How to Start a Landscaping Business: Step By Step Guide [Bonus: Free 6-Step Marketing Strategy]

Ready to set your own hours, choose your clients, and be your own boss? 

Running a landscaping business could be perfect for you…but don’t go out and purchase that $2,000 lawnmower with a high-lift blade just yet.

We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to starting a landscaping business to help you choose the right landscaping services, manage your finances, and build a profitable business.

As a bonus, we’ve included a FREE 6-step landscape marketing plan to help you generate steady leads and start earning money sooner.

Ever thought about turning your passion into profit and starting a landscaping business?

With grass the most commonly grown crop globally (more than corn, wheat and fruit combined), there’s no shortage of outdoor spaces that potential customers need help with.

Even better, you can be your own boss, set your own hours, and run your business your way.

To make sure you’re in the right place, we’ll need you to answer these short questions first:

• Do you love working in the great outdoors?
• Are you a creative thinker who’s good with your hands?
• Does the idea of being your own boss make you happier than sitting in an office cubicle ever could?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, launching a landscaping business could be your ideal career.

But (there’s always a ‘but’) starting a landscaping company and starting a SUCCESSFUL landscaping company are two very different things.

The landscape industry is worth an estimated $105.1 billion worldwide. With plenty of revenue up for grabs, you’ll face stiff competition to generate leads and land clients. That’s where we come in…

We’ve put together the step-by-step guide to starting your own landscaping business from scratch. We’ll cover everything from choosing a name to finding insurance, budgeting your start-up costs and picking your landscaping services.

And to make sure your new business is profitable, we’ve included a FREE 6-step landscape marketing strategy for you to steal. This covers:

Step #1: Finding your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Step #2: How to brand your new landscaping business
Step #3: Creating a landscaping website
Step #4: How to tap into local customers (FREE Local SEO Strategy)
Step #5: Generating a steady stream of leads
Step #6: Investing in time-saving landscaping software

Ready to become a successful business owner? Class is in session.

Some people will tell you that landscapers plan, design, construct and maintain outdoor spaces for residential and commercial properties. But that describes your process, not what you do.

A landscaper is a problem solver.

“I wish I had a patio to host BBQs on”

“I wish my yard was full of garden beds and veggie patches”

“I wish water drained properly after a storm”

These are the types of problems you’ll solve as a landscaper.

Sometimes the solutions will be basic like maintaining a yard to make it a more enjoyable space.

Or, they may be more complex like changing soil levels and building retaining walls to transform an outdoor space. Still, you could provide full-service landscaping to install complex gardens with water features, outdoor lighting, and a new patio.

You could be a one-man band, filling your personal vehicle with tools and equipment. Or, you could manage a team of landscapers operating a fleet of leased vehicles. Whatever form your business takes, you’ll always be in the problem-solving business.

Your customers need to transform their outdoor spaces and they have a vision on how to do it. As a landscaper, you’re in charge of understanding that vision and bringing it to life.

It’s easy to plan out a new business on paper.

Still, before you start plotting marketing strategies and contacting local customers, you need to make sure a career in landscaping fits your passions and goals.

A landscaper may work with residential clients, commercial clients, or both. Depending on your location, you may provide the bulk of your services in the warmer months (e.g. the United States or the UK).

While landscapers in warmer climates, like Australia, may work on a more consistent schedule.

Elements of a landscaping business will typically include:

• Working with clients to understand their garden designs
• Creating garden design sketches and proposals
• Working with numbers and data to make sure your design fits a client’s space (and the cost of your materials and labor comes under budget)
• Working outdoors to create new spaces, for example building pathways, adding retaining walls, and constructing structural elements.

If the list above sounds like an enjoyable way to spend your working week, you’re off to the right start.

No.

The terms ‘lawn care’ and ‘landscaping’ are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same.

Lawn care involves work with an established garden and helping to beautify an existing space.

