Lawn Care Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

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Lawn Care Business Plan

If you want to start a lawn care company or expand your current lawn maintenance business, you need a business plan.

You can download our Lawn Care Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

The following sample lawn care business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning lawn care business plan. It can be used to create a business plan for a landscaping business, a lawn mowing business plan and a landscaping design business plan.

Sample Lawn Service Business Plan

Below is a free sample of each of the key sections of your lawn care business plan.

I. Executive Summary

Business Overview

[Company Name] provides a professional all-season lawn care service for suburban residences in [Location]. It also offers its lawn maintenance services to various businesses in the area that need landscaping and lawn maintenance.

The company was founded by [Founder’s Name] in [Year established]. [First Name] started the company with a vision to help the local community see the beauty of professional landscaping and how important it is for the environment.

They are not only experts in decorative landscaping, but also in vegetable gardening and sprinkler systems. They also specialize in lawn problems; from weeds, crab gass, or dry grass in summer.

Products Served

Below is [Company Name]’s initial services list:

  • Landscape design
  • Arborist Services
  • Tree Trimming and Stump removal
  • Commercial Landscaping
  • Residential lawn care
  • Weed control
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Lawn Sprinkler Services

Customer Focus

[Company Name] will serve the residents of [location] and will soon expand to the surrounding cities. The area we serve is mostly populated by moderate to high income families that live in residential houses who are in need of proper landscape maintenance. These residents are able to pay for quality lawn care and landscaping services any time of the year.

The location is also a prime spot for big hotels, resorts, golf clubs (clubhouses), recreational spaces, and companies that will need our services as well.

Management Team

The [Company Name] was founded by [Founder’s Name]. [First Name] has started working in the Landscaping industry at a very young age. His/her love for the environment and for design has pushed himself/herself to study at [insert university] and become a professional landscape architect. [First Name] also just finished taking up a second degree in business management.

Success Factors

[Company Name] is uniquely qualified to succeed due to the following reasons:

  • [Company Name] will fill a specific market niche in the growing community we are entering. In addition, we have surveyed the local population and received extremely positive feedback saying that they explicitly want to make use of our services when launched.
  • Our location is in a high-wealth area where customers are in need of lawn care services and have the disposable income to pay for these services.
  • The management team has a track record of success in the lawn care business.
  • The local area is currently under served and residents rely on independent lawn caretakers.

Financial Highlights

[Company Name] is seeking total funding of $295,000 of debt capital to launch. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, purchasing equipment and materials needed, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

  • Store design/build: $180,000
  • Equipments and Materials: $115,000
  • Working capital: $100,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and lease costs until [Company Name] is cash-flow positive

Topline projections over the next five years are as follows:

Financial SummaryFY 1FY 2FY 3FY 4FY 5
Revenue$560,401 $782,152 $1,069,331 $1,379,434 $1,699,644
Total Expenses$328,233 $391,429 $552,149 $696,577 $776,687
EBITDA$232,168 $390,722 $517,182 $682,858 $922,956
Depreciation$7,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,000
EBIT$225,168 $383,722 $510,182 $675,858 $915,956
Interest$6,016 $5,264 $4,512 $3,760 $3,008
Pre Tax Income$219,152 $378,458 $505,670 $672,098 $912,948
Income Tax Expense$76,703 $132,460 $176,985 $235,234 $319,532
Net Income$142,449 $245,998 $328,686 $436,864 $593,416
Net Profit Margin25%31%31%32%35%


II. Company Overview

You can download our Landscaping Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Who is [Company Name]?

[Company Name] provides a professional all-season lawn care service for suburban residences in [Location]. It also offers its services to various businesses in the area that need landscaping and lawn care services.

The company was founded by [Founder’s Name] in [Year established]. [First Name] started the company with a vision to help the local community see the beauty of professional landscaping and how important it is for the environment.

They are not only experts in decorative landscaping, but also in vegetable gardening and sprinkler systems. They also specialize in lawn problems; from weeds, crab gass, or dry grass in summer.

[Company Name]’s History

[Founder’s Name], the founder of [Company Name] started very young in the landscaping and lawn care business. Ever since [First Name] was still in his college years, he was working part-time in a small landscaping company and earning a few bucks off of the lawnmower he has borrowed from his neighbor. Only in [Month and Year established], did he realize that this is what he wanted to pursue, to start his own lawn care business that cares for the environment and the community.

