landscaping company business plan examples

Landscaping Company Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Landscaping Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your landscaping business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their landscaping companies.

Landscaping Business Plan Example

Below is a sample landscaping business plan and template to help you create each section of your landscaping business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service is a startup landscaping business located in Dallas, Texas. The company is founded by John Martinez, an experienced entrepreneur who has gained valuable knowledge on how to manage a landscaping business during the past five years while working as the manager at Lake Landscaping & Lawn Care. Now that John has experienced managing a landscaping business, he is ready to start his own company, Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service. John is confident that his landscaping skills, combined with his understanding of business management, will enable him to run a profitable landscaping company of his own. John is recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day complexities of residential landscaping – sales and marketing, scheduling, customer service, financial management, and landscaper training and support.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will provide a variety of professional landscaping and lawn care services for residential customers in Dallas, Texas. Beautiful Gardens will be the go-to landscaping business in Dallas for high quality landscaping services of all kinds. The company will be the ultimate choice for prompt, reliable, and courteous customer service that goes above and beyond the competitors.

Product Offering

The following are the services that Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will provide:

• Lawn Care and Chemical Application
• Landscape Maintenance
• Landscape Design
• Landscape Construction
• Trimming and Pruning
• Trees and Ornamental Planting and Care
• Perimeter Pest Control
• Vegetation Management
• Gardening and Plant Care Consulting Services

Customer Focus

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will target homeowners in Dallas. The company will also target owners of multi-family residential buildings such as apartment complexes and condominiums. No matter the customer, Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will deliver the best communication, service, and high quality landscaping.

Management Team

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be owned and operated by John Martinez. John is a graduate of Texas University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He has over five years of experience working as a manager for another local landscaping business. John will be the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He will steer the vision of the business and provide direction for the other managers and executives of the company.

John has recruited a landscaping expert, Lisa Smith, to be the company’s Chief Operating Officer and help oversee the business operations. Lisa will handle the day-to-day operations, including training the landscape personnel, providing consultation services, and overseeing the landscape design process. Lisa is a graduate of California University with a degree in Landscaping Design.

John and Lisa have recruited an experienced marketing director, Robert Johnson, to become a member of the Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service management team. Robert is a graduate of the University of Maine with a Master’s degree in Sales and Marketing. John and Lisa rely on Robert’s expertise to execute the company’s marketing plan and advertising strategies.

Success Factors

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Skilled team of landscaping experts who will oversee the process and conduct inspections regularly to ensure all landscapers are adhering to stringent quality standards.
• Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service makes it easy for customers to obtain its services. The company uses a proprietary software application to engage with customers and ensure transparency throughout the process. Customers can use the app to schedule service, pay their bill, monitor the work being done, leave feedback, and receive customer support. For customers who prefer to communicate in person or over the phone, the company maintains an office space with a customer support representative available during regular business hours every day of the week.
• The company offers competitive pricing and discounts for regular customers.

Financial Highlights

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service is seeking $350,000 in debt financing to launch its landscaping business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the office space and purchasing landscaping equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff and marketing expenses. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $120,000
• Landscaping equipment, supplies, and materials: $80,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, utilities): $130,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

Company Overview

Who is beautiful gardens landscaping service.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service is a newly established landscaping company in Dallas, Texas. Beautiful Gardens will be the go-to landscaping business in Dallas for high quality landscaping services performed by expertly trained professionals. The company will be the ultimate choice for prompt, reliable, and courteous customer service that goes above and beyond its competitors. Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be able to provide a wide variety of landscaping and lawn care services for homeowners who value high quality, reliable service and easy-to-use communication systems.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be able to guarantee the quality of its services thanks to the latest and most innovative landscaping project management technology and stringent quality control standards. The company’s team of highly qualified professionals are experienced in landscaping, lawn care, and gardening, thus will be able to provide exceptional results for a wide variety of services from routine maintenance to new landscape design and build-out. Beautiful Gardens also provides consulting services in the areas of landscaping, gardening, and lawn care.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service History

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service is owned and operated by John Martinez, an experienced entrepreneur who has gained valuable knowledge on how to manage a landscaping business during the past five years while working as the manager at Lake Landscaping & Lawn Care. Now that John has experienced managing a landscaping business, he is ready to start his own company, Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service. John is confident that his landscaping skills, combined with his understanding of business management, will enable him to run a profitable landscaping company of his own. John is recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day complexities of residential landscaping – sales and marketing, scheduling, customer service, financial management, and landscaper training and support.

Since incorporation, Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service, LLC to transact business in the state of Texas.
• Has signed a lease to rent the office space.
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include previous employees, landscapers, friends, family, and professional networks to inform them of the new business.
• Began recruiting a staff of accountants, landscapers, and sales personnel to work at Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service Services

Industry analysis.

The United States Landscaping Services industry is valued at $128.8B and is expected to increase by 2.3% this year. There are more than 600,000 businesses and over 1M people working in the industry nationwide. The states of Florida, California, and New York have the most landscaping businesses of all the states, while Texans spend the most on landscaping services of all states.

Households with higher than average levels of disposable incomes (over $100,000 per year) spend the most on landscaping services for their homes. While these households reduce their spending on non-essential items during times of economic downturns, they are still more consistently spending on landscaping during these times versus lower income households. The number of households in the U.S. in this higher income bracket is expected to increase this year, resulting in growth opportunities for operators in the landscaping industry. Additionally, there is a rising demand for residential landscaping services from millenials and Gen Z consumers as more of them are participating in gardening activities.

The industry faces several challenges including shortage of quality labor, numerous price-based competitors, economic downturns, and high insurance costs. Industry operators can overcome these challenges and find success by researching their competitors, providing quality service by capable personnel, implementing a targeted marketing campaign, and charging fair prices for customers and employees.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

The precise demographics for Dallas, Texas are:

Customer Segmentation

Beautiful Gardens will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Homeowners with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more
• Owners of multi-family residential properties such as apartment complexes and condominiums
• Millennials and Gen Z homeowners who need help starting their own gardens

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Leif’s Lovely Landscaping Service

Leif’s Lovely Landscaping Service has been operating in the Dallas area for over ten years and has gained a loyal customer base for its excellent service and low prices. Leif’s provides residential homeowners with general landscaping and lawn care services. The company is a small operation and the founder does most of the landscaping work himself. Customers come to Leif’s for reliable, friendly service and the lowest prices in Dallas. The company offers lawn care and chemical application, mulching, tree trimming, and debris cleanup services.

Lake Landscaping & Lawn Care

Founded in 1990 by Henry Lake, Lake Landscaping & Lawn Care is a well-known landscaping and lawn care business that serves all of Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding areas. The company offers a wide variety of landscaping services for residential homeowners. Services include regular lawn care, trimming, and maintenance, design, construction, and maintenance of landscaping features, and pool service. Lake Landscaping & Lawn Care is owned and operated by Henry Lake, an experienced contractor who designed some of the most prominent outdoor spaces in the area before starting his own business over 30 years ago.

Pete’s Perfect Landscaping

Pete’s Perfect Landscaping is a new Dallas-Texas based company providing landscaping services to customers throughout the city. The company was founded by Peter Smith, an experienced gardener who has been working in the landscaping industry for over 20 years before deciding to start his own landscaping company. Pete’s Perfect Landscaping provides a variety of landscaping services including pruning, trimming, planting, mulching, debris removal, and lawn maintenance.

