From grass to gardens and everything in between, you know what it takes to keep a lawn healthy and attractive. However, landscaping skills do not necessarily transcend into business skills. Even if you offer a high-quality service, you risk losing out to rivals with a stronger business investment. If you’re looking to start your own landscaping business or seeking financing to expand your business, you require a business plan for landscaping.
With creative lawns sprouting up in every little nook and cranny of most cities, the market for landscaping designers is at an all-time high. Every property, be it commercial entities, residences, or public spaces, deserves a beautiful lawn. But not everyone possesses the ingenuity and eye for perfection required to maintain these lovely gardens. If you do, starting a landscaping business may be a perfect idea.
IBIS’s World Landscaping Services Industry Report estimates that the market for landscaping services was worth $105.1 billion in 2021. Between 2016 to 2021, the sector’s market size in the US increased by an average of 2.5%. A landscaping business can help you achieve your full potential if you are an artistic person who can think outside the box. A solid landscape company business plan and a small amount of groundwork are all you require for landscaping business funding.
What Is a Landscape Company Business Plan?
A landscape company business plan has a detailed overview of your landscaping operation and outlines your growth strategy for the subsequent five years. It highlights your company’s goals and your plan for accomplishing them. A landscaping company business plan can help set your business up to succeed by allowing you to evaluate whether you possess a viable business idea, providing a roadmap for establishing your business, and organizing your ideas.
Creating a business plan for a landscaping company is an important element of launching the business since it helps:
- Estimate your initial setup expenditures
- Obtain a complete picture of the services that you offer
- Define your target market
- Analyze your competitors
- Set your pricing strategy
- Create an effective marketing strategy
- Estimate overall financial costs and forecasts
How to Create a Business Plan for Landscaping
You’ll be putting your business ahead of the competition in the landscaping business if you take the time to create a detailed business plan for landscaping. Let’s take a look at the specifics you must include in each section of your landscape company business plan.
Executive Summary
Your executive summary serves as an introduction to your landscape company business plan. However, it is usually the last portion you write as it summarizes every significant section of your business plan.
The executive summary summarizes your business plan and provides a general overview of your establishment. It provides information about your company, what it does, and why your landscaping business will be successful.
Keep this section simple and to the point, but make sure you include the following:
- Mission statement
- Business description
- Leadership and employee count
- Location of your business
- Services offered
- Why you’ll be successful
The objective of your executive summary is to capture the reader’s attention. Describe the kind of landscaping business you run and your current status; for instance, are you a startup, are you looking to expand your company, or do you run a landscaping franchise?
Company Analysis
Your business plan’s Company Analysis section must include information on the company’s background. In this section, you must also describe your competitive edge, the challenges you tackle, and the reasons your business will prosper in this industry.
The following questions must be answered in this section:
- When did you launch the company, and why?
- Do you have employees with significant landscaping experience?
- Is there a market gap that qualifies to serve a niche audience?
- What are your current accomplishments?
- What is your business structure? (LLC, S-Corp, Sole Proprietorship)
Additionally, you will also describe the type of landscaping business you own here.
For a better understanding, here are a few types of landscaping businesses:
- Commercial: This category of landscaping business offers services to corporate companies, government buildings, and universities. Such a company offers exterior landscaping, tree and shrub services, and lawn management.
- Residential: This category aims at maintaining lawns of single-family homes and apartment buildings.
- Landscape Design: This category of landscaping business builds sidewalks, patios, fences, ponds, terraces, and walls used in landscaping constructions.
- Arboricultural Services: This category of services includes growing and managing a single tree or a group of trees in a confined region. Tree surgery and felling are also part of these services.
Industry Analysis
Before you start your landscaping company, you should do thorough industry and competitor research. By conducting industry analysis, you can learn if there is potential in your region for your company to succeed. Examine the positives and negatives of your competitors to identify opportunities for improvement. Browsing through your competitors’ online ratings and reviews is an effective approach to determining their shortcomings and strengths.
You can improve your business strategies and expand your client base if you know the advantages and disadvantages of your competitor landscaping companies.