Lawn care businesses work in ‘soft scaping’ which involves tasks like:

• Lawn mowing
• Weed control
• Fertilization
• Soil aeration
• Clean ups
• Pruning

In contrast, a landscaper works in ‘hardscaping’. Landscapers plan, design and convert outdoor spaces into NEW forms. This transformation typically occurs as a result of construction – which lawn care businesses usually don’t provide.

Landscaping tasks include planning, designing and constructing:

• Garden pathways
• Water features
• Planting beds
• Ponds
• Outdoor patios
• Sculptures

A landscape designer, planner or architect is responsible for painting on the blank canvas of an outdoor space – which is exciting if you enjoy planning and creating.

Starting a new business typically means spending more than you make, at least for a few months.

Between setting up a website, taking care of the legalities, and sourcing equipment, you can spend thousands of dollars before you ever land a client. The best way to rationalize these costs is to view them as an investment.

You’re not spending money for the sake of it, you’re building the foundation of a successful landscaping company.

Here’s some good news to make this process easier – you can start a landscaping business with a small investment if you know when and where to spend your money.

A systematic approach will help you avoid unnecessary spending. For example, do you really need those imported Italian denim overalls or can you get started with a cheaper workwear alternative?

Here are the financial costs you need to factor in when launching a landscaping company.

Cost of equipment

Most new landscapers start small and work their way up. This could mean you start with a vehicle and the basic tools and equipment you need. As your income grows, you can invest in more equipment and expand.

It’s common for new landscapers to consider renting tools as the initial outlay is lower. However, over time the cost of renting will exceed purchasing your own equipment outright.

TRADIE DIGITAL TIP: You can save on equipment cost by choosing used, but like-new tools and machinery. This could save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. Equipment is available online, but don’t discount yard sales or auctions.Cost of labor

If your new company is more than you and a truck, you’ll need to cover the cost of labor. Hiring extra landscapers, or subcontractors to help on specific jobs, will help you get more work done.

But those team members bring their own costs in the form of wages, uniforms, training, insurance and any additional tax requirements.

Cost of products

You may need a range of lawn care and gardening products, depending on the services you provide.

Factor in the cost of products like fertilizer, mulch, plants, pesticides, etc. You’ll need to factor these extra costs into the price of your proposals to ensure the client’s fee can cover the bill.

There’s nothing worse than emailing a current client to ask for money, so track each lawn care and lawn maintenance product you need from job to job.

Let’s be honest, knowing what income is possible is a significant part of deciding whether to start a landscaping business.

You might have loved plants since you were 5 years old. Unless that passion can be turned into profit, it’s not the best business idea.

One of the most challenging steps for new landscaping companies is knowing how to price their services. As the new kid on the block you may be tempted to offer discount rates – though this can make people feel your services are low-quality.

Or, you may want to match the prices of established landscapers – though this can make it tough to bring on new customers.

The average annual salary of a landscape business owner is $27,300 per year. There’s plenty of room to move though, and you can jump well above the average with the right marketing strategy (which we’ve created for you below).

Estimating income can be tough when stump removal is $300 and a deluxe new patio is $16,000. The amount you’ll be able to generate will come down to several factors, including:

• How much competition you face
• The landscaping services you offer
• The cost of your overheads (labor costs, business fees, etc)

It’s common for new landscapers to underbid to land clients, but be careful joining a race to the bottom. Don’t be afraid to quote your services for what they’re worth.

To help you estimate your potential earnings, we’ve put together a list of the average cost for individual landscaping services.

Remember, what you charge a client is NOT what goes in your pocket. Your profit comes after you’ve paid your business overheads, so be careful not to consider the above figures as money in the bank.

TRADIE DIGITAL TIP: If you’re stuck on pricing, jump on Google and search for ‘landscaping service + location’. This will show you the top ranked landscapers in your area. Browse their websites and look for their prices to get a rough estimate. Don’t be afraid to request prices via email either (they’ll never know you were conducting competitor analysis).

If you’re interested in lawn care and yard maintenance you may have a range of tools in your shed already, though there are likely to be a few tools you’ll need to add.