Competitive Advantage

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be able to offer the following advantages over its competition:

• Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service uses a proprietary software application to engage with customers and ensure transparency throughout the process. Customers can use the app to schedule service, pay their bill, monitor the work being done, leave feedback, and receive customer support.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service makes it easy for customers to obtain its services. The company uses a proprietary software application to engage with customers and ensure transparency throughout the process. Customers can use the app to schedule service, pay their bill, monitor the work being done, leave feedback, and receive customer support.
• For customers who prefer to communicate in person or over the phone, the company maintains an office space with a customer support representative available during regular business hours every day of the week.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service is as follows:

Social Media Marketing

The company’s marketing director will create accounts on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. He will ensure Beautiful Gardens maintains an active social media presence with regular updates and fun content to get customers excited about the company’s landscaping services.

Professional Associations and Networking

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will become a member of professional associations such as the Landscaping Association, American Gardening Society, and the Texas Lawn Care Association. The leadership team will focus their networking efforts on expanding the company’s vendor and client network.

Print Advertising

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in programs or flyers at industry networking events. The company will also invest in ads to display in industry publications and local newspapers.

Website/SEO Marketing

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will utilize the in-house marketing director that designed the print ads to also design the company website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services that Beautiful Gardens is able to provide. The website will also list information on the company’s events and testimonials from satisfied clients.

The marketing director will manage Beautiful Gardens’s website presence with SEO marketing tactics so that when someone types in a search engine “Beautiful Gardens” or “landscaping business near me”, Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will be moderate, but higher than low-end competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing the Company’s services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service.

Operation Functions:

• John Martinez will be the CEO of the company. He will oversee the management team and lead the direction of the business. John has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Lisa Smith – Chief Operating Officer who will manage the design and build process, train landscapers, and oversee the activities of the staff.
• Sam Garcia – Bookkeeper who will provide all accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• Robert Johnson – Marketing Director who will oversee all marketing strategies for the company and manage the website, social media, and outreach.
• Joe Williams – Quality Control Manager who will oversee all inspections of the landscapers to ensure stringent compliance with quality standards are met.

Milestones:

Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

11/1/2022 – Finalize lease on office space.

11/15/2022 – Finalize employment contracts for the Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service management team.

12/1/2022 – Begin build-out of the office and purchase equipment.

12/15/2022 – Begin networking at industry events and implement the marketing plan.

1/15/2023 – Finalize contracts for initial landscaping product suppliers and employment contracts for landscapers.

2/15/2023 – Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service officially opens its office up to customers and starts taking appointments.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Beautiful Gardens Landscaping Service are the fees charged to customers in exchange for the company’s services. When it comes to pricing, the business will monitor operational costs, average prices charged by competitors, and local market demand to ensure its prices will generate a healthy profit margin.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff a landscaping business. The expenses will be the payroll cost, utilities, landscaping equipment and supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Average number of appointments per month: 600
• Average fees per month: $15,000
• Overhead costs per year: $400,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Landscaping Company Business Plan FAQs

What is a landscaping company business plan.

A landscaping company business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your landscaping company business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your landscaping company business plan using our Landscaping Company Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Landscaping Companies?

There are a number of different kinds of landscaping companies , some examples include: Commercial, Residential, and Arborists.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Landscaping Company Business Plan?

Landscaping companies are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for a business plan for landscaping  and a lawn care business plan.

What are the Steps To Start a Landscaping Company Business?

Starting a landscaping company business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Landscaping Company Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed landscaping company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your landscaping company business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your landscaping company business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Landscaping Company Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your landscaping company business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your landscaping company business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Landscaping Company Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your landscaping company business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your landscaping company business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful landscaping company business and how to write landscape business plan :

• How to Start a Landscaping Company Business

Where Can I Get a Landscaping Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free landscaping business plan template PDF here . This is a sample landscaping business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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How to Write a Landscaping Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a landscaping company? If YES, here’s a complete sample landscaping business plan template & feasibility report to help you get started. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a landscaping business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample landscaping marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for landscaping businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

A Sample Landscaping Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

It is not enough to own a property that is well designed and built; the hallmark of any property is the beauty of the lawns and gardens. Landscapers are in the business of giving total esthetic effect in and around our neighborhoods. It is not enough to plant flowers or have a lawn in your compound and just watch them grow; you need to hire a professional landscaping company to help you bring out the beauty in your environment.

Landscape architecture is all about the art, planning, designing, management, preservation and rehabilitation of the land and the design of a large man – made concepts; it beautifies our environment. Landscaping business just like Lawn care business is not one of those businesses that you can start and make big money from without truly working pretty hard and smart.

Any entrepreneur who intends to start his or her own landscaping business with the aim of making huge profits from it must be very creative and ready to go the extra mile to convince clients that he or she can deliver an excellent job. Furthermore, you have got to prove beyond every reasonable doubt that you are competent.

In a publication released by a Professional Land-care Network (PLANET), an international association serving landscaping professionals, lawn care professionals, exterior maintenance contractors, installation/design/building professionals, and interior scapers, there are approximately 12,000 landscapers in the united states of America.

This statistics covers independent operators, franchises and large corporate chains. They also stated that the number of professional landscapers could actually be considerably higher because there are so many people doing landscape maintenance on part – time and on a pay as you go basis.

Lastly, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published in 2006-2007 (U.S. Department of Labor), is that almost 1 out of every 4 landscaping, grounds – keeping, nursery, greenhouse and lawn service workers is self-employed and provides maintenance services directly to customers on a contract basis. Of these, about 1 out of every 6 works part time.

Although, landscaping business might not be amongst the money spinning businesses in the US, but they have a very large market that is readily available for them if they can convince property owners to patronize their services.

As a matter of fact, statistics has it that the United States green industry (landscape and lawn maintenance, landscape contractors, landscape architects, irrigation contractors, and lawn and landscape product suppliers) generates roughly $67 billion to $69 billion annually. PLANET estimates that the landscaping services sector alone generates about 704,000 jobs and $35.6 million in value-added services annually in the US; it is indeed a growing industry.

Landscaping business also falls in the category of seasonal businesses. The industry experiences downtime during the winter period and in most states in the US. In general, the demand for landscaping services is usually at its peak in the spring and generally between April and October. Which is why landscaping companies are always everywhere sourcing for business deals within this period of the year.

If you are familiar with the landscaping industry, you will notice that most landscaping companies do not restrict their services to only landscape architecture et al; they ensure that they add additional services such as lawn care services, snow plowing services (during winter season), fumigation services and any other similar services just to ensure that they maintain steady in – flow of income during peak and off peak periods.

As such; any entrepreneur who wants to start a landscaping business in the US should be aware that the landscaping and lawn care industry is a closely regulated industry that requires practitioners to earn certifications that permit them to handle hazardous compounds; most especially when they also offer fumigation services.

2. Executive Summary

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is a licensed landscape architecture company that will be based in Miami Beach, Florida –United States of America and will have active presence in other cities such as; Greenacres City, Miami, Jacksonville, Clearwater, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, North Miami, West Palm Beach, Palm Harbor, Deltona, Orlando, Palm Bay and Panama City et al.

