By Taylor Tuomie
Thinking of starting a lawn maintenance business? Maybe you’re thinking of a career change or maybe you think it could be a great side gig. We hear from business owners all the time that got their start because they were sick of their last job, cashed out and began their own business.
But owning a lawn maintenance business can be tough. Trying to manage a business part time is not an easy thing to do - especially if you want to be successful. It is time consuming, it can be stressful and it is a lot of work. Here are five ugly reasons why you shouldn’t start a lawn maintenance business.
Competition
There are plenty of lawn care businesses out there. Competition in most areas is huge. There are well established businesses who have been operating for years, have more experience than you and already have an established list of customers. If you’re just starting out, why would anyone choose your brand new company over industry veterans?
Not only are there more experienced lawn maintenance professionals all around, there are also low price and on demand services that are near impossible to beat on price without having to provide services at a loss.
Financial risk
Starting a lawn maintenance business is a huge financial risk. You need to buy equipment, purchase insurance and you need to form a legal business. That can all cost you quite a bit and might even require you to take out a loan or borrow money elsewhere. And then, once you have the equipment, it starts to lose its value right away. That means that it is only an investment if you can keep those shiny new mowers running most of the time.
Another reason starting a lawn care business is risky is that there are times when customers won’t pay you. That is your livelihood. If a customer doesn’t pay you, it might mean that you’re going to miss your personal financial obligations. When you own a business, it is your responsibility to collect money from the individuals whose property you’ve serviced.
Extreme stress
Starting a lawn maintenance business can be extremely stressful. You have to deal with bad customers, difficult employees, legal barriers and everything else that comes with the territory. The stress that comes with owning your own business can far exceed a regular day job. Being your own boss sounds nice, but in reality, your customers are your boss. They determine your pay, your hours and your livelihood.
Time consuming
Starting a lawn care business is time consuming. If you’re starting it on your own, you wear a thousand different hats. You’re in charge of sales, you’re in charge of accounting, you’re the service tech and you’re an office manager. It becomes a balancing act that inevitably eats into a whole lot of your day. A regular 9-5 is not going to cut it if you’re just starting out. You essentially live in your business in the first few months and if you make it through the first few seasons, there are busy seasons that require seemingly round-the-clock attention. So long vacations, goodbye weekends, forget about breaks!
Failure rate is high
80% of businesses fail within their first 18 months. Read that again...
The failure rate of starting your own business is incredibly high. Why is your lawn care business going to be the 1 out of the 5 small businesses that actually makes it past a year and a half? Even if you feel you have the know how and skills to run a business, the statistics are against you.
But, if you’re still reading this and thinking that..
- This guy is an idiot and…
- I’m still going to start my own lawn care business - great!
If you’re driven and passionate about the work, willing to put in the time and effort, you deserve to be successful and you can very well be one of the businesses that succeeds!