For basic landscaping maintenance it helps to have:

• Shovel
• Rake
• Shears
• Lawnmower
• Grass trimmer/edger
• Hedge trimmer/edger
• Soil aerator
• Fertiliser
• Hoes
• Weed remover

If you plan to install or construct backyard features like pathways, patios or water features, you may also need:

• Brick trowel
• String line
• Line blocks
• Line pin
• Spirit level
• Concrete screeds
• Angle grinder
• Masonry saws

Adding all of these tools to your business can incur costs that put a start-up business under financial pressure. It’s best to start with the crucial tools you need and slowly build up as your business grows.

There are a range of reasons for starting a new business. This could be to earn more money, spend your days doing what you love, or control your own schedule.

Like any new business, running a landscaping company comes with its own advantages and downsides you need to take into account. It’s easy to see dollar signs and dive in with both feet.

Still, if you don’t enjoy working outdoors and you’re allergic to freshly cut grass, the extra dollars in your bank account may not feel worth it in the long-run.

You must weigh up the pros and cons before you make a commitment.

Fingers crossed you’ll never need insurance, but it’s nice to have peace of mind.

Your insurance needs will depend on your business, so it’s best to speak to insurance experts, but here’s a few common insurance policies to be on the lookout for:

• Public liability insurance
• Employer’s liability insurance
• Landscape contractor equipment and tool insurance
• Commercial auto coverage

Public Liability Insurance

You’ll be working in homes and businesses regularly, so you’ll need public liability insurance to get started. This protects you from claims of injury or damage suffered by members of the public while you’re working.

If a ladder falls through a window and shards of glass end up in a customer’s leg, insurance is handy.

Employer’s Liability Insurance

Unless you’re a one-man band, you’ll also need to consider employer’s liability insurance, or workers compensation insurance, depending on the location of your business. This will protect your landscaping team if injuries or accidents occur on the job.

Landscape Contractor Equipment and Tool Insurance

Your tools are crucial to your business. From mowers to tree lopping tools, circular saws to chainsaws, you can’t afford to be without the tools of your trade.

Insurance can protect you against theft, damage or depreciation, making sure your business isn’t left without its key resources.

Commercial Auto Insurance

It’s likely you rely on your vehicle to get you to job sites and client properties. Commercial auto insurance helps cover you in case of damage to your vehicle during work hours. This insurance can cover vans, trucks and even trailers if you need to protect your mobile machinery too.

PLEASE NOTE: Insurance policies vary by country. The suggestions here are general in nature. Always research insurance coverage that’s suited to your country.

Landscape licensing requirements vary state by state and country to country, so it’s best to check your local business licensing office for relevant info.

Depending on your location, these licenses may include:

• State landscaping licenses
• Contractor license bond
• Home improvement contractor license
• National Association of Landscaping Professionals (NALP) certification

Luckily, you typically don’t need a ton of licenses to get set up. This may be a simple business license if your service lean towards lawn care and maintenance. If you offer design and construction services you’ll need to look into relevant building and construction licenses.

Saying “I’m a landscaper” is like saying “I’m a builder”.

It’s too vague to capture how many landscaping services you could offer. As a landscaper your expertise will typically fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Design
• Install
• Build
• Maintain

Typically, a landscape designer is the expert who draws a plan, sketch or concept to design an outdoor space. These professionals will have extensive horticultural knowledge and find the right plants to suit a space.

A landscaper is the name most commonly given to the expert who installs and builds an outdoor space. This typically requires additional building licenses needed to construct decks, alfresco entertainment areas, pergolas, etc.

A landscaper who only provides maintenance service, for example pruning or flower bed care, is more likely to be a lawn care expert.

What’s in a name?

Turns out, quite a lot.

Your name isn’t just something you’ll print on business cards and leaflets. A landscaping company name is the soul of your business.

It will form the URL of your website, your social media handles, and be the name that generates feelings of quality, trust and professionalism when people hear it.