We chose to operate in these cities because we know that our services will be in high demand due to the geographical nature of Florida. Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is in the business of beautifying in our environment by offering professional landscape architecture services. We know that the beauty of a city or property is not complete if the gardens or lawns are not properly designed and managed.

We know the importance of networking with the right set of people, which is why we have form partnership with stake holders (landlord associations, property managers and relevant government agencies) in Florida.

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is specialized in handling golf courses, beach houses, major roads and streets as well as residential buildings and public facilities et al. As a matter of fact, when it comes to giving golf course the professional outlook it deserves, we are on top of the game.

We have some of the finest landscapers, who are gifted and also have gone ahead to acquire the relevant trainings that will make them create esthetic effect in the environment that will be second to none.

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is fully aware of the seasonal nature of the business which is why we have made provision to engage in complimentary services during off peak period. We will engage in snow plowing during winter, sale of flowers, tree cutting, fumigation and other related services.

We will also provide consultancy services to homeowners, property managers and the government when it comes to creating the esthetic effect that will bring out the beauty in our environment.

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is a private registered company landscape company that is owned by Glover Carrington and family. The company will be fully and single handedly financed by the owner – Glover Carrington. The business will be managed by his son Gordon Carrington; he is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

Mr. Gordon Carrington (Master of Landscape Architecture – MLA) is a core professional who has experience in sensitivity to landscape quality, ability to analyze problems in terms of design and physical forms, understands the arts and humanistic approach to design and he has skills in all aspects of professional practice including management and professional ethics. He has well over 7 years of experience in the industry.

3. Our Products and Services

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is in the business of bring out the beauty in our environment and our services will be carried out by highly trained professionals who know what it takes to give our highly esteemed customers value for their money.These are the services that Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company will be offering;

• Landscape architecture services
• Landscape care/maintenance services
• Trimming Landscaping
• Landscape design/contracting services
• Lawn mowing/maintenance
• Sod installation/hydro – seeding
• Weeding or fertilizer and/or pest control application
• Weekly lawn cut
• Weeding Beds
• Sale of flowers
• Spring Cleanup
• Fall Cleanup
• Chemical Treatment
• Snow Plowing
• Consultancy and Advisory Services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our Vision is to become the number one choice of homeowners, property managers and government agencies when it comes to landscaping services in Florida, U.S.
• Glover and Greenhouse Landscaping Company is a business positioned to be the become the leaders when it comes to bringing out the beauty (esthetics) in our environment by offering top notch landscaping architectural services and other related services in Miami Beach and other cities in Florida, U.S.

Our Business Structure

Glover and Greenhouse Landscaping Company will be headquartered in Miami Beach, but will operate in other cities in Florida which is why we designed our business structure to support the nature of our operations. We want to create a team of dedicated workforce that will help the organization achieve its aim of becoming the number one landscape company in the whole of Florida.

Because we don’t have the required finance to manage the numbers of workforce that we would need, we have made provisions to hire some freelance landscapers to help us handle some contracts when the need arises. Here is the business structure of Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company;

• Chief Operating Officer (Owner)
• Sales and Marketing Executive

Landscape Architect / Landscapist

• Field Staff
• Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Operating Officer:

• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for the day to day running of the business
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization at regular interval
• Responsible for the planning, management and coordinating all projects on behalf of the company
• Supervises projects
• Ensures compliance during project executions
• Provides advice on the management of projects
• Responsible for carrying out risk assessment
• Uses IT systems and software to keep track of people and progress of ongoing projects
• Responsible for overseeing the accounting, costing and billing of every project
• Represents the organization’s interest at various stakeholders meetings
• Ensures that project desired result is achieved, the most efficient resources are utilized and different interests involved are satisfied. Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Sales and Marketing Officer

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information.
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps increase sales and growth for the company
• Lists the property for rent / lease to the public
• Markets space; finds tenants; participates in lease negotiations.
• Provides property owners with a real property condition disclosure (if required by law) and other necessary forms.
• Prepares necessary papers describing the property for advertising, pamphlets, open houses, etc.
• Holds an open house to show the property.
• Serves as a contact available to answer any questions about the property and schedule showing appointments.
• Responsible for planning and designing of places such as residential development area, parks, campuses, cemeteries, resorts, commercial centers, water fronts and corporate and institutional centers.
• Responsible for designing and implementing projects that respect both the needs of people and our environment
• Offers training and consultancy services
• Responsible for analyzing problems in terms of design and physical form
• Responsible for translating designs into a built work
• Responsible from training of field workers and freelancers

Field Workers

• Responsible for Lawn mowing/maintenance
• Handles Sod installation/hydro – seeding
• Handles Landscape care/maintenance services
• Carries out task in line with the stated job description
• Handles snow plowing
• Handles tree cutting
• Assists in transport working tools and equipment from the office (store) to site and back to the office
• Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

Front Desk / Customer’s Service Officer

• Receives Visitors / clients on behalf of the organization
• Receives parcels / documents for the company
• Handles enquiries via e-mail and phone calls for the organization

6. SWOT Analysis

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is in business for the purpose of making profits and building long lasting relationship with its clients and we know that in order for us to achieve these, we must be able to leverage on our strengths and take hold of all the opportunities that we come across.

We are aware that if effective strategies are not put in place, the weakness of a company and the threats that the business will be exposed to can strangulate the business which is why we have decided to take out time to conduct a SWOT analysis for Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company.

As a company, we look forward to maximizing our strength and opportunities and also to develop strategies that will help us effectively handle our weaknesses and threats. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company;

Our strength as a landscape company is the fact that we have healthy relationships with key stakeholders in Florida. We have some of the latest equipment that will help us deliver neat and excellent jobs. Our management team and workforce are highly trained and qualified to deliver excellent jobs within record time. We are well positioned and we have active presence in major cities in Florida.

Our weakness could be that we are a new landscaping company in Miami Beach, Florida and it will require consistency for us to gain the confidence of our prospective clients (homeowners, property managers and even the government).

• Opportunities:

The opportunities that are available to us cannot be quantified; we know that there are loads of homeowners, property managers and government establishment that will require our services in Miami Beach and other cities in Florida.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a landscaping company are global economic downturn that can impact negatively on household spending, bad weather cum natural disasters and the arrival of a competitor ( a company that offer same service as we do ) within same location. There is hardly anything we could do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

It is a common trend in landscaping and lawn care industry to see loads of landscapers struggle to meet ends meet. This is so because a larger percentage of people who are supposed to patronize their services are reluctant when it comes to paying the true worth of the services rendered.

It is also a common trend to see landscape companies engage in other complimentary services to makes meet. The fact that there are off peak periods in the business makes it of necessity for landscape companies to look for other sources of income in order to maintain steady flow of income throughout the year.

If you are conversant with the landscape industry, you will realize that one of their major challenges is the challenge of accurately pricing services It takes a landscape company that has been in the business for a while to effectively charge clients in such a way that they will have enough resources to carry out the project, pay for labor and still make enough profits. It is important for any landscape company to first inspect the area they are to carry out their job so that they will be able to properly submit a quotation that will be favorable to both parties.

Usually, most landscaping companies ensure that they send their quotations to prospective clients only when they have been able to do their calculations based on per square foot of the property. Over and above, the creativity of the landscape architect will go a long way to determine the amount that can be charged and the inflow of business.

