Start Here With Lawn Care Empire:

Welcome! My name is Bryan Kesler and I am a successful CPA, business owner, internet marketer, and the author of the Lawn Care Empire blog.

You don’t need to be a business mastermind to know that everything you need to start a Lawn Care Business is in my photo above. Anyone can “start” a lawn care business, but it takes GREAT dedication, time and strategy to build a lasting Lawn Care Empire.

If you are interested in starting your own lawn care service or are just looking for some savvy tips for growing your existing business then you have come to the right place.

Let’s begin!

What Is A Lawn Care Empire?

My definition of a successful Lawn Care Empire is a company that provides a landscaping service in your neighborhood or local community that is reliable, courteous, affordable, and most importantly is something that you ENJOY and makes you and your family a ton of money!

In my experience, it is nearly impossible for the big corporate lawn care services to be reliable, courteous, and affordable all at the same time, which is why we are going to succeed.

What Should A Lawn Care Empire Business Model Look Like?

The key to starting a lawn mowing service is to start small.

Here is what my recommended business model looks like for a Lawn Care Empire:

1. Marketing - you are not the big guys (local neighborhood)
2. Execution - under-sell over-deliver (be on-time, courteous, coupons, ask for a review of the work)
3. Growth - ask for referrals / use Facebook / Google adwords

What Building A Lawn Care Empire Is NOT

I want to address some of the common MYTHs about starting your own lawn care business.

1. Myth 1: You need a $50,000 Truck and Trailer and a zero-turn riding lawn mower. I am living proof that you do not need any of this equipment to grow your business. I had a single push mower, weed wacker, and the trunk of my car, and I was to able to build a portfolio of over 25 lawns by the time I was 17.
2. Myth 2: It is not easy to start a business. Nothing worth having comes easy, but all you need to start a lawn care company is some patience, a bit of capital, and most importantly PASSION. The more you procrastinate the harder it will be to start which is why I am so glad you are here today!
3. Myth 3: I am not a landscape architect, I don't have enough skills to start a lawn care business. I was 13 years old and had only been mowing lawns for 3 months before I got my first customer. If 13 year old me can find a customer, then I guarantee you can. I recommend practicing on your lawn first or offer to mow a neighbors lawn for free to get some practice. You will never know until you TRY!
4. Myth 4: Making a living with lawn care year round is NOT impossible. There are so many additional services that you can provide your customers that you may be able to generate enough money year around to make lawn care your full time job. I recommend you review my list of additional services that you should be providing to your customers here.

Types of Services You Can Offer

What are your skill sets? There are countless services that you can provide for homeowners, businesses, and commercial properties!

The following is a list of required reading if you are serious about starting a Lawn Care Empire.

     Busy Season Services

1. Mowing Services
2. Mulching Services
3. Trimming Services
4. Chemical Sprays
5. Fertilization
6. Aerating

     Off-Season Services

7. Snow Removal Services
8. Salting
9. Car Interior Cleaning Services
10. Power Washing

Equipment Strategy

An essential part to building a successful Lawn Care Empire is to have reliable equipment.

If you are in high school or college, then I know you will have limited capital to start your own business so I want to make sure you find the most affordable equipment that is built to last.

The way I like to look at it is if I spend a little bit more on a nicer piece of equipment it is less likely to breakdown and will last longer so in the long run will be a better investment.

I have compiled a lists of affordable but reliable Lawn Care Equipment from the brands that I trust and personally use.

Please note that I put this list together for your ease of use. I selected products from Home Depot and Lowes because they are easy to find and readily available and I trust the brands because I use them. Also know that at no additional expense to you, I will receive a commission if you purchase any of these items. Only use the links I provide if you found this information helpful and would like to help support my site.

Otherwise, please support your local hardware stores!

Their products help keep money in your local communities which is a key foundation to the Lawn Care Empire Business Model.

So with that in mind, here is my comprehensive list of Lawn Care Equipment that I recommend:

Choose Best of each type

1. Lawn Mowers
2. Weed Wackers / Edgers
3. Blowers
4. Gas Cans
5. Engine Oil
6. Hitches & Trailers For Cars and Trucks
7. Tarps
8. Rakes
9. Lawn Waste Bags

Advanced Marketing Techniques: Only for True Lawn Care Empire Builders

If you are looking for RAPID GROWTH and have a small amount of additional capital to start an online marketing presence, then I highly recommend you start a website.

While there are many ways to set up a free website, I recommend buying a domain and setting up your own website for two primary reasons:

1) If you use Wordpress, Blogger or Tumblr your URL is going to have an extra extension in the URL. This makes it harder for your customers to find you because those domains don’t rank in Google or Bing and they don't look professional.

2) Professionalism: by creating your own website you will have the ability to customize it to the way you like. This is going to attract more customers and increase your chances of someone calling you.

Thankfully it is easier than ever to set up your own CUSTOM website.

Website Hosting That I Trust and Use

I trust HostGator for all of my websites and have NEVER to-date had any issues with them. They are the most reliable and provide the best customer service compared to other hosting companies that I have used.

Not computer savvy? Don’t worry. Watch my 5 minute video below and I will show you the step by step process of buying a domain, installing a blog, picking a theme and making your first post!

My Newsletter & Free eBook "Social Media Tips for Lawn Care Specialists"

Before you take off and start building your Empire, could you please subscribe to my newsletter? It is full of exclusive content that you can’t find on my blog or podcast!

I hate spam and I promise to only send you valuable Empire building tips.

As a thank you I will send you my FREE eBook - Social Media And Your Lawn Care Empire.

By the end of my eBook you will know the ins and outs of the top 3 social networks that work for lawn care businesses and 6 tools you can use to manage your social media posts in a timely and efficient manner.

Just enter your name and email below and you will automatically be subscribed!

You Are Awesome!

Finally, I wanted to let you know that I am pumped you are here!

I want you to know that I am here to help! I do my best to respond to emails, but as this has blog grown in popularity, it has gotten difficult to do. I can assure you though, that I read every email.

I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world because I am doing what I love every day and huge reason for this is because I started a lawn mowing business over 17 years ago. The lessons I learned from my small start up set the tone for the rest of my life, and I am really excited to get to share my passion with you. My only hope is that it will have the same effect on you as it did myself!

If  you have made it this far, then I really hope that you can go introduce yourself on my Facebook Community page! I love meeting fellow Empire Builders so please share your name and the number of lawns you currently have in your empire!

Cheers

Bryan Kesler