Summary: The following article is designed to be a starting point for people interested in developing a lawn mowing service. I have a university degree in marketing and have and created a lawn mowing service to help me finance my university education. The following article gives insight into how I marketed my lawn mowing service well enough to pay for my college education and shares the high insight that I now have after working in marketing for several years. Specifically, this article is designed to give you ideas about how to effectively market and brand your business in order to become successful.

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Creating demand for a lawn care and snow removal service begins with having a strong marketing strategy. I always recommend advertising in the following places:

1) Door to Door Flyers (Door to Door Flyers are fantastic because they allow you to target the specific neighborhoods that you wish to target and give you more control over the areas you work in. I personally have found that I gain about 1 customer per 50 flyers that I hand out. So if I am looking to gain 100 new customers, I know that I will need to hand out at least 5,000 flyers. Additionally, I have produced better results handing out flyers to the same homes each time I distribute flyers vs. new homes. For whatever reason, people seem to be more responsive to the ads after they have seen them a time or two

2) Asking for referrals: asking for referrals is another great way to build your lawn mowing service. I generally offer my clients a discount; say $15 off their next cut, per referral that they give.
3) Business cards and magnet car signs: having a business card on hand is great because you never know when a neighbor may approach you and ask you whether you can cut their grass beginning in a few weeks. Having a card to give them will make you look professional and increase the likelihood of your being called. Additionally, having magnetic car signs that state your business service and phone number are another great way of reaching people because they go with you everywhere you go and make it clear to neighbors that you can cut their lawn if they ask you.

4) In the most popular local newspaper in your area (by advertising in your local newspaper you will advertise in a place where people traditionally and often go to find a lawn mowing service. In my experience, I have had much better results when I made the advertisement very clear like this:
Downers Grove Lawn Mowing Service
-Locally owned & operated
-Most Lawns $35 per cut
-Call Now: 630-XXX-XXXX

Please note: the advertisement is easy to understand and clearly states what you do (Lawn Mowing) and what you want the reader to do (Call Now). The newspaper is far to cluttered by ads that really don’t say anything about the company they’re suppose to describe and you can differentiate yourself by making your ad easily understandable

5) Building a Website & Utilizing Google Ad Words: Building a website and using Google Ad Words is one of the most effective ways to market a lawn mowing a snow removal service because by having a website, you get the information out there that you exist, and by using Google adwords you can target the people you are looking for by the keywords that they type in. For example, if someone types in Naperville Lawn Mowing Service, you can pay Google to make your ad one of the 1st that shows up. By doing this you are only getting quality traffic to your website. One month, I gained over 20 new weekly customers as a result of using Google ad words.

In summary, I hope you learned a few more things about marketing that you can apply to your business.Naperville Landscaping Company

For those who relish the idea of entrepreneurship, the start of your own small business can be enormously freeing – both financially and emotionally. Of course, owning and operating a successful business means initially finding a business idea that will meet a need while generating enough of a cash flow to be financially viable. A lawn care business can be a wonderful business, both in terms of the demand for its services and the possibilities for a lucrative return on investment.

Clearly, the first step in determining whether or not a lawn care business is for you, is examining your enjoyment of such work. Starting a business built on financial goals rather than your love of the business is destined for failure. If you truly love to work outdoors, to bring creativity to the table, to nurture a lawn into health and vitality, then a lawn care business will bring you much more than cash. If you love what you do on a daily basis then you will never work another day in your life; because when you do what you love it doesn’t feel like work.

One thing you should know up front before beginning a lawn care business is the non-traditional hours that will be required of you. Many of your customers will require your services over the weekend; some lawn maintenance may need to be done during early morning hours – or later when the sun has set. While you may be successful enough at some point to hire employees who can help offset the workload for you, initially it may just be you. Be prepared for some long days and weeks early on in your lawn care business as you build your customer base.

In the beginning of your lawn care business you may consider keeping your full-time job as you work after hours building your business. Once you begin receiving a steady stream of work you can leave your full-time job and concentrate solely on your new venture. In an effort to build business, it may be wise to offer a variety of services; mowing, weeding, raking, leaf blowing – all of these can keep you busy throughout the year.

If you feel that a lawn care business is right for you begin by doing a vast amount of research regarding start-up costs, proper equipment, fee schedules, and insurance. Hiring a lawyer is a wise idea as he/she can assist you setting up proper financial accounts and more.

As you begin this journey into a new career, you may find that a lawn care business is exactly what you’ve wanted to do all along.

Everybody has seen it.  It doesn’t take an expert to drive through a neighborhood and spot the house that obsesses on their yard (in fact, it might be they do!) and the house that only mows when the city is knocking on their door.  In Minnesota, most people get excited when the snow starts to melt and the grass starts getting green.  So, what should you do to give your lawn a head start?  You do want a beautiful lawn without devoting your entire summer to it, right?

A lot of people suggest getting your lawn ready for spring before the first snowfall…but of course time gets away from a lot of people.  So, here are some tips for those who weren’t able to find time to baby their yard before the snow came.

1. When most of the snow has melted, get your wheelbarrow out and start picking up the debris left behind from the fall and anything the snowplows may have thrown into your lawn.  You will want to get your rake out so that you get all of the twigs, branches, leaves, etc. that are in the yard.  (This will also make it easier to mow when it comes time for that!)

2. Then get out your shovel (hopefully for the last time) and flatten out any piles that are taking longer to melt.  They might be lining your sidewalk from shoveling previously or in areas that don’t get as much sun. Why?  While the extra snow shouldn’t kill the grass, it might stunt the growth and that won’t make for a superb lawn.

3. Fertilizing in the spring.  I am a firm believer that it is easier to start a nice lawn early than it is to bring a dull lawn back to life in midsummer.  So, go to the local hardware store and search for a fertilizer for the spring (it should say when to use the specific mixtures on the back).  Remember not to over fertilize because this can actually cause more harm to the grass than good, so read the directions thoroughly.

4.  Attend to any lawn problems you had last year.  Did you have crabgrass (or any other nuisance) invade your yard last summer?  It is vital to stop these annoyances before they can get started.  Some, including crabgrass, have a very limited timeframe to be taken care of each year.  (See my other articles regarding this)

5. Areas of patchy grass?  I like to use a method called “overseeding.”  This is when you put down a lot of grass seed in the patchy areas.  It will make your grass grow faster and stronger, and of course you will have a much fuller looking lawn!  Don’t do this too early…the grass seed you choose should have directions for when to plant it!

So, there you have it!  Some early spring lawn care tips for my Minnesota people!  This might not make your lawn the nicest on the block in one summer, but if you follow these steps every spring, your yard will eventually be one of the best! MN Lawn Care made easy!