How To Create An Effective Lawn Care Business Plan in 7 Steps?

Curious how well landscape service is doing in 2022? We have got an answer for you. According to IBISWorld, the revenue of landscaping services in the USA in 2022 is $115.6 billion. Yes. that’s a tremendous figure and it also indicates how well the lawn care business is thriving.  

But, do you know what makes the lawn care business so successful? It is the business plan that assists lawn care companies to grow.  Let us explain what is lawn care business plan and how to prepare it. 

To make it simpler for you, we will discuss how to create an effective lawn care business in 7 steps. 

What Is A Lawn Care Business Plan?

A lawn care business plan is a written strategy that defines the planning, budgeting, marketing, and sales of your landscaping business. The lawn care business plan will help you to grow and tackle situations that arise presently and in the future.

Also, it will open the gate of opportunity and provide you with information that helps you to research, whether your strategy is profitable or not. 

Yes, creating and executing the business plan is not going to happen in one day as it is quite comprehensive but if you take step by step it is possible to implement it easily. It is not important to execute it accurately, it is important to get the concept clear. 

However, we will discuss how to use it one at a time. Following are the steps on how to create a lawn care business plan.

How to Create A Lawn Care Business Plan?

1. Executive Summary

   An executive summary is a one or half-long page overview of your lawn care business and your goals. It is the first section to create and read, so it has to be clear and unique. 

   In this summary, you need to include sections like

   • Company name
   • Business logo
   • Mission statement 
   • Your lawn care service business goal 
   • Business history
   • Contact information
   • Role in the market

   The executive summary will give you clarity regarding what you should include in your lawn care company and what to expect from your lawn service business plan. It should be in the form of a professional book or document. 

   Also, do not forget to specify why your lawn care business is different from others, and why would customers get your lawn care services or products over your other lawn care business competitors.

   Pro Tip:
   Do not write in too detail or provide insightful information because you have to calculate financial strategies.

   The executive summary is the initial phase of the market and your target customers. Therefore, it is critical to understand your business before penning it down in your business plan. 

   Moreover, it will not only showcase your lawn maintenance business but also the purpose of your business and what contribution you can do in the landscaping industry. Thus, it will help you to understand your business even better.

2. Business Overview

   Great, you are ready with an executive summary, now next is to create a business overview. As the name suggests, it is an overview of your lawn care businesses and lawn care services. 

   In a business overview, you have to form the list of efficient services you will provide to your customers. Write your relevant background history and experience that reflects your lawn care business journey. 

   Provide a business description of your lawn care services and what your company is offering. And give them a clear idea of your quality services, target market, lawn care equipment, and business goal. 

   Questions you need to ask yourself while writing a business overview:

   • What type of services do you offer: commercial, residential, or both?
   • What kind of business do you own: own business, partnership, or corporation?
   • How many assets like the equipment do you own and is it long-term assets or short assets?
   • How much is the capital of your business or what is your startup cost?

   Once you have answered the above mentioned questions, you are ready with your business overview plan.

3. Market Analysis

   Another one is the market analysis which is all about your target market and your ideal audience/customers. It is essential for lawn care business owners to know who is their target audience and who want to target for your lawn maintenance business.  

   To understand who is your target audience, you need to prepare a market analysis in your business plan. It will help you to meet the needs of your potential customers and identify industry trends with market research.

   You can also identify elements like pricing structure, competitive edge, incoming and outgoing costs, competitive analysis, and market outlook. 

   By answering the below questions, you will be able to find your target market:

   1. Who are your ideal customers?
   2. What are the age group, gender, income, and business size they have?
   3. Which location is ideal for your lawn care service?
   4. Does your business have to deliver specific wants to match your customer needs?
   5. Is your business a start-up or well-established?
   6. What different services do you offer than your competitor?
   7. Why customers would choose your service?
   8. How much you will charge for your lawn services?

4. Startup Costs

   After knowing your pricing structure in the market analysis, you need to prepare a business plan of startup cost to know about your business model and personal finances. 

   For a successful lawn care business, you require to purchase a wide range of equipment (an essential asset for a lawn care business). However, the money you spend on equipment should help you to improve your lawn care business. 

   Permit, tax implications, and business license are part of a financial plan. Once you are done with regulatory finance and equipment maintenance costs, you will be able to get an idea about profit margin.

5. Operation Costs

   Once you are clear about your start-up cost, you will require to prepare operation costs to know how much expense and income your company will going to make. The figure might not be accurate but it will give you a tentative idea about your pricing model. 

   For example, you have purchased a shovel and lawnmower, but purchasing equipment is not enough, you also have to keep them maintain and manage. Such expenses are included in operating costs. 

   Operation cost is the cost you will require for your daily operation. However, thanks to advanced technology, field service management software like FieldCamp makes your daily task easier by automating 90% of your daily operation.

   With field service management software, you can save 95% of your time which concludes to save more money and increase profit margins. 

6. Marketing and Sales

   Okay, you are ready with startup and operation costs, it is time to make another essential business plan and that is marketing and sales. 

   Average small businesses spend 5% to 10% of their entire budget on marketing and sales. It shows the significance of marketing and sales, and it is important because it helps to grow your lawn care business by spreading it to potential users. 

   There are plenty of marketing materials and marketing strategies that should be included in your business plan:

   • Growth strategy
   • Market strategy
   • Communication strategy
   • Sales activity
   • Advertising methods
   • Different distribution channels

7. Financial Plan

   The last yet essential one in the list of lawn care business plans is financial plans. Now, you will be wondering that we have already created costs such as startup and operation costs, then why do you need to create financial plans? 

   Well, you require to prepare a financial plan for better future growth as it shows the consistent and successful growth of your lawn care business. To know how profitable your service offerings are, you need financial plans as it shows the make or breaks point of your lawn care business. 

   Being a business owner you should not miss it, even though you need to hire employees such as financial advisors because they will help you to find healthy profit by digging and creating effective pricing strategies.   

   If you are doing this for the first time, ensure you include the following points:

   • Personal cost
   • Balance sheet
   • Start-up expense
   • Expense budget
   • Sales forecast
   • Profit and loss

   The list will help you to make financial plan effortless and to understand your financial projections. 

   And those were the tips that will help you to create lawn care business plans and manage your landscaping business with ease.

   Still unsure, whether it will be useful or not? We have listed the benefits of a lawn care business plan below, which will help you to understand why you should create a business plan for your lawn care company.

Benefits of Lawn Care Business Plan

• With a business plan, you can manage commercial clients, residential clients efficiently and provide quality work altogether.
• It will become easier for you to handle business entities.
• The business plan will increase the chances of success with planned and research strategies. 
• It will allow you to endure funds and growth in personnel plans.
• You will have a clear idea of your financial summary. 
• Effective marketing strategies will boost your lawn care business rapidly.

Conclusion

We know running a lawn care business is more challenging than it seems and needs to deliver quality work always. But it is possible to become a successful lawn care business if you as a lawn care business owner create a lawn care business plan. 

With the lawn care business plan, the chances of growing a lawn care company increases. However, to make your business more effortless and less time-consuming, you can adopt lawn care business management software. And if you own a lawn care business, your business productivity boosts with FieldCamp which helps you to automated schedule, reporting, invoicing, dispatching, and many other field service management features. 

To experience more benefits, start a FREE trial and explore its features and functionalities.