Yard Maintenance

Startup Costs: $2,000 - $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? Yes
Online Operation? No

Offer clients a host of yard and property cleanup and maintenance services by starting a general yard maintenance service. Cut grass, provide rubbish removal, trim trees and hedges, and offer lawn aeration and garden tilling. Concentrate your marketing efforts on securing customers who are prepared to sign up for regular service, and offer financial incentives to persuade them to do so. On average, you should have no problem charging in the range of $15 to $30 per hour.

The Market

Providing you offer great service, and because yard maintenance can be hard work, there should be no shortage of homeowners prepared to part with a few dollars per month to have their yards professionally maintained and kept in tiptop condition. If you will be operating in northern climates, offer leaf raking in the fall and snow clearing and de-icing services in the winter for a year-round operation.

Needed Equipment

You'll need a truck to transport your equipment from one client's house to another, but assuming you already own a truck, most of the equipment needed to operate a yard maintenance service is relatively inexpensive; to keep start-up costs to a minimum, equipment such as mowers, tillers, leaf blowers, and weed eaters can be purchased secondhand or rented on an as-needed basis until you have earned enough to buy them.

Yard Maintenance Ideas

Lawn Care Service

Know the secrets to making grass a little greener? Start a lawn care business.

Tree Planting Service

Plant beautiful green rows of shade for landscape lovers.

Cactus Arrangements

A beautiful cactus arrangement won't leave recipients feeling prickly.

More from Business Ideas

Side Hustle

New Research Reveals the Most Profitable Side Hustle — and You Could Make an Extra $15,000 a Year From Home

If you're ready to start a side hustle, it pays to consider which one will give you the greatest return.

Side Hustle

She Started a Side Hustle That Earned More Than $1 Million in Year 1: 'Manifest Your Best Life'

Nadia Liu Spellman, founder and CEO of Dumpling Daughter, wanted to honor her parents' success.

Franchise

Subway's CEO Steps Down Amid a Major Transition for the Sandwich Giant

John Chidsey will step down at the end of 2024, marking the close of a transformative five-year tenure.