How To Start A Lawn Mowing Business And Get Your First 100 Lawn Care Customers

Lawn care is one of the few service businesses that have a potentially unlimited customer base – homeowners.

Grass cutting is something anyone can do, but it takes time and money to learn the skills and do the work. Lawn care services are in demand, as every homeowner has a lawn that needs mowing, edging, and weed eating at some point.

So you want to start your own lawn care business, but where to begin? Choosing a company name, getting customers, registering for an LLC, choosing equipment… there are so many steps!

If you are looking to start a mowing business and wondering how to get your first 100 lawn care customers, this blog post will help make this clearer.

You’ve decided it’s time to start your own lawn mowing business – and that’s excellent news! We want to congratulate you on getting started! Now, let’s talk about how to start a lawn mowing business from scratch.

The Administrative Work

Form A Legal Entity.

There are many ways you can register your business. To start your lawn mowing business, you need to make sure you are operating as a legal entity.

The most common way to structure a lawn care business is either as a sole proprietorship or an LLC. While both options have pros and cons, the biggest difference between the two is their liability protection.

As a sole proprietorship, your personal assets (home, car, savings account) would be at risk if someone decides to sue your business. If you choose to operate as an LLC (or any other type of legal entity), then your personal assets may be protected in the event of a lawsuit. It’s important to note that in order to receive this protection, you must separate your personal finances from your LLC’s finances.

For many new lawn care business owners, Legal Zoom might be an easy and cost-effective place to start when creating a legal entity for your new lawn care business.

*Please note, this is just general information about sole proprietorships and LLCs that is not updated and may not be accurate for your municipality, state, or region. This is not legal advice. Please consult a licensed attorney to advise the best type of entity for your business.

Open A Business Bank Account & Credit Card.

You’ll need a way to handle your business’s finances, so open a business bank account and get a separate credit card.

Open a Business Bank Account

You want to keep your personal and business finances separate. You should also keep separate bank accounts for each of your businesses.

Open a Business Credit Card

You’ll want to get a separate credit card for your lawn care business as well. This will allow you to track the expenses associated with this specific business, which will make tax filing easier at the end of the year.

So, why is this important?

Not only will opening a bank account for your lawn care business establish its credibility, but it will also make it easier for you to keep track of expenses, monitor cash flow, and prepare for tax time.

Plus, if you ever decide to get a loan or invest in new equipment, lenders will want to see proof of revenue coming in.

Set Up Business Bookkeeping And Accounting

A good business bookkeeping service will keep your financial records accurate and up to date. For example, if you run a lawn care business, you may want to set up a business bookkeeping service for your lawn care business. Small businesses need to keep accurate and up-to-date records of their finances. A business bookkeeping service can help you do this.

As a small business owner, you’ll be making a lot of financial decisions every day. You’ll need to know if you have enough money in the bank to pay your bills or if it is time to invest in new equipment. A good business bookkeeping service can help you make these decisions with confidence.

Many bookkeeping services also offer professional accounting services to help you when it comes to tax time. If your bookkeeper does not offer these services you can ask them for a referral to a professional CPA to assist you at tax time.

Obtain Necessary Permits And Licenses.

You need to obtain the necessary local permits and licenses to operate a lawn care business in your area. These requirements can vary by city, county, or state, so you’ll need to check with your local government to see what’s required.

In addition, your state may require you to obtain a pesticide license if you’ll be applying fertilizers or other chemical products on customers’ lawns.

Operating a lawn care business without the necessary permits is illegal and can result in significant fines. Determine what permits you need by contacting your local municipality or county government. You may need to specify the type of lawn care you are planning to offer, such as general lawn maintenance, landscaping, pesticide application, or snow removal.

Get Business Insurance.

Liability insurance is a must for any business, including lawn care. You need to make sure that you are protected from unexpected and costly lawsuits. If a customer slips on your property, or if someone’s pet gets hurt by your equipment, you want to be protected.

Property coverage is another important part of the equation. If one of your mowers gets stolen or damaged by fire, you want to be able to replace it without going broke.

Workers’ compensation coverage is essential if you have employees. Workers can get injured while on the job, and these injuries can get expensive. Without workers’ comp coverage, you may be on the hook for their medical bills and lost wages.

Depending on your type of lawn care business you may require other coverage as well. Consult with a company like The Hartford to get the coverages you need for your business.

The Tools & Equipment

Learn How A Pro Mows Lawns

The keys to mowing like a pro are preparation and technique. Preparation makes the difference between a great lawn that needs less water and fertilizer, and one that’s vulnerable to weeds, disease, and pests. The technique is what you do with your mower. Knowing how to set it up properly and adjust the wheels is key to doing a professional job.

A good lawn care business owner knows that mowing is more than just pushing a mower around your yard. You can’t just cut grass. You have to know what you’re doing.

Be sure you are familiar with all the basics.

Make sure you have the right tools. A good lawn mower will give you a crisp cut, while a dull blade or cheap mower will tear the grass and lead to brown edges on the lawn.

