Do you love the outdoors and have skilful, green fingers? It maybe only a seed of an idea but have you ever considered turning your hobby and passion into your job?
Starting up a gardening business can be not only rewarding financially but you are also offering a service that many people feel is essential to the smooth running of their lives.
Potential Annual Revenue: £20-50,000
Startup Cost: £1,000-£2,500
Time To Revenue: 2-3+ months
Annual Market Growth Rate: %
Best for: Hard working, outdoorsy, self-motivated, problem solving entrepreneurs
With us all spending more time at home over the last few years, many people decided to update/renovate their gardens but now find they don’t have time to maintain them.
Here’s where you can come to the rescue! Mowing, pruning, clearing and weeding your way through your local areas gardens and community green spaces.
Before you dig in, here are some pros and cons to keep in mind:
8 Great Reasons to Start a Gardening Business
Recession proof – you can´t hold back Mother Nature
Can be kept low cost – for example lawns and pruning only (Maintenance)
Easy to start
Very difficult to lose money
Reliable work, many customers will book weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
Flexible working hours
Little or no experience is required for small maintenance jobs
Keep fit and healthy
4 Common Challenges when Starting a Gardening Business
Usually less work is available in the winter. Plan for this. ⛄
Can be back breaking work
Travel costs
Your equipment and tool maintenance can be expensive.
Qualifications
To be a successful gardener will need knowledge and experience in a number of fields due to the many duties you will be involved in every day.
If you have good qualifications that’s even better! There are many short horticultural courses available, contact your local college for part-time or evening course information. The more qualified you are, the more you can earn.
The Royal Horticultural Society, the UK’s leading garden charity, also runs courses, online and in person or a mixture of the two. The qualifications are designed by the RHS to provide learners with up-to-date horticultural information and practical skills which can be used for accessing or developing a gardening career as well as growing your own curiosity. There are 3 levels and each course can be taken over a year.
The RHS also runs paid, two or three year fixed term apprenticeship courses around the country.
A knowledge of gardening regulations, hazardous chemicals, waste management and first aid is also beneficial. Show all your certificates on you marketing and website.
Your gardening business may change and evolve over time. ……..
Starting off small with general seasonal maintenance growing to large scale planting, designing social areas and how about installing water features! However, don’t start something you can’t finish or aren’t qualified to do, you will be found out very quickly.
Your customer database can be very varied, from domestic gardens to large private grounds. Pensioners to busy professionals.
Contact your local council for any maintenance contracts in your town. Care and nursing home gardens need tending to and how about people with holiday lets and rental properties?
From registering your company, establishing your brand to marketing your services, we’ll cover everything you need to know to help you turn your creative talent into a successful gardening maintenance business