How to Start Your Own Landscaping Business: 6 Powerful Steps

The landscaping industry is a thriving market, with businesses and homeowners consistently seeking professional help to enhance the aesthetic appeal of their outdoor spaces. 

Starting your own landscaping business can be a profitable venture if you have a passion for working outdoors, a creative eye, and you want to be your own boss. 

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into helping you learn more about starting your own landscaping business and what are the next steps you should take to make it possible. 

Understanding the landscaping business and why you should start one 

In 2024, the landscaping services market size was more than $331 billion and is projected to grow to $715 billion by 2037. This means that consumer behavior has changed over the years and is giving great attention to home gardening and larger properties, giving entrepreneurs a chance to dwell into new opportunities.

Before you dive deeper into starting your own landscaping business, you need to make sure you understand three important things: 

1. Your market size: The global landscaping market is growing year by year, driven by urbanization and a growing interest in outdoor living spaces. 
2. Types of services: Landscaping businesses offer services such as lawn care, garden design, hardscaping, irrigation, and tree trimming. 
3. Target audience: You’ll need to distinguish who your target audience is, will it be homeowners, property management companies, businesses, or municipalities? 

You’d be surprised that landscaping businesses are growing in demand and the key advantages you have when starting one include: Being your own boss, working outdoors, creating your own work schedule, growing your business, creating a brand, and learning something new every day. 

1. Build up your portfolio 

If you don’t have lots of experience in the landscaping field there’s really not much to worry about. Regardless of how much experience you have, you need to always show your best work. This includes displaying different types of landscaping work, and only including your best and most visually appealing work. 

If you have any testimonials to show, you can showcase positive feedback from satisfied customers to build up your trust and highlight your results.

Mention measurable outcomes like increased property value or reduced maintenance costs. 

Afterwards, you should organize your portfolio effectively by grouping projects by type (for example: residential, commercial, water features, etc.) 

Since the world is heading towards digitalization, you can showcase all of your projects and achievements on your website. You can build a website by using AI tools since it’s the cheapest and fastest way to do so. 

Keep your audience updated on newer projects you are going to join and ones you’ve recently finished. 

2. Set up your business name

When choosing your business name, it’s important to be creative and communicate your brand’s values and voice. However, with AI tools becoming so popular now, you can use a business name generator to do the work for you only by inputting your important information. 

Business name generators will save you from doing hours of brainstorming and the good part is that it’ll generate names based on the information you input. For instance, the AI tool will ask you the industry you are part of, and once you select the landscaping industry, it’ll make it possible for it to generate business names that match this industry. 

Of course, if you were to choose a name on your own, it’ll be more difficult since you need to make sure it is unique, user-friendly, available to use, and doesn’t go out-of-date. 

3. List the landscaping services you are going to offer 

The landscaping industry is large and it’s important to make sure you are listing the services you want to offer. List the services that you are most skilled at, and pay close attention to what your area is demanding the most. 

As you continue to grow your landscaping business, you’ll be able to learn more skills and become much more experienced. The most common landscaping services include: 

1. Landscape maintenance 
2. Trimming trees
3. Mowing and trimming lawns 
4. Spring clean ups 
5. Racking and cleaning leafs 
6. Salting driveways 
7. Cleaning and removing snow 

Most of these skills are also easy to learn over time as you gain more experience, but of course, list the ones you offer, their price, and do so on your social media channels and website. 

4. Buy landscaping equipment 

Starting a landscaping business requires you to make sure you are using the right tools to ensure efficiency, quality work, and client satisfaction. Here’s a quick guide that you can follow to make sure you are using the proper equipment: 

1. Basic lawn care equipment: Lawn mowers, string trimmers, and leaf blowers. First and foremost, lawn mowers are an easy-to-maintain model and when purchasing one, you’ll have different models, and you’ll have to choose based on the size of the property you are going to work on. String trimmers are used for cutting grass and weed around tight edges and fences. 
2. Planting and gardening tools: Includes shovels, spades, rakes, and shears. 
3. Hardscaping tools: Wheelbarrows, which are used for transporting soil, gravel, and other materials. Then, we have trowels and edgers, which help you create defined edges and intricate designs. Last but not least, part of this category are concrete tools such as mixers.
4. Power tools: Includes chainsaws for cutting trees and other wooden features, hedge trimmers, and power washers. 
5. Safety gear: Of course, when you are doing physical work, it’s highly important to wear protective equipment such as gloves, protective eyewear, hearing protection, and steel-toed boots. 
6. Vehicle and trailer: To transport the material, you’ll need a van or truck, and even a utility trailer. 
7. Watering equipment and irrigation: Includes hoses and sprinklers, and irrigation system tools. 
8. Storage solutions: Includes tool racks and storage containers for keeping smaller tools, spare parts, and safety gear organized. 

Considering now that you’re more well informed of the tools you should be using for your landscaping business, it’s now time to follow some important tips when purchasing equipment. 

Especially if you are on a budget, it’s important to first start small and invest only in the essential tools as your business grows and expands. Above all, make sure you buy quality equipment, so they’ll last longer, and you’ll be saving money in the long run. 

You can always test everything out by looking for second-hand options such as used equipment to reduce startup costs. High-quality used equipment will still last longer than purchasing cheap equipment. 

5. Set your prices 

Last but not least, we come down to the prices. The prices you set will strongly depend on the area you are living in. As a general rule, you can analyze what your competitors are doing and follow their price lists. Your best bet is to list your top four to five competitors and create competitive prices. 

The pricing model landscaping businesses use includes charging the number of hours you’ve worked, or per square foot. While everywhere around the world, prices will change significantly, here are some general costs that are in the USA: 

1. Per square foot: Anywhere between $4 to $12 per square foot. 
2. Per hour: $50 to $100 per hour. 
3. New installations: Will fall in between $3000 to $16000. 

Now that we’ve covered the general costs, it’s time to dig deeper and define the landscaping price guide: 

1. Gardening: $75-$250
2. Leaf raking and removal: $150-$350 
3. Tree stump removal: $100-$400
4. Repairing lawn mowers: $40-$90
5. Lawn aeration: $75-$250
6. Land clearing: $1100-$3700 
7. Landscape maintenance: $100-$200

While there are other costs as well, this will all depend on the services you are providing. We mentioned general costs, but of course, when you go more in depth, you’ll need to analyze how the market prices are going. You can always search for top competitors on Google only by listing keywords of the services you are going to provide and check who is offering the same. 

You are now closer to starting your landscaping business 

Starting a landscaping business is a rewarding venture that combines creativity, hard work, and the opportunity to make a strong impact on your clients’ outdoor spaces. By following the steps required, developing a strong business plan, purchasing the right equipment, and building a strong portfolio, you can successfully create the ideal landscaping business you want. 

As the demand for professional landscaping continues to grow, your ability to deliver quality work, customer relationships, and adapt to industry trends will strongly determine your success. Above all, there’s nothing more important than being consistent and making sure you commit to your customers.