accounts letting people know you are starting your landscape company. Make video, upload to Youtube|FB|Instagram, explaining why you are the #1 guy to go to with lawn|landscaping companies. Tell family|friends that you need their HELP to get the word out about yer new biz, so they need to BLOW UP their media accounts as well. Seriously, be a dick about it 🙂 When you start every new customer is a chance at 10 new customers, feel me?
Also SUPER IMPORTANT: ya gotta have a website. Just set up a basic WordPress site with your NAP (business name, address, phone number.) YouTube has loads of info on setting up basic site. A few weeks from now I’ll have vids up showing you how to make the site better. DO NOT pay somebody to set up your WP site. You NEED to know how to do it YOURSELF otherwise you won’t know how to edit it.
Once you can edit your own site, you’ll be able to use all the ninja tricks I can teach you about how to rank #1 on Google. How do you think you found MY website? Ranking for the term “lawn care business” is WAY harder than ranking for “Miami lawn care business.” I use all these tricks myself 🙂
Stay tuned…
I would love to know when you post those ninja tricks! Is there a way to set up notifications??
Hey, I see this promotional stuff about ranking on Google, but I’m not getting it. You are selling something right? So how much is it and when exactly am I supposed to come back and look at it? I don’t mean to be a jerk but I’m a bit confused
Hi Paul, sorry for the confusion. Let me try to clarify.
Q. “You are selling something right?”
A. Yes, I will be selling a membership showing landscape guys/gals how to avoid paying SEO pro’s like me $2000.00 PLUS a month to rank their sites. Even though $2000.00 a month is reasonable given your ROI from the service, wouldn’t you rather pay the price of a pizza to learn how to do it yourself? It is based on the “give a man a fish|teach a man to fish” theory. However, this site will ALWAYS give you more real, actionable advice that blows the other “expert millionaire” lawn business marketing BS artists out of the water. If you don’t believe me, sign up for their free videos…you will learn nothing other than you need to pay them thousands to do it for you. I CRUSH those guys online, and I’ll show you how to do it too. Just be patient, I’m busy doing SEO every day for a living. I run a SEO business that only deals with surgeons + lawyers; i.e. the people that think $2K+ a month they pay me is a great deal. Most lawn guys/gals can’t afford me, so why not just let me show YOU how to rank your site on Google.com? It ain’t VooDoo, it is a process. Real easy, but you have to DO THE WORK 🙂 Hey, I’ve mowed thousands of acres of grass for BIG corporate companies (I won’t drop any names, but if you are in the lawn maintenace business you know the “Big 3”) before I “bailed” and went on my own. I will show you how to Kick Their A** online. I do it everyday and I ain’t no smarter than you: I just know what to do…
This is really good info on getting lawn customers. Can’t wait for the videos, I really need to move my site from page 3 to page 1. It doesn’t get me any calls.
Hey Will, a site on page 3 might as well not exist in terms of search, but it can still get people to visit your site if it is on your truck opr any other place where people can see it. We will have videos not only about organic ranking but also getting into the Google snack pack, ranking videos and how to pay for traffic on Facebook + Adwords without losing your shirt.
Looking forward to the “getting more customers” videos!
Fantastic landscape biz info ! Best I’ve found anywhere, I’m doing research for my husband to start his business. Thanks!
Yer welcome 😉 Bookmark the page and come back in mid August to watch the rank your website videos
Hi Ryan, I know it can be intimidating when you first venture out into the world of working for yourself, but I guarantee the fear of the trip is worth it. I got a lot of info here, so if you can ask a more specific question I’ll be happy to help you out.
Im new at this lawn care business how do I get started what all I need plz email me back ryangroce****@gmail.com im n Cleveland I quit my job I wanted something better so plz help
Oh my God…People act like starting up a lawn care business is difficult. I have a full-time job as a software sales rep, and my buddy & I decided to make some easy extra cash. We started this spring, just posted ads on Craiglist for free (and make sure you are updating multiple ads on there each day), and we’re up to 28 accounts in St Paul, MN, and we rev just shy of 4k/month. I would say it takes us 10-12 hours together to bang them out. We cruise out on Friday after work, and finish up on Saturday. It’s not rocket science…The one bit of advise I can give you is, in my opinion, going after residentials are best, and stay away from commercial unless it’s cake….don’t low ball to gain business…I found it to be nice to find realtors who own multiple rental properties as well. They just want their cash cows to look presentable, and their tenants are typically never out when you show up so it’s easy sailing. Best of luck.