8. Our Target Market

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company was deliberately located in Miami Beach simply because we have a wide range of people and businesses that can hire our services; the geographical nature of Miami Beach is highly suitable for the kind of services we render. Our target market as a landscape company is not just restricted to only homeowners and property managers but also government establishment.

We are quite aware that the state government is one of the biggest clients in the industry, which is why we have structured our business to meet the expectations and requirements of the government when it comes to bidding for government contracts. This is the group of people that we will market our landscape business to;

• Facility managers for botanical gardens, historic buildings, municipalities and other government entities, universities, cemeteries and other public places with green spaces
• Homeowners who plan to put their home on the market and want to improve its curb appeal with fresh or updated landscaping
• Builders of both residential and commercial properties who don’t already have their own landscaper or staff
• New homeowners who wish to update the existing landscape of their property
• Homeowners who are frequently out of town on business
• Retirees who don’t care to do their own maintenance any longer
• “Snowbirds” with winter homes in warmer climates
• Golf course managers who may need help with maintenance
• Rental property or condominium association managers who are personnel-impaired
• Homeowners who don’t have the vision, skill or tools to design their own landscaping
• Managers of public facilities
• Government establishment

Our Competitive Advantage

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is fully aware that there is competition in the industry, which is why we decided to carry out thorough research and draft a killer landscaping marketing plan; so as to know how to take advantage of the available market in the cities where we want to operate.

We have done our homework and we have been able to highlight some factors that will give us competitive advantage in the marketplace; some of the factors are competence, trust, honesty, good network and excellent relationship management. One of the positive that we have as a company is the fact that we have some of the best hands in the industry under our payroll; our manager has a robust experience in the industry.

Another competitive advantage that we are bringing to the industry is the fact that we have designed our business in such a way that we can comfortably work with both the highly placed clients and the lowly placed clients; our prices are designed to fit into the budget of the lower class, the middle class and the upper class.

We are quite aware of the importance of taking proper care of our workforce which is why we have created welfare packages that will make all our employers willing to stay longer with us and also to always put in their best when carrying out their jobs.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company will ensure that we do not only generate income from our core service delivery but also from complementary services that we will render. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for Posh Lawn Care and Landscape Company;

• Tree Cutting

10. Sales Forecast

From the survey conducted, we were are able to discover that the average landscaping business owner rakes in about $5,000 to $ 50,000 in their first year of active business, and a steady increase of $160,000 to $250,000 from subsequent year as long as they are consistent in what they do and have been able to create additional sources of income.

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company have perfected her sales and marketing strategies and we are set to deliver excellence services and designs. We know that if we structure our business properly and we have highly trained and motivated employees, we are likely going to meet or even surpass our set target of generating enough income / profits from our first three months of operations.

With the help of experts, we have been able to critically examine the landscape industry with more emphasis on Miami Beach, Florida and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some workable assumptions as well.

Below are the projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Year-: $150,000
• Second Year-: $250,000
• Third Year-: $500,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company will do all it can to ensure that we become the preferred choice as far as landscaping services is concerned in Florida. We know the effectiveness of properly positioning a business which is why we have chosen a corner piece location in a busy road in Miami Beach to locate our business.

We will ensure that we leverage on all available networks to source for business deals. In view of that, we will continue to find local real estate clubs and connect with them and also we will locate gathering where we can find homeowners within the locations where we intend operating and then connect with them.

We will ensure that we bid at the appropriate time whenever there is the opportunity to handle government contracts both at the community and state level. We will also enter business partnership with local contractors and property managers since they also interface with property owners regularly; through them we can secure business deals.

Over and above, we have perfected strategies to network with people who are likely to refer business our way. In summary, Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company will adopt the following strategies in sourcing for clients for our business;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to stake holders in the real estate industry, government institution and also property owners.
• Promptness in bidding for contracts
• Advertise our business in real estate / properties magazines and websites
• List our business on yellow pages ads
• Attend related real estate expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver quality job for them.
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Direct marketing
• Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are quite aware that any business that wants to grow beyond the corner of the street they are operating from must be ready and willing to utilize every available means (conventional and non – conventional means) to advertise and promote the business.

We intend growing our business which is why we have perfected plans to build our brand via every available means. Below are the platforms Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company intend to leverage on to promote and advertise her business;

• Encourage our loyal customers to help us use Word of Mouth mode of advertisement (referrals)
• Advertise our landscaping business in relevant magazines (real estate magazines), local newspaper, local TV stations and local radio station
• Promote our landscaping business online via our official website
• List our landscaping business on local directories (yellow pages ads)
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Badoo, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our landscaping business
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations around Miami Beach and other key cities in Florida.
• Direct coupon mailing approach to introduce our landscaping business to residence and property managers
• Engage in road show from time to time to create awareness of our landscaping business.
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in Miami Beach, and other key cities in Florida
• Maximize our company’s website to promote our business
• Attend landlord and residence association meetings with the aim of networking and introducing our landscaping business.

These are some of the equipment that we would need to fully launch our lawn care and landscaping business;

• String Trimmer
• Edging Shears
• Turfing Iron
• Half Moon Cutter
• Leveling Rake
• Spring – tined Rake
• Wheel Barrow

12. Our Pricing Strategy

From our findings, the average cost of landscape services varies and it is dependent on loads of factors. For example, normal landscaping services include prices for services such as regular lawn maintenance which includes edging, mowing and blowing, fertilization, weeding beds, hedge trimming, shrub removal, replacement or moving, grass replacement, lawn care, irrigation among other landscape related services that may be required by a client.

Usually, these services are priced separately in most cases and in some instances; they may be priced together into one monthly service price.

We have been able to conduct effective survey and we were able to adopt a price format that is ideal for the kind of services we are going to be rendering.  Part of our business strategy is to ensure that we work within the budget of our clients to deliver excellent landscape services. At Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company, every client will find packages that will suite their budget.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits. Here are the payment options that are available to all clients of Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for services rendered to them without stress on their part.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company ®

Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company is a privately owned business and it will be financed by the owner of the company; Mr. Glover Carrington. These are the areas where we intend sourcing for fund for Glover and Greenhouse Landscape Company;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from family members and friends (soft loans and gifts et al)
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the banks (loan facility).

N.B: Mr. Glover Carrington has been able to generate $30,000 ($20,000 from his personal savings and $10,000 as soft loan from his family members and friends. 50% of the start – up capital ($30,000 will be generated from the bank as loan)

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

• The Total Fee for incorporating the Business in Florida: $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license: $1,500
• The Amount needed to acquire a small Office facility with space for storage of working tools and equipment in Miami Beach, Florida for 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive): $30,000.
• The Cost for equipping the office (computers, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al): $3,000
• The cost for acquiring the required working tools and equipment (walk-behind mower, a back pack blower, an edger, a weed eater and hand tools): $10,000
• The Cost of Launching our official Website: $600
• Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al): $1,000

Going by the report from our research and feasibility studies, we will need about $60,000 to set up a standard landscaping business in Long Beach, CA.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Although Mr. Glover Carrington is the founder if the business, he is over 60 years old and since he intends building a business that will last, grow and expand, he decided to invest in training his son who is going to be the manager of the business. That is part of his sustainability and expansion strategy.

