5 Reasons to Consider Jobs in Lawn Care: Career Options in Lehigh Valley &…

Reasons to Consider Jobs in Lawn Care: Career Options in Lehigh Valley Buxmont, PA

Are you someone who is thinking about looking for jobs in lawn care?

Whether you’re from within the industry or you’re thinking about switching careers, you might be looking for some more information about a lawn care career choice. What makes it a good career option and is it something that you should pursue?

To help you explore your options, we’re talking about reasons you should consider jobs in lawn care in Lehigh Valley and Buxmont, PA.

Jobs in Lawn Care Mean Spending Time Outside

One of the most rewarding aspects of a lawn care job is that you get to spend time outdoors. Instead of being pent up in a cubicle or somewhere inside, you get to be in the fresh air, spending time out in nature and beautifying clients’ lawns.

For many folks who are looking for a change, that’s one of the most appealing factors. They are tired of staring at a screen or being stuck inside all day. With a lawn care job, they no longer have to be!

Jobs in Lawn Care Offer Appealing Hours

If you’ve worked a job in the retail or hospitality industry—or maybe even a job where management didn’t respect your time—then you’ll be pleased to know that lawn care jobs have very reasonable hours.

Instead of having to work nights, weekends, and holidays, with the right lawn care company, you’ll find a career where your work/life balance is respected. That means you’ll have plenty of time to spend with your family and friends or enjoying hobbies and leisure time outside of work.

There are Opportunities for Growth with Jobs in Lawn Care

At a growing and successful lawn care company, there should also be opportunities to climb the career ladder. While you might start as a lawn care technician, if you demonstrate a willingness to learn, there may be the chance to work your way up to other roles.

That’s the case at Joshua Tree, where we prefer to promote from within. We are continuing to grow and expand and with that comes the opportunity to grow with us. If you don’t wish to remain stagnant in your role, we will show you how you can climb the career ladder.

Jobs in Lawn Care are Rewarding

While this aspect of the work doesn’t get talked about as much, the fact is, working a lawn care job gives you the chance to make a difference in peoples’ lives. Helping to create lush and healthy lawns makes people happy—and that’s a great feeling. It can also be really rewarding to help clients troubleshoot and solve their problems.

Lawn care technicians also love the fact that they can physically see the difference they’re making. It’s really gratifying to watch a lawn transform from subpar to spectacular thanks to the work you’re doing.

It’s also rewarding to hear happy customers rave about their amazing results and your service.

In fact, at Joshua Tree, we reward our team members with 10 in points (which can go toward purchasing company gear) for every shout-out that they receive for their great work.

Jobs in Lawn Care Can Be Than Just Jobs—They Can be Careers

While some people might imagine a lawn care job as a temporary “placeholder” while they look for something else, that doesn’t have to be the case at all. Lawn care jobs can actually be lawn care careers, from which you can support yourself and your family.

Of course, that’s all contingent on choosing the right lawn care company. Not all lawn care companies necessarily care about their employees turning the job into a long-term career.

At Joshua Tree, we offer highly competitive wages with opportunities to earn referral bonuses and sales commissions, too. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as voluntary life insurance. On top of all that, we have an abundance of employee perks and incentives that make Joshua Tree an amazing place to work. These include everything from paid lawn care services to extensive training to rewards programs and social events.

While these all formulate another reason why jobs in lawn care can be a great choice, the fact is, not all companies are going to offer these perks (or the competitive wage and benefits).

Unfortunately, there are companies that don’t treat their employees as well—which is why they often end up with a revolving door of them.

Making Your Wise Choice for a Lawn Care Career

At Joshua Tree, our lawn care technicians are at the heart of the services that we perform in our lawn care company and they are valued members of our team. For that reason, we want the best for them. We are looking to be able to provide long-term career options by making Joshua Tree a great place to work.

We are committed to setting our team up for success by providing the best training, education, equipment, and more. Plus, the role comes with the opportunity to spend time outside, work reasonable hours, make a difference in peoples’ lives, and even climb the career ladder.