Your lawn care business plan’s industry analysis section needs to address the following queries:
- How large is the landscaping market?
- Has the landscaping market grown or declined recently?
- Who are the biggest market competitors?
- Who are the industry’s major suppliers?
- What trends are influencing the landscaping sector?
- What are the landscaping industry’s growth projections for the next 5 years?
- What is the magnitude of your company’s potential market?
Customer Analysis
The customer analysis section for your business plan for landscaping must include information on the clientele you currently serve or intend to serve.
For example, customers can be categorized into households, commercial establishments, or millennials and baby boomers. The customer group(s) you intend to target will significantly affect the kind of landscaping business you run. A millennial’s price point, product choices, and applicable marketing strategies will be vastly different from those of a commercial establishment. Consider your target audience’s demographic and psychographic attributes to help you categorize them. The interests and demands of your market segment are defined in the psychographic assessments. The deeper you recognize and acknowledge their requirements, the faster you will be able to attract and retain customers.
Include a section on the age, gender, region, and income ranges of the clients you plan to target in your overview of demography. This demographic data is easy to locate on government websites since the majority of landscaping firms generally serve the locals.
Competitor Analysis
Your competitor analysis section must cover your company’s direct and indirect competitors.
Your direct competitors have established landscaping businesses in your region.
Indirect competitors are alternatives to landscaping companies that customers might choose from, such as DIY platforms. It is important to denote such competition to highlight that not everyone employs a landscaping company to maintain their yard.
In terms of direct competitors, you should mention other landscaping companies with whom you compete. The landscaping companies in the neighborhood around you will most certainly be your main competitors.
Provide a brief overview of these companies and highlight their advantages and disadvantages. Gather important information like:
- Who are their typical clients?
- What are their products and services?
- How much do they charge?
- What do they specialize in?
- What are their limitations?
The last portion of your competitor analysis should describe your competitive edge, such as:
- Will you offer landscaping options that aren’t covered by your rivals?
- Will you streamline the scheduling process for customers?
- Will you deliver better customer support?
- Will you provide affordable rates?
In this section of your landscape company business plan, identify tactics for outperforming your opponents and list them.
Services and Product Offering
Your landscaping company business plan’s section on services and product offerings describes to the reader how your business intends to generate revenue.
This section must contain the following information:
- Describe the services offered
- Define your pricing strategy
- Duration of services
- Specify what makes your product unique
Landscaping businesses provide solutions beyond just lawn maintenance, such as:
- Installing mulch or sod
- Planting flowers and other crops
- Fertilizing
- Pest management
- Weed control
- Pruning
- Hedging
- Installing an irrigation system
- Landscape architecture
- Lawn maintenance
Marketing and Sales
Your business plan for landscaping should have a marketing and sales section that describes to readers how you’ll attract and retain customers. You can acquire fresh leads and create strong bonds with existing customers using several landscape marketing techniques.
A marketing plan typically includes the four Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Your lawn care business should incorporate the following marketing strategy:
- Product: In this section, you should repeat the landscaping business types you outlined in your Company Analysis. Then, elaborate on the specific services and products you will be providing, comparing them to your competitors’ similar provisions.
- Price: Create a comparison chart of the rates you and your competitors provide.
- Place: Your landscaping company’s location is referred to as its place. Explain where you are located and how your location will benefit your business.
- Promotion: In this section, you will describe your marketing strategy for attracting prospective customers to your company. Here are some ideas for promotion:
- Advertising in regional publications
- Collaborating with local bloggers and media houses
- Flyers and banner ads at local venues
- Radio broadcast commercials
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- An affiliate Program
- Securing a Yelp Business Page
- A listing on Google Business
- Search engine optimization
- Content marketing
Your marketing plan must also include a user-friendly website. It will act as the online persona of your business. The bulk of marketing strategies will lead prospective clients to your website.
Select the best marketing techniques, develop a strategy, and summarize them in this section. Describe how you intend to improve your company’s lead generation and customer credibility, retain clients, and reward their loyalty.