Glover and Greenhouse will ensure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

Integrity, competence, trust and good relationship management are major factor that can guarantee steady growth for any business and we will ensure that we are known for such qualities.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Renting of Office Facility in Miami Beach, Florida: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Start – up Capital Generation: Completed
• writing of business plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Purchase of the needed working tools and equipment: Completed
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety License Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with key players in the industry (networking and membership of relevant real estate bodies, landlord association): Completed

More on Real Estate

• Sample Business Plans

Landscaping Business Plan

Beautiful and well-maintained lawns are a treat to look at. But with today’s hectic lifestyle, few people have the time and energy required to maintain one.

And with more income at their disposal, people like to outsource this task to professionals who can manage their gardens well and design them in a way that enhances their house’s beauty.

With artistic lawns cropping up at every corner of our cities, the demand for landscaping architects is at its peak. Be it offices, residential spaces, or public areas, every space needs an aesthetically pleasing lawn.

But not everyone has the amount of creativity and precision that goes into maintaining beautiful gardens. And if you have it, then a landscaping business might be the right choice for you.

All you need is a little bit of groundwork and a proper landscaping business plan .

Industry Overview

According to recent statistics, the landscaping industry employs over 1 million people and has grown 4.9 percent since 2020.

So, if you are a creative individual who can think out of the box, a landscaping business can help you reach your maximum potential. The best part about the landscaping business is that it takes minimum entry conditions and minimal costs to set up.

Now, you may wonder, why do so many landscaping businesses owned by highly creative individuals fail? The reason is as simple as it gets; The lack of a proper business plan.

Although creativity is essential to help you stand out, a landscaping business plan is of utmost importance for the sustenance of your business.

Here, we’ll share a few tips to make your setup process smoother.

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Things to Consider Before Writing a Landscaping Business Plan

Decide what services you want to offer.

Landscaping comes with a lot of sub-niches and additional services. Deciding what you can and should offer as per the needs and requirements of your target audience is essential.

It helps you stay prepared for the service, including getting the right equipment and hiring the right people. Picking your niche is also a great help while formulating business strategies.

Get the required permits

Although the landscaping business does not have strict entry conditions, there are a few licenses and permits that you should have before getting started.

The easiest way of doing this is by checking out all the permits required by your state and area and making a checklist for keeping track of what you have got and what not.

Having all the necessary permits helps you stay on the right side of the law.

Develop a pricing strategy

As you have a service that is mostly based on skill and equipment cost, you’ll have to give your pricing strategy a serious thought before getting started.

It is essential to ensure that your pricing is neither too much for your customers nor too little for your business to make any profit. There are several ways you can set a pricing strategy, depending on your competitor’s pricing, your market position, and the demand for your services.

Know your target audience

Knowing your target audience is crucial to business success. Researching who your target audience is, what are their motivations to avail landscaping services, how they avail such services, what kind of service they prefer  (This can also help in deciding your niche and additional services), what prices they are willing to pay, etc.

How Can a Landscaping Business Plan Help You?

A business plan can become a constant guide in your business journey. It’ll aid you while sailing through the roadblocks, prevent you from having chaotic finances, help you in knowing the market and your competitors better, and save you from the trap of having a static business model that becomes irrelevant as the industry changes.

Apart from that, in the landscape business, it would help you in developing your unique style and technique that sets you apart from your peers.

How to Write a Landscaping Business Plan?

As we have discussed the benefits of a business plan , it brings us to our next question.

How do you write one? Moreover, how do you know if you have written a good one?

Don’t worry! There are several quick and cost-effective solutions to your problem.

If you find writing a business plan intimidating, there are several options like business consultants, premade templates, and online business plan software which can help you create a complete and evolving business plan anywhere and at any time.

We have created this sample landscaping business plan for you to get a good idea of what a perfect landscaping business plan should look like and what details you need to include in your stunning business plan.

Landscaping Business Plan Outline

This is the standard landscaping business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• 3 Year profit forecast
• Products and Services
• Startup cost
• Market Trends
• Target Market
• Market share
• Sales Strategy
• Marketing strategies
• Personnel Plan
• Average Salary of Employees
• Important Assumptions
• Brake-even Analysis
• Profit Yearly
• Gross Margin Yearly
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Business Ratios

Now Let’s Understand How You Should Complete Each Section.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is one of the most crucial sections of your business plan, as it is the first and foremost document in it and serves as a pitch to your prospective investors. Hence, this section should sum up your business idea and function with utmost precision.

It should also consist of a mission statement and clearly state your vision for the business. For a landscaping business, it would consist of your growth model, your source of labor and raw material, as well as how your style of design sets you apart from the others.

2. Description of your niche

Next up, you’ll need to define the niche your business functions in. As landscaping consists of several areas like,

• Commercial Landscaping
• Residential Landscaping
• Art-based designs(for public and tourist spaces)

It is necessary to define what kind of services you’ll offer and who would be your primary client base. So, how can you select a niche? We’ll discuss that in the competitive and market analysis section.

3. Competitive and Market Analysis

Before you enter any market, it is the wisest thing to carry out an analysis of the current market situation and the recent trends in the industry. Also, it is a good practice to know what your competitors are doing, because if you are aware of what’s going on, deciding what you should do and what gaps you can fill through your services becomes easier. Hence, this helps you in identifying what your niche would be.

For example, if there is a dearth of good landscape architects for office spaces in your area, you can accordingly modify your skills and marketing strategy to serve the purpose of capturing that market.

4. Website Strategy

In today’s fast-paced environment, most people prefer getting their work done online. Hence, having a website is necessary for your business to be discovered. Thus, including a website strategy in your plan is essential. Also, as a creative business, your website needs to lean on a more artistic side and represent what your style stands for.

5. Management Summary

In this section, you are supposed to include important information about people responsible for a company’s management, the tasks they have been delegated, their roles and responsibilities, etc. As a landscaping business has a large scale of functioning, you need to include this section in your plan.

6. Financial Plan

Writing a financial plan is a necessary step toward creating a well-rounded business plan. A financial plan helps your business in becoming cost-effective and profitable. It also helps you pre-plan and stay afloat in times of recession and instability in the market. Hence, this section is necessary for the sustenance of your business.

Download a sample landscaping business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free landscaping business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your landscaping business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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Landscaping Business Plan Summary

In conclusion, a business plan can turn to conduct your landscaping business a hassle-free activity. Moreover, a well-planned business with clearly defined goals and dynamic strategies has a higher chance of succeeding than one which doesn’t have either of these things.

Besides the above things, in the landscaping business, it is also important to have a thorough knowledge of advanced technology and newly improved techniques to improve the efficiency of your business’s day-to-day activities.

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample landscaping business plan template into your business plan and modify the required information and download your landscaping business plan pdf or doc file. It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

So, are you ready to reach far and wide in the landscape market with your well-written business plan?

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About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Lawn Landscaping Business Plan

Start your own lawn landscaping business plan

Greens Manicure Service

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

Greens Manicure Service is a seasonal residential lawn care service targeting suburban middle-class homes with larger yards. A large grouping of this demographic is located in Steve’s neighborhood. Steve will leverage his connection to the neighborhood to sign up customers.

For year one Steve will have one employee in addition to himself. By year two Steve will purchase a second vehicle, additional equipment, and hire two new employees to form a second work crew.

Greens Manicure Service is projected to reach profitability by month seven and will have profits of $10,000 by the end of the third year. Revenue activity will occur from April through November.