If you’re looking for lawn care jobs in Lehigh Valley or Buxmont, PA, then we invite you to come see how Joshua Tree may be the perfect fit.

Want to learn more about what a career with Joshua Tree can mean for you? We value our growing family and would love to answer any questions you may have.

Written by Joshua Malik

With an intense passion for arboriculture, lawn care, and pest control, founder Joshua Malik brings over 20 years of experience of business experience in the industry. Over the past two decades, he has diligently refined processes and built a team of experts to delight clients and grow a successful multi-location operation.

Lawn care work

• Tree Care Work: Falls and Falling Object Hazards (EPUB | MOBI). OSHA Hazard Bulletin (OSHA HB-3731), (June 2014). Also available in Spanish (EPUB | MOBI).
• Hazards of Operating Unguarded Stone Cutters and Splitters in Landscaping and Other Worksites. OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB), (January 2013).
• Young Workers: Landscaping. Plant Your Feet on Safe Ground! OSHA. Provides the young worker with some safety working tips in the areas of general safety, and recommendations to prevent injury from sun-ultraviolet radiation-heat, pesticides, electrical hazards, noise and injuries to the eye.

Landscape and horticultural services encompass a wide range of services. Included in this category are companies engaged in landscape design and architecture; soil preparation and grading; irrigation systems; tree, shrub and lawn planting; hardscape construction including: retaining walls, pathways and patios; lawn care and landscape maintenance; arborist services including tree trimming and line clearance.

Many workers in the landscaping and horticulture services industries are Hispanic. OSHA requires that employers conduct all required training of workers in a language and vocabulary workers can understand. OSHA’s Spanish-Language Compliance Assistance Resources page identifies Spanish-language outreach resources and details how employers can work cooperatively with OSHA.

Hazards and Solutions

Helps identify potential hazards and possible solutions to specific activities within the landscape and horticultural services industry.

Safety and Health Programs

Provides references that were selected to assist in developing a safety and health program for the landscape and horticultural industry.

Landscaping and horticulture hazards are addressed in specific OSHA standards for general industry if work is considered maintenance activity and construction if work is considered building activity.

Industry Codes

Provides information related to the three main segments of this industry.- Landscape Design and Consultation, Landscape Installation and Maintenance, and Tre Pruning and Arboriculture.

Additional Resources

Provides links and references to additional resources related to landscaping and horticultural services.

How to Start a Lawn Care Business (Dos and Don’ts)

Joshua is a marketing content professional with a background in education and retail. He studied Creative Writing and has five years of experience in content writing. Joshua is a passionate writer for Connecteam’s blogs.

Joshua is a marketing content professional with a background in education and retail. He studied Creative Writing and has five years of experience in content writing. Joshua is a passionate writer for Connecteam’s blogs.

Everyone enjoys a pleasant-looking front lawn with finely-trimmed hedges and freshly mowed grass. So there is a massive opportunity if you want to start your own lawn care business.

As of 2022, there were 632,895 active lawn care businesses, and that number, we’re sure, is only going to continue to grow. And from 2009 to 2017, the average spend on lawn care services was 503 per household.

But starting a lawn care business isn’t as simple as dusting the cobwebs off your uncle’s old lawnmower and knocking on every door in the neighborhood.

Starting this kind of business requires meticulous planning, legal arrangements, financial management, deciding on specific services, recruitment, and even marketing.

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Cons

• Plenty of competition: Your area will probably have more lawn care businesses. You need to research the demand before starting one. If there are many businesses, you could consider reducing your initially to gain clients. However, check that this won’t affect your revenue.
• Seasonal work: If you live in an area with harsh winters, you may find that your customers just don’t need your services for that period.
• Cutbacks: Depending on the economic situation, you have found yourself losing clients. For example, when times are tough, people cut out non-essential expenses like their gardener.

At this point, you should have a pretty good idea if starting your own lawn care business is the right move. Weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. If you’re ready to take the plunge, then carry on reading.

There is plenty to consider simply regarding getting your lawn care business up and running.

Our Tips for Starting a Lawn Care Business

Start Your Lawn Case Business Legally

Like any business, you need to tick a specific list of legal boxes to get your lawn care business up and running.

