Growth is likely one of your objectives when you buy a lawn care franchise for the first time. The more you grow, the more satisfaction and profit you can enjoy.

However, you typically can’t experience growth on your own. It often requires a strong team to take your franchise to new heights. While you won’t always get it right, you may be able to build a solid team to achieve business success by taking the following actions:

Hiring the Right People

A team is only as strong as its weakest member. This can mean that even if you have a few star employees, those who aren’t as strong may bring your entire team down. As a result, hiring the right people can be crucial for long-term success.

You may not always know whether you’re hiring the right people to join your team, but there are actions you can take to improve your chances:

• Contact references

• Ask friends and family for recommendations

• Use leading recruitment channels

• Hire on a trial basis

Depending on the hiring process and whether you have any commercial contracts, you may also like to require your prospective new employees to undergo a background check.

Ensure Your Employees Have Clearly Defined Roles

Communication can make or break a team. If your employees don’t know what you expect of them and what their roles entail, there’s room for disappointment and frustration.

Define your employees’ roles from the beginning. You might give them a specific area to cover or their own client list with various lawns to mow and other services to provide. When they know what’s expected of them, you may enjoy a competent team you can trust.

Provide Training and Development Opportunities

Many people enjoy on-the-job training in lawn care franchises. The more lawn care services you provide, the better you get, and the more customers benefit. However, your team can have more than just on-the-job training. You may also provide them with proper training and development opportunities to improve their skills, enlighten them on safety protocols, and learn new lawn care techniques.

When you take the time to help your team enhance their skills and knowledge, your business and its customers benefit.

Prioritise Feedback

You can’t hope to have a great team where everyone respects each other and gets the job done unless you make them feel appreciated. Prioritise feedback so they know what they’re doing right, what you appreciate about their workmanship, and what they could do to improve.

If you’re going to be offering feedback to seek improvements, go about it the right way:

• Be respectful

• Be direct and honest

• Avoid being harsh

• Give examples

• Choosing your timing

• Provide solutions and advice  

Give Them What They Need to Succeed

Your team can only be as good as what they have to do their jobs. Ensure your employees have everything they need to do their jobs to a high standard. This can include high-quality lawn equipment, enough fuel, a company vehicle to get to jobs, and adequate training for customer service and their jobs.

If you’re unsure whether your employees have everything they need to succeed, don’t be afraid to ask them. Remember, they are a reflection of you. If you give them what they need to do their job to a high standard, your business benefits.

Lead By Example

Many business owners aspire to own and operate businesses with competent employees to take the lead. The more competent their employees are, the easier it can be for business owners to step back and reap the rewards.

However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t lead by example. Act in your business the way you would want your employees to act. That would mean that if you wanted your employees to have incredible attention to detail, you’d train them to take the same approach. If you wanted them to treat all their customers with respect, you would do the same. Employees are likely to mimic what they see, not just what you tell them to do or what they read in training manuals.

Promote a Positive Working Environment

Lawn care employees get to work out in nature with reasonably flexible working hours. That can certainly lay a foundation for a positive working environment. However, business owners can also contribute to that environment.

You can promote a positive working environment by rewarding and recognising employees for hard work and encouraging open communication.

Are You Ready to Buy a Lawn Care Franchise?

The thought of building a strong team within a business you own can be exciting! If you’ve thought about purchasing a lawn care franchise, now might be the right time. You can then put steps in place to hire employees, grow a strong team, and guide them to success.

Lawn care franchise owners love the freedom their jobs afford them. They can work their own hours, spend time in nature, and be responsible for themselves.

However, we’re a nation of hard workers. This can mean that maintaining a healthy work-life balance isn’t always easy for the average business owner. If you’re a lawn care franchise owner trying to welcome a little more balance into your life, you might be able to achieve your goals in the following ways:

Set Work and Personal Boundaries

Setting boundaries when you love what you do for a living can be tough. You may not mind dedicating much of your free time to your business. However, setting work and personal boundaries can be important for ensuring you you have plenty of time for yourself, your family, and your friends.

Get into the habit of not checking your work email address or phone after hours. Unless calls and emails are urgent, they can wait until the next business day.

Hire Employees

There may come a time when your client list grows beyond your wildest expectations. You now have more clients than hours in the day! When that time comes, hire employees to share the load. Otherwise, you may find yourself working from dusk till dawn with no free time for yourself and your hobbies.

Hiring employees can be a straightforward process. You can advertise on job seeker platforms and hire someone based on their skills or potential. You may then start delegating work to them to free yourself up for more fun in life!

Rely on Technology

You might already be using top-of-the-line lawn care equipment in your line of work to complete work quickly and to a high standard. However, not every business owner knows that they can also use technology to enjoy more speed and efficiency in their administration tasks.

Software, invoicing tools, and various apps may all reduce your admin burdens and speed up those boring, repetitive tasks. The less time you spend on admin, the more time you can have for your hobbies and family.

Don’t Overcommit

We all want to make our customers happy and ensure their expectations are exceed. However, it should never be the expense of our mental and physical health. Start setting realistic expectations with yourself and your clients about what you can realistically achieve in a day.

Don’t line up more jobs than you can comfortably achieve, especially if your workload means you’re starting early, finishing late, and not taking adequate breaks.

Practice Self-Care

When you spend all day, every day, helping other people with various tasks, it’s easy to not think about the little things you could be doing for yourself to make yourself feel better. Get into the habit of doing one activity for yourself each day.

You might take a walk through your favourite park, enjoy a spa after work, or sit in your local café with a newspaper and hot coffee. It’s the small things that can make all the difference in managing your physical and mental health.

Take Regular Breaks

The lawn care industry can get busy. Spring and summer are growth seasons, and it can be all hands on deck to make sure homeowners can enjoy picture-perfect properties.

Despite their desire to achieve that bowling green-like lawn, you should ensure your busy schedule leaves plenty of free time for your breaks. Depending on how many hours you work in a day, aim for a lunch break and at least two other shorter breaks during the day. If you’re working on a hot day, take additional breaks when required and drink plenty of water.

Prioritise the Most Important Jobs

When you have a full schedule and limited time, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed. You don’t always know how to achieve everything without working yourself to the bone or leaving no spare time for yourself.

That’s why prioritising the most important jobs can be crucial. Some customer jobs are more urgent than others, such as an end-of-tenancy mow with a deadline versus a weekly mow where the homeowner is flexible with mowing days. Prioritise your most important jobs to ensure you still make time for your personal life at the end of a busy day.

Start New Habits Today

You might be dedicated to providing a high-quality lawn care service, but that doesn’t mean you should prioritise lawn mowing and other yard tasks over your own mental and physical health. Now’s the time to create a healthy work-life balance so you can enjoy your career for years to come.

If you’re struggling with a healthy work-life balance, take note of these tips above. Putting yourself first may be the start of some healthy habits that set you up for business and personal success.

It can be a sad day when your lawn mower finally gives up and stops working. But on the bright side, you can now shop for a new one!

Knowing which lawn mower to buy can be stressful with so many options on the market. Of course, you can just outsource lawn mowing to an expert, but some people like taking care of yard work themselves! In that case, it’s time to do some research. You can learn more about the best lawn mower brands of 2023 below. With this information, you can make a well-informed lawn mower-buying decision.

Masport

Masport is a leading outdoor power and garden equipment provider in New Zealand. You also can’t go wrong with a Masport BBQ! However, if you were looking for a reliable, well-priced, and well-made lawn mower to last the distance, Masport would undoubtedly be near the top of the list. In fact, Masport took out Canstar Blue’s 2023 lawn mower award for the most satisfied customers!

Mower Types

Whether you have a postage stamp-sized patch of lawn or a quarter-acre block, you’ll undoubtedly find a mower to suit your needs in the Masport range. Masport has branched out in recent years to offer eager yard workers a range of options.

Petrol

Masport has an expansive range of petrol-powered lawnmowers for domestic and commercial use. They are renowned for their reliability, robustness, and quality components. The most popular option within the Masport petrol range would have to be the 8/0 series. These mowers boast quality Briggs & Stratton and Kohler motors and rust-free aluminium chassis.  

Battery

Not everyone wants all the mess and fuss of a petrol-powered mower. Fortunately, Masport now offers a range of electric battery-powered mowers. In their ‘Energy Flex’ series, you can enjoy battery-powered mowers with interchangeable batteries. This means you can share batteries if you already own Energy Flex leaf blowers, chainsaws, and other equipment.

Masport electric lawn mowers also share the same cutting decks, handles, wheels, catchers, and other components as petrol-powered models. As a result, you’ll find parts sourcing and replacement a breeze.

Ride-On

Mowing a lifestyle block with a push mower would cause homeowners no end of problems and stress. Fortunately, Masport has a ride-on lawnmower range. These mowers have several convenient features like side discharge and rear catchers. You can even buy 4WD models. They are designed to handle everything from regular grass to thistles, brush, gorse, and everything in between.

Cylinder

If you pride yourself on having a bowling green-style lawn, it can be worth exploring Masport’s cylinder mower range. These mowers are well-equipped for precision mowing.

