Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.
LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry
LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.
For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.
Replies
Dont Despair Mitchel, thats what its like at first! Trust me ive been in the business 10 years. something you could try would be to ask any other gardeners in your area if they could possibly pass any extra work onto you if they're too busy, or even ask them if you can work for them odd days when theyre mowed out with work for a flat day rate? That way your gaining experience off another gardener whilst getting paid. Im now that busy that i only have online directory adverts and spend nothing on advertising anymore, but i found leafleting didnt work for me, whereas advertising in my local newspaper gained me 2-3 new regular clients per week in the growing season, maybe thats worth trying for a month? Also, do you do other work that you could use as a sideline until your up and running, such as fence painting, jet washing, refelting sheds, etc? being available to do work other than gardening opens the door for you to slip the customer your card about your gardening business. Let us know if any of our ideas work for you. good luck mate!
A small ad in local advertiser will work wonders I promise you, you will be turning work away after a season or two, ring up all of the gardeners who are probably full, I'm sure they will pass work on if you give them some cards
Good luck
We have a lad your age that has just started up in between college and any days he's free we snap him up. Give every landscape business in your local area a call and offer your services to cover absentees or excess work. If you don't ask, you don't get.
And always keep your eyes and ears open when you at a garden. If you spot something you know you can help with next door, offer your services.
All the best.
First couple of years are hard. If you want to build up your work you need to hang out the bad periods, and work all hours when it comes.
good answers above.
ive been like that for years busy then quiet week, but suits me as i can get organised ,do paperwork, quotes, sort tools and kit , wash car etc etc
if your ready, waiting and willing work will come - its out there no question!
luckily this year has been good due to the weather and many people locally : know me, like me, trust me..
so its endless at the moment.
ive done 3 bigger jobs i was never going to take on and all have been ok and worked out, done well and got paid.
work is work and as long as its 'doable' with not bad access it can be done one way or another..
ive done shed roofs last year, top of a wall cementing coping ( a low one)
i do 35 mowing jobs for old ladys in the evening when i have time.
look at commercial/office sites and tell other tradesmen what you do / ie socialise now and then.
surprising what work you can pick up at a party/ or in a pub/shop..
any odd jobs still pay and all leads to more work.
good luck im glad your keen
( what kit do you have & what types of jobs do you prefer doing/ or are capable of )?
I try to stay away from fortnightly maintenance as in my local area every cash in hander and doley has a rubbish mower and a set of cheap trimmers so are happy to work for peanuts.
im thinking of doing a horticulture diploma or qualification is that a good idea? I want to distance myself from landscapers I want to find a niche hopefully.
ill give the local landscapers and gardeners also send some emails out what should I say to them?
my advertising goes in next month its only a business card size and costs me £50 a month its in the back two pages of the magazine. would it be worth doing a leaflet drop while I have all this spare time then if I come across a garden while dropping leaflets that needs attention knock on the door?
ironically I wrote this yesterday I was meant to be cutting a high privet massively overgrown privet today £100 day rate and rubbish taken away I received a text last night saying her ex boyfriend had done it and doesn't need me now. is it worth taking a deposit for large jobs in the future?
Got to say £50 a month for business card size advert is a bit steep. I pay that for three months quarter page. I suppose it depends on the catchment area for the publication.
Ref deposits, there has and is much debate on these pages on that subject. I feel that to charge a deposit you need contracts, my customer base is done on a handshake. So for me id notch it up to bad luck but that's my view. Others will say different and some will agree, you do what's right for you. In your situation with work like that as soon as I get the okay id be there next day. Strike while the iron is hot.
Re emails to landscapers sell yourself keep it fairly short (says I!) to the point polite and expound on your experience your enthusiasm your willingness to work hard and your desire to learn. Try and find names and make each email individual not just a blanket approach.
Good luck and chin up it does get better!
I picked up quite a bit of work at the when i first started out by door knocking the biggest houses in the area - I found Saturday mornings was the best time to engage with people, my flyers at the time weren't great but it was more just a reason to give them something when they opened the door.
If you don't already get yourself some branded tee shirts and the like, watch the P's and the Q's, always smile. Don't undersell yourself, charge more than your £100 per day, the people in the larger houses expect to pay more than that and may turn you down as they will believe you're not good enough, the same reason they buy their food in waitrose or marks and sparks instead of Aldi.
On the subject of flyers - I only target well to do area's and avoid area's that don't have middle to high class earners living there.
It's a waste of time not only my time but a potential clients time going to quote on jobs that you know will be to expensive for the majority them. Aside from the delivery & printing cost.
On the subject of the cancelled hedge, I would always put things in writing.
A standard set of terms, including payment details etc., and a cancellation notice period, and send it out with every quote.
I probably wouldn't enforce it, there's no point in upsetting someone and taking them to court over something so small, but it does send the message that you've booked the time out and there's a cost to cancelling.
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
of 4 Next