Register Your Company Name/Structure

Once you have a structure for how you’ll run your lawn care operations, you can register your business (and its name) accordingly.

There are three main types of business structures to choose from:

• Limited liability company (LLC): This structure protects medium or high-risk businesses from personal liability.
• Sole proprietorship: For those who choose to run their business alone and want full control.
• Partnership: Running a business with 2 people still legally registered as self-employed. This structure requires an employer identification number (EIN) for tax reporting purposes.

Once you’ve chosen which structure to run your business under, you can submit your business name to your regional government. This varies from country to country, but you can trademark and register your business name in the US if no other business is using it in your state.

Get a Business License

You can’t start your lawn care business without a license. Business licenses can usually cost between 75 and 400 USD annually. Contact your local Small Business Administration (SBA) or Chamber of Commerce to learn which business license you require.

In the US, lawn case business owners need a license to use any product that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regards as a pesticide. In some states, you may need to take a pest control safety education program to be qualified to use such products.

Get Lawn Care Business Insurance

In order to cover damages, incidents, and injuries, you need to make sure that your lawn care business is properly insured. Typical insurances that apply to this kind of business include:

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Get Business Banking and Accounting

It’s crucial to keep your professional and personal finances separate in any business, including lawn care. A business bank account allows you to:

• Simplify bookkeeping
• Create a business credit profile
• Oversee cash flow in your business
• Maintain healthy tax practices

You should also build a flexible budget for your business that takes supplies, insurance, payroll, marketing, and other expenditures into consideration. You should also register your business with your country’s relevant revenue service for tax-filing purposes (IRS in the US, for example).

Choose Lawn Care Services to Offer

Not all lawn care businesses provide the exact same services to their clients. Deciding which services to provide will determine your budget and which equipment you’ll require.

It’s worth starting with fundamental lawn care services to lock down your first clients. These include:

As time goes on and you start to generate stable revenue and a healthy customer base, you can start to provide more advanced services, such as:

Understanding what competitors provide and what your customers require can help determine which additional services to provide.

Use the Right Lawn Care Equipment and Tools

At the bare minimum, you require a lawn mower to get your business up and running. Typical lawn mowers include:

• Riding lawn mower: Users drive the machine like a vehicle. Lawn tractors are operated in the same way but can cut more width. Ideal for large-scale lawn care.
• Push mower: An ideal choice for starters. Cheap and easy to use (estimated price between 170-350), but better for smaller jobs.
• Self-propelled mower: Can move independently and cover more ground more efficiently but are more expensive than push mowers.

Mowers can’t reach every single blade of grass, so we recommend having a string trimmer (est. 20-80) and an electric edger (est. 100-175) at your disposal. This allows you to sculpt lawn edges and trim grass in tight corners.

Additional services require other equipment such as:

How to Start a Lawn Care Business in 6 Steps

Ready to start your own lawn care business and be your own boss? Here’s everything you need to know to get started, from defining your services to getting the legal stuff sorted out.

ГАЛЛЯМОВ: ” в руках у мудил”. Як олігархи ЗЛИВАЮТЬ Кремль. Екс-спічрайтер Путіна

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When it comes to our image of the quintessential home, a perfectly maintained lawn is right up there with a white picket fence. For homeowners, there’s nothing like the scent of freshly cut grass, or the pride that comes with an even, bright green lawn. If you’re considering starting a lawn care business, you already know that lawn care takes time and energy that most homeowners don’t have.

While it might seem like all you need is a lawn mower and the time to start selling your services, proper preparation can help your business grow. With the right planning, you can extend well beyond just mowing and move into other in-demand services. In this short guide, we’ll cover the steps towards starting a successful lawn care business.