Ozito

Ozito is a hand and power tool brand that has found favour with consumers in Aotearoa New Zealand. If you’re looking for bargain prices and reliability, you may find that Ozito ticks those boxes.

Mower Types

Ozito boasts an expansive range of cordless, electric, and cylinder lawnmowers for people who don’t want the mess, fuss, and hassle of petrol.

Cordless

Ozito has one cordless lawn mower available: The PXC 18V mower. This mower forms part of the Power-X-Change family and is ideal for lawns up to 150m2. With a folding handle, carry handle, and three cutting height adjustment options, it’s a simple, clean, and easy option.

Electric

Ozito offers affordable 1500W and 1200W electric lawnmowers. They are popular with many people for their generous 38L grass catcher, five adjustment positions, safety start switch, and 360mm cutting width.

Cylinder

While Ozito only has one cylinder mower, it’s worth your attention. The PXC 18V is a battery-powered cylinder mower with five precision-cutting blades, a 45L grass catcher, and four cutting heights.

Ryobi

If ease of use is your primary concern when selecting a new lawn mower, Ryobi might be a brand you consider. While it’s not the cheapest brand on the market, its mowers find favour with consumers for being user-friendly.

Mower Types

Ryobi caters to all manner of homeowners and renters with a broad range of mower types. You can purchase battery, electric, petrol, and ride-on mowers from Ryobi.

Petrol

Ryobi’s petrol mowers are renowned for having far more power than their electric range. They are designed for larger lawns and have a range of convenient features.

Ride-On

Ryobi ride-on mowers are popular among lifestyle block owners who need a mower capable of cutting a large area but prefer less maintenance. Ryobi’s tractor-style and zero-turn ride-on range are battery-powered. They can mow up to two acres on a single charge and are nearly maintenance-free.

Electric Corded

Ryobi’s electric corded mowers may appeal if you only have a small area to mow. These mowers are designed to function at their best within 25 metres of a power outlet and are clean and user-friendly.

Battery

Battery-powered lawnmowers are Ryobi’s bread and butter. They’ve invested time and energy into developing brushless motors that last longer and perform better than their less advanced counterparts. Battery mowers by Ryobi are ideal for small to medium-sized lawns.

Honda

Honda has its fingers in many pies. It’s not only a well-known car and motorbike manufacturer, but Honda Outdoors also produces a range of outdoor equipment.

Mower Types

Honda produces a range of domestic and commercial lawn mowers to suit a range of people and lifestyles.

Battery

It’s clear that Honda prioritized technology and development when they created their battery mower range. The new generation of Honda battery mowers features izy-ON batteries with brushless motors, push-button starts, and intelligent torque control. It’s important to know that Honda battery-powered mowers and their batteries are sold separately.

Petrol

Many people still prefer the grunt and power of traditional petrol-powered mowers, and Honda Outdoors delivers. Their petrol-powered range features powerful four-stroke engines, lightweight cutting decks with lifetime guarantees, and an abundance of safety features for peace of mind.

Ride-On

Honda well and truly caters to lifestyle block owners. The Honda ride-on range consists of high-quality mowers suitable for lawns up to two acres. You can also choose whether to have mulching features or not.

Start Shopping

With Ryobi, Masport, Ozito, and Honda standing out from the crowd in the domestic lawnmower scene, you may find the shopping process much easier! However, you can also ask our friendly lawn-mowing team for advice. We’re more than happy to share a few tricks of the trade to help you mow your own lawns with confidence.

One of the hardest parts of running any business is pricing the products and services. A commercial lawn care and gardening service is no different! Many business owners struggle to strike a balance between providing excellent value for money and ensuring they pay themselves a living wage.

If you’re new to the industry and struggling with your pricing, you’re in the right place. We’ve included a few helpful tips below that might help you start your operations on the right financial foot.

Learn Your Costs

You can’t hope to price your services accurately and ensure a healthy profit margin if you don’t know how much your business costs to operate. As a result, learning your everyday operational costs can be the most crucial first step.

Calculate all the costs associated with running your business, even if they seem insignificant. We’ve included a few to get you started:

• Equipment

• Fuel

• Equipment maintenance, servicing, and repairs

• Insurance

• Taxes (income and GST)

• Labour

• Vehicle costs  

If you struggle with the financial side of your business, don’t be afraid to ask an accountant for help. They’ll be more than happy to provide financial and business advice.

Research Your Competition

You likely aren’t the only person providing commercial lawn care and gardening services in your area. There are bound to be many other service providers offering many of the same services. Don’t be afraid to learn more about them if they operate similarly to you.

Find out what they charge for various lawn sizes, any package deals they provide, and any other relevant service details. While you don’t have to undercut or match them, you can at least understand the average ‘going rate’ for services in your area. This information might help you make an informed decision.

Think About Time

There’s more to consider than just your tangible expenses, like equipment and fuel. Think about how much time you put into each job and all the extras like time traveling to a property. Sometimes, the easiest way to price your services is by calculating how long it takes to attend a job, perform that job, and return home again. You might even calculate your service pricing based on an hourly rate for convenience.

Mark Up Your Materials

Just as builders and plumbers wouldn’t normally provide their materials at cost, you also don’t need to. If you use materials for various services like fuel for lawn mowing and grass seed for fixing bald patches, consider adding these to your invoice at a marked-up price. Remember, it took you extra time and resources to buy these materials, and providing them at cost is not always feasible.

Account for Business Growth

You might be a fledgling business now with few overheads, but that doesn’t mean your operations won’t grow in the future. Allow for that by pricing your services appropriately from the beginning. Pricing them too cheaply can make it harder to make necessary price increases in the future. If you set your pricing in line with your competition, making small increases to keep up with inflation can be much easier and expected.

Consider Property Sizes

Setting one pricing structure can seem like the easiest option. If you charge everyone the same, you don’t have to spend any more time than necessary taking care of your invoicing.

However, everyone’s properties are different. Some people have large, sprawling lawns that take a great deal more time to mow. Others have tiny lawns but extensive gardens to contend with. You might even turn up to mow someone’s lawn, only to find it overgrown and time-consuming to mow.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to lawn care, which means your pricing structure should reflect that. Many commercial lawn care service providers charge a set rate for properties of specific sizes. They might then add on other custom costs they make the property owner aware of at the time, like excessive growth and overgrown gardens. Having a running list of pricing might make it easier for you to provide fast and easy client quotes.

Factor In Package Options

Many property owners don’t have time to take care of their own lawns and gardens. Instead, they want someone reliable who will turn up regularly and take care of them for them. If you want to offer scheduled services and package deals, set time aside to price these separately from your one-off clients.

Loyal clients can appreciate more competitive pricing, especially when they’re providing you with business for months or years at a time. Consider adding a discount to save your clients money while ensuring you’re making a comfortable living.

Time to Launch Your New Business

Now that you know how to price your business services, it’s time to get started! You can now offer a range of lawn care and gardening services, knowing you’re providing value for money while running a profitable business at the same time.

Lawn care business owners regularly refine their practices to provide the best services for their customers. They might discover new methods on the Internet, attend training courses, and let the passage of time make them better at the services they offer.

However, customer feedback is one of the lesser-known ways to improve a lawn and garden business. It can also be one of the most powerful. Your customer’s experiences can guide you to become the best lawn care provider you can be. With that in mind, here’s how you can use customer feedback to your full advantage:

Offer Multiple Feedback Avenues

Some customers aren’t comfortable offering feedback while a service is being provided. They might not even want to talk face-to-face about what they think you’re doing well and what they believe you could do better.

In that case, consider offering multiple feedback avenues. You might create simple surveys or questionnaires and hand them to your customers. Alternatively, you might encourage online reviews through platforms like Google and social media.

Sometimes, a simple statement on your digital invoice encouraging feedback can be helpful. These are all openings for ensuring your customers know you welcome all feedback.

Practice Active Listening

We love hearing what people like about our services. You can’t help but smile when someone tells you that you did an excellent job edging their lawns or trimming their hedges. However, constructive feedback and even negative feedback can be much harder to manage. Many lawn care operators aren’t sure how they’re supposed to react in the moment. This can be especially true when it’s being delivered face to face.

You might see the value in practicing active listening. Active listening is a valuable communication skill beyond listening to what someone says. It involves being present in a conversation and showing interest by maintaining eye contact.

Those with good active listening skills will also take notice of non-verbal cues and ask open-ended questions. They then repeat what their customers are saying back to them to show understanding. Most importantly, active listening involves listening to understand, rather than to respond.

Analyse Patterns

When you ask your customers to provide feedback, you may notice a steady flow of comments. These can all help you become a better service provider, even if it may not seem that way at the time.

Sometimes, the easiest way to use customer feedback is to compile it and analyse patterns. If you notice many comments about something, you can use it to your advantage.

For example, if several customers say they appreciate your attention to detail with hedge trimming, you could advertise this service more often. If many customers say they’re unhappy with how you edge their lawns, you might prioritise training in this area.

Respond to All Feedback

If you’ve provided your customers with options for giving feedback online, such as by email, survey, or review platforms, make prompt responses your priority. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, reply to all comments thanking the customer for providing them.

