Planning is crucial to any business-launching process. No matter what business you’re starting, you have to know the key elements to consider during the planning stage. Statistics estimate that 30% of businesses fail within the first two years of operations. Poor planning is among the primary reasons for this. No-one wants their business to become part of these failure statistics, especially after investing a lot of money into your business succeeding.
To ensure the success of your lawn care business, you can factor in these five essential elements. (1)(2)
1. Operations plan
The lawn care business is quite dynamic, which means you must carefully strategize how you’ll be operating. Common services you’ll offer range from constructing and maintaining fences, clipping grass, gardening, and working on patios, for example. Aside from working on the actual services you will provide to your customers; you’ll also have to handle some managerial duties too. These are crucial to the running of your business and must be included in your operations plan. Such tasks might involve the preparation of quotes, processing payrolls, tracking employee performance, scheduling jobs, and organizing client information.
Instead of doing these tasks manually, you can make your work a lot easier by using lawn care business management software, such as that developed by Jobber. By investing in this technology, there’s a huge chance that you’ll increase your general business productivity and be able to boost your image of being a professional, reliable and trustworthy company to the public.
2. Financial analysis
Money is another crucial element for your business. As a start, you want to know how much money you’ll spend to start your operations. Typical sources of business capital include bank loans, mobile lenders, contributions from friends and family, personal savings, and angel investors. Make sure you specify where you’ll get the business capital and how much from each source. (3)
You’ll use the money you collect/loaned to purchase lawn care tools and equipment, such as:
- Work trucks
- Trimmers
- Mowers
- Protective gear
- Office supplies
- Permits, licenses, and liability insurance policy, among other startup essentials.
Additionally, you’ll have to project your potential income. Looking into how to price your lawn care services will give you a clear picture of the earnings you’re likely to get for every job. Principally, the amount you charge must cover material, labor, and overhead costs. Take note that your price should leave you with a satisfactory profit.
3. Work personnel
A big lawn care business may require you to have staff to assist in its smooth running––both managerial staff and laborers. You must define in your business plan how you’ll hire and onboard them. Consider listing down the qualities you expect in the interested applicants for your job vacancies.
First and foremost, they must have the technical know-how to care for lawns. Additionally, they should have soft skills that enable them to work cordially with other staff members and handle clients properly. These include communication skills, emotional intelligence, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, patience, and business ethics. (4)
You’ll also have to prepare your business premises to host the team members. Think about the items they’ll need to carry out their duties, including:
- Computers or tablets
- Office space
- Seats and desks
- Phone credits
- Safety gear
If this seems too much at the start, you can consider starting off alone or with one or two assistants. Later on, as you stabilize, you can gradually add employees to scale up your business operations.
4. Business profile
Your lawn care business plan should also include the following basic company information:
- A memorable name
- Eye-catching logo
- Contact information
- Mission and vision statement
- The goals you intend to achieve
- Services offered
- Area of operation
The area of operation is especially crucial, as it determines how much you’ll be earning from every lawn care contract. Take note that some states have higher living standards, which means they pay more than average for lawn care services. But operating in such areas may be a bit expensive. So, you must do extensive calculations and strike a healthy balance between the overhead costs and profit potential.
5. Competitor analysis
Competition is a reality you must grapple with; your lawn care firm won’t be the only one in operation in your locality. There will be several others, perhaps with better skills and tools than yours. But that shouldn’t be a cause of worry. Humans generally do their best when there’s a bit of rivalry. It makes you more accountable to customers, given that poor service may drive them away from your competitors. (5)
In your business plan, define the following aspects of your competitors:
- How they charge for various lawn care services
- Their location
- Discounts they’re currently offering to clients
- What kind of machinery they use
- Their weaknesses and strengths
- What customers say about them
These details will help you differentiate your brand, helping you stand out from the competition.
Conclusion
Proper planning is the key to establishing a productive and profitable lawn care business. Some of the must-include elements in your business plan are team information, financial analysis, business profile, competitor analysis, and operations plan. Getting all of these aspects right will put you in a much stronger position to enjoy growth and success into the future.
References
- “How to Write a Business Plan for Your home Business,” Source: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-plans-the-basics-of-creating-a-business-plan-1794264
- “Top Six Reasons New Businesses May Fail,” Source: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1010/top-6-reasons-new-businesses-fail.aspx
- “The Basics of Financing a Business,” Source: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/13/business-financing-primer.asp
- “Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What’s the Difference?”, Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills-2063780
- “WHY Is Competition Important In Business”, Source: https://medium.com/tunapanda-institute/why-is-competition-in-business-important-8c7d2540d4ad