Be sure you understand the importance of appropriate cutting height. The proper cutting height varies with the season and the type of grass, but most of the time it should be no less than 2 1/2 inches high

You’ll need to ensure you can maintain a uniform pattern. It’s important to keep your mowing patterns straight so that you get an even cut and don’t miss any spots.

Good edging is key. The edges should be cleanly cut, with no grass sticking out from the sidewalk or driveway. Use an edger for this task on hard surfaces, rather than trying to do it with a mower.

Your lawn mower blades need to be sharpened regularly. If your blades aren’t sharpened regularly, you’ll end up with jagged edges that can cause browning on the lawn.

If you’re committed to quality, it is the first step in growing your business and earning your first 100 customers.

Buy The Right Lawn Care Equipment

The most obvious and vital items we need to start a lawn mowing business are lawnmowers. Of course, it’s not necessary to own all the lawnmowers right at the beginning, but it gives an idea of the amount of investment needed for the equipment.

Once you’re in this business long enough, you will know that the grass grows at a different rate depending on the type of grass and other factors such as weather. You will also see that you can’t use one size or type of mower for every job.

Here is a list of different types of mowers and what they are used for:

Walk-behind mowers – These are used for small areas that are easy to get to. They can also be used for areas where a riding mower won’t fit.
Riding mowers – These are best used for large areas that have some flat terrain.
Zero-turn radius (ZTR) riding mowers – These are great because they can make tight turns, which means more grass can be cut in less time. They can also handle rough terrain.
Push reel mowers – These are great for small yards with minimal slope and minimal grass growth, but they do not work well with tall grass.
There are a few things you’ll need to buy so you can get started on the right foot. It’s not necessary to break the bank when first starting out, but there are some basic pieces of equipment that will make your life as a lawn care expert easier, and even make you more professional in the eyes of your clients.

Here’s Your Checklist For Getting Started:

A lawnmower. You can’t do much without one of these. Some lawn care companies have fleets of mowers and other equipment, but when starting out, all you really need is one top-quality mower. There are lots of options out there, from entry-level push mowers to powerful zero-turning radius tractors.
Weed trimmer (also called a weed whacker or weed eater). This will help get into those hard-to-reach places that your mower can’t reach.
Leaf blower (optional). A leaf blower won’t be necessary for every job, but if you plan on doing fall cleanups for your clients, this will save you hours of work raking up leaves.
Safety equipment. This includes gloves and goggles. Sure, you might be able to finish your jobs just fine without them, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
There are many other types of equipment and tools you may need. But these are the basics. You don’t have to purchase the most expensive equipment but make sure it is high quality.

Invest In A Good Trailer

A trailer can help you transport all your lawn care equipment, and it can serve as a mobile workshop.

Follow these steps to choose the right trailer for your mowing business:

Invest in a durable trailer that is built for the long haul.

• Choose a trailer size that will accommodate the type of equipment that you need to transport.

• Make sure your trailer has good ground clearance to avoid damaging its undercarriage over rough terrain.

• Consider buying a tilt-bed or fold-down ramp-gate for loading and unloading equipment and supplies.

• Include storage on your trailer for spare parts, gas and oil, and other consumables you may need on a job.

Check local regulations before starting out with a trailer to make sure it’s compliant with local ordinances, such as load limits and road use restrictions.

Know How To Estimate Lawn Care Jobs

If you start a lawn mowing business you have to learn how to estimate your lawn care jobs. Both residential and especially your commercial landscaping jobs require accurate estimates. This will help you get the job, make a profit, and keep your customers happy with the service you provide and the price they paid.

So how do you estimate lawn care jobs? One way is to just go out on site, look at everything that needs to be done, and throw a number out there. But this is not going to be very accurate in most cases. There are a lot of things that need to be considered in order to estimate lawn care jobs accurately.

Develop A Repeatable Process For Creating Lawn Care Estimates

The first thing you should do is walk the property and make an estimate of its size. Examine any structures on the property that need landscaping work such as walkways or patios.

Next, decide what materials are needed for each portion of your landscaping job because materials vary greatly in price depending on where you live and where you buy supplies.

Estimating is the first step in bidding on a lawn care job, and it is important to get the estimate right or you could lose money on the job. You need to learn how to bid for a lawn care job with the correct amount of time and effort that you can afford to give. It is also important to consider if you will be profitable with this type of lawn care job.

Be Careful Not To Underestimate Just To Win A Job

Be careful not to underestimate the costs of fuel, irrigation repair, and fertilizer when estimating. When you are bidding on a lawn care job, it is important to include these costs in the bid so that you will make money when doing the job. If you do not include these costs, then you might not be able to afford the gas or supplies that you need while working on the lawn.

Estimating the cost of a lawn care service is not an exact science. A number of variables are involved and must be considered before you can arrive at the price you will charge.

To be successful, fair, and profitable you need to learn the art of estimating lawn care jobs in order to gain customers for your lawn care business, however, you will never be perfect. You will always find yourself making mistakes or under-pricing, but over time you will get better at it and these mistakes will happen less often and you can always increase your customer’s price if you continue to do a good job for them.

