Yes, it costs a lot to run and build a landscaping company. Overheads are high, time investment is high, and mental investment is high. But if you're ready for all of that, just commit to putting together a solid plan, knowing your costs, being responsible and accountable, and then doing it. It will be an adventure that has the potential to make you a lot of money while creating pieces of paradise for others, I promise.
Emerging landscape business owners often find themselves using credit cards, and sometimes multiple credit cards, to pre-finance their projects or start their season, often costing a lot of money in interest charges. One of the frustrations I hear from landscape start-ups is that money always seems to come out faster than it comes in. It is this kind of questioning about spending money that will help you prevent all your profits from leaking into purchases that may not be the best use of working capital at that stage of your business growth. The good news is that you can start a gardening business for little money if you're willing and able to start small enough.
You must have knowledge of how to run a business and what the overhead actually are to understand if you are actually making money. To do a job, you have to spend money upfront to get all the products you'll need to build that landscape. If you like the outdoors, consider spending more time outdoors and making money on your gardening business. If there is no plan for how much money you will spend on tools and equipment at the beginning of the year, it may appear at the end of the year having spent too much and eroding your profits.
Speaking of evaluating your customer list, doing so can also help you identify customers with higher margins along with those you don't make money with.