Through years of hard work and practice, he/she was able to grow his/her business to be one of the most popular all-season landscaping businesses in [Location] and is looking to expand to surrounding areas in the coming years.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

  • Developed the company’s name, logo and website located at [Add Website]
  • Built a local office in [Insert location]
  • Determined equipment and inventory requirements
  • Gathered local contacts and potential clients
  • Employed a team that handles all the administrative and marketing aspects of the business.
  • Employed full time expert landscapers

[Company Name]’s Products/Services

Below is [Company Name]’s initial services list:

  • Landscape design
  • Arborist Services
  • Tree Trimming and Stump removal
  • Commercial Landscaping
  • Residential lawn care
  • Weed control
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Lawn Sprinkler Services


III. Industry Analysis

You can download our Lawn Care Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

The Lawn Care industry is dependent on the health of the housing and property markets, both of which have grown steadily over the past five years. Additionally, because landscaping services are often discretionary, industry demand is dependent on levels of per capita disposable income and, thus, the high-income demographic, which generates a healthy portion of its revenue. The industry also relies on demand from institutional and commercial clients, which generally lead to higher per-service revenue.

Steady growth in the domestic housing market has underpinned the industry’s growth over the past five years. A healthier housing market has encouraged current homeowners to invest in their properties to increase their value amid growing disposable income.

Over the next five years, favorable economic conditions will benefit the industry, such as rising per capita disposable income that will boost households’ ability to purchase industry services. Nonresidential construction activity is expected to climb steadily, making this market a point of emphasis for growth


IV. Customer Analysis

You can download our Landscaping Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Demographic Profile of Target Market

[Company Name] will serve the residents of [location] and will soon expand to the surrounding cities. The area we serve is mostly populated by middle to upper-class families that live in residential houses who are in need of a lawn mowing business. These residents are able to pay for quality lawn care and landscaping services any time of the year.

The location is also a prime spot for big hotels, resorts, golf clubs (clubhouses), recreational spaces, and companies that will need our services as well.

The precise demographics of the town in which our location resides is as follows:

GlendaleHighland
Total Population26,09710,725
Square Miles6.893.96
Population Density3,789.202,710.80
Population Male48.04%48.84%
Population Female51.96%51.16%
Target Population by Age Group
Age 18-243.68%3.52%
Age 25-345.22%4.50%
Age 35-4413.80%13.91%
Age 45-5418.09%18.22%
Target Population by Income
Income $50,000 to $74,99911.16%6.00%
Income $75,000 to $99,99910.91%4.41%
Income $100,000 to $124,9999.07%6.40%
Income $125,000 to $149,9999.95%8.02%
Income $150,000 to $199,99912.20%11.11%
Income $200,000 and Over32.48%54.99%

Customer Segmentation

The company targets the following customer segments:

  • Homeowners and Renters: The majority of the population in (location) lives in residential houses with yards and lawns. Since most of these people have disposable income, they don’t usually do their lawn maintenance themselves and usually spend their money for services like ours. We expect to regularly acquire new customers from referrals.
  • Businesses and Public Spaces: [Location] is known for being a city that values the environment. That’s why most, if not all of the establishments here have green spaces allocated only for plants and trees. We will get in touch with these companies and perhaps also the local government to propose our offer to take care of their landscaping needs. We expect to execute long-term contracts with these companies, thus having stable clientele.
  • Recreational Spaces: The city is home to a lot of recreational spaces like resorts, hotels and golf clubs that depend highly on great landscaping. This is something [company name] specializes in and hence, can offer their services to these spaces as well.


V. Competitive Analysis

You can download our Lawn Care Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Direct & Indirect Competitors

Lawn Man
Established in 1970, Lawn Man is a locally owned and operated lawn care professional service providing environmentally responsible fertilization, weed control and integrated pest management services for customers in the Northeast. Services offered by Lawn Man Man include:

  • Lawn Fertilization
  • Weed Control Service
  • Surface Insect Control
  • Lawn Disease Control

H&K Landscaping

Founded in 1974, H&K Landscaping is a full-service lawn care, landscaping & irrigation company serving the East Coast. In addition to lawn care and irrigation installation, the company offers total lawn and landscape restoration and construction. Services offered by H&K Landscaping Landscaping include:

  • Landscape Design and Installation
  • Lawn Care
  • Shrub & Tree Care
  • Lawn Sprinkler Services
  • Landscape Maintenance

Escamilla Landscaping

Escamilla Landscaping is a family-owned and -operated landscaping company that specializes in creating elegant outdoor living spaces. It offers a variety of services for both commercial and residential clients, providing quality work at affordable prices. Services include:
Sodding, Irrigation, Tree trimming and Lawn maintenance.