Get Leads And Win Customers

The First Thing You Need To Do Is Identify A Target Market

When you start a lawn mowing business, you need to identify your target market. If you want to start a lawn care company, the first thing you need to do is identify a target market. There are several different types of lawn care customers and businesses. If you want to be successful then you need to focus on finding the best customers.

Commercial Vs. Residential

One of the biggest decisions you will have to make is whether to focus on commercial or residential customers. Commercial customers are typically apartment complexes, office buildings, condominiums, and other similar properties that need regular maintenance of their grounds. Residential customers are homeowners who have lawns that they want to be maintained either regularly or on an as-needed basis. Each type of customer has its own benefits and drawbacks that you should consider before deciding who to focus on.

Create A Business Name, Logo, And Simple Website

Business Name

The first step to marketing your lawn care business is to develop a name, logo, and simple website.

Start by listing several possible names for your lawn care business. Use a thesaurus and dictionary to help you find words that are related to lawn care and landscaping. Some suggestions include: LawnPro, Green Thumb, Gardening Solutions, The Grass Is Greener, Greenway Solutions, Greenway Landscaping, etc.

Logo

When you start a lawn mowing business, one of the first things you need to do is create a logo. Your company’s logo will establish your brand, stand out from competitors, and help consumers identify your lawn care services.

Here are some tips for creating the perfect lawn care logo:

Describe your company with text: Your company name should be the focal point of your logo. Use simple, clean fonts and make sure your text is easily readable. You can also include a tagline or slogan below your company name.

Choose colors that stand out: Lawn care companies use green in their logos to represent grass and nature. But there are many shades of green you can use for your logo. If you want something unique, consider other colors as well like brown or blue that complements green.

Use images that pertain to lawn care. You can incorporate images into your logo design to give it more visual interest. Some examples of images that relate to lawn care include flowers, grass, trees, and even residential homes. Incorporating images into your logo helps consumers associate what you do with those images.

Website

Almost all lawn care businesses need a website, even if it’s just a simple site with a single page. You can use your website to introduce yourself and your business, promote your services, and list your prices. And you can also use it as a marketing tool to attract new customers.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on a website. If you’re just getting started, you can easily create one yourself with an online service like Mighty Sites. Mighty Sites allows you to put together an effective website in less than 5 minutes. There are no coding skills required.

Door-To-Door Marketing

You need to understand that lawn care is a business that requires a good amount of customers. You can’t get by with only a handful of customers. When it comes to marketing, you need to get as many customers as possible. Your goal should be to have so many customers that you get to the point where you need to hire.

Why Door-To-Door Marketing?

There are many ways of marketing a lawn care business. We recommend starting with door-to-door marketing because it is the best way to get your first customers fast. It might not seem like the most glamorous or high-tech method of advertising your business, but it gets results.

Let’s say you start off with 500 doors per week. If you don’t have any competitors in your area, then you could easily average about $40 per customer for mowing their grass for the season which would equate to about $20,000 in revenue for the entire season if half of the households sign up with you. If each household only signs up for service once every two weeks, then that would mean 250 customers x $40 = $10,000 per month in revenue.

Door-To-Door Marketing

We recommend starting with door-to-door marketing because it is the best way to get your first customers fast for your lawn care business.

Here are some tips for successful door-to-door marketing:

• Use direct mail first to get the people’s attention and let them know you are serious about getting their lawn care business.
• Once you knock on the door, introduce yourself and give them a brief overview of your services and prices.
• Be clear and concise with what you offer. Avoid over-explaining, as this will only confuse the person and make them feel like they might be obligated to buy something if they listen to what you have to say.

Make Sure You Are Asking For Referrals From Each Customer, Which Will Help Your Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Efforts.

When you start a lawn mowing business, there are plenty of things to worry about. Some things need to be placed on the back burner in the beginning. But one that should not be ignored is word-of-mouth marketing.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be powerful and effective, while also being inexpensive and easy to achieve. There are several ways to improve your word-of-mouth marketing efforts, which will help you grow your lawn care business.

Ask for referrals — Make sure you are asking for referrals from each customer, which will help your word-of-mouth marketing efforts to grow your lawn care business. If your customers are happy with the work you are doing, they will be more than willing to refer you to a friend or family member.

Offer incentives — Some people might not want to take the time to refer their friends or family members if there is nothing in it for them. You can offer incentives such as discounts on future services or referral fees paid out in the form of prepaid Visa cards that can be used for anything. Incentives can make it easier for people who are already satisfied with your work to get other people interested in hiring you as well.

Conclusion

Like any other service business, starting a lawn mowing business can be very challenging. Don’t let this deter you, though. The barrier to entry into the lawn care industry is a lot lower than most people realize. The key to success is learning how to market your services effectively, and as we’ve seen, there are a number of ways to do just that.

Making a living as a lawn mowing business owner isn’t for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t roll up your sleeves and take control of your life. The first step is to decide whether or not you are willing to work hard, risk failure, and be persistent. The next step is to take the leap into starting your own lawn care business!