Operations Plan
The operations plan in your business plan for landscaping explains how you will accomplish the objectives that were mentioned in the early sections. Your operations plan should be divided into two segments:
Daily short-term goals cover all the processes needed to operate your lawn care company, like customer service, purchasing supplies, maintaining equipment, and so on.
Long-term goals are the benchmarks you want to accomplish. These can be the timeframes when you aim to service your 1000th client, exceed a sales target, or start operations in a new location.
The Management Team
A solid management team is crucial to establishing the success of your landscaping company. Emphasize the qualifications and experience of your key players, particularly those who exhibit their ability to expand a business.
If you or any of your associates have professional experience in the landscaping sector, be sure to emphasize it. Additionally, acknowledge any skills and expertise you believe will benefit your business and help it prosper.
If your crew is inexperienced, try forming an advisory board. An advisory board with 2 to 6 members can serve as business mentors. They can assist with queries and offer tactical direction. Ideally, seek members who have managed small and medium-sized businesses or landscaping companies.
Financial Plan
Your landscaping business plan’s financial plan section offers reliable financial forecasts for your business. If you’re seeking investment, you’ll need to convince the reader that your company will be profitable.
Reviewing your financials will help you understand whether landscaping is a viable business. It’s imperative that you possess sufficient funds to start your company and that your goals are realistic. Your financial plan must incorporate a 5-year financial statement segmented monthly or quarterly for the initial year, then annually for the next 4 years.
Your financial plan should contain an income statement, a balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
Income Statement
An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement (P&L), lists your earnings and then deducts your expenditures to determine if you made profits. Creating estimates is necessary while generating your income statement. But be aware that your choice of estimates will have a massive effect on your company’s financial projections. Hence, do extensive research to see if you can support your claims in actuality.
Balance Sheet
Although balance sheets contain a significant amount of information, they can be broken down into essential components like assets and liabilities to make them easier to understand.
Cash Flow Statement
Your cash flow statement can help you estimate how much capital you’ll require to start or expand your business and ensure you will never be short of funds. Most entrepreneurs are ignorant of the potential avenues for revenue generation while simultaneously running out of funds and going bankrupt.
While creating an Income Statement and Balance Sheet, include the following costs:
- Cost of Equipment and Supplies
- Payroll
- Business Insurance
- Business Licenses and Permits
- Taxes
- Legal Fees
If you’re seeking financial assistance from a service provider, you may also add a funding request to your financial plan. Mention the amount of funding you’ll require, your intentions for the financing, and the time frame investors should expect for your business to turn profitable. Your initial investment, ability to establish reasonable rates, and how promptly you can grow your clientele will all influence when you become profitable.
Appendix
Include your financial estimates in the appendix of your landscaping company business plan with any additional materials that can strengthen your position.
Tips to Create a Business Plan for Landscaping
Your business plan for landscaping must be simple and professional. Ensure that your plan contains all of the essential components listed above.
Your landscaping business plan aims to convey your vision and direct the company’s growth. Here are a few tips to assist you in creating a straightforward and successful business plan:
- Keep your business plan brief and simple: Having to read a 50-page business plan can be exhausting.
- Be clear about your goals: Your business goal should be mentioned in your business plan. Define your long-term objectives and what makes your company stand out from competitors.
- Be reasonable: Refrain from making too many promises and not delivering on them. Make realistic estimates and goals.
- Do extensive research: Ensure that you are well informed about your landscaping business and your competitors.
- Seek support: Make sure to look for online or offline resources to assist in creating your business plan if you are unsure of where to begin.
If you adhere to these tips, you can be confident that your business plan for landscaping will be insightful and will guarantee a successful and profitable business.
Sum Up
Before starting your landscaping business, it is in your best financial interest to create a business plan. It will act as the business’ backbone and serve as a blueprint for your decisions moving forward. If you adhere to the structure provided, you will be a true expert by the end. You’ll thoroughly understand the landscaping market, your competitors, and your customers. You will also have a marketing strategy in place and fully grasp what it takes to establish and expand a lucrative landscaping business.
With a thorough business plan for landscaping to guide you, you can fearlessly cross the unfamiliar territory. Once you’ve developed your landscaping company business plan, you can get your business started right away.
