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Articles in the Series:
- Starting a Lawn Care and Landscaping Business
- The Landscape and Lawncare Services Industry
- How to Start a Lawn Service Business
- Tools and Equipment Used for a Lawn Care and Landscaping Business
- Pricing Your Lawn Care and Landscaping Services
- Marketing and Promoting a Landscaping or Lawn Care Business
- Additional Services and Revenue Streams for a Landscaping or Lawn Care Business
- 10 Tips to Succeed in Lawn care and Landscaping Business
- Resources to Help Start a Landscaping or Lawn Care Business
Landscape and Lawn Care Services
The lawn care and landscape business is a $75 billion industry, according to the research company IBIS World. The industry primarily provides lawn care maintenance, and landscape installation services including planting and maintaining shrubs, flowers, lawns, and gardens.
The industry has been growing at an average of 3.4% since 2010. One reason for the growing demand for this service is the growth of two-income families. The increasing number of double-income families means the number of people with no time but money on hand is increasing. In fact, according to a nationwide survey conducted by International Communications Research for the Bayer Lawn Care Institute, “the average homeowner spends nearly eight hours each week on lawn care and landscaping tasks around their home and would consider hiring a professional service in order to acquire more free time.”
The market for Lawn Care and Landscaping Services
The lawn care and landscaping businesses can be residential or commercial. According to Landscape Management magazine, the customer mix of this business:
The two main target markets of this business are:
1. Homeowners with larger size lawns.
Residential lawn care services typically include lawn cutting, trimming, edging, and removal of clippings. The service is typically offered once a week the frequency can depend on the customer’s requests. This side of the business is made up of many small companies. This occurs because of high labor intensity, low startup costs, and the nature of the industry.
The typical target market also includes middle-class suburban families with large lawns and no teenage children, as teenagers are likely to be tasked to mow and take care of the lawns. Middle-aged homemakers are also more likely to rely on a lawn service compared to younger homemakers who are more likely to do the lawn themselves. Larger lawns, such as with 4,000 – 7,000 square feet, typically yield better margins when factors such as transportation time and costs are considered.
According to a study by the Lawn and Landscape magazine, the three main factors that propel homeowners to buy landscaping and lawn care services are:
- 86% – the ability to enjoy the outside space
- 77% – a sense of personal pride
- 69% – having an outdoor entertainment area
Table 1. Target Market of Lawn Care and Landscape Businesses
Gross Sales | Single family residential | Multi-family structures | Commercial/ Industrial | Government/ Institutional |
---|---|---|---|---|
Less than $50,000 | 79.8% | 3.4% | 13.7% | 1.0% |
$50,000-$99,000 | 72.2% | 6.2% | 18.7% | 2.6% |
$100,000-$199,999 | 67.6% | 5.9% | 22.6% | 4.3% |
$200,000-$499,999 | 66.1% | 5.1% | 25.1% | 1.9% |
$500,000-$999,999 | 56.4% | 12.1% | 25.7% | 5.4% |
$1 million or more | 45.9% | 10.7% | 30.7% | 11.2% |
Average (sales from) | 66% | 7.0% | 22.0% | 4.0% |
Source: “2007 State of the Industry Report: Luck of the Draw”, Lawn and Landscape Magazine, October 2007, pp. 4-5
2. Commercial property managers
The commercial side consists of apartment complexes, business parks, and common areas of subdivisions, schools, and others. The commercial side is typically serviced by larger lawn care landscaping services, and services could include the design of large-scale landscaped areas.
Larger companies tend to offer more services, while smaller businesses tend to be more specialized. Table 2 above shows that smaller companies (those with gross sales of less than $50,000) tend to focus on lawn mowing and maintenance services while the big companies (those with $1 million or more) tend to be diversified offering a wider variety of services, but with particular emphasis on construction and design/build projects.
Services Provided
There are many types of services you can offer with a lawn care and landscaping business. You can do landscape design, plant selection, creation of water features, and planting of plants and trees. In terms of lawn care services, you can offer mowing services and weed control, landscape maintenance, lawn care analysis, tree and bush trimming, putting in fertilizers, tree, and shrub care like The Local Tree Experts. Some also offer services to control fire ants and to maintain and correct the soil’s Ph levels.
According to Landscape Magazine, the most common services offered are:
If you are starting a lawn care and landscaping business, you can offer any or all of the services below:
- Landscape Design
- Landscape Installation
- Seeding or Sodding
- Turf & Ornamental Installation
- Bedding Plants & Color Installation
- Irrigation Installation
- Landscape Lighting
- Hardscape Installation
- Water Features
- Landscape Maintenance
- Landscape Renovation
- Turf Fertilization
- Turf Aeration
- Tree & Ornamental Care
- Tree & Stump Removal
- Irrigation Maintenance
- Erosion Control
- Pesticide Application
- Turf Disease Control
- Turf Insect Control
- Turf Weed Control
- Tree & Ornamental Pesticide Application
According to a study conducted by the Landscape Management magazine, the services provided are as follows:
The downside of the lawn care and landscaping business is that it is highly seasonal. Your location can spell a huge difference in the potential success of your business. The demand in Florida is higher than the demand in Maine or Michigan or in other states that remain buried in snow for a longer period of time.
Next: Tools and Equipment Used for a Lawn Care and Landscaping Business
Recommended Books on How to Succeed in Lawn care and Landscaping Business:
- Lawn Care Business Guide: The Definitive Guide To Starting and Running Your Own Successful Lawn Care Business
- Lawn Care Business Bidding Tips, Upsells, And Disasters To Avoid.
- GopherHaul Extreme Lawn Care Business Tips.: Unfiltered, unedited, and a little rough. A collection of landscaping & lawn care business lessons.
- Start & Run a Landscaping Business (Start and Run A)
- How To Get Commercial Lawn Care And Snow Plow Customers.: From The Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum & The GopherHaul Lawn Care Business Show.
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