Step 1: Decide what lawn care services to offer

While most households need their lawns cut, a little know-how and the right equipment can help when starting a lawn care and landscaping business that’s truly full-service. In addition to mowing, consider offering the following services:

• Sale of fertilizer, insecticide, and other lawn care products directly to clients
• Weeding, mulching, and other gardening work
• Lawn installation
• Planting native lawns
• Planting native species and pollinators in and alongside grass lawns
• Seasonal services (snow removal in the winter, raking leaves in the fall)

If there’s a demand for green and eco-friendly practices in your area, building your knowledge and offering specialized services can help you compete with other lawn care providers and attract more customers. You may also be able to charge more for your expertise. Likewise, a little basic landscaping knowledge goes a long way towards finding new streams of revenue.

The services you offer will strongly affect your startup costs. If you’re only offering mowing, you may just need a lawnmower and a vehicle for transport. However, other services will require specialized tools including wheelbarrows, hoes, etc.

Step 2: Set up a legal lawn care business

Once you’ve secured startup money to purchase any necessary equipment, you can begin setting up your business. Even if lawn care is a part time, seasonal job, organizing your business can help it succeed in the years to come.

Consider taking the following steps to start your lawn care business legally:

Check on business licensing requirements – You may not need a license to offer mowing services. However, if you apply pesticides and herbicides, there’s a chance your city or county will require a permit.

Set up a legal lawn care business – If you need a federal tax ID to pay employees or independent contractors, you will need to create a legal business entity for your lawn care business, like a Limited Liability Company (LLC), S corp, or partnership. If you’re an independent contractor, you don’t have to take this step, legally speaking. Still, separating your business assets from your personal assets (with a sole proprietorship or LLC) provides you some legal protection in the case that something goes wrong.

Step 3: Purchase lawn care equipment

While you won’t have to purchase office space like some other businStarting a lawn care business requires some startup costs — namely, to purchase the lawn care equipment you’ll use to provide your services. At a minimum, most lawn care businesses require the following equipment to get started:

• Mower
• Edger
• String trimmer
• Leaf blower
• Mowing goggles
• Safety ear muffs
• Gardening gloves
• Gas cans
• Lawn bags

You’ll also need a truck or trailer to transport your equipment to and from your clients’ homes and businesses. If you don’t have one you can use, invest in a work vehicle (and make sure it’s protected with a commercial auto policy).

Step 4: Protect your lawn care business

Once you start providing lawn care services, make sure your business is legally protected. Having a legal business entity is not enough. While an LLC, for example, can protect you from some liability, it’s called a limited liability company for a reason. If your personal finances and your business finances aren’t rigorously separated, you could find your personal assets liable in the case of a claim made against you.

“Wait,” you might ask, “what can go wrong with lawn care?”

Imagine your client has asked you to install a new lawn and treat it with pesticides. You’ve sprayed the one-acre expanse as requested. Should this practice lead to your client’s child suddenly breaking out in a rash, they could claim it’s from exposure to the pesticide and sue you for bodily injury and medical costs. If this happened, you could be held liable.

Bodily injury isn’t the only thing you could be held liable for, either. If you get distracted while riding your mower and this leads to you damaging a part of your client’s property, you could be liable for the replacement or repairs.

That’s why lawn care professionals need general liability insurance. General liability insurance can protect you in the event of a client or third party’s claim of bodily injury, medical costs, or property damage related to your lawn care work.

Note: General liability insurance does not cover you in the case of your employees’ injuries or medical costs. If you have employees, you may also need a workers’ compensation policy.

Lastly, you may want to consider Business Equipment Protection insurance to cover your equipment, and a commercial auto policy for your work vehicle. Lawn care equipment, especially higher-end mowers, can get expensive. If an accident happens and yours gets damaged or broken, you want to know you’re covered for a replacement or a repair.

Bonus: Lawn care insurance on your schedule

As you start your lawn care business, make sure that a client or third party’s claim doesn’t cut your business off at the root.

Getting lawn care business insurance with Thimble is fast, easy, and best of all, flexible. Lawn care is a seasonal business in most areas. If your city doesn’t have year-long balmy weather, you don’t need a year-long policy. With Thimble, your policy lasts only for as long as you need it: choose between daily, weekly or monthly policies.

When you’re ready to sign up, enter your ZIP code, crew size, and a few details related to your business, you can get an instant quote, purchase your policy, and get proof of insurance in just 60 seconds.

