WAHM > Stay at Home Mom Work Ideas > Selling a Service > Gardening  and Landscaping

Start a Gardening and Landscaping Service from Home

What you will be doing.  Part of the appeal of a home is the landscape. Lush green grass and colorful gardens with manicured hedges and bushes draw people in.

Once they see the outside, they can’t wait to find out what the house looks like. As a landscaper/gardener clients will want you to turn their yards into a showplace for all to see. They may even employ your services to design an outdoor space and then complete the design specifications.

How to start.  Starting this business may be easier than you think. You may already mow your own lawn and take care of the general upkeep. There are plenty of landscaping businesses around so do a bit of legwork to determine a viable niche for you.

Even if you are one of many, the object is to be unique in the services offered. Coming up with a catchy name is a good beginning. While the business is young, it will be okay to have a mower, hedge clippers, a trimmer, and a vehicle to carry it all in. Once the business takes off, explore the need for more equipment.

Starting costs.  Starting costs depend on how much equipment and advertising is needed. Count on spending anywhere from $500 to $2,000 in the beginning. As long as you have a telephone, the computer can wait a few months.

Keep a detailed ledger of accounts payable and receivable. This makes transferring the data to an accounting program easier when you finally purchase that computer. Small business loans are enough to finance this business. In the future, think about the cost of hiring laborers to help with the growing business.

Skills needed.  You need to be smarter than the average bear on this one. We all have some knowledge of pruning, weeding, and what we would like to plant, but as a business professional, your skills are above that.

People will ask you what plants they should use in the flower beds and when they can reseed their lawn. To enhance the skills you already have, read books or take a gardening class. Every little bit helps.

Marketing.  Maybe you have already mowed or landscaped the yards of family members and friends. Word of mouth is a great viral marketing tool for beginners. Create business cards to pass out to everyone you meet. Ask nurseries if you can leave a few business cards or flyers in their establishment to drum up business.

Send out flyers to neighbors. A direct marketing campaign to local schools, businesses, and churches can land some big accounts for the business. When marketing, be sure that the volume of potential business is something you can handle.