If you’ve received negative feedback, address it professionally and offer solutions that might solve their problems. Remember to post your contact information with your response so customers can contact you if they’d like further assistance. Your customers can then feel like you value their feedback.

Always Aim to Improve

When customers continually use our services, it’s easy to get complacent. You might not put the same effort into your work, knowing that your customer will still have you returning in the future.

However, it’s essential to provide excellent service, whether you’re mowing someone’s lawns for the first time or the 100th. Quality workmanship improves your chances of your customers recommending you to their friends and family. If you continuously improve your services, you may also enjoy more positive feedback in the future.

Celebrate Your Positive Feedback

No matter how many positive comments you get about your services, it’s only natural for negative and constructive feedback to bring you down. Celebrate your positive feedback to make yourself feel better, and give yourself some positive fodder to post on your socials! Sharing positive feedback online can boost morale and make your business look more professional.

Improve Your Lawn and Garden Offerings Today

If receiving and utilising customer feedback hasn’t been your strong point, it might be after reading these helpful tips above! Take the time to listen to your customers, take on board their comments, and continue providing quality lawn and garden services.

Customer feedback doesn’t have to be something you dread. Instead, it can be something you look forward to if it means you can get praise for your efforts and be guided to make meaningful changes.

Some people establish their own lawn care businesses to pass the time before retirement. Others start them so they can break away from the 9-to-5 grind. Just as the reasons for starting a lawn care business can vary, so too can the reasons for deciding to sell them.

When you’ve made the hard decision to list your lawn care business for sale in NZ, you’re likely feeling a little overwhelmed about the best steps to take to ensure a successful sale. While all businesses are different, you might enjoy a straightforward sales process by taking some of the steps in this article below.

Step 1: Contact Your Franchise Head Office

This step won’t apply if you have established your own business from the ground up. However, if your business is part of a franchise, you might be surprised by the support you have at your disposal if you contact them about your intentions to sell.

They can provide a wealth of information on the sales process and often even give you advertising space on their website. If you list your lawn mowing business for sale on a well-established lawn care website, you might improve your chances of it being noticed by people actively looking for lawn care businesses to buy.

Step 2: Take Stock – What Are You Selling?

With the right know-how and the best lawn mowing equipment, anyone can be in a good position to start their own lawn mowing business. Why should they buy yours? Give prospective purchasers a reason to purchase your business by evaluating its worth.

This can involve calculating the revenue, your take-home pay, and the value of equipment you’ll include as part of the sale. You might also put a price tag on your lengthy client list so new owners can immediately start reaping the rewards.

Don’t be put off by the price range of other lawn care businesses for sale. Many factors can affect business value, such as:

• The type of clients you have

• The size of your client list

• The business size and years in business

• How many employees you have, and their level of experience

• The sales figures

• Assets

• Marketing presence  

Step 3: Sell At the Right Time

It can sometimes seem like there’s never a right time to sell. The warmer months of the year are when you’re at your busiest, with no spare time to dedicate to preparing your business for sale. Selling in the colder months may also make you think that no one will be looking to get into lawn mowing when the grass isn’t growing.

Rather than focusing on the time of the year, focus on when you need to sell for the reasons that made you decide to consider selling in the first place. You might decide that now is the right time so that you can:

• Chase other opportunities

• Move to another location

• Retire

• Change jobs 

You might also decide to sell because you know you’ve grown your business to a point where it would be desirable for someone else to take over.

Step 4: Tidy Up Your Business

There are probably a few things you’ve been wanting to do to make your business run smoother. But with a busy schedule, those tasks might have fallen by the wayside. The more polished your business is, the more it might appeal to prospective purchasers. With that in mind, now might be the right time to tidy up those tasks that have been on the back burner.

These might include investing in an invoicing system for smoother client transactions, reviewing your books to ensure all your ducks are in a row, and trimming your client list to focus on your most profitable and consistent clients.

Many lawn mowing business owners also use an upcoming sale as a chance to maintain, repair, and upgrade equipment. If your gear is part of the sale, high-quality lawn mowing equipment can be a major drawcard.

Step 5: List Your Business for Sale

With your business running like a well-oiled machine with all the kinks ironed out, now might be the right time to hit the ‘go’ button. You can list your business for sale in many places, such as your franchise’s website, social media, your local noticeboard, and even auction websites.

Sometimes, selling a lawn care business is also as easy as talking to friends, family, and associates about your intention to sell. Word of mouth is a powerful form of advertising.

Buy a Lawn Mowing Business Today

Sure, some people are selling their lawn care businesses, but are you considering buying one instead? You’re in the right place.

Crewcut is an established nationwide franchise with many opportunities to get into the business. Contact the Crewcut Franchise Group today if you’d like to find out more about breaking free from the 9-5 grind and spending more time outdoors. We can’t wait for you to learn more about our unique business opportunities.

In an ideal world, garden and lawn care business owners would be busy year-round. However, seasons don’t work like that. It’s not uncommon for homeowners to pause their services when the colder weather hits. Lawns don’t grow nearly as much, and gardens often go into hibernation.

Managing seasonal fluctuations in the green industry can be challenging, but you might be well-positioned to ride them out by taking some of the following actions:

Diversify Your Business Offerings

You might pride yourself on offering high-quality lawn mowing services year-round, but there might not be demand for them during all 12 months of the year. In that case, consider offering a raft of related services you can perform during the colder months.

Many lawn care businesses branch out into garden tidy-ups, weeding, water blasting, and moss treatments. You might even remain busy throughout the winter by offering leaf removal, lawn repairs, garden clean-ups, and gutter cleaning solutions.

Diversification can be the key to business success in any industry, and lawn care is no exception to the rule.

Spread Out Your Earnings

Many lawn care service providers are rushed off their feet during spring and summer. There are plenty of lawns to mow and gardens to tend to when the sun is shining. There can be great profit potential during these warmer months.

Knowing that your earning potential is higher in summer and spring, consider tucking away some of your earnings to carry you through the less-lucrative months of the year. The more money you set aside, the more financially comfortable you can be when your earning potential is less.

If you’re unsure how much to set aside, use invoicing software to track your earnings. You can then know how much you need to cover your costs and what you’ll have spare.

Hire Seasonal Staff

Some lawn mowing business owners can be so busy in summer and spring that they have more work they can handle themselves. It makes sense to hire staff to ease the load. While employees are a help, they can also be an expense you might not be able to afford when your workload lessens in winter.

Hire seasonal or casual staff rather than full-time or part-time employees with guaranteed hours. You might even ask friends and family members to step in and help so they can earn extra money. They can be available when you need them but won’t drain your bank account when you don’t have enough work for them.

Prioritise Marketing Year-Round

Marketing your business might not make much sense when you can’t keep up with your current customer base. However, marketing year-round can be important for keeping you at the forefront of potential customers’ minds.

They might not need you for lawn mowing in winter, but they might remember your name for other year-round services like hedge trimming, leaf removal, and water blasting in NZ. Lawn care business operators have a number of marketing tools at their disposal, such as:

• Flyer drops

• Email marketing

• Social media

• Google PPC ads

If you work for a franchise, you can also enjoy marketing support from your head office. They can provide helpful insight into the marketing practices to see your business thrive.

Take a DIY Approach to Maintenance

Lawn equipment maintenance can be expensive when multiple tools require regular servicing. Even with a reliable service provider near you, you can spend a great deal of money on this one part of your business.

When your equipment is under warranty, servicing with a professional is typically recommended. However, you might also be able to save money by taking care of this task yourself. At a minimum, in-house blade sharpening, oil changes, and basic repairs might help you retain as much of your earnings as possible.

It’s important to note that not everyone feels comfortable or confident enough to tackle equipment maintenance – and that’s okay! Rely on professionals as you see fit.

Ramp Up Advertising Efforts

You might know how crucial it is to advertise your services year-round, but consider ramping up your advertising efforts in autumn and winter. Highlight the services that matter the most to homeowners in winter, like water blasting, leaf clearing, lawn repair, and mulching.

You might even welcome new customers onboard through special deals and incentives, such as two services for the price of one or a half-price second service. Alongside keeping you busy, advertising your winter services might provide you with extra customers for your busier summer seasons. You might then have more money to set aside to supplement your income during the more trying months.

Don’t Let the Cold Weather Slow You Down

Business might be slower in the coldest months of the year, but it doesn’t have to come to a grinding halt. Focus on marketing, saving money, spreading out your earnings, and diversifying your services. Before long, you might be surprised by how easily you make it through your slowest seasons.

Starting a new business is a significant decision to make, whether you build it from the ground up or buy a franchise under a well-established business name. There can be much to think about, particularly when it comes to accounting and your finances, to ensure you’re making a wise buying decision.

If you’re starting to explore your franchise purchasing options, we’ve included some helpful tips and advice to consider.

Understand What You Get for Your Purchase Price

The purchase price of a franchise is an essential factor to consider before you sign on the dotted line. You must understand the value you’re getting for that money and whether or not it comes with equipment, customers, chattels, or anything else other than the brand name.