1.1 Objectives

The objectives for the first three years of operation include:

• To develop a sustainable home business, surviving off its own cash flow.

1.2 Mission

Greens Manicure Service’s mission is to provide the customer with professional lawn care. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

Greens Manicure Service will provide residential lawn care service which includes lawn cutting, edging and trimming. Optional services will include hedge trimming. The service is typically offered once a week in season, but Greens can create a custom schedule for clients.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

Greens Manicure Service will be targeting one specific segment of the population, suburban middle-class families with no children and larger lawns. This group of people are the most likely to use a lawn care service such as Steve’s.

Steve will be canvassing his parents neighborhood, developing a client list. For the second year, Steve will expand service beyond his general neighborhood, utilizing advertisements in the local newspaper to develop visibility for Greens Manicure Service.

4.1 Service Business Analysis

Greens Manicure Service will be working in the lawn care industry. The industry is both residential business (individual home) and commercial businesses (apartment complexes, business parks, schools, etc.).

The commercial side is generally serviced by larger landscaping services. The residential side is serviced by both landscaping companies and basic lawn care service companies.

The lawn care business is made up of many small companies. This occurs because of the high labor intensity, low start-up costs, nature of the industry. The industry is also vulnerable to recessions as lawn care is a luxury. Lasty, lawn care is seasonal, the high season is spring through fall. There is little activity in the winter.

4.1.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

The lawn care business can be divided into two types, residential and commercial. As a smaller company or start up business, it is much easier to enter into the residential market compared with the commercial market. The commercial market is dominated by larger, established companies.

Within the residential market, there are two competitors: full-scale landscaping companies and basic lawn care services. The full-scale landscaping companies will generally be handling jobs outside of Green’s range. They are servicing even larger homes that require other landscaping activities that need more equipment and higher-skilled employees. The margins are therefore larger for the full-scale companies because they can charge more for the higher-skilled work. The other competitor is the basic lawn care services, not unlike Greens Manicure Service. Most markets, including Greens, the competition is not overwhelming and often lacks basic quality and professionalism.

More often than not, residential customers make purchasing decisions based on referrals and perceived professionalism and quality.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

Greens Manicure Service’s segment will be initially targeted by canvassing the neighborhood and offering a free estimate and cut. Steve will be basing the business out of his parents home, right in the middle of a target neighborhood. Steve will walk the neighborhood and leverage his relationship in this community to gain a foothold. Although some people are put off by solicitors, Steve is their neighbor so he will generally be able to make his spiel.

Once Steve  has built up a steady list of customers he will begin to run advertisements in the local paper to gain a foothold in different neighborhoods. This will take place during the second year as Steve will have sufficient business for year one in his neighborhood.

4.3 Market Segmentation

Greens Manicure Service will be targeting one specific group of customers, the suburban middle class. Greens is targeting middle-aged homemakers as they are more likely to rely on a lawn service. Younger homemakers are more likely to do their lawn themselves. Greens will also be targeting homes that do not have teenage children, as the youngsters are likely to help out with the lawn. The median income is $60-$120K, just enough to have disposable income for the care of their lawn. Greens Manicure Service will be targeting larger size lawns, from 4,000-7,000 square feet. This is done because the margins are higher with larger lawns once you factor in transportation time and costs. Lastly, white collar families will be targeted instead of blue collar families as the blue collar families are more likely to do the lawn themselves.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

5.1 Competitive Edge

Greens Manicure Service’s competitive edge will be based on quality and professionalism. During the first year Steve will be doing all of the lawns with only one other employee. This provides him with direct supervision of the employee and direct involvement with the job. This will ensure customers receive a quality job. Steve knows what quality work is, based on previous experiences to be detailed under the Management section.

Greens second competitive edge is professionalism. Steve will ensure that all interactions between the customer and his employee, as well as himself, ooze professionalism.

Steve truly believes that professionalism and quality are the factors that attract and maintain customers. Consequently, Steve will be truly vigilant in ensuring that his competitive edges are always apparent to the customer as his livelihood is dependant on this.

5.2 Sales Strategy

Greens Manicure Service’s sales strategy will be based on one-on-one communications with prospective leads. Steve will first be leveraging his relationships with his parents (pillars in the neighborhood) and his connection with the neighborhood. The prospectives will generally form a bit of a bond with Steve because of local familiarity and then Steve will need to communicate his experience in lawn care and his constant benchmarks of quality and professionalism. Steve is willing to offer a free estimate and cutting for those that are interested in a possible contract. Although some of the free cuttings will not turn out to be long term customers, he is confident that his competitive prices and superior service will turn most of the leads into customers.

By year two, the business will be ready to expand outside of the neighborhood and Steve will be using advertisements in the local paper to generate business. When people call with questions, Steve will have already (the previous year) built up a loyal following of customers that will serve as an effective referral system in which prospective people can call the current customers and get a glowing testimonial of Green’s service.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The first month will be used to set up the office, purchase the necessary lawn care equipment, hire and train an employee. Additionally, during the last two weeks of the month, Steve will be canvassing the neighborhood to build up a customer list.

Month two will see some business. The business will be growing as Steve continues to increase the number of jobs that he has. Month two through October will see a steady rise in revenues. Business will pick up again in April of year two. From February through April Steve will be working hard on generating new customers and will bring on two additional employees to service the new customers.

5.3 Milestones

Greens Manicure Service will have several milestones early on:

• Revenue exceeding $50,000.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

Greens Manicure Service is owned and operated by Steve Greinthum. Steve was first introduced to lawn care while he was pursuing his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Oregon. Steve worked for a large, well-respected landscaping company. He started out his freshman summer year as a mower operater. During his four years at school he eventually moved up to crew manager. 

Steve enjoyed taking care of lawns. He was always excited about working outside. He also liked the management responsibilities that he had his last summer. The one thing he longed for is operating his own company. He decided the only thing stopping him was money, he already had all the experience and knowledge necessary. So Steve got a loan from his parents and started the company.

6.1 Personnel Plan

Greens Manicure Service will consist of Steve working full time. Steve will be the manager for the business, signing up new customers, managing customer accounts, hiring, training, supervising, and cutting grass.

Greens Manicure Service will use a total of two people during year one. For year two Steve will hire an additional two people to create a second work crew.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The following sections will outline important financial information.

7.1 Important Assumptions

The following table highlights some important financial assumptions of Greens.

7.2 Break-even Analysis

The Break-even Analysis indicates approximately $3,900 is needed in monthly revenue to break even.

7.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The following table indicates the projected profit and loss.

7.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following chart and table will indicate projected cash flow.

7.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following table indicates the projected balance sheet.

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How to Write a Landscaping Business Plan: Complete Guide

• January 30, 2023

👇 Check all our resources on landscaping businesses 👇

Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) for your landscaping business, you will need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in your landscaping business plan. Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded.

1. Executive Summary

This is the first part and the most important section of your business plan. This is the first thing lenders and/or investors will have a look at.

Before we dive into the specifics, keep in mind the executive summary is a summary: keep it to 2 pages maximum. Indeed, your executive summary should briefly sum up the key sections of your business plan as well as presenting the funding ask.

Why do you need a business plan for your landscaping business?