Good advice Dennis. I agree with you that Craigslist is a good way to start getting clients. However, FAR more people will type in “lawn service CITY” into Google assuming (falsely) that the best companies will be at the top. In reality, the companies at the top are the ones that understand some SEO.
I am glad people hate to do lawn care. Our company, lawncarefairhope.com love for home owners to let us do the dirty work.
I am also interested to coming up in this field but I am scared about investment and I also don’t have any experience pls help me
Hi Ram,
My brother makes around 50K a year running a “We Pull Weeds by Hand” business as a lot of people don’t want herbicides sprayed in their flower beds. He also does some mulching, flower planting, etc. All it take is a truck or van and some hand tools.
Can you contact me when your G ranking video is done? I really need it…
Well… I really cant email people by email who haven’t agreed (via software verification) because it would look like spam to Big G. All I can say is I think I can find time to do it in the next two weeks, or just call it by April 1st. I’ll try my best…
Hello, I am looking at starting up my business. I have been doing it for over 15 yrs but only part time as i worked as a Professional FF. My clients were all family and friends and there neighbors. I have now moved to a new area and have wanted to start it up but have been hesitant on doing it. Now I have been laid off and fortunately thanks to my wife and her career I am in a position to be able to start it. I already have all of my equipment but what I need is advice and guidance on starting it proper. Like licensing and insurance and the best way to reach out to get customers.
Thanks,
Bryant
Hi Byrant, since you already have equipment your biggest initial expense will be insurance. What is required varies by state + county, but I wouldn’t go with less than $500,000, but 1M is better. If you don’t do tree work or irrigation be sure to let your insurance agent know that as it raises the cost.
As to getting customers, I sound like a broken record here, but SOON I will have some videos that will show you how to get on the 1st page of Google in just days.
I need help on making a web site and I need help with a name please for my lawn service
Hi Cole, as to a name + website I would go with something that has your name and city in it. Example, if you live in Miami: “ColesMiamiLawnService.com” This is called a “partial match domain”, meaning if you want to rank for Miami lawn service it will help, but also has your name in it for company branding purposes. In the meantime while you are building your real site, you can get a free one at https://wordpress.com/. As I’m writing this, if you were from Miami, miamilawnservice.wordpress.com is available. Just get the free version and hopefully an exact match domain is available on wordpress.com Try variations like MiamiLawnCare or MiamiLandscaping. Something should be available for your city.
Great article really, I started my lawn business a few years ago mcgregorservices.org and ever sense then I’ve been trying to really find some information to push me forward into the higher level stuff
I think these tips and tricks will help. I’ve printed this article to come back to many times, thank you
Glad you like it, stay tuned, EPIC content is “in the oven” 🙂
Very good info for someone with little to no lawn care experience but thinking about starting a small lawn care operation.
Even a “small” lawn care service needs a digital presence to gain more customers. I’m working on something to help you guys and it is coming out soon.
Need to expand my business!! Your website is very informative, where do I sign up to get the free info on how to put my name on the front page??
I’m working on some videos now that will show how to rank your website for your “city” keywords and additionally put you in the new Google “snack pack”
Check back in a couple of weeks, this will be MASSIVE info 🙂
Glad I could help
Informative lawn business article, just what I was looking for
I already registered my Company, I already getting few jobs at Public Works, I am looking forward to grow up my Company, I have 8 brush cutting machines and 2 lawn mowers, my guys are really hungry for the job, I need help, I really don’t know how to price, and I’m really asking for help to get more jobs,like cutting on house’s, parks, along the road, all municipal areas, tenders or on open fields I will really appreciate any thing
PLEASE HELP
M MAGENUKA
You can check this out, maybe it will work for you:
http://www.lawncarebusinessmarketing.com/my-lawn-quote-com-is-it-for-you/
Thanks for infomation
yer welcome 🙂