Establishing Your Niche

As with any new enterprise, one of the key first steps is establishing your niche. That is, establishing your ideal clientelle- the people you’ll be serving most and those who will provide demand for your services. In fact, this should be a pre-requisite before even considering starting a business. You need to be sure there is already demand for what you’re looking to offer (ideally you will offer what is in demand) and that there is a large enough base to build a sustainable business.

In the gardening business realm, there are quite a few options. You might consider;

• Gardening Maintenance (pruning, weeding, trimming etc..)
• Lawnmowing & Edging
• Tree removals
• Landscaping (you can specialise further into types of landscaping; i.e native, exotic..)
• Mulching
• The list goes on..

In determining what you’re going to pursue, it’s best to look at what you’re most inclined towards doing day in day out and what you already have experience or skills in. It’s also important to research and ensure there is a market for that service in the area you intend to start your business in.

Experience/Skills Required

Once you have decided upon a suitable niche for your new gardening business, you’ll need to figure out what applicable skills and experience you currently have and what you’ll need to acquire to be successful.

While there are no formal or legal requirements in terms of licences in the gardening space, you’ll certainly need to know what you’re doing. The best way to do that, it through experience. This can be experience you’ve accumulated over the years working in your own garden, or experience you build through working for another business in the same industry. This can be the fastest way to learn- not only how to actually perform the services you’re looking to offer, but how to run a business in the field and what it looks like.

You will at the very least need an understanding of plants and how to maintain them, as well what is going to create a visually appealing result. This will need to be tailored to your niche. 

Market Positioning

Even though you’ve narrowed down a niche you’re looking to focus on, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be the only operator. Therefore, you will have competition from other small gardening businesses to deal with. You need to ask yourself the question- “What can I do better or differently to my competitors?” This is where your USP comes in.

USP = Unique Selling Point

Essentially it boils down to why a customer would choose your business over another. Are you cheaper? Do you use superior products and tools? Do you have a specialised skill that nobody else does? This is incredibly important when marketing your business, before the client has actually had the chance to see you in action. You need something to make you stand out.

An example would be using environmentally friendly fertiliser in a gardening or landscaping business when none of your competitors are. Much of the market prefers sustanaible and chemical free products, which would make your business stand out. That would be your USP that you can advertise and market.

Price Point

Another highly important factor in the success of your business is setting the right price point.

The best way to do this is in 3 steps.

1. Decide where you want to position yourself in the market. Do you want to be budget (compete on the lowest price), mid-point or at the high end (providing a ‘superior’ service. 
2. Find 3 or 4 competitors offering the same service in the same market. Contact them and ask for a quote on a job. Rarely will they pricing available directly on their website.
3. Using the position you decided for yourself in step 1, set a price point for your services that reflects that, then market yourself with that in mind.

Equipment Required

This will again, depend on the type of gardening business you are looking to operate. To cover a very broad spectrum, here are a few most commonly used pieces of equipment;

• Vehicle and trailer
• Small tools such as hand forks, hand trowels, hoes & weeding forks
• Shovels
• Rakes
• Lawn Mower (petrol or electric)
• Line trimmer
• Chain saw
• Blow Vac
• Personal Gear such as gloves, sun-hat and clothing

Specialised businesses such as landscaping will require quite a bit more equipment and additional cost.

What will this typically set you back?

For a standard garden maintenance business, involving pruning, trimming, weeding and tidying up, you might get away with spending as little as $400 upto $1,000 on gear and equipment. For a lawnmowing business, it’s likely to run upto several thousand for a good quality mower, trimmer and trailer.

Getting Customers

The most important and perhaps the most nerve-racking aspect of any new business enterprise; how to get customers to use your services. Well, there are several ways.

Marketing for a gardening business is quite similar to marketing for a cleaning business in that most of the platforms you use will be the same. 

A professional website, a Facebook page, flyers and a lead generation site would be a great mix of platforms to get you started.

By running ads on Facebook and distributing flyers in your desired target areas, you’ re going to be driving people back to your website to make a booking. This will also be getting your business exposure and building your brand.

The lead gerenation site (such as One Flare) will be your short term ‘sales’ generation machine, where you’re essentially paying for each lead. If you can turn these leads into regular clients however, it can be well worth it.

We have a range of resources on this site to help with marketing, or you can get in touch with us for a more personalised plan.

Managing the Admin Side

This is perhaps the aspect of running your own business that makes entrepreneurs tear their hair out more than any other. Sure, once you reach a certain size and profitability, you can look to outsource all the menial and repetitive taks. To start with though, you’ll likely have to grin and bare it.

So a few things to consider.

Aspects such as registering the business are covered in this article.

You’ll also need to look at getting adequate insurance for the work you are providing and the type of premises you’re looking to operate on. Public liability is a must, with cover upto $5 million suitable for most residential based gardening businesses. If you’re looking at commercial, $10 million may be required. You may also want to consider contents insurance for your equipment (particularly for expensive mowers and power tools), as well as workers compensation for yourself and any employees you may have.

Then you’ll want to use an easy to use accounting system to keep track of everything. Creative Ledger is a business we’ve used and recommended a range of people to if you’re in need of assitance. Software such as Quickbooks or Xero is going to be the easiest way to manage your invoicing and keeping track of your income and expenses. These should be set up from the get go. They’ll also make things a great deal easier at tax time.

Other Things to Consider for Your Gardening Business

Seasonality

The nature of the work is going seasonal, meaning some of the services you offer may be suited only to a particular few months of the year. Due to this, you’re going to have to organise your marketing and your workflow based on when the demand for your services will be present.

Start-Up Costs and Budgeting

The most sensible way to start a new enterprise is by beginning as a side hustle. This is particularly relevant if you have committments such as a mortgage and a family to maintain. Keep your job and start your gardening business on the side, until you’re at the point where you can make the transition to running the business full time. This will mean working nights and weekends, but it takes a tremendous amount of the risk out of the equation.

Whichever way you choose to go about it, be sure to have enough reserves for a few months expenses during the start up pahse. Expenses beyond the initial business setup and equipment purchases for ongoing costs such as marketing and other variable costs can be a huge help when getting off the ground.

Looking for help?

We understand it can be a pretty intensive and daunting process, despite the rewards that running your own business can offer.

That’s why we have a service to take care of the whole process for you. For full details, check out this article on getting a customised business setup