If there is one industry in South Florida that is both recession proof and a great example of how to start and grow small business, it’s lawn care and landscaping. Grass here needs to be cut every two weeks and sometimes more often depending on the amount of rain. Shrubbery gets out of control before you know it. Everything, to include weeds, grows like crazy. Some people of course take care of their own places, but lawncare is a great entry-level business and provides a wonderful example of free market application. Here’s the way it works. The market demand is large, consistent, and it is a low overhead business to get started.
You can begin with a lawnmower, weedeater, and pickup truck (or other vehicle) and only yourself for labor. Next up is when someone adds an extra person to help. Next is when you can add a riding lawnmower and a trailer to pull behind the truck. As business increases, you can go to the nicer, enclosed trailer emblazoned with the name of your business. Somewhere in this mix, you add extra services for landscaping rather than just mowing and trimming. Perhaps it’s full service yard maintenance with pest control and landscaping. As you grow, maybe you go into landscape design as well as the physical planting part of landscaping. Maybe you can move up into commercial properties in addition to individual homes. This often also means you add laborers, be they family and friends or new hires.
There are major landscaping companies here that handle large-scale properties, but that’s not the subject of the post. Now, let’s talk about the effort that it requires. Lawn care and landscaping in South Florida is hot, sweaty, messy, labor-intensive work. There are plenty of landscapers available so keeping prices competitive is important. Providing a good service is paramount and while there is nothing easy about it, many people grow a thriving business from a very modest beginning. When I left the neighborhood this morning, I passed three different lawn care sets, ranging from the single mower with the pickup, all the way to the biggest landscaper in the region. It’s a good lesson to observe for someone who is considering starting their own business.
I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days..
Thank you for the kind words. I am still quite the novice when it comes to layout, but that’s why they make templates. If you haven’t done so yet, do pop over to www.charliehudson.net and check out the Short Story archive.
Charlie
Nice article! Having a nelicy landscaped yard really can add so much to a home. We redid our yard a couple years ago and we use it so much more now.
You are so right. A landscaped yard, even a small one with containers, can make for your own private retreat.
Charlie
Good day! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a catcpha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
Hi, and sorry that I can’t help, but my web guy handles those thing for me. I know nothing about the technical part of the site.
Charlie
I think other site proprietors should take this website as an model, very clean and magnificent user friendly style and design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this topic!
I appreicate the thought. Charlie’s Corner Cafe is always open.
Charlie
My name is Melissa, but my entire fmialy calls me Mel. I don’t think anyone called me anything but Mel until I was in my 20’s. I started using Melissa in my prof career and as I made more friends as an adult they call Melissa as well. When the group is mixed I answer to all of the names. Mel just was too masculine for me as I got older and I was afraid people would get confused if they saw my name on paper and then met me in person.
I do understand. The “Charlie” of Charlotte also came about in my 20s. And yes, the confusion is commonplace when I answer the phone or meet someone in person who are expecting a male. Drop into Charlie’s Corner Cafe any time though – it’s always open.
Charlie
Hello, I enjoy your weblog. Is there something I can do to receive updates like a subscription or something? I’m sorry I am not familiar with RSS?
Hi, and welcome to the site. I tend to be technologically challenged about these things, but I will check with my guy to see about email updates. I think there is a provision for that.
Charlie
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My web guy said that WordPress is really popular for bloggers.
Charlie