The funding ask (or funding requirement), as explained below, is the reason why any business would have a business plan. Business plans are prepared for one of the 3 following objectives:

• Obtain financing from a bank or any other lender (a SBA loan for example)
• Obtain financing from private investors (business angels, investment funds, etc.)
• Get approval for a private or public grant

How to write an executive summary for a landscaping business plan?

The executive summary of your landscaping business plan should include the following important information:

• Business overview : the name of your company, its legal structure, the business model (franchise vs. independent landscaping business), the type of services you will offer (lawn maintenance, hardscaping, design, etc.), the customers you target (individuals or businesses, etc.)
• Market analysis : how big is the landscaping industry in your area? How many competitors are there? What services do they offer? etc.
• People : who is the management team? what is your/their experience in the landscaping industry?
• Financial plan : what is your expected revenue and profitability for the next 5 years? When do you expect to break-even? Simply include here a chart of your key financials (e.g. revenue, gross Profit, net profit , cash flow)
• Funding ask : what loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How long will this last?

2. Landscaping Business Overview

The business overview section of your landscaping business plan highlights what services your landscaping company offers, to whom as well as how your business is structured legally. 

Ideally, this section should include the following details about your business;

• The history of the project: why do you want to start this business today?
• The services you offer and their price range
• Your target customers: who are your customers (businesses or individuals?)
• Your company legal structure

a) History of the Project

Why did you decide to start your own landscaping business? Here a brief company history comes in handy if you want to outshine your competitors in the eyes of an investor (or a lender). 

Use this section to mention 2 vital things about your landscaping business, including;

• Your interest and passion for getting into the landscaping business
• The rationale behind you starting a landscaping business today

For example, you might be an experienced landscaping worker and found out there was no company offering landscaping services to businesses in the area where you’re from.

b) Services

Landscaping companies have a number of services they offer to local customers, businesses or individuals. Ultimately, you should prioritize what suits your target audience depending on your market analysis. There are 2 main types of services for landscaping companies:

• Lawn maintenance: one of the most common services. It includes cleanups, pruning, fertilizing, aeration, lime application, mowing, and weed control
• Landscaping services instead include planting, mulching, landscape designing, hardscaping and foundation planting, to mention a few

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with offering both services if you have enough resources. You can also offer your landscaping services individually or as comprehensive packages based on your clients’ needs and budget. 

c) Pricing Strategy

It’s crucial to outline your pricing list when writing a landscaping business plan. Focus on the most important details about your pricing structure without going overboard. For example, whilst lawn mowing costs on average $45 per week in the US, the cost of lawn care services ranges from $48 to $211 for homeowners .

Similarly, the cost of landscaping services may vary from one location to another, depending on the target audience. On an hourly basis, average landscaping services cost $50 to $100 per hour on average. 

A clear pricing strategy can give you the upper hand when seeking financial support from potential investors and lenders, making it an important part of your landscaping business plan. 

Also, it’s important to outline your pricing strategy in your business plan so investors can tie it into your financial projections later on (see more on that below).

d) Target Audience

What’s your target market ? Knowing your consumers will always play a key role in the success of your landscaping business. It also gives you a competitive advantage by helping you identify the existing market gap. 

Are you targeting homeowners, commercial property managers, or businesses offices and headquarters? Understanding your target market will help you better define your marketing strategy and retain customers.

e) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you opt for. Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)? Who are the investors? How much equity percentage do they own? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry?

Landscaping Financial Model

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

3. Landscaping Market Analysis

Now that we have covered all about your business, let’s now look at your industry, and more precisely the landscaping industry in your area, your competitors and target audience.

Indeed, before you reach out to lenders or investors, you must prove to them that you understand your market. This helps earn their trust and can make the difference fo them to invest in your business.

a) Landscaping Business Market Overview

You should present in this section the status quo of the landscaping industry in the US, as well as in your city / area. You must address 2 main points here:

How big is the landscaping industry in your area?

• How fast the market is growing?

How big is the landscaping industry in the US?

Before diving into your specific city or area, it’s always good to get a clear overview of the US market first. Indeed, getting national data will help you address all the factors that could affect your business, such as demographics, market demand, and environmental activities. 

The landscaping industry has grown at a steady rate of 2.5% per year in the last few years, up to $105 billion in 2021 . 

After the US, assess the status of the landscaping market in your city or area. Focus on the zone where you plan to offer your landscaping services.

Naturally, you might not be able to get the data for your specific city or region. Instead, you can estimate the size of your market, for more information on how to do it, read our article on how to estimate TAM, SAM and SOM for your startup . To give you an example, let’s assume you plan to operate in a radius where there are 40 competitors:

As we know the US landscaping industry is worth $105 billion today, and there are about 604,000 landscaping businesses (small and large) in the US in total, we can deduct that the average annual revenue per landscaping company is $175,000.

So we can safely assume the landscaping industry is worth $7,000,000 in the area where you plan to operate. Now, assuming there are 30,000 houses, this means each household that owns a house spend $195 per month in landscaping services, pretty close to the national average.

How fast is the landscaping industry growing in your area?

Growth is an important metric for assessing the status of the landscaping industry in your region. 

Here if you don’t find information online or via your research, you can calculate growth using the total number of landscaping businesses in your area. 

For instance, if there were 40 landscaping businesses in the region in 2019, which increased to 45 in 2022, it’s safe to assume that the market is growing at 4% per year. 

b) Landscaping Competitor Analysis

At the very least, your competitor analysis should answer all or some of these questions:

• How many landscaping businesses are in your region?
• What services do your competitors offer? What’s their average price?
• How many employees do they have on the payroll?
• What’s the approximate number of customers/contracts they serve per month?

After answering these questions, it will be easier to tailor your services and prices to suit the target market. 

c) Landscaping Business Customer Analysis

We presented in the Business Overview section who were your target customers. Here instead instead you must show in your business plan that these target customers actually live in the area and need the services you offer. 

Indeed, it would be pointless to start a landscaping business in your region when nobody needs your services in the first place. 

And having competitors doesn’t necessarily mean your target customers are there. For example, you might not focus on the same customer segment (e.g. individuals homeowners vs. businesses).

There are here a few important questions you must answer:

• What landscaping services do your target customers need?
• How many potential customers are there in the area (for example, if you focus on homeowners, you can use the number of houses in the area as a proxy)?
• How much does the average customer spend on landscaping in the area (if you can’t find the information for your city, use the national average instead)?

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

The next section of your landscaping business plan gives you a chance to highlight your strategic plan for acquiring new clients. 

Start by exploring your unique selling point, the suitability of the proposed marketing strategies, and the overall marketing budget. 

a) Landscaping Marketing Channels

Here are a few examples of marketing channels landscaping businesses use:

• Email marketing
• Social media
• Website 
• Local advertising (newspapers)
• Register with the online business directories (Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.)
• Google Business profile and ratings
• Word-of-mouth recommendations

b) What are Your Unique Selling Points (USPs)?

A unique selling point makes you stand out in a competitive market. When getting started, it is the easiest way to win over multiple customers and one of the best strategies for edging out your biggest competitors. You can build your USPs around the following aspects;

• Price : affordable services will most likely appeal to most customers
• Specialization : choosing a specific service helps you stand out (for example, you might focus on landscape design and hardscaping)
• Additional services : you can provide extra services not available in the area 

5. Management & People

The 5th section of your landscaping business plan should be about people. It should include 2 main elements:

• The management team and their experience / track record
• The organizational structure: what are the different teams and who reports to whom?

a) Management

Here you should list all the management roles in your company.

