How to Start a Gardening Business

Gardeners may work for residential or commercial clients or both and will work with clients to understand their gardening vision and what they want from the design. You will then need to sketch out the design and draw up a budget and an estimate for your client.

Gardeners must interact and work with tradespeople to order gardening supplies and equipment to complete each gardening project. Typically, gardeners cultivate turf, plant trees and shrubs, construct water features, and order outdoor furniture, among other tasks.

There are no formal qualifications necessary for starting a gardening business but you do need to have extensive knowledge of plants and the care of plants. There are also some necessary soft skills. To be a good gardener, you need to demonstrate a love for the outdoors as well as outstanding creativity. Some additional skills include:

• Great communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and design skills.
• Experience in gardening (you can use your own garden, friends and family's gardens, or volunteer gardening jobs to build experience).
• Good negotiation skills for settling the cost of any job and ordering supplies at the best price.
• Flexibility and a calm disposition in the face of clients changing their minds, accidents, and unforeseen poor weather conditions.
• Basic administrative and business management skills.
• Basic marketing skills.
• A drive towards growth no matter how successful you become.
• An eye for innovation and new ideas.
• Good physical health and strength to handle the heavy lifting.

The biggest issue with starting a gardening business is that your income will be dependent on the weather, and there may be lags during the winter periods. To overcome this, you can plan tasks that can be done in all seasons.

While you may be physically fit and strong, gardening requires repetitive bending, squatting, and reaching, which can lead to joint and back problems. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause issues such as dehydration and skin cancer.

Gardeners can be asked to do some dangerous activities, such as pruning tall trees, working in close proximity to electrical wires, and operating dangerous equipment, such as power saws. By owning your own gardening business, you will need to accept these risks.

Determine what type of gardening services you would like to offer. Generally, garden businesses offer one or more of the following services:

• Landscape design: installing plants, pathways, water elements, outdoor fixtures, fences, and pool decks.
• Lawn services: fertilizing and maintaining lawns with the correct equipment.
• Decorative pots: finding the right pots to suit the plants and balancing the overall space. Used in small-space gardening.
• Garden maintenance: periodic landscaping, feature maintenance, lawn mowing and edging, pruning, and pest control.
• Consulting: providing advice and coaching.

To successfully start your gardening business, a business plan is a must. The business plan helps you to plan out all the necessary steps you must take, the finances you'll need, marketing solutions, and your long and short-term goals and assets.

You will need to have sales goals and inventory to reach those goals, but since you can't grow everything yourself, you will also need to outline where you will source your products.

A great gardening business plan consists of:

• Executive summary.
• Start-up summary.
• List of products and services with prices.
• Market analysis.
• Financial strategy.
• Marketing strategy.

Specific to gardening business plans is the start-up summary and your list of short and long-term assets. These are lists of the tools and equipment you will need to start your gardening business. Large equipment, such as lawnmowers, can be expensive if you buy quality products, which you will want to do. You will need to divide your equipment and tool needs into short-term assets, such as protective gear, and long-term assets, such as a lawnmower.

The most important information that must be added to a gardening business plan is about the products you will offer. With your list of products and services, you will need to detail how you will grow or source your products, how your products will be distributed or stored, and how you will care for them during the winter seasons.

Create a list of your start-up expenses and revenue projections. Identify your break-even point and prepare a pro forma profit and loss statement.

The good thing about going into business as a gardener is that you don't need a lot of outside funding. You can start with what you have and what you know and then expand on your services and tools as you gain a dedicated customer base.

However, you will need to set aside financing for the following:

• Training: Having qualifications and certifications can help you to stand out from your competitors.
• Tools and travel: The majority of your finances will go towards buying the right tools for your business as well as fuel costs for transporting your equipment and reaching your clients' homes or businesses.
• Suppliers: You will not be able to grow all of your own plants and will probably source most of your materials and supplies from wholesale stores and online sites.
• Office and storage locations: You can work from home, but a storage location is essential for your larger pieces of equipment as well as storing plants and products for a particular project.
• Business license and permits: Each state has unique licensing and permit requirements that you will need to legally start your business.
• Marketing: You will need funding for buying ads, printing flyers and posters, putting up signs, and developing a website.
• Insurance: Buying insurance is a must for any business, but as gardening can be a dangerous occupation and is dependent on weather conditions, you should definitely consider business interruption insurance.

Apply for a small business account and a business credit card and use this account when applying for licenses, permits, taxes, and insurance. This will help you to keep your business expenses separate from your personal expenses.

When planning your gardening business, you will need to choose a legal structure for tax purposes. The simplest and most popular route for gardeners is to operate as a sole proprietor. However, you can also set yourself up as a limited liability company (LLC) or, if you have a partner, as a limited liability partnership.

Once you have chosen your legal structure, you will need to register with the IRS and receive your Employer Identification Number. There are various tax deductions you can make as a small business owner.

Each state has its own licensing and insurance laws and requirements. You may also need to apply for permits within your particular town. To check what the requirements are for your area, your county clerk, small business association, the state department of business regulation, and tax revenue office can advise you.

