Pros and Cons of Starting a Lawn Care Business

Do you love the outdoors, such as a little manual labor, live near lawn-heavy suburbs—and feel entrepreneurial? Starting a lawn care service can be a great way to make money. But it isn’t a decision that should be rushed into. Here are a few pros and cons to weigh when you’re considering whether working in lawn care is a good fit for you.

The Upside of Starting a Lawn Care Business

You can find plenty of reasons that the lawn care business is an attractive option for new entrepreneurs. For starters, the lawn care industry provides you with repeatable income and a lot of potential customers.

If you can develop a handful of clients, you’ll be able to get repeat business every week or every other week, depending on the climate you operate in and the season. This makes it easy to forecast your monthly and annual income, and this type of stability can give you peace of mind as a new business owner.

You also opportunities to expand quite easily. You may begin by just mowing lawns, but you’ll also have the opportunity to expand into other landscaping services. This kind of flexibility means that you can scale your business when you’re ready to by using your existing customer base.

Another major benefit of operating a lawn care business is the ability to custom-fit your services to clients. For example, you may want to offer a menu of services to each customer, so that they can choose the price point and type of service that they want. From lawn watering to weed pulling, you’ll be able to tailor your menu to customers with a variety of budgets, resulting in a higher likelihood of making a sale.

The Downside of Starting a Lawn Care Business

Of course, you may also have reasons that you may not want to start a career in lawn care. Starting any business comes with its fair share of paperwork and tax forms, which can be a headache or extra expense if you need to hire someone to help you file and complete these documents.

Also, you may need specialized equipment such as a trailer and lawn mowers to really get started in this business. These start-up costs are more prohibitive than other types of companies you could launch. The lawn care field also has a variety of companies already in any given city, so you are likely to compete with established businesses in your area when you’re just starting out. Depending on the climate that you live in, seasonal work may make it hard to turn a profit year-round. That being said, if you’re in a climate where yards need tending to no matter what season it is, the opportunity costs of running a lawn care business are more attractive.

Ultimately, it’s up to you and your appetite for risk when it comes to deciding whether or not a career in lawn care is right for you. Depending on your expendable income and the amount of time and energy you’re willing to invest in your business, you may be able to turn a handsome profit in the lawn care industry.

That being said, if you have extreme temperatures during fall and winter, it may be a better idea to think about a different business to start. While the money and energy needed to invest in your lawn care business can quickly translate to profits and repeatable income, it isn't necessarily the right fit for every entrepreneur.