Don’t Get Into The Lawn Business Without Reading This First
It seems like each and every day I meet up with someone who is currently working for a big corporation in an office setting who wants to get the heck out and start a lawn or landscape company. I just have to laugh sometimes because I’m not sure that you all understand that running a lawn business offers just as many headaches as any other business, including the one you are leaving! 
Here are a few basic considerations you should think long and hard about:
Licensing
It is very important that you obtain not only proper business licensing, but state and local regulatory certificates as well. If you are planning to apply fertilizer and pesticides for your customers, you will need training and licensing both. In addition, you will have to prepare your warehouse to store the products.
In addition, several local cities require permits for you to do work such as lawn and landscape maintenance in their towns. The last thing you want to have happen is you get banned from doing business in a particular area because your paperwork was not in proper order.
Equipment, Machines and Trucks
There is a lot more to the lawn business than just owning a mower, a trimmer and a blower. I know you think that you can make big bucks just doing the simple “mow and blow,” but that just won’t cut it.
Believe it or not, the lawn business is technologically advanced and you will need to constantly update your equipment to ensure you are efficient and profitable. The average commercial lawn mower costs around $8,000 and may require advance maintenance a few times per year. Are you prepared to pay for these upgrades, or perform them yourself?
If you plant to offer installation and landscape construction services, your equipment investment will triple in no time. Do you have the capital to invest? Do you have the customer base to pay you for these services?
You may not have planned this far ahead yet, but eventually you’re going to hire staff. You will have workers in the field with you, and some on the office as well. These workers need to be treated properly, and that includes you offering them a solid benefits package and workers compensation protection.
In addition, you should consider that when you are first starting out, if you are to become injured with no health insurance, your business could end before it even really gets started. There are many good fore venturing out in the world of lawn care and landscaping, be sure to explore the pros and cons so you are not caught out in the cold when winter hits at the end of the year. You never know, that office job may start to look more and more appealing!