Competitive Pricing

Competitor pricing is customized and highly dependent on property size and condition

Competitive Advantage

There are a lot of things that make [Company Name] at a vantage point from its competitors. These include:

  • Open All-season: Most of the lawn care services in [Location] are only seasonal. [Company name], on the other hand, is open All-Season, as it is one of the companies that are well equipped to handle lawn services and landscaping all throughout the year.
  • Expert Employees: We at [Company Name], assure all our clients that we only employ individuals who are excellent in what they do. Our landscapers are experts and can handle any lawn situation that our clients may have.
  • Management: Our management team has years of business and marketing experience that allows us to market and serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than our competitors.
  • Great Deals: Our company offers high-quality services at a reasonable price and we also have special offers for all our contract-based clients.


VI. Marketing Plan

You can download our Landscaping Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

The [Company Name] Brand

The [Company Name] brand will focus on the Company’s unique value proposition:

  • Convenient location
  • Expert landscaping and lawn maintenance services
  • Year-round service
  • Moderate price point
  • Client-focused
  • Environmentally conscious

Promotions Strategy

Social Media/ Online Marketing
With the majority of the people now online, the company will invest resources in online ads for different social media platforms to reach potential clients. We will create ads that will successfully create positive conversions. A company website will also be developed. This website should be able to direct traffic from search engines as much as possible. In order to do this, the company will use highly-focused, specific keywords to draw traffic to its website, where potential clients will find a content-rich site that presents [Company Name] as the trustworthy, well-qualified landscaping service provider that it is.

Publications
[Company name] will place print advertisements in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and local sport programs. Additionally, the Company will print brochures and place them in specific locations frequented by target individuals, such as supermarkets and real estate offices.

Major Publications
We will make careful use of advertising in selected larger publications. [Publication or newspaper name] has a circulation of xyz and we can expect to reach a wider geographic region of customers on a limited basis. Advertisements with major publications will be used selectively, based on cost effectiveness. These ads will include discount coupons so that response to the ads can be tracked.

Commute Advertising
We will drive attention toward [Company name] by hiring workers to hold signs alongside [route or highway]. Advertising on heavily traveled commute routes are an opportunity to alert large numbers of working individuals with disposable income of our opening.

Direct Mail
[Company Name] will blanket neighborhoods surrounding its locations with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on [Company Name], offer discounts and/or provide other inducements for people to purchase our services.

Ongoing Customer Communications
[Company Name] will maintain a website, social media accounts, and publish a monthly email newsletter to tell customers about new events, products and more.


VII. Operations Plan

You can download our Landscaping Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Functional Roles

The Company intends to employ [X] landscape experts, [Y] administrative assistants, and [Z] landscape teams. The company may have to add more people during peak seasons. [Company name] anticipates having [X] customers on a weekly basis.

In order to execute on [Company Name]’s business model, the Company needs to perform several functions. [Company name] anticipates using the services of X employees, divided into the following roles:

Service Functions

  • Lawn care and maintenance (cutting, edging, and trimming)
  • Landscape design
  • Arborist Services
  • Commercial Landscaping

Administrative Functions

  • General & administrative functions including legal, marketing, bookkeeping, etc.
  • Sales Manager
  • Customer service

Milestones

[Company name]’s long term goal is to become the number one landscaping provider in the [location] area. We seek to be the standard by which other providers are judged. We also would want to expand our reach by extending our services to nearby cities. We seek to do this by ensuring customer satisfaction and developing a loyal and successful clientele.

The following are a series of steps that lead to our vision of long-term success. [Company Name] expects to achieve the following milestones in the following [xyz] months:

DateMilestone
[Date 1]Finalize lease agreement
[Date 2]Design and build out [Company Name]
[Date 3]Hire and train initial staff
[Date 4]Kickoff of promotional campaign
[Date 5]Launch [Company Name]
[Date 6]Reach break-even


VIII. Management Team

You can download our Lawn Care Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Management Team Members

The [Company Name] was founded by [Founder’s Name]. [First Name] has started working in the Landscaping industry at a very young age. His/her love for the environment and for design has pushed himself/herself to study at [insert university] and become a professional landscape architect. [First Name] also just finished taking up a second degree in business management.