Buying business insurance is a good idea for any business and may also be a requirement in your state. As a self-employed gardener starting your own business, you should consider the following basic insurance needs:

• Business insurance.
• Vehicle insurance.
• General liability insurance.
• Public liability insurance (in case you cause any injuries or property damage while doing gardening work).
• Workers' compensation insurance (some states require this even if you don't have employees).
• Equipment insurance.
• Income protection insurance (for circumstances where you are prevented from working).
• Critical illness insurance.
• Business life insurance.

If you are planning to work with pesticides, you will need to check if your state has a pesticide charter. The pesticide charter is a permit issued by the state department to a business that offers custom pesticide applications. A pesticide charter permit is required for each location in the state that the business operates in.

Refer to your business plan and purchase the tools and equipment you need to operate your business.

The basic equipment needed for a gardening business includes:

• Gardening wear: Gloves, sun hat, and other protective gear.
• Tools: Spades, hand trowels, garden forks, garden hoes, rakes, hand cultivators, bypass pruners, long garden hoses, watering cans, wheelbarrows, etc.
• Large equipment: Lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, a vehicle.
• Gardening products: plants, trees, compost, lawn care products, paving, soil.
• Gardening design and administrative tools: drawing board, stationery, a laptop.

Research suitable suppliers of gardening materials, such as fertilizers, pesticides, plants, and seeds.

Here are some of the top resources for replenishing garden supplies:

• Amazon.
• Gardener's Supply Company.
• Agri Supply.
• SeedsNow.com.
• Burpee.com.
• Plow & Hearth.
• Plants Express.
• Greenhouse Megastore.
• Monster Gardens.
• Home Depot.

There are a lot of factors to consider when setting your rates, such as costs involved, costs of labor, and competitors' pricing. You also need to consider the types of services you offer.

Generally, garden maintenance is offered at a set rate and garden manicuring (ensuring a perfect garden) is charged at an hourly rate. Also, don't allow the size of the garden to dictate your pricing. A large garden may only require lawn maintenance while a small garden could require a lot more work.

Implement an invoicing and payment system to keep things simple and organized. Great invoicing software will include time tracking integrations so that you can keep track of the hours you work and add them to your invoices. It's also important to keep track our your expenses.

One of the best ways to provide clients with information about your services is to build a website. Your website should mainly provide information about your services, the physical area you cover, and your contact details (phone, email, booking form, etc.). You should also include a digital portfolio with pictures of gardening work you have done.

A business portfolio is a way to showcase your work and promote your services to potential clients. It should include samples of your work, such as pictures, videos, and other visual materials. You can show before and after pictures and use your own garden as a real-life presentation.

Be sure to include the following in your business portfolio:

• A list of accomplishments. List exceptional things you have done as well as your specialties.
• Reviews and references. Include feedback and references from previous clients, contests you've entered, and other professionals in the field.
• Details of your business. Add specific details, such as when and why you started the business, how many customers you have, your key suppliers, the products and brands you specialize in, any promotions you may have or will run, details of your website, and details of any publications you may have been featured in.

There are various ways you can market your business, but before launching your marketing campaign, you need to know who to target.

Obviously, your target clients will be anyone who has an outdoor space, but there are some demographics who won't need your services. The National Gardening Survey showed that 18 to 34-year-olds occupy 29% of gardening households and were the highest spenders at gardening centers, indicating that they are more likely to do their own gardening. So, you may want to focus on targeting your services at the elderly or busy professionals.

There are several different tools you can use to market your business, including the following:

• A creative logo design: Having a great logo design builds recognition for your brand and makes a good impression. Having your logo prominently displayed on your work vehicle will also work as free advertising.
• Your website: Use your blog and the photos on your website and business portfolio to showcase your strongest work. Use a good DSLR camera to take quality photos and review and update your photos regularly.
• Social media: A great way to share content, connect with new clients, and maintain relationships with existing clients. Your mission statement will help you to focus your message.
• A mailing list: Create a mailing list for your clients and send them email letters about your latest changes, new blog posts, promotional activities, discounts, etc.
• Mainstream and online advertising: Advertise in newspapers and on billboards, if you can afford it. You can also use social media and Google for online advertising.
• Promotional activities: Use both online and offline activities to build recognition for your brand, such as flyers, signs, posters, etc.
• Word of mouth: Don't be afraid to ask your clients for references and reviews. If they are happy with your services, they will recommend you to others. You can also go door-to-door to talk to people and hand out flyers.

Hiring help depends on how much work you have, how much you can handle on your own, and whether your employees will have enough work. You can hire some workers if your research has shown that you will have a lot of work, but it is usually best to wait until you have a confirmed list of clients. Generally, when you have more work than you can handle, it's a good time to start looking for employees.

Clearly define the position you are offering. Start with a general introduction to the role followed by a list of responsibilities and requirements.

Research what the going rate for the position you are offering is. Offering a salary that matches or exceeds the general market rate will make it easier to attract top talent.

A good resource for finding employees is to contact nearby colleagues with horticultural or landscaping programs and talk to them about student work/study opportunities. You can also use traditional job adverts or online hiring tools to look for qualified candidates.

When you are ready to hire a candidate, you will need to add them to your payroll and fill out all federal and state legal requirements for all of your employees.