Start a Lawn Care Business

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Lawn maintenance is a great home-based business: you can start small to earn a side income, and gradually move to full-time.
Lawn maintenance is a great home-based business: you can start small to earn a side income, and gradually move to full-time.
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The jobs tackled by a lawn service crew can be many and varied. The work that you'll be able to undertake will be determined both by your experience and by the amount of equipment that you can afford to purchase.
The jobs tackled by a lawn service crew can be many and varied. The work that you'll be able to undertake will be determined both by your experience and by the amount of equipment that you can afford to purchase.
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If you decide to tackle tree work, be sure you have the proper equipment: extension ladders, long-handled loppers, a polesaw, a chain saw, and a safety harness.
If you decide to tackle tree work, be sure you have the proper equipment: extension ladders, long-handled loppers, a polesaw, a chain saw, and a safety harness.
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Be sure to wear protective clothing, even in the summer months: glasses to protect your eyes, insulated headphones to protect your ears, and wool socks and boots.
Be sure to wear protective clothing, even in the summer months: glasses to protect your eyes, insulated headphones to protect your ears, and wool socks and boots.

Not too many people can claim to earn a handsome income by doing work that their neighbors likely consider routine weekend chores, but I can! You see, lawn maintenance is my profession, and–with six years of experience behind me–I’m able to tell you that it’s a great way to earn a living. As the operator of my own lawn care business, I work outdoors, meet lots of interesting people, perform a valuable service for my customers (many of whom are elderly and really appreciate my help), set my own hours and work schedule, and am able to save up a goodly amount each month for my eventual “retirement” to a country spread (where, of course, much of the equipment I’ve acquired will help me tackle my homesteading duties).

My story is, I think, pretty typical of those of most people who successfully start a lawn care business, so I’m willing to bet that the details and tips provided in this article could help you initiate your own “mow for money” enterprise. Now, since I’m located in an urban area, I work primarily on small- to medium-sized manicured yards, but the basic “rules” of running a landscaping service can be easily transferred to a more “countrified” setting, in which you might, for example, be mowing open fields and/or large estate grounds. And although I’m able to do the same sort of work year-round (thanks to southern Florida’s warm temperatures), aspiring lawn service contractors in more northern states could, I’m sure, shift the emphasis of their businesses in fall and winter, perhaps to such activities as mulching, vacuuming leaves, turning under garden plots, cutting hay, or plowing snow. You can see, then, that lawn care is a tremendously versatile occupation, one which can be readily adapted to most locales, climates, and startup budgets. No matter how grand your long-range plans, it’s best to think small at first, and to treat the work–at least for a while–as a profitable sideline to whatever other secure source of income you might already have.

How to Start a Lawn Care Business

I launched Chautauqua Lawn Service in 1977, while I was still working steadily at construction jobs. A neighbor of mine had a booming landscaping business, and–as soon as I’d gathered the necessary equipment (an edger, a 19-inch mower, trash cans, and a rake)–he referred a few of his “overflow” accounts to me. I initially limited my yard work to the one or two days each week I had off from my regular job. Once summer arrived, though, and the grass really began to grow, I rapidly picked up more clients, and before I knew it, I was able to quit construction work altogether and devote all of my energies to my new full-time business. Many of my first accounts were low-paying (averaging between $35 and $45 a month) and seasonal (that is, I worked only half-time, and received half-pay, during the winter months), but that’s par for the course for a beginning groundskeeper.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1983
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