PESTICIDES: Getting Into Lawn Care

From licensing to certification to costly equipment, it’s important to have the proper knowledge and experience when adding lawn care to a service menu, says Steve Wise, owner of Scapes in Jamestown, Ohio. “Lawn care is not a service contractors should just try to slide into their mix,” he says. “The better educated you are before you start, the better off you’ll be.” 

Although he considered it numerous times before, Wise wasn’t comfortable adding this service to his mix until he took on a partner with 20 years of lawn care know-how. From that point on, it was a smooth transition.

GETTING STARTED. Scapes was a mowing and maintenance company prior to adding lawn care in the mid 1990s, so some equipment was necessary to get the service off the ground. A local lawn care company was going out of business at the time, so Wise purchased most of what he needed – push spreaders, backpack, truck-mounted and boom sprayers – at auction. Even obtaining used equipment, his initial investment was between $10,000 and $15,000.
 
To offer liquid applications, contractors shouldn’t expect to spend any less than $3,000 on the necessary spray equipment, Wise says. “Lawn care is a costly service to add, but the profits are higher than mowing,” he says. “The initial investment will really depend on where your company is and what you can afford.”
 
Wise started off with more equipment than the average landscape company needs to add lawn care to its service mix. A company can start small by working with granular materials and a few push spreaders. But regardless of how large or small the service, a company’s existing client base is the best place to generate new customers, he says. “If you already have a great reputation with your clients, they’ll feel more comfortable working with you,” Wise says. “It also gives them an idea of the kind of service they can expect.”
 
To present the service to clients, Wise approaches them during routine maintenance visits, informs them of the service and discusses what it entails. Then he offers a free, no-obligation estimate after measuring the lawn and calculating the price. If another company provides the client’s lawn care services, he stresses the simplicity of dealing with one company for all of their lawn and landscape needs, and he points out the possible scheduling conflicts that can occur when two companies serve the same client. If a client remains undecided, Wise makes sure to follow up with a phone call or direct-mail flyer to provide more information and to build upon the existing relationship.

DON’T STOP SELLING. Wise sells his lawn care services all year long – “whether there’s snow on the ground or it is 90 degrees outside.”  

The landscape industry is more competitive today than ever before, and contractors, particularly those from small companies, need to be sure not to let their guards down. “The moment you stop selling your services is when you loose out on potential business,” he says.

Wise’s lawn care service grows from 20 to 30 percent each year, he says, and his biggest competition comes from the industry’s TruGreens and WeedMans. “It’s hard to compete with the big guys,” he says. “Small companies have an ad in the paper or a flyer here and there while these companies conduct multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns.”
 
This year, Wise spent $15,000 to $20,000 on marketing his lawn care services, and says that new or smaller companies should plan to spend 12 to 15 percent of annual revenue on advertising. His efforts have always been trial and error, he says, and include Internet advertising, direct mail, door-to-door sales and hanging flyers. “There is no one genius way to market,” he says. “What works for my company may not work for another. The goal is get your name in front of a customer and keep it there.”
 
Lawn care makes up 15 to 20 percent of Scapes’ annual revenue, which is a bit lower than it’s been in the past, Wise says. The challenge of retaining quality employees has required Wise to cut back on offering the service. “You don’t want to stick just anyone out there,” he says. “They need to be responsible, qualified technicians. It’s a field that is limited to a few people who really understand how it works.”
 
Wise requires all of his technicians to be licensed and certified through the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Also, in Ohio, technicians have to be insured before they can even take the certification test. Insurance has to be active year round to prevent licenses from going void, and costs Wise $5,000 last year alone. “Buying the insurance is a decision that has to be made up front, so it’s a major commitment,” he says. “You have to spray a lot of yards before you can make up that money.”    
 
Most of Scapes’ lawn care jobs are done by a one-man crew who maps out the day’s appointments, starts at the farthest location and works his way back to the office. Each technician is required to keep a detailed log for each property, like how long the job takes, how much and what type of material is used, application rates, wind speed and direction, weather, date and time. This helps Wise determine where they can cut costs, and also keeps the company in good standing with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which requests the records during their sporadic checks on the company. “I’m a stickler for paperwork and records,” he says. “If you’re not doing what the Department asks for, they can fine you.”

PROFIT POTENTIAL. Wise prices his lawn care services by the square foot, and also factors in things like driving time and amount and type of product used. Because of this, pricing can run from $45 to $75 for each residential job. “It really boils down to what you can afford to do the job for,” he says.  
 
“Lawn care can be a very profitable business,” Wise says. “But you have to follow all of the rules or you can run in to major problems.”