Of course, the amount of details you need to include here varies depending on the size of your company. For example, a landscaping business with a number of vehicles and teams would need more detail vs. a small landscaping business run by 1 or 2 persons.

If you plan on running your business independently, you may write a short paragraph explaining who are the co-founders and/or senior managers (if there are any in addition to yourself). It’s important to highlight their experience in the industry and previous relevant professional experiences.

b) Organizational structure

No matter how many leadership roles there are, you should now explain how you intend to run the company from a management standpoint.

What are the different teams (management, sales, operations, mechanics, finance, etc.)? Note that you should include these details even if you haven’t hired anyone yet. It will show lenders and investors that you have a solid hiring and management plan to run the business successfully.

A great addition here is to add an organizational chart that list all the roles, from Directors to managers, key supervisory roles, employees and contractors. Make sure to highlight with reporting lines who manages/supervises whom.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any business plan.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors instead, a solid financial plan will prove them your landscaping business is an attractive investment.

There should be 3 sections to your financial plan section:

• Your historical financials (only if you already operate the business and have financial accounts to show)
• The startup costs of your project (if you start a new landscaping business or if you plan to purchase new equipment and vehicles, etc.)
• Your 5-year financial projections

a) Historical Financials (optional)

In the scenario where you already have some historical financials (a few quarters or a few years), include them. A summary of your financial statements in the form of charts e.g. revenue, gross profit and net profit is enough, save the rest for the appendix.

If you don’t have any, don’t worry, most new businesses don’t have any historical financials and that’s ok. If so, jump to Startup Costs instead.

b) Landscaping Startup Costs

Starting a small one-person landscaping business can cost as little as $500 , but most large-scale landscaping businesses need to spend more on equipment, marketing and staff. That’s why most landscaping businesses typically cost between $15,000 and $50,000 to start (excluding the cost of a vehicle). 

As you can see, startup costs vary significantly according to factors like the size of your business, the number of employees, the quality of equipment, the services you offer and the tools needed, etc. 

So, we have given you a clear overview below of all the essential costs you can expect to start a small landscaping business with 4 employees. There are 2 types of costs: startup costs and operating costs . For more information on how much it costs to start and run a landscaping business, read our complete guide here .

Note that these costs are for illustrative purposes and depend on several factors which might not fully apply to you.

c) Landscaping 5-Year Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid 5-year financial model as part of your business plan for your landscaping business.

Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts in your business plan.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

• How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
• When do you expect to break even?
• How much cash will you burn until you get there?
• What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 20%) on your margins?
• What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

• The number of contracts (customers) you will win over time ;
• Your expected revenue ;
• Operating costs to run the business ;
• Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing and the number of contracts as a small change in these assumptions will have a big impact on your revenues.

7. Funding Ask

This is the last section of the business plan of your landscaping business. Now that we have explained what type of landscaping services your company offers and to whom, at what price, but also what’s your marketing strategy, where you go and how you get there, this section must answer the following questions:

• How much funding do you need?
• What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
• How long will this funding last?
• Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

If you raise debt:

• What percentage of the total funding the loan represents?
• What is the corresponding Debt Service Coverage Ratio ?

If you raise equity

• What percentage ownership are you selling as part of this funding round?
• What is the corresponding valuation of your business?

Use of Funds

Any business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment to acquire the cost for the vehicles, tools and equipment? Or will it cover mostly the cost of the salaries of your employees the first few months?

Those are very important questions you should be able to answer in the blink of an eye. Don’t worry, this should come straight from your financial projections. If you’ve built solid projections like in our landscaping financial model template , you won’t have any issues answering these questions.

For the use of funds, we recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

Related Posts

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Landscaping Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Landscaping businesses run the gamut from one-person lawn care services to huge companies with dozens of locations. As long as people and businesses have lawns, there will always be work, yet many landscapers fail in the first year, often due to haphazard and unsustainable growth. A written business plan can help you avoid this trap by delineating a clear road map for organized growth. In addition, if you plan to seek outside funding, your business plan is essential to convincing investors or lenders to take a chance on your company.

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 2,000 entrepreneurs create business plans to start and grow their landscaping companies. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a landscaping business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Landscaping Business Plan Template here >

What is a Landscaping Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your landscaping business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Landscaping Company

If you’re looking to start a landscaping business or grow your existing landscaping business you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your landscaping business in order to improve your chances of success. Your landscaping business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Source of Funding for Landscaping Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a landscaping company are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a landscaping company is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a landscaping company.

Your business plan should include 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of landscaping company you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a landscaping business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of landscaping companies.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the landscaping industry. Discuss the type of landscaping company you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of landscaping company you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

• Commercial : this type of landscaping company provides services to commercial facilities, municipal buildings, and campuses. This type of business provides lawn maintenance, as well as tree and shrub services and exterior landscaping installation.
• Residential : this type of landscaping company typically focuses on lawn maintenance for households and multifamily properties.
• Landscape design : this type of landscaping company includes the construction of embankments, terraces and retaining walls used in landscape structures, in addition to walkways, decks, fences, ponds and similar structures.
• Arborist services : Arborists undertake the cultivation and management of individual trees or trees within a small area, as opposed to similar professionals in the forestry industries. Arborist services also include tree felling and surgery.

In addition to explaining the type of landscaping company you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new store openings, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the landscaping industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards residential outdoor kitchens, it would be helpful to ensure your plan calls for employing plenty of skilled labor.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your landscaping business plan:

• How big is the landscaping industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your landscaping company. You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your lawn care business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: families, baby boomers, businesses, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of landscaping company you operate. Clearly baby boomers would want different pricing and product options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than businesses.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most landscaping companies primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other landscaping businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to choose from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes DIY platforms such as TaskRabbit, or doing the landscaping themselves. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone uses a landscaping business for lawn maintenance.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other landscaping businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be landscaping businesses located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What products/services do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior landscaping services?
• Will you provide landscaping services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to schedule your services?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a lawn care business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of landscaping business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to mowing and trimming lawns, will you offer services such as insect and weed control?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your landscaping business. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your landscaping business located near a garden supply store, or greenhouse, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers.

Promotions : the final part of your landscaping business marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
• Pay per click advertising
• Local radio advertising
• Banner ads at local venues

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your lawn care business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your landscaping business such as serving customers, procuring supplies, keeping the equipment maintained, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 100th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch in a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your landscaping business’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in the landscaping business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in landscaping businesses and/or successfully running retail and small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 100 customers per week or 200? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your landscaping business (purchasing equipment, etc.), that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a landscaping business:

• Cost of equipment like mowers, trailers, weed trimmers, clippers, etc.
• Cost of maintaining an adequate amount of supplies (i.e. bug and weed killer, etc.)
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your store design blueprint or location lease.

Landscaping Business Plan Summary

Putting together a business plan for your landscaping business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the landscaping business, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a solid lawn care business plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful landscaping business.

Download Our Landscaping Business Plan PDF

You can download our lawn care business plan example pdf here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Landscaping Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my landscaping business plan.

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Where Can I Download a Sample Landscaping Business Plan PDF?

You can download our landscaping business plan sample pdf here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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