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
Welcome Joe to LJN. It is a lively and vibrant Forum with much help available with many views on a whole range of topics.
Starting off - decide your market, make sure you know it, provide services to suit it and make sure you can perform them.
Get your costs know, what you need to earn and calculate your internal charge rate. Don't initially worry too much about other people's rate (but be aware).
Debate, whether for the services you offer, if Job or Hourly rates are the best way forward. Me, I'm 100% in the 'charge per job' camp - makes you focused, client knows an end cost and ensures you find ways to work efficiently.
Invest in the best equipment you can afford (given budgts). Buy cheap and you can end up buying twice.
Re; Uniform; I'd say yes, even if just a professionally logo'd T or Polo shirt. People respect 'smartness' (given we do a dirty jo) and sets you apart.
Re: Van; as above. Van Graphics are relatively cheap now and can help set you apart. Many opposing views on this, so I guess it's down to personal choice and the image you are looking to create.
Get your Quotes, Invoices & T&C's sorted out now and make sure you use them.
Be descriptive on quotes as to what you are going to offer for the money quoted (no 1-liners; like 'Garden Tidy' ;-) )
Invoice promptly and professionally and it will help cashflow.
Make sure you are insured and qualified where needed (ie Waste, Pesticide, Chainsaw etc)
I'm sure other's will be along with their views and helpful top tips.
At the end of the end, the business is 'yours' and you have to decide it's direction and image. Listen to all, but make YOUR choices.
Good Luck
I do a mix of hourly rate job and priced jobs, it suits myself and my customers. Don't price yourself to cheap just to get the work rolling, it is very hard to justify putting your prices up just because you are busy. You could easily find yourself suck in low priced work.
With equipment go for the best you can for the stuff you will use everyday, If you need one off equipment hire it in.
Get your legal side sorted, lots of help in the HUB with T+C contracts etc along with Phils book "how to start a landscaping business"
Best of all use the search bar at the top to unleash the vast amounts of information on LJN.
Best of luck
Gary RK said:
Always good advice from Gary RK. Let me just add a little something - 'don't bite the hand that feeds you!'
If your old boss is giving you work for a couple of days a week then take it, be reliable and fair to him. ie once you have a run of work of your own, don't abandon him because you can earn more on your own until you are absolutely sure you can stand on your own two feet.
As other's have said, price yourself in the market, once you get a few custoemrs then word of mouth will get you more work, advertise in places like shop windows and Post Offices. And spread them out, sometimes the ad's I put in little villages in the middle of no-where have brought me loads of regular work.
Build a good website
Wear uniform at all times
Get van signed up, mine cost £300
Be 100% honest at all times, my top tip, else karma will getcha :)
Don't attempt to poach clients either. You never know if you need to speak to your old boss again!
Colin Hunt said:
Good point, Nick, and Gary has pretty much summed it up.
My only thought would be to not try to take everything on, even though it's tempting never to say "no" to work. Know your skills, the direction you want to go, and focus on that. Better to have a week with no work, spending time marketing yourself, than a week's work where you bite off more than you can chew, buy tools you'll never use again, get the pricing wrong, that sort of thing.
Please share some images of your landscape designs here.
all good advice. My best tip, be very honest with your old boss. your an assett to him, and if you get stuck / very low on wk, he will take you back on, it seems his been good to you.
Good luck and my saying is buy cheap buy twice, and if you don't give it a crack you'll never know, oh get a good accountant. save you ££££ in the long run.
Good luck
AP
Start with domestic work to keep cash flow coming in and dont be afraid to ask for a deposit.