If you were to compare two similar businesses and notice that one is more expensive than the other by a considerable margin, read through the details to find out why that is. For example, some lawn care businesses might come with an extensive client list, while others might come with all the vehicles and equipment you need to hit the ground running.

Learn About the Franchise Fee

You typically need to pay an ongoing franchise fee when you purchase a franchise, which might be a new concept if you’ve only previously built your own businesses or have never owned a business at all.

It’s important to find out what your franchise fee is for, what it covers, and the frequency. Most franchise fees cover application costs, training, marketing and advertising, and general franchisor costs. However, every business model is different, so don’t be afraid to ask what you’re paying for.

Identify All Business Costs

There’s more to purchasing a franchise than just paying the initial purchase price. You must also factor in the costs of running your business, such as the purchase price and maintenance costs of vehicles and equipment, as well as marketing and travel expenses.

Identifying these costs early can be important for establishing your service prices and setting yourself up to turn a profit.

Get Accounting Help

You might be passionate about your prospective new business and know you’ll provide your customers with standout service, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be an expert in all aspects. Many new business owners struggle with their bookwork, whether they work with a franchise or start their own business from scratch.

Some of the best franchisors offer all financial information, such as costs, budgets, and how accounting works. They also provide you with invoices so you can enjoy a consistent structure when managing customer payments. However, you might still like to contact a local accountancy agency for help, especially if you’re unsure how to file business taxes, what your tax code should be, and how much you need to set aside for income tax and GST purposes.

Establish a Pricing Structure

You can’t pull a product or service figure out of fresh air and expect it to be the magic number for helping you turn a profit. An in-depth analysis of your costs can be required to establish a pricing structure that promotes profit potential.

This can be important during the early days of owning a business or before you decide to buy one. Learn more about your costs, check out competitor pricing, and even talk to other people in the same industry as you to find out what they charge and how they calculate their costs.

It’s important to strike a balance between turning a profit and providing a cost-effective service for your clients.

Understand How to Make Money

Two people could own the exact same business and sell identical products and services, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make equal income. Many factors can contribute to how you make your money, including:

• Health and safety requirements

• The equipment you use for the job

• How well you align yourself with your brand

• The systems you use to manage daily operations

• Your approach to marketing

• How well you nurture your current clients and make way for new ones

• Your drive to succeed

• A solid business plan and goals

There’s more to making money than simply providing a product or service, so it’s important to have a firm grasp of what contributes to a successful business to stand a chance of becoming one yourself!  

Consider a Crewcut Franchise Today

If the time has come to explore your business ownership options, a lawn care franchise offering lawn mowing, hedges, section tidies, and other convenient services might be worth your consideration.

Crewcut can provide you with helpful information about equipment, finances, training, marketing, and everyday business operations so that you can make a well-informed purchasing decision. Contact Crewcut today to learn more and see if this new career direction is right for you.

Embarking on any new business venture is a big deal. After all, you’re parting with your hard-earned money, hoping you’ll eventually earn it back and make a profit.

That’s why it can be so important to be well-informed before making such a big decision. If you’re thinking about purchasing a lawn care franchise, consider asking the franchisor or other franchisees some of the following questions:

What Services Will I Need to Provide?  

Many franchise businesses allow you to learn on the job, ensuring that a lack of specific skills doesn’t always have to be a barrier to owning your own business. However, it helps if you know about the services you’ll be expected to provide before you sign on the dotted line.

Most lawn care franchises offer lawn mowing as a base service, and some have it as their only service. However, you typically have the freedom and flexibility to provide a wide range of lawn care services, such as:

• Lawn mowing

• Ride-on lawn mowing

• Commercial lawn mowing

• Hedges

• Tree trimming

• Garden clean-ups and help

• Water blasting

Most lawn care franchisors will recommend offering a wide range of lawn care services since the demand for lawn mowing services can decline during winter.

Will I Receive Training?

When you start your own business from the ground up, it’s up to you to learn everything about your industry and the products and services you’ll be providing. You’re on your own, and it can be daunting, to say the least.

However, purchasing a franchise within a well-established company can often be a much more stress-free process. You can receive training from your franchisor, mentoring from other franchisees, and ongoing support whenever needed.

Typically, initial training takes around two weeks, but you’re continually learning on the job to become the best lawn care service provider you can be.

What Support Will I Receive From Head Office?

Starting a new business can be overwhelming, especially when you feel like you don’t have any help or support. After purchasing a franchise, don’t be afraid to ask your franchisor about the type of support you’ll receive in the beginning and on an ongoing basis.

Some of the best lawn care franchisors will offer customer leads, marketing materials, and uniforms. You will also be put in contact with your regional manager, who is available to answer any questions you might have.

What Are the Costs Involved In Running My Lawn Care Franchise?

Making money is an important part of running a business, whether you start one from scratch or purchase a franchise. Understanding profit potential comes down to learning the costs of running your business.

Ask your franchisor about franchise fees and other costs you’ll be expected to pay. Some of the best lawn care companies only charge a low weekly fee for marketing and related costs. For your franchise fees, you’ll receive an app, ongoing marketing, and head office support.

There are also many other costs to be aware of, such as your tax obligations, vehicle expenses, and equipment. Starting a lawn mowing business typically requires you to make some of the following purchases:

• A vehicle – van, lite truck, or ute

• Trailer

• Catcher mower

• Mulcher mower

• Line trimmer

• Garden bags

• Pruner clips

• Leaf blower

• Petrol cans

Does My Franchisor Give Me Customers?

There are many differences between businesses you start yourself and those you purchase from established companies. However, one of the most standout differences is how you obtain your first customers.

When you own your own business, you must work hard to build up customers from zero. That’s rarely the case with lawn care franchise businesses. Leads that head offices receive are distributed to the lawn care service providers in specific areas. Moreover, if you’re struggling to obtain new customers, your head office can help you create digital campaigns for targeted lead generation.

How Many Hours Will I Work?

Every lawn care franchise owner purchases their business for different reasons. Some people became tired of office jobs and wanted to try something new, while others wanted more flexibility.

It’s only natural to ask how many hours you can expect to work per week before you purchase a new business. Most franchisors will tell you that the number of hours you work is up to you. You are your own boss and can take on as much or as little work as you desire. You can also hire workers if you want to work fewer hours but maintain a busy schedule.

You might work the most hours during summer and the least during winter. However, many lawn care workers maintain consistency during the cooler months by offering services outside lawn mowing, such as garden tidy-ups and water blasting.

Is It Time to Start Your Own Lawn Care Business?

Now that you know about the services you can offer, the support you can receive, and the hours you can work, you might wonder whether a lawn care business is right for you. Now might be the right time to inquire about franchise opportunities with leading lawn care service providers like Crewcut.

If you’ve purchased a business from a franchise and are now officially a franchisee, you’re likely excited about your professional future. After all, you can now run your own business with the support of a reputable franchise with a strong and successful business model in place.

However, even with the support of your franchiser, you are in the driver’s seat to reach your full business potential. Here are some of the keys to growing your franchise and experiencing success.

Ask for Help When You Need It

Even though you’re working within a well-established model and can essentially hit the ground running (or mowing), that doesn’t mean you won’t feel a little overwhelmed from time to time. Owning and operating your own business is a big deal, and you might have many questions about procedures, policies, or something else.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. One of the many benefits associated with purchasing a business as part of a franchise is being able to rely on a support network. Someone will always be available to assist if you have any questions or concerns.

Take Advantage of All Training Opportunities

You might already have plenty of knowledge about your industry when you purchase a new franchised business, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to learn and grow. If your franchise has offered you training opportunities for the day-to-day running of your business, health and safety procedures, finances, or something else, don’t be afraid to take them up on it.

There’s always room to learn and grow, and you might learn helpful tips and techniques that allow you to grow your business and experience great success.

Be Brave With Marketing

Many new business owners are afraid to put themselves out there, worried they won’t welcome new customers into their business or experience the feedback they hoped. Some business owners simply don’t know how to market their business or take advantage of the many wonderful and innovative digital options we now have at our disposal.

However, being brave with marketing can be crucial for business success. Take the plunge, and reap the rewards.

Firstly, talk to your franchiser about the marketing packages they have available. Some of the most well-established franchises already have marketing programs and systems in place for franchisees to take advantage of, including:

• A dedicated page on the main business website, talking about who you are, where you’re based, and the services you offer

• A Google My Business profile with your name, phone number, website, and email address.

• A Facebook page with a profile photo, description, and posts about your products, services, and general industry information

• Printed products like business cards, door hangers, folders, letterheads, quote forms, note pads, pens, fridge magnets, and invoices

Scale Up Your Services

While some franchisers limit the products and services you offer for consistency throughout the brand, others let you pick from a range you feel comfortable offering. For example, if you purchased a lawncare franchise business, you might offer lawn mowing as a basic service, but you can also provide garden tidy-ups, hedge trimming, tree trimming, and more.

You might experience success in your franchise by scaling up your services as you become more comfortable with your day-to-day operations. Lawn mowing might be an ideal service to get to know your customers, but then you might start branching out into offering water blasting, fruit tree pruning, and garden bags.

Live and Breathe the Franchise

Piggybacking off the success of a franchise is one of the most pronounced benefits of becoming a franchisee. All the hard work has already been done for you with regard to brand recognition and reputation.