As your name will often be one of the first ways people come into contact with your business, it’s crucial you get this step right. Changing your name 6 months from now is an expensive headache you can do without, so we’ve got a few business-naming tips to help you.

Pick a name that’s easy to remember

Your name should stick in people’s minds and be easy to remember days, weeks or months down the track. Keep things short and straightforward to boost memory retention. Be careful of being so simple that your name ends up vague and boring.

A name like ‘London Landscapers’ doesn’t stand out from the crowd. Whereas a name like ‘Garden Ninjas’ is memorable and not something people will forget.

Avoid copying your competition

Researching the competing landscapers in your area is helpful to avoid landing on a name that sounds similar. Not only will a similar name confuse people, but you might end up sending your leads to a competitor’s website if your names are related.

Use your research to figure out what type of names other landscapers are using – then come up with something that goes against the grain.

Choose a name with an available domain

Your landscaping website will be the heart of your business. If a business name isn’t available as a domain – meaning someone else is already using it, it’s best to go back to the drawing board.

Even if the landscaper using that domain is from another country, you want to have a website that’s easy to find and matches your company name exactly.

Choose a name with available social media handles

Just as you want to claim your domain, you’ll want to claim all social media handles too.

@yourbusinessname should be free and yours to claim on major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It’s possible to reach out to an account using your name and ask them to give it to you.

But they’re under no obligation to hand over the handle, so it’s best to find an available social media name from the start.

Opt for scalable names

You don’t know where your business will go in the future, so avoid boxing yourself in with a name like ‘John’s Small Garden Specialists’. If you choose to expand and work on bigger outdoor projects, your name won’t be communicating what you do.

In the same way, you might currently work out of one location. Be careful calling yourself ‘Brooklyn Landscape Legends’ if you plan to expand and service all of New York.

Your landscaping company will need a constant stream of leads and customers to survive.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 20% of new businesses fail within 12 months. 30% fail within two years. And a staggering 50% fail within 5 years.

The lesson here? Finding your target audience from the start is crucial to build a lasting foundation.

Before you start promoting your business it helps to run a little competitor analysis. This will show you the customers in your area, and what services your competition provides to them.

Forget about expensive competitor analysis software. A simple Google search for landscaping services in your area will show you the top ranking businesses. You can also look for local landscapers listed in online directories to see the competition.

Knowing who you’re up against may help you refine your services.

For example if you’re operating in an area with a high number of lawn care maintenance guys but few landscape designers, you might consider removing your lawn mowing service and promoting your construction services.

It’s all well and good to launch a business, but you also need a plan to start bringing customers. Without a marketing plan you risk disappearing in a sea of competing landscapers.

To help your new landscaping venture find its feet quickly, we’ve put together a 6-step marketing plan designed to help you:

Step #1: Finding your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Step #2: How to brand your new landscaping business

Step #3: Creating a landscaping website
Step #4: How to tap into local customers (FREE Local SEO Strategy)
Step #5: Generating a steady stream of leadsStep #6: Investing in time-saving landscaping software

Best of all, you don’t need any marketing experience to apply these strategies. Follow each step (we’re allergic to jargon so we’ve kept it simple) and you’ll have a landscaping business people are desperate to hire.

Your landscaping business is NOT for everyone.

If you claim to be a jack of all trades, you’ll lose your customers to specialists 10 times out of 10. For example, if someone is looking for undersoil irrigation will they choose a company specializing in irrigation?

Or a company that does lawns, tree lopping, patios, house painting, gutter cleaning and irrigation?

To help you stand out in your market you need to identify your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.

Your USP is the one thing that makes your landscaping company stand out, even if there are 99 other landscapers to choose from.

 “I offer the best value for money, can that be my USP?”

Nope.

It’s a common mistake for new landscapers to hang their hat on price or quality.

But almost every landscaper offers a great service at affordable prices! Your USP should live in between what your customers want and what you do well. That’s why the best USPs combine your services with your values.

