Build a Business Plan for Sales and Marketing

May 30, 2017

I want you to be able to spend more time with your family and go on the trips you always dreamed of taking. I want you to get that car you always wanted. And if you always dreamed of being the boss of your own company, I want to see that happen. I honestly want to see you become your own version of “successful.”

You can do that with a lawn care or landscaping business. However, you will NOT accomplish all your dreams if your business stays small forever. That means you’re going to have to pound the pavement, do the work, and sell your services. Luckily, with the right marketing and sales efforts in place, this becomes a simple matter of numbers.

The startup question that I get all the time is how to raise money. I feel like most people who ask me that question — and this is a broad generalization — sit on the sidelines waiting for the money to show up when they should be taking some form of action. The reality about raising money to start a lawn care business or an irrigation business or a tree business is that it’s going to be really difficult to get that money. Unless you have equity in your home and you can refinance it or you have some other assets such as a paid-off car that you can finance and get cash or you have a good line of credit, you’re really left with asking a relative or a friend or a family member for money, or maybe there’s somebody you know that will invest in your business sort of as an “angel investor.”

Outside of that, you’re generally not going to get a bank loan, on something as high risk as a new business. Because these operations are lower-barrier-of-entry businesses, a lot of people get into these businesses and a lot fail. You’ll stand a much better chance of being successful if you learn from others’ mistakes and if you’re willing to offer services that others aren’t.