As we push through another winter season, a lot of people will be thinking about starting up their own business come springtime.

It is a popular belief that spring is the best time to start a mowing business. Ask any lawnie or gardener and they’ll tell you spring through summer is flat out and it’s where you’ll pick up most of your new customers.

We reckon there are pros and cons to starting in spring. In a previous blog we wrote about why we thought starting up in winter was a good idea, giving you time to work your way into things and learn how your business will work.

But starting in winter might also mean needing a slight buffer in your cash flow and building a list slowly.

Building a customer list fast in spring:

On the flip side, starting up a mowing or gardening business head on at the start of spring can be great way to build a customer list fast, and build cashflow fast.

Lawns and gardens are actively growing, and everyone is looking for a gardener or mower man/lady.

By mid-summer most reliable lawn mowing businesses will be booked out, working as many hours as they can through the long days of sun. Same for any good, reliable gardening businesses.

If you plan to start your business in spring it means you must be prepared:

• You should have your business plan in place.
• ABN, business name, insurances all sorted.
• Bank account set up and accounting programs linked.
• Equipment ready with spares and backups.
• Marketing strategy and an understanding of how you will quote work.
• Know your base hourly rate.

There is so much more to starting a lawn and garden business than just doing the work. But, if you have a solid plan and good preparation you can really hit the ground running and start bringing in an income straight away.

Preparing your equipment:

When first starting out we may not all be able to afford the best gear, but you should always invest in the best quality equipment that you can afford.

One of the biggest problems new businesses have starting in spring is thinking they can just take out the trusty home mower that’s sitting in the shed and put it to the test, sure it might get you through a few jobs and if that’s all you can afford at the time its ok. But, undoubtably it will start falling apart and breaking down, you’ll need to replace parts or have the mechanic fix something.

When you are trying to build quickly you can’t afford these problems, you’ll be frustrated, and the customers will think you are unreliable.

Ideally you should start with best quality gear that you can afford, have everything maintained, with some spare parts on hand, and hopefully some back up gear in case you run into any issues.

It’s a good idea to suss out your local mower shop and start building a relationship with them.

Pitfalls:

The single biggest mistake we see new business owners make is under valuing the service they provide.

I.e., thinking that they have to be cheap in the beginning to gain customers.

If you come into the game thinking all I have to do is be cheaper than the other guys and I’ll pick up heaps of work, you will be setting yourself up for failure.

Many people think they will be ok charging $40ph because they compare that to what they make as an employee so it sounds good, but after you take out all your expenses you might only be left with $10ph.

It’s extremely important to understand how much your business is going to cost you to run and how much you need to be charging to turn a profit.

You get this part right and your business will be built on a solid base.

How to start a successful lawn and garden business in 21 days:

How to start a successful lawn and garden business in 21 days