If you want to be successful, live and breathe franchise while still making your business your own. Consider branding your vehicle, wearing a uniform, and offering products and services consistent with other franchises. If you stray too much from the brand, you risk the general public not thinking of you and your brand when they require your help.

Provide Great Service

Sometimes, experiencing success in business is as easy as providing outstanding service. When customers are happy with your products and services, they’re more likely to return, knowing they’re going to be satisfied.

Providing great service can mean being approachable, friendly, competitively priced, and an expert in your field. It can also mean hiring employees you can trust and training them to provide the same great service you yourself are now known for.

Become a Franchisee Today

As daunting as the prospect can be of owning and operating your own business, there’s no reason why you can’t experience success. Provide great service, live and breathe your brand, and utilise your support network. You might then be well on your way to growing your franchise and achieving all your professional goals. Why not look at businesses for sale and see if now is the right time to take the leap?

It’s natural not to know what to expect when you start any new business, let alone one that forms part of a franchise. You might be nervous about how you’ll get customers, how hard the work will be, and whether you’ll have the know-how to run a successful business.

No one can predict the future, but you can typically expect some of the following things when starting or buying a lawn care franchise in New Zealand.

A Smooth Startup Process

There’s no denying that starting any new business can be stressful, especially when there can be many steps involved in ensuring you fulfill your legal requirements and are visible to prospective clients.

However, when you align with reputable lawn care franchise companies, you can typically enjoy an easy, tried-and-true startup process. Most highly-regarded franchise companies provide all the information you need to decide whether a franchise business is right for you.

You can also learn about the equipment you’ll need to get started, the associated costs, how budgeting in lawn care works, and the necessary training for health and safety and day-to-day business.

A Dedicated Online Marketing Package

Marketing can be integral to your success in the lawn care industry. After all, many customers look online for someone to have their lawn care needs, like lawn mowing and tree trimming, taken care of.

If your digital skills aren’t up to scratch, you might think you’ll be disadvantaged, but quite the opposite can be true. By launching your lawn care business as part of a franchise, you typically benefit from an already well-established marketing plan. Franchise companies also offer marketing packages with tools like:

• A dedicated website page on the main website

• A Google My Business listing

• A Facebook page for your individual business

• And more

Marketing Materials

While the internet is undoubtedly one of the best places to market your services, traditional marketing materials can also be effective. When you start your lawn care franchise, you can generally receive a wide range of materials to help you share the word of your services far and wide.

• Typically, these include:

• Letterheads

• Quote forms

• Door hangers

• Invoices

• Pens

• Notepads

• Fridge magnets

• Business cards

• Folders And more

Broad Service Offerings

Lawn mowing might be among the most common lawn care services you’ll be offering your customers, but it doesn’t have to be the only one. Many franchise businesses provide their customers with a broad range of convenient services, such as:

• Hedge cutting

• Tree trimming

• Section tidies

• Garden bags

• Garden clean-ups and garden help

• Water blasting

• Ride-on lawn mowing

• And much more

Having such a wide range of service offerings means you can provide your customers with the full service to keep their yards in tip-top shape year-round.

Ongoing Support

Owning a business can be stressful and challenging, especially when you are trying to do it on your own. Being part of a franchise essentially means you’re part of a business family. If you have questions, queries, problems, or concerns, you can contact your franchise company and work with them to achieve your desired outcome. The same support potentially wouldn’t be available if you were starting your business from scratch.

Freedom to Set Your Own Hours

The nine-to-five grind might be common among New Zealand workers, but it doesn’t suit everyone. You might be seeking more balance in your life, more free time for your family, and better working hours to live life to the fullest.

In that case, you can expect the freedom to set your own working hours when you purchase a lawn care franchise. As you’re your own boss working for a national franchise, you can set your client appointments around your other obligations and keep your work-life balance in check.

Training

You might already be competent when it comes to lawn mowing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn a thing or two from people who have been in the industry longer. The best lawn care franchises go above and beyond by providing you with advice, tips, and knowledge for a successful lawn care operation.

New Customer Leads

Word of mouth is a powerful form of advertising. You can generate plenty of your own clients simply by providing excellent service for your customers. You can also take advantage of the marketing materials and digital marketing tools provided by your franchise company to put you on the path to success.

However, when you align yourself with a leading lawn care franchise, you can also often benefit from leads being given to you. When the head office receives lawn and garden enquiries, they often distribute them to the closest and most capable lawn care operators. That might be you.

Learn More About Lawn Care Franchises Today

Being your own boss can present many benefits, but the fear of the unknown can hold you back from making such a significant employment decision. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own lawn care business, now might be the right time to explore your options. You might be surprised by how straightforward the process of owning your own lawn care franchise can be.

Most of us have, at one time or another, wondered whether we’re ready for a career change. You might be tired of the 9-5 daily grind or are frustrated at being cooped up inside all day when the sun’s shining. 

These problems can lead some people to think about starting a local lawn care franchise. Could this be the right move for you? Here are a few things you might like to consider before diving right in. 

Start Your Own Business vs. Buy a Franchise  

Perhaps one of the most important factors to think about when you’ve decided that you’d like to pursue a career in lawn care is whether you should start your own business or purchase a franchise. There are pros and cons associated with each option. 

For example, you can flex your creative muscles when starting your business from the ground up and develop your own marketing and branding. However, this can also be a disadvantage for those who aren’t sure how marketing and branding work. 

You also have to consider whether you have the time and knowledge to develop your own health and safety plans or whether you prefer to purchase a franchise with these already in place. It’s important to note that franchises are already well-established, and you can build on the success of the brand rather than having to establish your reputation from scratch.  

Startup Costs

Starting a business is expensive, and that’s even before you start paying the legally required business-related costs. You have to pay experts to take care of marketing, branding, and website development, as well as ongoing costs related to advertising to get your name out in the public arena. 

This can all happen even before you’ve purchased a mower and all the necessary equipment you’ll need to take care of your customers’ requirements. There’s no denying that buying a franchise business costs money, but there can often be far fewer costs to worry about.   

When you purchase a business that forms part of a franchise, you can also often buy all the equipment and client lists you need to get started right away. Essentially, that means you can earn money from day one rather than wait for clients to trickle in for a business that’s only just getting off the ground.  

Work-Life Balance 

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the importance of work-life balance, and many people started moving away from the 9-5 working week in favour of more flexibility and life enjoyment. You might consider starting a local lawn care franchise when you want to spend more time doing the things you love. 

As you’re going to be your own boss, you can work whichever hours you see fit. You can make time for the kids’ sports practices, music lessons, and even your own hobbies. You might even decide to work fewer hours by hiring workers to take care of your clients for you.  

Lawn Care Services

You might assume that starting a lawn care business requires several years of experience performing lawn care tasks, but that’s not entirely true. On-the-job training can form a core part of lawn care, and you can learn a lot about what’s involved just by watching informative instructional videos. 

When you master the art of lawn mowing, you can start providing more services like hedge trimming, edging, leaf blowing, and other property maintenance tasks. As a lawn care franchise owner, you have the flexibility and freedom to offer the services you feel comfortable with – and the ones your customers demand. 

The Lifestyle

Some people thrive in fast-paced office environments and being able to utilise the latest and greatest tech. Others are more confident and comfortable in physical-based jobs that see them getting to enjoy time outside in the sunshine. 

The type of lifestyle you prefer can often dictate whether starting a local lawn care franchise in NZ is the right move for you. If you want to work in a job that provides health benefits, you will surely find that lawn mowing ticks the right boxes. You might enjoy weight loss, a healthy heart, stress relief, and better sleep. 

Lawn mowing franchise Crewcut found that the average franchise owner takes an average of 17,000 steps per day, the equivalent of up to 16km, and enjoys cardiovascular exercise, bone and muscle health, and plenty of Vitamin D during the warmer months of the year.  

Are You Ready to Start Your Own Lawn Care Franchise?  

It’s time to think about your options. If you’re ready for a change, want to get outside and be active, or simply want to be your own boss, a lawn care franchise might be worth considering. The Crewcut franchise model is a straightforward one, with business owners encouraged to purchase ready-made lawn mowing businesses with a large nationwide organisation backing them every step of the way. Why not find out more and see if a career change is on the horizon?

Many lawn care franchise owners are satisfied working as sole traders. You can take on as many jobs as you like and work as many hours as you see fit. However, there can be value in considering employees when you want to increase your profit potential and grow your business.

When the time comes to explore your expansion options, don’t be afraid to do your homework to learn more about the hiring process. You can then be confident that you’ve hired the best team to take your business to a new level. Here are some tips for creating the best team of workers for your needs.

Be Thorough During the Hiring Process

When you’re snowed under with work and need to hire lawn care workers as soon as possible, it can be tempting to hire the first person who shows an interest in lawn mowing. However, on-the-surface enthusiasm doesn’t always equal an employee that suits your business.

Go through all appropriate interviewing processes to find an employee who truly will be the right fit. Ask questions over the phone, meet with them for an in-person interview, and ring their references to ensure they have a satisfactory work history. While hiring someone can be time-consuming, putting in the extra effort might pay off.

