If you are bored with your job and you have green fingers, have you ever considered setting up a garden maintenance business? There has never been an easier time to register a business in Australia and with a huge market in all city suburbs, you should have no trouble finding customers.
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Registering the business
This is a smooth process that can be completed online; register as a sole trader, or a limited company to limit your liability. You should also take out adequate general liability insurance to cover you in the event you cause damage to the customer’s property.
Crunch the numbers
To be able to maintain your customers’ gardens, you will need the following:
- Flatbed truck – This is an essential asset to the business; a second-hand ute with an open back would be enough.
- Lawn mower – Ideally, you would have a ride-on John Deere lawn mower complete with a small trailer that hooks up with your truck. Whether you buy new or used, Google can help you find a gardening equipment supplier and we recommend investing in John Deere machinery, which can stand the test of time.
- Hand tools – A spade, a shovel, garden fork, rakes and stiff yard broom are all items you will need. Pruning shears and a small chainsaw can be used for tree maintenance, while you also need a wheelbarrow for moving materials. A few light ropes will be enough for small tree work; it should be noted that tree surgery is dangerous and if you don’t have any practical experience, leave it to a qualified tree surgeon. If you are an adventurer, here are a few planning tips for your next project.
You will need a base, which could be the spare room, where you keep records of all transactions for accurate bookkeeping.
Write a business plan
When setting up any business, you need to compile a comprehensive business plan that should cover every aspect of the operation. You should calculate your start-up and running costs, plus work out your minimum monthly income in order to break even.
Marketing
Design some attractive flyers and drop them in letter boxes; target all residential areas and offer at least 3 garden maintenance packages; a weekly, bi-weekly and monthly package that is all inclusive. The more flyers you give out, the more enquiries you will have; it is worth pointing out that there will be other companies offering a similar service, which means you have to be competitively priced. Once you have clients, focus on doing the best job you can and word of mouth will lead to more clients.
Be customer focused
Regardless of the industry, if you are always customer focused, your business will grow and if there was only one piece of advice we could give a new business owner, this would be it. Have attention to detail when working in clients’ gardens, as the little things do count and we hope that your gardening business enjoys steady growth. Garden maintenance is in high demand, as professional people do not have the time for maintenance gardening.