Important factors to think about if you’re keen to go green
Guest post by Tom Mitchell
Do you have green fingers? If you’re considering starting your own business and you already love working outdoors, then starting your own gardening business could be a great career move.
You’d be doing what you enjoy and earning a living for doing it, while having full control over the hours you work and the kinds of projects you take on.
As with starting any business however, there are lots of things to consider before deciding if it’s the right decision for you. A lot will depend on where you’re starting from and how much work you’d need to do to get a business off the ground.
Here are four factors to think about if you’re keen to go green.
#1 | Understand what the job involves
While you may be used to your own outdoor area, by going professional you could be working on a variety of projects for residential and commercial clients.
On top of the gardening itself, you could also need to:
- Work with customers to understand their vision and sketch out plans to meet their needs
- Create estimates for clients factoring in the materials needed and your cost of labour
- Manage projects to make sure you deliver them on time and under budget
- Build a network of suppliers you can trust
- Hire and manage new members of your team
#2 | Choose the right tools
As with any manual profession, you’ll need to make sure you have right tools for the job. They need to be reliable too – your clients won’t be happy if their projects fall behind schedule due to problems with your equipment.
You could also need to cover a lot of bases. One day you could be digging a border while the next you could be clearing dirt from decking – try a powerful pressure washer from SGS Engineering for the latter.
#3 | Plan for the seasons
It will come as no surprise that gardening is a seasonal profession. You are likely to carry out most of your physical work in the Summer, whereas Winter is more of a time for project planning.
It’s a good idea to save for the colder months or even think about ways you can take on extra income. Research how much other gardeners in your area are charging to make sure you’re earning a fair income.
#4 | Promote yourself
While you’re starting out, your reputation will only get you so far. To find new clients, you’ll need to get comfortable with promoting yourself.
There are lots of ways you can get your name out there:
- Advertise in local newspapers and magazines
- Encourage your network to pass on recommendations
- Build a website or Facebook page to showcase your work
- Try out digital advertising through Facebook or Google AdWords
If you’ve thought about these four factors, you’ll be better placed to start your own gardening business.
