Gardening is widely viewed as being among the most stress-relieving hobbies there is. If your knowledge of gardening is extensive and you would like to use your experience to offer your expertise to others, you can consider starting your own gardening business. It is a fairly simple business that can be started out of your home.
The size of your business will depend on you, the amount of free time you have, the scale of the services that you would offer and the amount of funds you can invest. Below are the basics setting up a gardening business:
Natural Abilities
To become a professional landscape gardener, you will first need natural skills, which is the most crucial base of the craft. Experience is among the most valuable things you can offer of yourself. Without any expertise, you will need to invest money, time and effort into training.
Furthermore, functioning in different ways and with a unique vision for each project is necessary for a gardener. As such, flexibility is one of your most valuable skill. This and other abilities will be detailed below:
• A creative mindset
• An innovative eye
• Capacity to communicate clearly understand and people
• Remarkable planning, organizational and design abilities
• Above average proficiency in gardening
• Incredible negotiation skills
• Reliability
• Flexibility when a client changes his or her mind and when it comes to accidents and other unexpected circumstances
• Basic marketing skills to get your name out there
• Basic administrative skills to keep documents organized
• Consistent interest in new ideas
Finances
Big outside funding is not required for gardening and landscaping businesses. Work can be carried out on a small scale with what you know and what you have. Gradually, you can start expanding the equipment and the coverage of the services offered as your business gain popularity.
Travel Expenses and Tools
The majority of the financial investments will go towards travel expenses and tools, if you are working on a project outside of your local neighborhood.
Training
Presuming you have no prior knowledge and experience in anything concerning the gardening business, a good amount of time and money should be spent on qualification and practical work.
Suppliers
The most secure decision that can be made is signing a contract with a huge supplier; however, this works best when your business is booming. To start, you could find deals online and shop in wholesale stores.
Business Insurance
Without insurance, you can do nothing and this is not only in the gardening industry. Typically, as soon as you get in touch with a potential client, one of the first thing he or she will ask is if you have public liability insurance for gardeners. If you do not, you will likely lose the prospect. Insurance is critical for coverage against accidents, injury, theft and property damage. Consult with an insurance advisor before making a final decision.
Marketing Strategy
Hiring a marketing specialist or paying a few one-time fees for the services of independent promoters is something you might need to get exposure. Of course, this aspect can also be done by you if you are adequately skilled.
Create a Website
A website provides the best method of giving adequate information about yourself and your business. Below are the most essential things that should be on your official website:
• Information on all services offered
• Location coverage
• Contacts information such as phone, address, email and booking form