To maximize revenue opportunities in this business, you need offer a
wider array of services and additional services beyond just mowing.
Add-on services can increase your revenue stream and add to your
bottom line. In fact, mowing provides the lowest profit margin and should be
used as a means to get a wider customer base that you can upsell to more
profitable services.
A study by Lawn and Landscape Magazine showed that majority (42 percent)
of their respondents said lawn mowing/maintenance makes up the greatest
percent of their annual sales, but this number is down 1.9 percent compared
to last year. This shows the shift in contractors offering more services,
such as chemical lawn care which increased from 9.8 to 11 percent of a
typical contractor’s annual sales and tree and ornamental care, which
increased from 2.4 to 6 percent of a typical contractor’s annual sales.
Diversifying will also help your business during slow periods. Lawn care
business is seasonal in some states that you need to adjust the types of
services that you offer based on the seasons. In most areas, demand for
lawncare in the fall and winter seasons is typically the lowest.
Adding more services also gives you a leg up on your competitors. It
allows you to market your business as full service. More and more customers
want one-stop comprehensive services. They want to simplify their lives by
dealing with, as few contractors as they can.
Some of the more profitable businesses you can offer include:
- Insect-disease control
- Lawn and bed weed control
- Tree services
- Hydroseeding
- Snow Removal
- Hedge trimming
- Mulching
- Interior Landscape
Services
- Structural Pest Control
- Holiday Lighting and Decorating
- Ornamental lawn care
- Chemical lawn care
- Planting annuals
- Landscaping
services
- Landscape curbing
- Water features
One profitable add-on service to a lawn care business is tree care
service. You can also offer fall leaf removals as well as fall plantings. If
you’ve got a plow, you can do snow removals during winter. You can also
offer holiday decorating services to clients from creating one of kind
wreaths to putting up the lights.
However, adding a new service also has its drawbacks. For one, there is
no certainty that the new service will succeed. The new service could be
unprofitable and prove to be a resource drain for the entire company, even
threatening to bring the business down.
If you are offering a service that requires workers to get up the air
such as tree services, you need to expect your insurance and workman’s
compensation to increase.
There will also be investments in equipment, additional skilled workers,
training and technical know how. You need to consider how much resource you
are willing to commit, and whether the new service is a one time or
occasional deal, or a repeat business.
