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Hardscapes have never been so popular and, as a lawn care business owner, you can capitalize on consumers' love of all those things that enable them to expand the usability and beauty of their yards. From simple retaining walls and trendy pavers to outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and other elaborate spaces, hardscapes can transform your customers' property, increase its value and bring them more enjoyment. Here's how to provide them with what they want.
Expand...But Slowly
Establishing your green industry business takes lots of time, tons of energy and gallons of sweat and tears. Expanding into hardscapes can feel like the next logical step, especially since there is equipment -- such as skid steers and all the valuable attachments -- that make adding hardscapes a less labor intensive job. While hardscapes do have a high profit margin, the potential to make expensive mistakes looms larger as well.
Get Educated
It can seem like adding services like retaining walls, pavers and outdoor kitchens to your roster requires little more than investing in the necessary equipment. These services, though, require an expanded set of skills that often demand exacting engineering and installation knowledge. This can either be acquired through trial and error -- which is not recommended since it is a costly way of learning that will likely result in unhappy customers as well as your own tarnished reputation -- or you can scope out the types of relevant educational options that are available to you in your local area.
Start Simple
Adding pavers or a retaining wall to your available services is a great way to ease the transition of your business from a lawn care only company to one that provides an array of landscaping options. Once you have the basics of pavers and walls down to a T -- and you have obtained the necessary knowledge that allows you to effectively plan outdoor kitchens and fireplaces -- consider adding in those other, more complex elements to your thriving green industry business.
Invest in the Right Equipment
Just like you would not send your crew out to reseed a lawn without the right seeds, you should not expect to find hardscapes worth your efforts unless you bring along the right tools. A skid steer can be outfitted with a variety of attachments that ease the work load significantly. A land planer attachment, for example, makes it a snap to ensure that the ground is level -- a necessity when it comes to any successful hardscapes project. Using the precise movements that are crucial within the cramped confines of many yards, a skid steer with a land planer attachment easily clears and levels wide expanses of land within just a short amount of time.
Work With the Pros
Especially when you are just getting started with hardscapes, subcontracting with professionals who have verified experience can allow you to see firsthand how to successfully execute that complicated outdoor entertainment area. Being right there while every measurement is taken and every bolt is tighten enables you to gather invaluable expertise that you can then apply to your future work.
Adding hardscapes to your lawn care business can open up an entirely new and profitable world. The key is to go about this expansion in a logical and methodical way that minimizes mistakes and blunders while maximizing your knowledge and profits. With careful planning, the result will be a significant bump in your client list as well as in the price tag of the jobs you complete.
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