Setting Up A Gardening business

I am in the process of setting up a gardening business. My aim is to manage and maintain local gardens ie lawn care, weeding etc. I plan to start next spring and in the following months I will be investing in equipment and advertising. Luckily I have a van, so one of the biggest outlays is out the way.

Can anyone give me advice on the business set up re equipment and the best way to advertise?

 

I know a couple of cake businesses round where I live which have a Facebook page (a normal page, not a fanpage or group) and they get a lot of custom via this, and people can add them as a friend and see their work (and tag them in pictures, etc)

And then there's stuff like putting up notes in Post Office windows, maybe putting something in your front window which people could read?

Have your name and telephone number printed onto your van?

Post fliers through people's doors, most probably won't read them, but I bet you get a few responses!

Good luck, anyway.

 

good luck Richard .... buy your equipment off ebay and buy during winter if you can as prices will be dirt cheap ...

look at a decent mower that can cut grass in the wet ... such as an Etesia Pro .... £300 should get you a decent one off ebay, and approx £100-£120 will get it serviced at a lawnmower specialist ... after that, service it yourself (plug, airfilter/oil and blade)

for other equipment, look at Stihl (secondhand off ebay)

for advertising, start off with gumtree (free adverts) ... place adverts at tescos and post offices

once you start working, lots of business will be from word of mouth

here is a site that may assist you with planning your gardening business:

How to Start Your Own Gardening Business | Business | How To | Read Free Online Books at How To

 

Businesses can have a facebook page ?

 

Not sure if they can! But the ones near me seem to have one :D

example: http://www.facebook.com/sandl.cakes

 

Yep quite a few business near me have pages as well

How to Create a Facebook Page for Your Business - Webopedia

sign-in and go here to create a page for your business

https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

 

Richard,

Good luck with the business set-up it really is an exciting time. I can't tell you much about setting up a gardening business but having set up my own business 5 years ago, have learnt a thing or two common to any business!

Believe in yourself and the service you offer.
Don't copy your competitors, be better than them
Customer service, reliability etc is often more important than how good a job you do (but don't do a bad job!!)
Advertise, advertise, advertise - if people don't know about you they can't use you!
Word of mouth is the best advertising, and its free
There is as much work in running your business as there is providing your service!!

 

Yes
My number one daughter, is into crafts and does individual exclusive stuff, she started off with just friends on face book, who told the next friend etc until suddenly there were hundreds
She was even contacted by a very large company who wanted her to provide the service, only she had to refuse, as could not possibly meet the demand,
They suggested she employ and expand, but it would no longer be exclusive so she just does what she can

Anyway long story short she was contacted by Facebook and TOLD that if she did not open a business facebook account within seven days she would be struck off
She now has a business Facebook account and is doing very well, though off course they take a cut

Off on me tangents
I do not know where my daughters get their talent from, and their GO AHEADNESS
I quiver at changing suppliers, they just go for it

Been away at sea so long maybe they were GRUDGE BABIES :-)
No they are not

Back on the original subject, being old I have not got a clue about Facebook
but apparently you put a subject on it and anyone interested in the subject replies to you I think

Jack McHammocklashing

 

I suspect that you shouldn't underestimate the power of leaflets through the door, or even knocking on doors and speaking to people.

I live in Harrogate and I would say there is a shortage of gardeners here. Its often older people who want help with the garden, and many older people have no idea how to use a computer.

 

When I used to sell rare vinyl and cds on Ebay, I had cards made to go with the package.

And you can buy a 'sample pack' and you just have to pay the postage. Would be handy to give people who want to know your details. And easier to stick on a fridge, etc..
FREE Business Cards - Free Sample Business Card Pack | moo.com

 

Not only can but should Zig.

A lot of companies nowadays are moving their online presence investments away from their own websites, and going to social media instead.

Its still important to have your own website, but Facebook and others are important too.

For what they call B2C in marketing terms (ie businesses that sell directly to the end consumer), Facebook is important. For B2B (businesses that sell to other businesses), LinkedIn should be looked at too.

Consider the advantages. If I set up my own business and build a website for it, I have to put many hours of effort into promoting my website. Whereas everybody knows Facebook, and many people spend half their lives on it.

You can set up a page for your business on Facebook for free. You then get all your friends to 'Like' your page, which means all your friends' friends will see that your friends 'like' your page. That bit also costs nothing, but isn't going to cut the mustard on its own (but for a few minutes effort and no cost it isn't going to do any harm).

You can also do targeted advertising campaigns. That does cost, but you can set a budget, and you can be quite specific about the audience criteria. For example, I once set one up that only showed our advert to people who had expressed an interest in the English language, were students at university in England or wanted to study in England, and were not British (we were selling an English language course). When you set the criteria, it means that your ad will only be shown to people who meet that criteria, and as you pay per showing of the ad, its important to think carefully about the target audience.

I'm not so sure about the process with LinkedIn, but I think its a similar deal.

Twitter is also important for some, but only if you have a lot to say. On Twitter, the trick is to 're-tweet' posts made by those with lots of 'followers', so that your name comes up a lot in feeds, and you get your own followers. Then when you say your own stuff, more people see it.

Its a funny old world, social media seems to be taking over. Best be on the winning side.

 

Re. Setting up a Gardening Business

Thanks to everyone for there advice. I am looking for equipment now and would appreciate any advice on what type of equipment I need and good makers names to look out for. Thanks again.

 

Richard, Why wait until spring? - Start now if you can - Autumn tidy-ups, leaf sweeping, fence repairs etc.,

You can then use this work as an introduction to regular maintenance, you know - "Well, I've tidied the garden for the winter, sir, would you like me to come back in the spring and scarify the lawn and apply a weed & feed dressing?"

Always address your customers formally to begin with: Mr. Smith / Mrs Jones / Miss Green - never Mate, Love, Duckie and only use first names when invited to do so.



Best of luck with your new venture.

 

I agree.
Start as soon as you can and put nothing off.

 

They certainly can, or anyone selling a service, and it's funny how they always want to be my friend.