For example, do you offer stress-free lawn maintenance for strata management? Do you provide the fastest lawn mowing service? Are you the native plant experts with a horticulture degree on every staff member’s wall?

You need to be known for SOMETHING or you’ll be invisible. Take the time to sit down and identify your USP to ensure your customers know what makes you unique – and worth hiring.

By now you’ll have an original and memorable name picked out. Plus, a professional landscaping website (don’t worry if your site needs a little upgrade, we’ll cover that next).

These branding features will help you stand out from the crowd, and can be the difference between someone thinking “hmmm we need to find A landscaper” and “hmmm, remember that ONE landscaper!”.

But we haven’t touched on the #1 branding asset you’ll ever own – your logo.

Don’t think logos are only for multi-franchise landscapers or global brands. Local customers will choose between you and tens of other landscapers, and your logo can help you land a sale.

50% of customers will choose to hire a business whose logo they recognize, so a memorable logo is more than making your van or truck look good.

Your logo will be visible on your website, your social media profiles, your signage, and even your invoices. The more memorable this logo is, the easier it is to drive repeat business.

Luckily, creating a logo is easy when you have a step-by-step roadmap to follow. Without spending a single dollar, or any design experience, you can design a landscaping logo that sticks in people’s minds and conveys your quality.

Don’t have a logo yet? Click here to learn how to design a landscaping logo (NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED)

We’ve already touched on the need for a website. 93% of people start their online experience with Google, so if you don’t have a website for them to find, you’ll be giving a significant advantage to your competition.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to just have any old website.

In fact, a poorly made website can HURT your new landscaping business:

• 89% of customers will shop with a competitor if your website experience was poor
• Slow-loading sites lead to $2.6 billion in lost revenue each year
• 83% of people expect tour site to load in under 3 seconds

The takeaway? If your site is slow, hard to browse and poorly designed, you’ll have potential customers walking out the door.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take whether you’re looking for your first site, or you’ve got a website that isn’t optimized.

Pedestal is the website builder with a brain – created specifically for landscapers who want a professional, SEO-friendly website in minutes. With built-in marketing strategy and conversion features you’ll have your own landscape salesman working 24/7 to bring in new leads.

DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE? Click here to build a landscaping website in under 60 minutes

If you’ve already got a website it’s easy to feel like starting over will cost you more time and money than it’s worth. To save you time we’ve rounded up 15 of the most effective landscape web design features.

Pick and choose what suits your site and make changes without the price tag.

WORRIED YOUR CURRENT WEBSITE IS HURTING YOU? Click here for the 15 most effective landscaping websites (and steal their lead-generating features)

Local customers are the lifeblood of a successful landscaping company, and they’re searching for garden experts in greater numbers than ever.

‘Near me’ searches on mobile phones have grown by 200% in the past 24 months.

‘Landscaper near me’. ‘Backyard renovation help near me’. ‘Full turf relay near me’.

These searches show people are in the market for local landscapers, and tapping into this booming stream of customers is easy. You’ll need:

• A Google My Business (GMB) listing
• A review-request template
• Find relevant business directory websites

Here’s how you tick each item off the list to tap into more local customers.

 Set up a GMB

A Google My Business listing, or GMB, is the #1 way to bring in local customers.

A GMB allows your business to rank on Google Maps and in the highly visible ‘Local Pack’ results under Google Maps.

The landscaping companies in the results above have all set up and optimized their GMB, and the benefits are obvious.

Someone searching for landscapers in Los Angeles can see these businesses on the map, see tons of 5-star reviews, see quick contact details, and click through to a website without scrolling at all.

This gives these businesses a significant advantage over the landscapers who never set up their GMB, don’t rank for local searches, and end up invisible.

Looking to set-up and optimize your own GMB? Check out the step-by-step guide to creating a lead-generating GMB

Create a review-request template

If you’re looking to add a new flower bed to your front yard, you want someone who’s a horticulture pro.

