How to start a gardening business

Love being outdoors and want to take your gardening passion to the next level? 

Starting a professional gardening business could be the answer. From mowing family lawns to transforming public outdoor spaces, the garden maintenance industry is growing every year.

However, there’s a lot to consider if you want to flourish in this competitive industry!

Our experts at QuickBooks put together this guide to help you cultivate a thriving gardening business. From crafting a viable business plan, to gathering and maintaining clients.

Jump to a section:

• How to create a gardening business plan

• How to set up a gardening business

• How to grow your gardening business

• Grow your business with QuickBooks

How to create a gardening business plan

Creating a business plan is essential to starting a successful gardening business.

A business plan sets out your goals and how you’re going to get there. You’ll have to research who is already out there, and define what makes your business stand out from competitors.

Importantly, a business plan is where you ask yourself the hard financial questions, e.g.

How will you pay for your gardening equipment and transport? Who will you be targeting, and can they afford your services? Do you have the funds for marketing and any legal costs?

Here are five things to consider when creating a business plan for a gardening business.

Plan what type of service you will provide

What types of gardening services do you want to focus on? You may just want to maintain household lawns, or you could provide a full garden design and landscaping service.

Are you interested in working on larger projects, like stately homes, schools or care homes?

It’s important to define your business model at an early stage, as this will influence your marketing and how you operate. Think about whether you prefer long projects, or ad hoc work.

Consider what skills & qualifications you’ll need

The skills and qualifications you need will depend on the services you plan to deliver.

If you’re hoping to do odd jobs and basic garden maintenance, you will not need the same qualifications as someone hoping to take on complex projects in the public sector.

You’ll need practical experience of your chosen gardening services, which could include:

• Mowing and maintaining lawns

• Designing a garden from scratch

• Installing a pond or water feature

• Tree pruning, felling or planting

• Laying or maintaining patio slabs

• Dealing with sick plants or pests 

A knowledge of plants, gardening techniques, and working in all weathers is essential!

If you’re an experienced gardener, you may not need official qualifications at all. However, if you want to reassure clients or work on commercial jobs, a horticultural qualification could help. 

Understand your competition & demand

With its enjoyable outdoor work, a lot of people want to set up a gardening business.

Thoroughly research your market landscape by doing in-depth competitor analysis. By knowing who else is out there, you can analyse their weaknesses and offer unique or superior services.

Not sure where to start? Check out our comprehensive guide to competitor analysis.

For example, you may notice a lack of eco-friendly garden designers in your area. If there’s demand for this niche, you could target and attract an untapped group of green clients.

Consider your pricing strategy

Decide prices by balancing local market rates with the quality of the services you offer.

There’s lots to take into account here – you don’t want to price out your target audience, but you want to at least cover your business costs. You should reflect value, but be competitive. Or adopt a tiered pricing model, where basic maintenance services are offered at a lower rate.

Our guide to choosing a pricing strategy can help you attract customers and make a profit.

Plan a marketing strategy around your customer base

Lastly, your business plan should include a marketing strategy tailored to your targets.

If you want to attract homeowners, showcase before and after photos of your work on Facebook or Instagram. You could even contact home improvement stores and garden centres about setting up a stall, or giving a workshop to position yourself as an expert in gardening.

Your marketing will depend on your time and budget, but you should plan how to get your name out there and build a customer base. Here are 10 digital marketing tips you could try.

Once you’re happy with your business plan, it’s important to get it checked by an expert.

How to set up a gardening business

Having a green thumb will only get you so far when setting up a gardening business.

You’ll need to decide how you’ll operate, how to finance and buy the equipment you need, and ensure you’re legally compliant – you don’t want to get a tax penalty from HMRC!

If your business plan is solid, here are the practical steps for starting your business.

Consider whether you should be a limited company or a sole trader 

Do you want to operate as a sole trader, or as a limited company? Both have their perks.

If you decide to run your gardening business as a sole trader, your tax reporting process (Hello, Self Assessment!) might be simpler, and you’ll have complete control over business decisions. A key downside, however, is that if something goes wrong, you’re personally responsible.

If you decide to form a limited company, you have more protection over your home and assets, as your business is a separate entity. You might also have to pay less tax on your profits, but may have additional compliance requirements to satisfy.

Unsure which is best for you? Read our guide on sole traders vs limited companies.

Understand how your business taxes will work 

Understanding your tax obligations as a small business is vital. As either a sole trader or a director of a limited company, you will likely need to pay tax by declaring it yourself through a Self Assessment.

As a gardening business, there are plenty of expenses you may be able to deduct. For example, you may be able to claim back on items and costs like the below:

• Mileage for driving to visit clients

• Equipment, such as mowers or tools

• Subscriptions to professional bodies

• Uniforms or work-related clothing

• Advertising, such as for a website

It’s important to keep detailed records of your expenses, in order to pay the right amount of tax. Here are some tax tips for small businesses, including essential tax dates for your diary.

Understand your finances & cash flow

Gardening can be seasonal work, so it’s crucial to plan ahead for off-peak periods.

