Landscaping year round with business stacking
Estimate Reading Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds
It’s pretty daunting to start a full on landscaping business. To buy a truck, trailer, mower, and edger could easily cost you $15,000+ just to get started.
What if I could you there was a much less risky, simpler way to get started by using business stacking? For a refresher on business stacking, see yesterday’s post.
Let me explain.
Recently I was walking on a trail near my home that looks into multiple backyards. I had my AirPods in, head down, not really paying attention to my surroundings.
All of a sudden I looked up and saw a glorious sight. A tree that needed trimming. I flashed back to my childhood, helping my grandpa trim his apple trees and cut off the “watershoots”.
The concept is really simple. During the year a tree will sprout branches out the top that are long and thin. They are too weak to hold fruit during the year, so they just waste the tree’s resources without bringing any results.
Each spring, the watershoots need to be cut off and the tree is generally cut back in order to make it easier to take care of.
It’s one of those things homeowners know they should do, but it’s generally a pain to take care of and gets put off.
That’s where you can come in.
The Plan
Pick your customer acquisition strategy. Personally, I think going door to door is ideal here. With some old fashioned pavement pounding you could find 3-5 clients in a good evening. Look for orchards like this one where you can knock out a bunch of trees at the same time
.
Buy a set of clippers. With $40 on amazon you are all set.
Start trimming. It’s really not rocket science. If you don’t believe me, just look up a Youtube video on how to trim a tree. Easiest R&D ever.
Charge $20 per tree, give the add on option of $10 to haul away all the sticks.
Collect reviews on your Google Business Profile. This is not optional. It will help you so much in step 6.
Using all your existing clients, stack another business on top.
The Business Stack
Now that you have some trimming under your belt, plus a little cash, you are able to move into phase two of your business.
If you are smart, you should have been able to put aside a little cash.
$20 per tree * 400 trees = $8,000
Then, you can afford to buy a used truck, small trailer, and used mower to get into full on landscaping contracts.
Call up every person you did trimming for and offer your services taking care of their yard all summer. Give them a monthly price and sign them up for a 3 month commitment.
Additional Stacking Opportunities
Fall leaf cleanup
Winter snow removal
Pool winterization
Swamp cooler winterization
RV winterization