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!

We are just about a month away from New Year resolution time again and undoubtedly, many of you will decide to once again “get in shape” for the coming Spring of 2009. But how are you going to do that?

Are you going to sign a long-term contract and join that same gym that you never visited last year?

Are you planning to invest $1,000 in the newest home gym to collect dust?

Maybe you found the latest and greatest diet plan guaranteed to shed pounds while still allowing you to eat chocolate and éclairs.

But why go through all that yet again when you could just invest in some MBT Athletic Shoes?

MBT’s are extremely comfortable super engineered shoes designed to mimic the feeling of walking barefoot on a sandy beach. Big deal right? …but there’s more.

As you walk in your MBT sport shoes, you basically roll from heel to toe taking short, deliberate strides. This keeps the hips and knees relaxed while forcing you to flex your quads and gluts, toning as you go. Now I’m no personal trainer or fitness guru, but a couple miles in these things definitely tightens up the spots that harbor last year’s cottage cheese, giving you that nice cellulite reduction you’re looking for in a good New Year’s plan of action.

Once you get your MBT shoes, all you have to do is plan out your morning walks. How much easier could it be? They also have models available for general everyday wear and even a few that are more “dressy” for the professional look so you can strap them on before work and get in some exercise walking from the train to the office. This is where the future of exercise is headed, and you can get some now!

You can even use them to mow the lawn in, thus working and getting in shape at the same time; brilliant!

MBT Sport Shoes are no joke and should be at the top of your New Year Resolution list this season. (along with your goal of getting your lawn in shape too! )

Because of their low maintenance, ornamental grasses are perfect for containers. These hardy plants require little water, and they need to be fed twice a month with a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle Gro. They are the perfect plant for those who have extremely busy lives but still wish to enjoy all that nature has to offer. They also provide movement and sound that flowers cannot offer.

ornamental grasses
Ornamental grasses come is so many varieties a person will have a difficult time choosing just which plant will be used in the container. One type that is perfect for container gardening is Red Fountain Grass. Fountain grasses will fill the container with an arching look and the deep burgundy color of this type of ornamental grasses will accent any dark green foliage that is used in the pot also.

Another grass that is very popular is Japanese Silver Grass. This grass is one of the most popularly grown, and it does just as well in a container as it does in the yard or ground garden. This grass offers a softening effect and the white on the leaf will brighten up any space.

japanese garden design
Ornamental grasses are the perfect accompaniment to the popular container garden. Both a japanese garden design and a planter garden can be enhanced by adding special ornamental grasses. No matter if a Red Fountain Grass or a Japanese Silver Grass is used, the plants can be accented by the use of grasses.

These are low maintenance plants that require little in the way of care. This beauty will only be enhanced by other plants that are included in the container.

In Chicago and the Suburbs, it can be tough to find a contractor who can aerate your lawn. In fact, many folks have been contacting me to get their lawn aerated but I am booked up! But you still need to get your lawn aerated!

What you can do is use my friends at Service Magic
. They are able to find you a contractor who can perform an aeration and their service is 100% free to you! They don’t hassle you either with a bunch of phone calls or emails. They just send you the results of their search and you choose if you want to go from there.

Get your lawn aerated!

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Lawn Tips For Fall:

Aeration is the process of pulling cores of soil from the lawn in an effort to relieve compaction and allow grass roots to grow deeper and thicker. Keep in mind that a thick root system is the key to a healthy lawn.

During the long summer, clay-based soils become extremely hard and compacted. Imagine trying to grow grass in your cement driveway. Now take that same condition in to your lawn and you will see the need to aerate.

In addition, by opening up the lawn, you allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the soil, thus enriching it.

The final benefit with aeration is thatch management. Thatch is the layer of organic material (like dead grass) that resides just above the soil line in the turf. Some thatch is good because it helps retain moisture and prevent soil erosion. But too much can allow fungus to grow in the lawn, as well as create shallow rooting.

Aeration effectively punches holes in the thatch layer; enough to keep it to manageable levels.

On a final note: you need to use a professional core aerating machine that actually pulls cores from the soil. We don’t want to just “poke holes” as that defeats the purpose.

Go out this weekend and rent an aerator (about $50 for 4 hours) or call your local lawn contractor and get him out there to get this done for you. Fall is the time to aerate!
Find Local Landscaping Services. Get Up to 4 Quotes Now. It’s Quick, Free, and Easy!

Ambit Natural Gas Chicago, Illinois.