Let Thimble take care of your insurance needs so that you can take care of your community’s lawns, worry-free.

Step 5: Price your lawn care services

Figuring out what to charge for your services can feel like a riddle to any new business owner. Fortunately, it is possible! Consider the following to hone in on the right pricing for your lawn care business:

• Identify your target customers. Will you be primarily serving commercial or residential clients, or a bit of both? Both audiences have different expectations when it comes to pricing, with commercial clients typically being comfortable paying more.
• Understand the market. What are your competitors charging? Research how much your competitors charge for the same services you’ll be offering, as you’ll want to stay in a similar range. Charge too low, and clients may not trust you.
• Will you charge per hour or flat rate? Again, this is where market research can be helpful. Many clients prefer to be quoted a flat rate for lawn care services, since that helps them prepare for the final bill. Of course, you can base that flat rate on the hourly rate you need to be profitable.
• Factor in ongoing expenses. It costs money to run a lawn care business! Consider overhead costs like taxes, health insurance, business insurance, marketing materials, cell phone, gas, vehicle and equipment maintenance, software (accounting, scheduling, website hosting, etc.), and employees (if you plan to hire any).
• Add in profit. Pricing isn’t about breaking even. It’s about being profitable. Tack on a healthy percentage to your rates to pay yourself and help your business become profitable. With a profitable business, you’ll be better positioned to weather any unexpected costs, and to grow your lawn care business over time.

Pro Tip: When clients want to hire you for multiple services, itemize your quote with the cost for each service. This way, they can pick and choose different services without saying no to everything.

Step 6: Grow your client base with savvy marketing

Just like your clients’ lawns need regular watering to grow and stay green, your business needs marketing. Bring in new clients with these marketing tips.

Design a logo – A logo not only makes your business look professional, it’s a key promotion tool. You can add your logo to your invoices, quotes, email signature, and marketing materials. You can print it on the t-shirts or hats you and your employees wear. You can even print a decal for your truck or trailer! Create a logo using a free design tool like Canva, or hire a freelance designer via Fiverr or Upwork.

Check out your competitors – What marketing channels do they leverage? What are they doing well that you can copy, and what are they doing poorly that you can avoid?

Network through word of mouth – Many small lawn care businesses start with only a single customer. Consider offering discounted services to family, friends, and neighbors as you start out. You can even run a promotion: if someone refers a friend, offer them a one-time discount.

Ask for reviews – Speaking of word of mouth, customers reviews are one of the best marketing tools for lawn care companies. Ask happy clients to leave you a review on Google and Yelp.

Print flyers and business cards – Printed materials like flyers and business cards are an affordable way to promote your new lawn care business throughout your city or town. You can post flyers in local businesses, and share business cards with potential clients.

Build a website – Website building tools like Wix and Squarespace make it easy to build a professional-looking website. All you need is a simple, one-page website to describe your services, post your contact information, and share happy client testimonials.

Set up your social media presence – Make it easy for people to find you on Instagram and Consider adding photographs of any landscaping jobs, as well as positive customer testimonials.

A fresh cut awaits

Now that we’ve covered the basics, you’re ready to mow ahead and start your lawn care business. Remember, you need to:

• Decide what services to offer
• Set up your business structure
• Purchase lawn care equipment
• Protect your business with insurance
• Price your services
• Grow your client base with marketing

At the end of the day, you’re providing a valuable service for your community. Treat your business with the same care, and it’ll be as squared-away as the lawns you tend to.

Get started now by protecting your lawn care business with Thimble’s Lawn Care Insurance. Just tell us your zip code and a few details about your business. Sixty seconds later, and bam — you’ve got proof of insurance.

Written on March 25, 2020 | Last updated: March 21, 2022

Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by class of business and state.

How to Start a Lawn Care Business

A lawn care business offers the services of cutting grass lawns, trimming around the edges, removal of debris, and maintenance of turf, which includes fertilization, weed control, and pest control. Most lawn care businesses offer regular service on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule depending on the maintenance needs of the customers. Services may be offered to residential customers, commercial customers, or both.

