Grow Your Landscaping Business: a Guide
Landscaping is a great way to combine your love of the outdoors and love of design, but managing a business is an entirely different task that many don’t get a handle on until it is too late. You need to know exactly what to do and what you need to grow your landscaping guide, especially if you are looking to hire more people and to expand your operations.
Update Your Landscaping Insurance
Your landscaping insurance should always reflect your current business. If it doesn’t, then it has, essentially, failed. If you grow, hire more people, or change what you offer, your insurance needs to continue to cover your entire business. This could mean something as simple as upping your insurance policy so that it covers from the $300,000 liability limit to a $1 million liability limit. Alternatively, you may want to include professional liability or to cover your tools or commercial vehicle.
You need this insurance because if someone falls into a hole that you have dug for the swimming pool or even just trips over a hose you are using, you could be sued. Without the right general liability insurance, you will be paying for this out of pocket and most likely see your entire company go under.
When you change, get in touch with your insurance policy. If your change is already covered, you have nothing to worry about, but if you need more coverage, it’s best to get it before you begin.
Invest in the Right Business Management Tools
As you grow, you will have an increasing amount of data to keep track of. To offer a great service, no matter who is on the job, you will want to have profiles of all your clients, their recommendations, and other important notes. This allows you to offer exceptional customer service even if the new person is on the job.
The right management tools also include accounting tools. You can easily keep track of expenses, costs, and income all in one place. If you don’t feel comfortable filing your taxes, don’t worry. Just keeping all the data in one easy place makes it faster and easier for accountants to help keep your taxes as low as possible.
Go Online for Greater Coverage
If you want to grow, you need to be online. This means having a beautiful, interactive website that explains your services and general costs. Try to have one page for every neighborhood you cover.
This website is just the start. You will then want to set up a Google My Business account so that if people search ‘Landscaping business near me,’ your business shows up at the top as part of the map suggestions. Try to add your NAP (name, address, and phone number) to as many business directories as possible. This will establish yourself on multiple pages and allow you to grow your presence both online and on the job.
Landscaping is just like any business. You need to protect yourself legally, you need your data to work for you, and you need to use the internet to grow. By using these top recommendations, you can become the premier landscaper in your area.