Prioritise People Skills 

It’s certainly helpful when the people you hire know how to mow lawns, trim trees, and use a water blaster, but these are all skills that can be learned. To a degree, people skills can’t be. You might see the value in hiring employees who are eager to learn, grow, upskill, and provide excellent customer service. After all, your business’s reputation is on the line.

You can generally get a sense of someone’s people skills during the interviewing process. Ask questions about why they want to work for you, what appeals to them about lawn care, and how they would provide exceptional customer service when visiting a client’s property.  

Put the Word Out to Your Connections

When you have a job vacancy, publishing job ads on job seeker websites is the most natural action to take. However, you don’t have to rely on these avenues alone. Don’t be afraid to talk to friends, family members, and business associates to see if they know anyone looking for work who would thrive in your business. You might even see the value in posting ads on social media since people can tag their friends and family and get the word out far quicker than you could on your own.

Provide Plenty of Training

Many lawn care franchise owners can be worried about their productivity levels when they hire employees. Training can be labour-intensive, and you might not be able to leave new staff members to take care of clients on their own right away.

However, a high level of training can equal a high level of care for your customers. The more time and effort you put into helping your new team learn the ropes, the better service they can provide for your clients in the future.

Make sure your training plan incorporates customer service, health and safety, services like lawn mowing, edging, and tree trimming, safe driving, and safe power equipment use.

Utilise a Trial Period

Hiring a new employee can be nerve-wracking when you’re unsure if they’ll be the right fit. However, you might be able to hire more confidently if you utilise the 90-day trial period New Zealand business owners are entitled to include in employment agreements.

Employers with 19 or fewer employers can employ people on a trial period for up to 90 days as long as they meet specific criteria, such as it being agreed to in the employment agreement. If you aren’t satisfied with your employee in that window, you can dismiss them, and the employee can’t bring a personal grievance or other legal proceedings unless they relate to minimum employment rights and responsibilities.

Consider Collaborative Hiring

If you already have a close-knit team that loves working together, and you don’t want that dynamic to change, consider collaborative hiring. This involves giving your team a small amount of freedom over the hiring process to ensure they would be happy working with whoever you end up hiring.

While giving your employees such control might seem absurd, it can sometimes lead to higher retention rates and a team that’s genuinely passionate about your business and providing a high-quality service for your customers.

Lead Your Business to Success

A happy, motivated team can be a recipe for success, especially in the lawn care industry. Take note of these tips above, and you can be on your way to expanding your business with the right people to take care of your customers’ needs.

No lawn care business owner ever wants to find out that a client is unhappy with the service they’ve been provided. You likely pride yourself on your ability to mow lawns and trim trees to perfection, so it can be shocking when you receive a complaint.

The rarity of complaints might mean you don’t know how to handle them when they do come in. Fortunately, we’ve got some top tips for navigating complaints if you should ever find yourself on the receiving end of them.

Stop and Listen

If a client has approached you in person to voice their concerns about a service you’ve provided or something else they’re not happy with, stop what you’re doing and listen. Allow your customer to explain their side of the story and see if you can piece together what happened based on their version of events.

Even if you don’t believe you were in the wrong, your client is likely going to appreciate being given the room to communicate their needs in the hopes that you can provide a solution.

Visit In Person

If you’ve received a complaint online, such as via email, text message, or social media, don’t be in too much of a hurry to address it using those same platforms. Depending on the contents of the message, see if the customer would be willing to meet with you to discuss their problem in person.

Doing so can make you look more professional while also being appreciated by the customer, who will likely be thrilled to learn you will take the time to visit them for a face-to-face discussion. Addressing the problem in person also gives you extra time to come up with a solution before you need to meet them.

Remain Calm

As challenging as it can be to keep your cool when your character, skill set, and professionalism are being questioned, remaining calm can be crucial for maintaining a strong customer relationship.

If you’re struggling not to respond in a way that might be viewed as disrespectful, step back, take a deep breath, and regain your composure. The calmer you remain, the easier it can be to salvage your relationship and continue providing high-quality lawn care services.

Investigate

If your lawn care business operates with a team, you might not have been directly involved with the person making the complaint. Before responding to any digital correspondence, attempt to get to the bottom of the problem by talking to the staff members involved.

If a lawn care customer has approached you in person about a situation you weren’t involved in, thank them for bringing the issue to your attention and ask for permission to investigate before coming back to them with a solution. In that time, you can find out what happened and possible solutions to satisfy all involved parties.

Use Feedback to Learn and Grow

You might have noticed that you’re receiving the same type of feedback repeatedly. If you are, take it on board as an opportunity to learn and grow. For example, if more than one customer has expressed concern about how you trim their roses or edge their lawns, consider upskilling in these areas to satisfy your customers’ needs. Complaints can be an opportunity to improve, even if receiving negative feedback is rarely a nice feeling initially.

Don’t Try to Win Any Arguments

Some clients can be so frustrated with a situation that there’s potential for a heated argument to break out. When a client approaches you in a state of heightened emotion, enter the discussion with the mindset that you’re not there to win any arguments.

Instead, apologise for the disappointment they’re feeling and express sadness that they’ve experienced what they did. You’re not necessarily admitting guilt, but you’re empathising with their situation. You might also like to put yourself into their shoes to understand how you’d feel in the same scenario.

Consider Gestures of Goodwill

Some complaints can be solved with a simple apology, while others might require more effort and consideration. Depending on the type of complaint, you might be able to rectify the situation with a free lawn mowing session, a credit to their account, or another free service like hedge trimming.

You might even like to leave the problem-solving in the hands of the customer, asking them what they would like the outcome to be so that you can negotiate a resolution that suits you both.

Turn Unhappy Customers Into Happy Ones

While the majority of your clients might be more than satisfied with your efforts, you might encounter one or two complaints over your years in business. However, with these tips above, you might be more than capable of resolving any issues that might arise and maintaining those client relationships long into the future.

Deciding to build a business from the ground up or join an established brand is a hard decision to make. You might want to reap the rewards of making a name for yourself all on your own, but you’re concerned about how much time and effort goes into establishing your own branding and livery.

If you’re undecided on the best course of action, especially regarding a lawn care business, you’re in the right place. Here are just a few of the many benefits associated with joining an already well-established brand.

All the Marketing Materials Are In Place

Marketing materials can take a significant amount of time, effort, energy, resources, and money to put into place. Even if you have an idea of the type of logo you’d like to use for a lawn mowing business, you still have to think about fonts, colours, meaning, positioning, and so much more.

This can be on top of already trying to build up a client base and providing a wide range of services like tree trimming, lawn mowing, and gardening. It can be a lot to handle.

When you align yourself with a well-established brand, you do not need to worry about marketing materials. Joining a franchise can mean that you’re provided with everything you need to hit the ground running, including a logo, a branding guide, promotional options, and more.

Customers Already Know the Brand

Building brand recognition is one of the most complex parts of starting your own business. No one knows who you are and what you do, and it can take a significant amount of time for people to see your branding and immediately understand your offerings.

However, if you were to take on a franchise within an already established company, that’s an issue you’re unlikely to encounter. Other franchises within the company have already done all the leg work, which means you can immediately reap the rewards. All that’s left to do is carry on the company’s reputation by providing a high-quality service for all your valued clients.

It Attracts Clients

Business owners must work hard to attract clients, and they do so by offering incredible deals and standout service. While providing your customers with the service they deserve is crucial, you don’t have to start from nothing.

A well-established brand is already attracting clients, especially when there is more than one franchise. When you purchase a franchise and get your business up and running, you might notice that it’s immediately attracting clients. People know and trust the brand, and you reap the rewards.

Enjoy Brand Consistency

When branding isn’t your forte in the same way that lawn mowing and hedge pruning are, it’s hard to be consistent. You might think you can play around with logo colours and use different vehicle and uniform branding styles, but it doesn’t help with branding recognition.

While it doesn’t hurt to brush up on your marketing and branding knowledge, you can capitalise on what has already been implemented for other franchises within the company. Everything from marketing materials to vehicle branding and uniforms has already been pre-designed for your convenience.

Support With Marketing

When you’ve never had to worry about branding before, it’s only natural to be nervous about what lies ahead. You might know you want to make a name for yourself for all the right reasons, but how on earth do you do that?

Many of the best companies with franchise opportunities in lawn care in NZ offer marketing support. Alongside providing you with helpful resources, uniform branding, and vehicle livery, you can also enjoy training opportunities where needed.

Whether you need support setting up your Facebook page or want to learn how to remain current in the digital sphere, you can get the help you need from the company with which you hold a franchise.

You Can Receive Customer Leads

Many companies have franchises throughout the country, allowing customers from many regions to access high-quality lawn care services. However, many leads come directly through the head office instead of to individual franchises.

This means that even if you didn’t approach a customer directly or hand out marketing materials in your area, you might still receive leads. Some of the best lawn care franchise companies even provide you with a full list of regular clients so that you can immediately start making money. That’s unlikely to be the case if you were to create your own lawn care business from scratch. 

Are You Ready to Purchase a Franchise?