You may also be interested in additional low cost business ideas.

Learn how to start your own Lawn Care Business and whether it is the right fit for you.

Start a lawn care business by following these 10 steps:

We have put together this simple guide to starting your lawn care business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Lawn Care Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a lawn care business?

The costs include obtaining a simple business license, equipment, supplies, promotional signage, flyers, business cards, a website, Internet connection, and having a pickup truck (monthly lease or purchase).

You can have very modest liability insurance for this business; however, you will need to pay for worker’s compensation insurance if you hire employees.A typical start-up budget for an owner/operator business with no assistants is under 3,000 and consists of:

• Mower. 500
• Trimmer. 200
• Leaf Blower. 200
• Hand tools. 100
• Gasoline Can. 25
• Oil and Gasoline. 20 per tank needed.
• Promotional Signage (to put on sides of truck). 100 for magnetic signs
• Flyers. 50
• Business Cards. 25
• Website Creation – Free to 500
• Internet Services (website registration, hosting, and Internet connection). 50 to 75 per month
• Insurance 50 to 200 per month
• Pickup Truck Lease. Nothing down with good credit, 299 per month plus 100 per month for insurance

Read our lawn care business purchasing guide to learn about the materials and equipment you’ll need to start a lawn care business, how much to budget, and where to make purchases.

What are the ongoing expenses for a lawn care business?

The ongoing expenses include labor cost, truck and equipment maintenance, and operating expenses. A typical monthly expense budget for a small operation with a home-based office (rent free) would be:

• Labor (per assistant) – Minimum wage up to 15 per hour.
• Employee Taxes. 7.65% up to about 15% of the wages paid (depending on the state)
• Telephone/Internet Connection. 50 to 100 per month
• Promotional Flyers/Business cards. 75 per month
• Insurance. 50 to 200 per month
• Truck. 299 per month
• Truck Insurance 100 per month
• Gas. 200 per month
• Equipment Maintenance. 50 per month

Who is the target market?

Long-term customers who are willing to sign up for ongoing automatic payments are the best. These customers allow you to plan your budget far in advance.

Local businesses can also be excellent customers, as they typically are willing to pay more for your services than residential customers, and they are more likely to request regular service. Big operations with lots of lawns are excellent customers, such as hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls, and schools. However; many have their own lawn maintenance crews, and landing a big contract like that can be difficult, because this business is highly competitive.

HIRING A LAWN CARE EMPLOYEE (WHAT TO EXPECT)

How does a lawn care business make money?

These businesses charge a monthly service fee for the basic lawn maintenance service and earn additional revenues for any special services provided such as installing new grass sod, fertilization, and winter preparation.

How much can you charge customers?

There are many undocumented workers in the lawn care business, and, whether you like it or not, you will be competing against them. Such companies are usually undocumented, pay workers less than minimum wage, have no insurance, and do not pay taxes.

Legitimate companies charge at least 150% minimum wage for the amount of time each worker is on their customer’s site. S,o for example, if the minimum wage is 10 per hour, the charges would be based on a rate of 15 per hour. A set charge per month is usually around 25 for a simple residential lawn that takes under two hours to cut. A commercial business might pay more because of the time needed to cut the lawn.

How much profit can a lawn care business make?

Lawn care alone, on a small scale, is not a highly profitable business. Competition is severe because of the low cost of entry and the lack of sophisticated skills needed for this business. Most of the small operators who work in this business do so in order to make a decent living when compared to taking a regular job instead. Typical owner/operators, who work alone and are successful, work very hard to make 30,000 to 50,000 per year. To make more money, a business owner needs to run more than a single crew, and offer additional services to existing customers.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Besides cutting and maintaining lawns, a lawn service business may offer additional services such as snow removal (in colder climate areas) and landscaping. Landscaping is a different, yet related business. It includes the installation of pavers, walkways, sidewalks, and retaining walls. It also includes installing water features (ponds, fountains, and waterfalls) and planting trees, shrubs, and flowers.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your lawn care business is sued.

