Should I Open a Lawn Care Business?

By Brad Sugars

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I'm thinking about starting from scratch and opening a lawn care business in the nicer suburbs of Cleveland. Is this a crazy idea, especially in this down economy?

Actually, any economic downturn is a great time to think about starting a business, because everything is less expensive and customers are looking for better deals and new suppliers.

However, if you are looking specifically at a lawn care service in your area, you need to also think about additional services you can offer when the weather isn't so great. These might include getting yards ready for the summer starting in early spring and preparing lawns for winter in early fall.

Your biggest question to answer is if there truly is a demand for lawn care services. If so, you should be able to put an aggressive plan and program in place and start small with a few clients.

Then, as long as you deliver exceptional service, you should be able to start building your company through referrals -- especially in neighborhoods where word-of-mouth advertising will be your best friend (or conversely your worst enemy if your service falls off or you don’t deliver what you say you will).

Related: Start a Service Business
Related: Business Idea Center: Lawn Care Service
Related: Lawn Care & Landscaping Franchises

Brad Sugars is the founder and chairman of ActionCOACH. As an entrepreneur, author and business coach, he has owned and operated more than two dozen companies including his main company, ActionCOACH, which has more than 1,000 offices in 34 countries.

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