Now imagine you found two landscapers on Google. The first has a GMB, they’re located around the corner, and they have a monthly special on right now – but there’s no mention of their plant knowledge.

The second business also has a GMB, they’re further away and they charge a little more – but they have 20 reviews from customers all thrilled at how perfectly picked their flowers were.

Which business would you choose?

The odds of your services being hired increase by 270% when you get 5 reviews. On a human level, reviews make it easier for people to trust you. And Google takes reviews into account when ranking your business, so earning reviews can make you more visible too.

With reviews crucial, it can be tough to earn them. Customers won’t leave reviews by default, so you’ll need to go out of your way and ask for them.

If asking for reviews is your idea of a terrible time, we’ve created a 100% FREE review-request template to send to every client you work with. Since 76% of people will leave a review when asked, this FREE template can boost your SEO and start bringing in new customers ASAP.

Click here to steal our ‘Review-Request Template’

Find relevant business directory websites

Comparing landscapers can be time-consuming if someone is clicking through individual websites on Google.

Even combing through local SEO results can be a chore, which is why people often turn to directory sites. These websites collect contact details and information on every local landscaper and store them all in one, convenient place for potential customers.

For example:

• Yellow Pages
• FourSquare
• Landscaping Network
• Map Quest
• MerchantCircle
• HotFrog
  

Since Google knows that landscaping customers want to compare businesses, they often rank these directory sites above individual businesses.

Check out the search results below for ‘best landscape designers houston’…

Each result is a business directory or comparison site, not an actual landscaping website. And if you want to appear on these business directories, you need to go out and submit to them individually.

Adding your new business to these sites is a quick and easy way to drive traffic, and generate leads. But knowing which business directory site to start with can be tough…unless the research has been done for you.

Unlock EIGHTY (yep, 80) of the best business directory sites for landscapers

If you’ve done your research you’ll know what services are popular in your area, and what type of customers are looking for those services.

The goal now is to connect your supply with their demand.

There are plenty of ways to generate leads, from old school tactics like letterbox drops and flyers, to digital strategies like running ads on Google and using SEO.

Whatever lead-gen channel you use, you’ll need these core elements to be in order:

• A website that’s fast, responsive and SEO-friendly
• Content that your customers will find helpful and valuable
• A small budget set aside for advertising (whether this is paid ads or SEO)

Generating leads doesn’t have to be a challenge when you know when, where and how to advertise. And we’ve put together the most effective advertising tactics for landscapers already.

Starting a new business will take plenty of time and patience, but that doesn’t mean you should be missing out on family time or well-deserved time-off.

With more than a quarter of small business owners putting in 60+ hours per week, it’s clear that a new business is time-intensive. But there are some simple steps you can take to free up your time without sacrificing results.

How do you do that? With technology.

The landscaping industry has changed as technology has evolved. Instead of spending 5 or 10 hours drawing up a design proposal, computer-aided design (CAD) software can help you complete the task in under an hour.

Instead of manually measuring a yard’s size, you can hold out your smartphone for an instant, accurate estimate.

Best of all, landscaping software doesn’t have to be expensive. In many cases, it’s 100% free.

Keen to save up to 15 hours every week? Click here for the 15 landscaping apps and software you need to be using in 2025

Launching a new landscaping business is like designing a new backyard.

When you’ve got a strategy from start to finish, a complex job becomes a lot simpler.

If you’ve got a passion for working outdoors and a love of nature, we hope our step-by-step guide makes it easy for you to take the plunge and get your new business up and running.

Once you’ve handled all the paperwork and admin, give equal time and attention to your marketing strategy.

A shed full of tools won’t do you any good without a calendar full of bookings, so apply our marketing blueprint to start building your brand and generating consistent leads.

Your customer’s dream outdoor space isn’t going to design and build itself, so get out there and start making your mark in the industry.

Keen to start your new business with a mountain of leads? Click here to access our new guide – ‘Landscape Marketing Strategies (That Actually WORK)’