Lawn care is a worthwhile career option. You can work your own hours, enjoy being active, and spend plenty of time outdoors in nature. Now might be the right time to weigh up the pros and cons of franchise business opportunities and see if you’re ready to take the leap.

Whether you’re a new lawn mowing business owner/operator or considering upgrading your business vehicle, you might have wondered whether a van would suit your needs.

Purchasing a new vehicle is a significant decision to make, so it’s likely not one you want to make on a whim. Before you hand over your hard-earned money to a vehicle salesperson, take a moment to weigh up the pros and cons of van ownership in the lawncare industry.

Pro: Your Lawn Mowing Equipment Is Safe and Secure

While burglaries are allegedly declining throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, that doesn’t mean all business owners are confident that their valuable equipment and tools are safe. You might even worry about having fuel containers, lawn mowers, and other equipment sitting on a ute deck while you’re assisting a client with their lawn care needs.

That’s normally less of a concern when you use a van. Rather than storing gear on the open deck of a ute, you can place it in your locked van and feel more confident when parking it on an average NZ residential street.

Con: Strong Odours

Lawn care can be a bit of a smelly business. While few smells are as sweet as freshly mown grass, it can be a bit overpowering when mixed with the pungent odour of fuel from petrol-powered equipment.

When you have a ute or a trailer, you can typically avoid these odours, but it can be much more challenging when there is no separation between you and your equipment during transportation.   

Pro: You Don’t Have to Tow a Trailer

Towing a trailer can sometimes be frustrating. You’re limited in where you can park, you have to drive 10km slower on main highways than other drivers, and you have to adjust your driving style to suit the extra load.

You might not need to worry about that if you purchase a van. Many vans are large enough to transport push mowers and even some ride-on mowers with plenty of leftover space for other power equipment like leaf blowers and line trimmers.

Con: You Need to Stay Organised

When you run your business with a ute and trailer, you don’t typically need to worry about staying organised because you have plenty of space to work with on a trailer and ute deck.

However, the average van has less space than a ute deck and trailer combined, which means you might need to get creative with how you store your equipment for transport. If you decide to purchase a van, you might need to have a storage system in place to easily find items and remove equipment from the van quickly and conveniently.

Pro: Affordable to Buy

Vans are a tradesperson’s best friend here in Aotearoa, so there is typically no shortage of options on the market. Whether you’re buying new or secondhand, you’re bound to find something within your budget.

While there’s certainly no shortage of utes for sale in NZ, they often come with higher price tags. This is partly due to their desirability for town and country dwellers alike, but also because of the ute tax the government has imposed. This tax means Kiwis will pay approximately $3,000 more as a penalty under the Clean Car Discount package.
If you’re on a budget during your hunt for a new vehicle, vans can undoubtedly be an option you consider to keep expenditure to a minimum.

Con: Inferior Suspension and Towing Capacity

If you pay attention to the specs of any vehicle you buy, you might notice how impressive the towing capacity and suspension are of many new utes for sale. Sadly, this area is often lacking in the average van.

It can be worth keeping this in mind if you’ll need to tow a trailer to haul a ride-on lawn mower and other equipment. You might find that a ute has more ‘get up and go’ than the average van.

How to Set Up a Van for a Lawn Care Business

If you’re adamant about using a van for your new lawn care business, you might be curious about how to set them up. Everyone’s needs are different, but you could start by learning about the most necessary items and equipment to include in the average van.

At a minimum, you’ll need your client job information, lawn mower, power equipment, and fuel if you aren’t a green lawn mowing service provider. A toolkit, wet weather gear, spare parts, and a first aid kit also need to take pride of place in your van. And don’t forget your lunch box!

If you typically provide a lawn clippings removal service, you might need to tow a trailer occasionally. However, if you’re aware of these jobs in advance, you can line them up one after another to reduce the number of days you’ll need to use your trailer.

Van or Ute – You Decide

There can be so much to organise and plan when you purchase a lawn care franchise and start your self-employment journey in earnest. Now that you’re aware of all the pros and cons of van vs. ute ownership, you can make an informed choice and purchase a new vehicle with confidence.

Many Kiwis are starting to reevaluate their careers, especially as it can sometimes seem like you spend every waking hour working rather than enjoying life to the fullest. With that in mind, there can be value in exploring your options around lawn franchise ownership. Alongside working for yourself, many other benefits might pique your curiosity.

Before you dive right into making a decision, why not weigh up the pros and cons of a lawn franchise? We’ve listed a few of the most obvious ones below.

Pro: Limitless Earning Potential

When you work for someone else, you often only earn as much as they’re willing to pay per hour or as part of a salary package. Even as costs rise, along with inflation, your earning potential doesn’t always rise with them.

However, that can all change when you own a lawn franchise. You really can earn as much as you want. You have the freedom to set your rates, hire workers to expand your reach and profit potential, and work as many or as few hours as you please.

Pro: Work Hour Flexibility

Many parents hate missing out on their children’s schooling and sports events. But as they often take place during the working day, it can be nearly impossible to make time for them all.

Flexible working hours are one of the most desirable benefits associated with a lawn mowing franchise. You can choose to be an early riser and keep your afternoons free, or sleep in and work later into the day. You can also set your own breaks and lunch hours and have the complete freedom to attend any meeting, appointment, activity, or errand without having to run it by a boss.

Pro: Full Support and Training

Starting a new business can be daunting, especially when you’ve never been your own boss before. However, compared to a startup, a franchise can be a breeze. You can take advantage of a proven business system that works, especially since multiple franchisees are usually already under a national brand.

You can also benefit from training to learn the ropes, a support system for those trying times, and all the help you need to familiarise yourself with the average day in business until you build up confidence. If you were to start a lawn mowing business in NZ on your own, very little of that support would be available to you.

Pro: Customer Leads

You can provide lawn mowing services for as many or as few customers as you would like while advertising to your heart’s content in your local area. However, you don’t need to rely on your own efforts alone.

Often, when you align yourself with a franchise, you benefit from customer leads provided by your head office. This benefit can be extremely valuable during your early days in business when you’re trying to establish a name and reputation for yourself.

Pro: Help With Health and Safety

Understanding and learning how to follow the various health and safety guidelines can be daunting. You know you must keep yourself safe, but now you also have to think of your customers and their needs.

When you align yourself with some of the best brands in the industry, you’re provided with all the information you need. Before long, you can be skilled and well-informed of the latest health and safety codes so that you can provide a safe and reliable service for your clients.

Con: Inquiries Can Drop Off In Winter

Lawn mowing services can be in hot demand during the warmer months of the year, but inquiries can tend to drop off once winter arrives in earnest. Many franchise owners find it helpful to spread their earnings over the year to compensate for the decreased revenue.

Although, that’s not to say you can’t earn as much in winter as in summer. Many franchises have national contracts, which means you can retain the same clients throughout the year.

You also have the freedom to diversify your offerings and provide other services like garden tidy-ups, tree and bush pruning, hedge trimming, water blasting, and more.

Con: You Don’t Get to Choose Your Own Business Name

When you decide to start your own business, you get to play around with fun business names and branding. Aligning yourself with an already-established brand means you don’t.

Although, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. All your marketing materials are taken care of for you, and you get to build on your national brand’s reputation rather than starting from scratch. You also don’t need to worry about putting all of the hard work into establishing brand recognition since many locals would already be familiar with your business name and what you’re all about.

Is It Time to Buy a Lawn Mowing Franchise in NZ?

If you’re tired of working for someone else and want more control over your working life, now might be the right time to review your franchise options. While starting a new business can be scary, you might be surprised at just how well-supported and encouraged you are when a national franchise takes you under its wing.

There can be many benefits associated with buying a franchise in NZ, such as having the full support of the franchisor, a proven business model, and even a potentially higher chance of securing finance to start your new business venture in earnest.

However, as desirable as franchise ownership can be, you still need to put time and effort into making it a success. For the best chance of doing just that, you might like to take note of these key principles.

Choose the Right Franchise For You

When you make the life-changing decision to buy your own business, it’s easy to get lured in by the profit potential of several options. They might offer significant earnings beyond your wildest dreams, and it seems like the perfect business for you.

However, there can be more to owning a successful franchise than buying one with significant profit potential. You also have to consider whether you’ll like the job you’ll be doing and have skills and passion for your daily work.

For example, a lawn care franchise might catch your eye if you love being outside, dabbling in a bit of gardening, and mowing the lawns. You might not have the same passion for a fast-food chain or cleaning company.

When you think about the type of work you’d like to do when working for yourself, you might be surprised at how easy it is to narrow down your franchise purchasing options.

Follow Franchisor Guidelines

Franchisors have generally been in the business long enough to know that their business model is one that works. They provide marketing and branding guidelines and basic operating procedures to ensure consistency across the brand.

If you want your franchise to be a success, familiarize yourself with franchisor guidelines and requirements before signing on the dotted line. You can then get a feel for how the business operates and the expectations of the company to ensure you’re the right fit.

Failure to consider these guidelines might mean you’re unhappy in your new job if you find out that it operates differently than you anticipated.