Hiring Plan

[Founder’s Name] will serve as the company CEO and president. In order to launch the business we need the following additional personnel:

  • Landscaping and lawn care experts
  • Marketing and Admin Staff


IX. Financial Plan

You can download our Landscaping Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Revenue and Cost Drivers

[Company Name]’s revenues will come primarily from landscaping services, especially from fixed contracts with bigger companies. Labor expenses are the key cost drivers. [Founder’s Name] and all of the company’s employees will earn a competitive base salary with good benefits.

The next largest cost for the company is the office lease and the monthly equipment maintenance check and possible repairs. The Ongoing marketing expenditures are also notable cost drivers for [Company Name].

Capital Requirements and Use of Funds

[Company Name] is seeking total funding of $295,000 of debt capital to launch. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, purchasing equipment and materials needed, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

  • Store design/build: $180,000
  • Equipments and Materials: $115,000
  • Working capital: $100,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and lease costs until [Company Name] is cash-flow positive

Key Assumptions

The following table reflects the key revenue and cost assumptions made in the financial model:

Number of customers per dayPer location
FY 120
FY 225
FY 335
FY 445
FY 565
Average service contract$75
Annual Lease ( per location)$50,000
Yearly Lease Increase %2.50%

5 Year Annual Income Statement

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
Revenues
Product/Service A$151,200 $333,396 $367,569 $405,245 $446,783
Product/Service B$100,800 $222,264 $245,046 $270,163 $297,855
Total Revenues$252,000 $555,660 $612,615 $675,408 $744,638
Expenses & Costs
Cost of goods sold$57,960 $122,245 $122,523 $128,328 $134,035
Lease$60,000 $61,500 $63,038 $64,613 $66,229
Marketing$20,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
Salaries$133,890 $204,030 $224,943 $236,190 $248,000
Other Expenses$3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000 $5,500
Total Expenses & Costs$271,850 $412,775 $435,504 $454,131 $473,263
EBITDA($19,850)$142,885 $177,112 $221,277 $271,374
Depreciation$36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960
EBIT($56,810)$105,925 $140,152 $184,317 $234,414
Interest$23,621 $20,668 $17,716 $14,763 $11,810
PRETAX INCOME($80,431)$85,257 $122,436 $169,554 $222,604
Net Operating Loss($80,431)($80,431)$0$0$0
Income Tax Expense$0$1,689 $42,853 $59,344 $77,911
NET INCOME($80,431)$83,568 $79,583 $110,210 $144,693
Net Profit Margin (%)-15.00%13.00%16.30%19.40%

5 Year Annual Balance Sheet

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
ASSETS
Cash$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570 $392,389
Accounts receivable$0$0$0$0$0
Inventory$21,000 $23,153 $25,526 $28,142 $31,027
Total Current Assets$37,710 $113,340 $184,482 $286,712 $423,416
Fixed assets$246,450 $246,450 $246,450 $246,450 $246,450
Depreciation$36,960 $73,920 $110,880 $147,840 $184,800
Net fixed assets$209,490 $172,530 $135,570 $98,610 $61,650
TOTAL ASSETS$247,200 $285,870 $320,052 $385,322 $485,066
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Debt$317,971 $272,546 $227,122 $181,698 $136,273
Accounts payable$9,660 $10,187 $10,210 $10,694 $11,170
Total Liabilities$327,631 $282,733 $237,332 $192,391 $147,443
Share Capital$0$0$0$0$0
Retained earnings($80,431)$3,137 $82,720 $192,930 $337,623
Total Equity($80,431)$3,137 $82,720 $192,930 $337,623
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY$247,200 $285,870 $320,052 $385,322 $485,066

5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS
Net Income (Loss)($80,431)$83,568 $79,583 $110,210 $144,693
Change in working capital($11,340)($1,625)($2,350)($2,133)($2,409)
Depreciation$36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960
Net Cash Flow from Operations($54,811)$118,902 $114,193 $145,037 $179,244
CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENTS
Investment($246,450)$0$0$0$0
Net Cash Flow from Investments($246,450)$0$0$0$0
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING
Cash from equity$0$0$0$0$0
Cash from debt$317,971 ($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)
Net Cash Flow from Financing$317,971 ($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)
SUMMARY
Net Cash Flow$16,710 $73,478 $68,769 $99,613 $133,819
Cash at Beginning of Period$0$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570
Cash at End of Period$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570 $392,389


You can download our Lawn Care Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.