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business’ expenses all in one place.
• Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from Divvy and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State Local Business Licensing Requirements

In most states, it is necessary to obtain a Lawn Service license. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

Services Contract

Lawn care businesses should require clients to sign a services agreement before starting a new project. This agreement should clarify client expectations and minimize risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions. Here is an example service agreement.

Recommended: Rocket Lawyer makes it easy to create a professional service agreement for your lawn care business when you sign up for their premium membership. For 39.95 per month, members receive access to hundreds of legal agreements and on call attorneys to get complimentary legal advice.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Lawn Care Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Lawn Care Business.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren’t feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we’ll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended: Get a logo using Truic’s free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote market a lawn care business

Promotional signage on the truck(s) used for the business is important. If possible, when the truck is not in use, park it on a street with lots of traffic in a place that is highly visible. Using door-to-door distribution of discount promotional flyers to residences and business is also an effective way to advertise your business. Hand out your business cards to everyone you meet. If possible, put a promotional sign on all the lawns that you maintain that has your contact information on it. Make sure you have an attractive website that uses the best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) to have a good rank on the search engine results page for local searches.

How to keep customers coming back

Many new customers will come from word-of-mouth from your existing customers, so be sure to do a great job that pleases your customers. Show up on time according to the scheduled work and always clean up meticulously before leaving the job. Never leave a job partially finished or poorly maintained. Check in with customers regularly just to see if there is anything extra they need you to do.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites. full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.

TRUiC’s Startup Podcast

Welcome to the Startup Savant podcast, where we interview real startup founders at every stage of the entrepreneurial journey, from launch to scale.

Is this Business Right For You?

The people who succeed in this business enjoy working outdoors in a variety of weather conditions. The temperature varies depending on the seasons. At times during the summer, it may be very hot in certain locations. This work requires enough physical strength and stamina to be able to lift heavy equipment in and out of a pickup truck and to push the lawn cutting equipment around the yard.

People who are friendly and like to talk with people usually are more likely to get customers. It helps to have a good eye for details and to be meticulous in the maintenance work in order to do a good job that customers appreciate.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

What happens during a typical day at a lawn care business?

The days start very early. Before going to the customer’s job sites, the equipment needs to be inspected and to make sure it is in proper working order. Typical activities of this type are cleaning the mowers and sharpening the cutting blades. Additionally, all equipment that uses gasoline needs to be filled with a mixture of gasoline and the appropriate amount of oil required. After all the equipment has been checked, the trucks are loaded and the crews (if any) are assembled and given the day’s job orders that have been prepared in advance.

The rest of the day is spent working at customers’ job sites. Naturally, any problems that come up, like truck breakdowns or equipment troubles, need to be dealt with. When the crew(s) return to the office, they should fill out a report of the work completed, making note of any special conditions or requests by the customers. This information is added to the system for billing purposes, and to help in the preparation of future job orders for those customers.

At the end of the day, equipment should be cleaned and checked for damage to see if it needs repairs. For some owner/operators, these can be very long work days, until they can hire enough crew to reduce their workload.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful lawn care business?

One way to attract customers is to make your own lawn look spectacular. By practicing on your own lawn you will be able to learn the skills needed to keep a lawn in perfect condition. All of the information is readily available on the Internet, which enables any person interested in this business to be self-taught and to improve their skills.

What is the growth potential for a lawn care business?

Many operations start out with a single person, perhaps one helper, and a single pickup truck. The ability to expand depends on the acquisition of more equipment and being able to hire more crew members.

There are very large commercial companies in this business that serve an expansive area. There are national companies as well. Realty Biz gives a list of the top 50 lawn care companies in the USA. TrueGreen is the largest lawn care company in America. They are headquartered in Memphis and serve over 1.7 million residential and commercial customers from multiple locations across the country.

If you add landscaping services, ValleyCrest Landscape Companies is the biggest in the USA with international operations also. They have over 100 locations, more than 10,000 employees, and earn over US1 billion in revenues each year.

Not sure if a lawn care business is right for you? Try our free Business Idea Generator and find your perfect idea.

TRUiC’s YouTube Channel

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