Create a Winning Marketing Strategy

Even though franchisors generally provide new franchisees with all the marketing materials and branding guidelines they need to hit the ground running, you might find that you have total freedom to create promotions that broaden your reach and expand your customer base.

For example, if you decided to purchase a lawn care franchise in NZ, you might offer a half-price lawn mowing service if a customer signed up for a regular lawn mowing service. Alternatively, you might provide free lawn clipping removal, edging, or leaf blowing as a desirable benefit for new customers.

As long as you remain consistent with your branding, there can often be no reason why you can’t experience great success with your marketing strategy and unique approach.

Develop a Business Plan

Business plans can be crucial for any new business, regardless of whether they form part of a franchise. Business plans outline a company’s goals, marketing objectives, financial projections, operations, marketing, and more.

Business plans can essentially function as your road map to success, helping you to get back on track if you ever lose sight of your goals or objectives.

Alongside creating a business plan, you might also like to perform a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and helps you put your business in the best possible position for success.

Draw a large square, divide it into four parts, and name each box one of the four terms. Under strengths, you can write down everything you’re good at, including things your business can do better than your competitors.

In weaknesses, write down anything that might stop you from achieving your goals, areas you need to improve in, and resources you might lack. Opportunities might cover any external conditions that might help you achieve your goals, and threats might describe anything that could damage your business, like the economy and your competitors.

Get Help When You Need It

Working in any new business is tough, and you might feel stressed and overwhelmed by the prospect of building up a new franchise. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it because doing so might just contribute to your success.

For example, if you’re having trouble staying on top of your accounts, consider hiring a bookkeeper or accountant to assist. Or, if you’re having trouble with a particular part of your new business, reach out to your franchisor, who might be able to advise you on the best courses of action for specific scenarios.

No matter your problems or concerns, you will surely find that friends, family, and professionals will be available to lend a helping hand.

Are You Ready to Buy a Franchise?

Working for yourself can be incredibly rewarding. Is now the right time to buy a franchise? There are many different options available, including lawn care, where you’ll be able to work your own hours and be your own boss.

Being a business owner in any industry can be challenging. You’re responsible for all your own successes and failures, and you’re the one paying all the bills and making all the decisions.

However, there can be a unique set of hurdles in the lawn mowing industry, and many new and seasoned lawn mowing professionals face them throughout their careers. If you want to be prepared for any challenges thrown your way, here are some of the most common hurdles and how you can overcome them.

Seasonal Earning Potential

Winter can be a challenging time for some lawn care service providers, particularly those who only offer a single service – lawn mowing. Homeowners rarely need their lawns mown as frequently, and weather conditions can also dictate when you can visit your clients’ properties.

Fortunately, winter doesn’t actually need to be an impossible problem to solve. You have many different solutions at your fingertips.

For example, you might decide to branch out into other services more fitting to the colder weather, such as section tidy-ups, leaf removal, mulching, tree trimming, and hedge pruning. While you can scale back these services once the mercury rises, they can be an ideal interim solution to ensure you’re still able to maintain a stable income.

Alternatively, you might like to look at budgeting for those colder months of the year while you’re still providing your summer services. Talk to your accountant about managing your money and spreading it out across all months of the year.

Administration and Accounts

No one can be good at absolutely everything they put their mind to. You might be the Picasso of the lawn mowing world, but that doesn’t mean you’ll know how to manage your books for organisation and tax purposes.

Many lawn mowing business owners find it challenging to handle the administration and accounting side of their business as well as the actual job of lawn mowing. If you know that your books possibly aren’t as tidy and well organised as they should be, an ideal solution would be to hand them over to someone who can tackle this task for you.

Accountants can be relied upon to make sure you’re fulfilling all your tax obligations, while an administration worker might handle those more finicky tasks like booking new customers and managing their payments.

Underquoting Work

When you start a new business, it’s only natural to be concerned about not getting as much work as you need to cover your bills. You can generally alleviate this problem by purchasing an existing business, but many people find themselves underquoting just to take on new clients.

While effective in the short-term for building up a client base, it might hurt you in the long run when you’re unable to make the profit you need to run a sustainable business.

If you’re about to start your own lawn mowing business, research what your soon-to-be competitors are charging. If you have the same equipment, services, and level of experience, there’s no reason why you also can’t charge the same.

Ineffective Equipment

A low-end lawn mower is more than suitable for a homeowner with a small patch of grass that they mow a couple of times a month in the summer. However, such a lawnmower is likely to be unsuitable for a commercial operator.

By purchasing ineffective, low-end equipment, you run the risk of needing to perform far more maintenance and upgrade sooner than if you bought a more suitable commercial model. As you start exploring your lawn care equipment options, take the time to read reviews and compare various brands.

The more time and effort you put into research before purchasing essential gear like lawnmowers and grass-cutting accessories, the more confidence you can have that you’ve made the right decisions.

Marketing Your Business

Once upon a time, any type of business could rely on word of mouth to have the customers lining up in their droves. However, competition is now fierce, and we need to think outside the box to be noticed, especially regarding marketing. 

Although, marketing doesn’t have to be a complicated, expensive undertaking. You might decide to purchase a franchise business, with the head office supplying all marketing guidelines for you, or you might hire a marketing guru to assist with your advertising and social media presence.

There might still be a reasonable amount of word-of-mouth marketing, but you have far more avenues to explore than simply relying on customers to notice you on the streets.

Begin Your Business With Confidence

As terrifying as starting a new business can be and as many hurdles as you might face, there’s no reason why you can’t start, own, and operate a successful lawn mowing business. Now that you’re aware of some of the most common problems, you can be in a much better position to overcome them.

Branding, livery, and marketing are not always easy to wrap your head around. You may know you want to get your business name out there, but doing it in the best way possible is not always straightforward when you don’t know what’s effective and what isn’t.

Many people who get involved in lawn care and buy a lawn mowing business can be so focused on providing superior customer service that they forget to even consider the benefits of spending time on their image. In particular, their vehicle branding.

If you’re about to ramp up your marketing efforts and put your NZ lawn care business in the public eye, take note of the following information.

Sign-Written Vehicles Stand Out

The average vehicle on the road doesn’t stand out, especially when it’s an everyday car with a standard paint scheme. However, as soon as you start adding graphics, words, and exciting colours, that all changes.

People take notice, both while they’re walking or driving past a parked vehicle and when they’re driving near one on the road. They read the words that are written on it, take notice of the colours, and might even make a mental note to find out more about what’s written on it, as well.

A Vehicle With Branding is Professional

Every lawn care business owner wants their customers to think they’re professional. If they’re seen as professional, customers can feel confident relying on them for lawn care tasks like lawn mowing, weed eating, tree trimming, and more.

While having an unbranded vehicle doesn’t mean you’re not professional, it can make some people believe that lawn care isn’t your primary business offering and that you’re possibly not an expert in the field.

Branded Vehicles Are Moving Billboards

You generally benefit from pre-established branding and marketing materials when you purchase a franchised business. There’s no need to worry about starting from scratch or having to build up a reputation. It’s already there for you to take advantage of.

By adding your business information to your vehicle, you’re essentially driving around in one giant billboard. People in need of your services can find out who you are, the services you offer, and how to get in touch.

Many lawn care service providers even find that while parked outside the property of a current customer, they’re able to benefit from the business of neighbouring properties. Before long, it’s possible to have several clients on a single street, cutting costs and bolstering your bottom line.

What to Include On Your Vehicle Signage

If the benefits above sound attractive, you may be ready to start looking at your business vehicle branding options. When you work with a franchise, all the recommended design elements are readily available for you to take advantage of. That way, you can ensure your business vehicle aligns with the company’s image for the sake of brand recognition.

However, if you’re starting from scratch, you may not know what you should include in your vehicle’s signwriting or wrap for maximum effect. We’ve included a few helpful pointers below.

Your Branding Colours

Over time and with enough exposure, we start associating particular colours with businesses. When we see purple, we associate it with Cadbury, and the big golden arches are undoubtedly McDonald’s.

Therefore, it’s crucial to include your branding colours to establish that brand awareness and recognition. Once again, when you align yourself with a franchise, the hard work has been done for you, but using your new branding colours on your vehicle can also put you on the right path to being noticed and recognised in your community.

Service Offerings

Every lawn care company is different. Some offer push mower services, while others provide both push mowing and ride-on lawn mowing. You may even come across lawn care companies that offer a complete range of services like garden tidy-ups, edging, tree trimming, and hedge pruning.

Including a list of services on your vehicle wrap may make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for.

Contact Information

Most importantly, provide information on how a potential new customer can contact you. Contact information can be phone numbers, email addresses, websites, or even social media pages. The more avenues you offer, the more people you may be able to reach.

This information should be large, bold, and clear so that anyone – whether they’re walking, driving, or biking past, can see it visibly and take action if you have a service they could benefit from.

Take Care of Business Branding Today

If you’ve decided that a business in lawn care is something you’re interested in purchasing, looking at your branding requirements can be crucial. Don’t underestimate the importance of not only aligning yourself with a reputable company that offers well-established branding and marketing practices but ensuring you do everything in your power to make your vehicle and business stand out from the crowd.