For example, a gardener could protect their finances by setting aside profits from a high-demand season. Or, they could offer winter services, such as snow removal or indoor plant care.

Maintaining a positive cash flow can be the difference between a business succeeding or failing. Take note of your current and fixed assets, and ensure you have a solid contingency plan. Current assets include money received from clients, while fixed include larger equipment or vehicles.

Our blog on cash flow management shows how to manage your finances effectively.

Acquire the equipment you need

Invest in tools and equipment required for your chosen gardening services, e.g.

• Lawnmower

• Shovel

• Wheelbarrow

• Spade

• Leaf blower

• Shears

• Garden fork

• Rake

• Garden hose

• Ladder

• Trowel

• Gloves

• Watering can

• Plant pots

Depending on your niche, you may also need building supplies, pesticides, or pond gear too. Pick good quality gardening equipment – not only will it last longer, but clients will notice.

Set up the right business insurance for you

A lot can go wrong in gardening, so it’s wise to take out appropriate insurance coverage.

For example, safeguarding if you accidentally damage a client’s property, or if your tools are stolen.

You can compare insurance for gardeners, including public liability insurance, employer’s liability insurance (if you employ people), tools insurance, and commercial van insurance if needed.

Costs will vary depending on the size of your business and the level of cover you require.

Ensure legal compliance & obtain necessary licences

As a sole trader or a small business, it is your responsibility to ensure you comply with all laws and regulations relevant to your services.

Perhaps the most important piece of legislation to ensure you adhere to is the Health and Safety at Work Act. Under these rules, workers are required to be properly trained and qualified when using plant machinery. 

Skills registration cards are the standard for demonstrating competence with various pieces of equipment such as mini diggers that are sometimes essential for larger jobs.

Additional permits may be required under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). These rules apply to machinery like chainsaws that are commonly used in gardening and landscaping. 

Appropriate work clothing is also essential for anyone who works in the garden. Even on simpler jobs, all employees should have appropriate footwear and hand protection.

Choose the best accounting solution

Any small business needs a way of managing their money that works for them. As a gardening business, you’ll need to consider these as key areas:

• Cash flow and expenditure

• Invoicing and payments

• Mileage tracking for tax purposes

You’ll need an accounting solution that empowers you to manage your business finances with ease, and that enables you to cut down on admin time and focus on growing your business. 

QuickBooks’ accounting software is built for small businesses. With a range of accounting tools such as expense tracking, invoicing, cash flow management and more, QuickBooks streamlines your business accounting. 

How to grow your gardening business

Having a growth strategy is essential for helping your business to thrive. 

There are many avenues of growth for a gardening business, but here are the fundamentals to consider before you get started. 

Decide on a brand

Creating a brand and a marketing strategy that aligns with the needs of your customers is a sure-fire way to grow your business. 

Branding for gardening businesses is generally quite simple, often employing the colour green, which is commonly associated with growth and life. 

You’ll also need to consider the demographics you’re targeting, and the main services you are offering. For example, if you won’t be offering tree-felling services, avoid placing any hints to this within your branding. 

As for naming your business, you’ll want to choose a name that rings with a positive tone and sticks in people’s heads. Read our guide on choosing a brand name to learn more.

Create regular budgets

Regular budgeting helps to make sure your expenditure stays within an acceptable level as you work through the month. 

Checking and adjusting your budget to account for rising costs is also advised. A set budget for supplies that fails to account for inflation or supply chain issues will soon become obsolete. 

It may be that as your expenditure goes up, your cost goes, as is typically the case with pricing. In order to make these kinds of decisions, you need to understand your budget and your finances. 

Take a look at our small business budget guide for some easy budgeting tips. 

Stay on top of financial forecasting 

In order to grow your business, your finances have to grow with you. 

To understand your growth trajectory, financial forecasting can give you insight on how your business finances will play out in the near future. 

For example, if you’re hoping to grow your business to a three-person team by the end of the year, you’ll need to be earning enough to cover their salaries and to make the growth financially worthwhile. 

By creating a financial forecast, you can anticipate changes (positive or negative) in your revenue, and adapt and grow accordingly. Learn how financial forecasting works here. 

Grow your business with QuickBooks

Creating, developing and growing a gardening business can be challenging, but with the right tools you can cut down on administration and focus on developing long-lasting customer relationships. 

When planning how your business will manage its finances, consider what you truly need from your accounting software. QuickBooks is the small business accounting software designed to grow with you. Giving you a bird’s-eye view of your money, QuickBooks empowers small businesses and sole traders to manage their finances with ease. 

Create and grow your own gardening business with QuickBooks, and take control of your finances. 

The information on this website is provided free of charge and is intended to be helpful to a wide range of businesses. Because of its general nature the information cannot be taken as comprehensive and they do not constitute and should never be used as a substitute for legal, accounting, tax or professional advice. We cannot guarantee that the information applies to the individual circumstances of your business. Despite our best efforts it is possible that some information may be out of date. Any reliance you place on information found on this site or linked to on other websites will be at your own risk.