As a former broke college graduate with $75,000 in student loans, I found myself in a pinch and needed to make some money. I reached out to a friend who worked at a landscaping company and decided to give it a try. To my surprise, I loved it. I spent time learning the trade, the craft, and the service delivery while paying attention to how the business was structured.
After working for a top commercial maintenance landscaping company, I gained valuable experience that ultimately became a cheat code to my success. I learned the key to success in labor arbitrage, which is buying low and selling high. I realized that landscaping is not rocket science and that I could charge clients more than I was being paid and keep the difference for profit. This knowledge inspired me to start my own landscaping business, which generated $250,000 in revenue in the first 14 months.
Key Takeaways
- Working for a landscaping company is a great way to learn the trade and gain valuable experience.
- Labor arbitrage is a key to success in landscaping, which involves buying low and selling high.
- Landscaping is not rocket science, and charging clients more than you pay employees can generate profitable revenue.
Why Start a Landscaping Company
As a young adult fresh out of college, I found myself drowning in student loan debt and in need of a way to make money. I stumbled upon the landscaping industry through a friend who worked for a landscaping company and decided to give it a try. It didn’t take long for me to realize that landscaping is not rocket science and that with enough experience, anyone can do it.
Working for a top landscaping company in my area, I learned valuable skills and gained insight into the business structure, financials, and client management. I quickly realized that the key to success in the landscaping industry is labor arbitrage, which involves buying low and selling high. By charging clients a higher rate than what we pay our employees, we can make a profit.
With this knowledge in mind, I decided to start my own landscaping company and offer high-end commercial maintenance services. In just 14 months, my company generated $250,000 in revenue. Starting a landscaping company allowed me to be my own boss, set my own rates, and keep the profits for myself.
For anyone considering starting a landscaping business, I highly recommend gaining experience by working for an established company first. This will give you the opportunity to learn the craft, understand the business structure, and gain valuable skills that will help you succeed in the industry.
The Backstory
I am Bengt from R8X Digital, a marketing agency, and software company built by a landscaper for landscapers. In this article, I will share my journey of how I started and scaled my landscaping business from being broke with zero experience to earning $250,000 in revenue in the first 14 months.
I was 21 years old, about to turn 22, and had just finished college with a degree that turned out to be useless. I had to pay back $75,000 in student loans, which made me realize that the government did not give me a loan to help me succeed, but rather to give me a ball and chain that I have to wear for most of my life. I needed to figure out something to do, and that is when I hit up a friend who was working at a landscaping company.
I worked for the company and learned the trade, the craft, and the service delivery. I also paid attention to how they structured their business, what tools they used, how much they paid their employees, and how they did their financial bookkeeping and bid jobs. I gained valuable experience working for the top landscaping company in my area, which focused exclusively on high-end commercial maintenance. We mowed, did cleanups, and snow removal for the biggest commercial properties in the area.
Working for that company taught me what I needed to learn to start my landscaping business. I started my own business in October 2021, just three months after working for the other landscaping company. During that time, I realized that landscaping is not rocket science, and it is not complicated. I learned about Labor Arbitrage, which means buying low and selling high. The company I worked for charged clients $100 per hour per person, but they paid me $18 per hour. I realized that if I worked for myself, I could charge $100 per hour and keep the profit in the middle.
That realization inspired me to start my own business. I knew that I could make more money Landscaping than working for someone else. I learned the keys to success, which I will share in this article.
Learning the Trade
When I first started my landscaping business, I had zero experience in the field. However, I was determined to make it work. I began by working for a top landscaping company in my area, where I gained valuable experience and learned the ins and outs of the trade. During my time there, I learned about service delivery, how to do different jobs, how to structure a business, and more.
Working for this company was a cheat code to my success because I wasn’t just working for any small mom-and-pop landscaping company. We were focused exclusively on high-end commercial maintenance, which allowed me to learn about landscaping work at the highest level. This experience gave me an unfair advantage when I later started my own business.
I learned that landscaping is not rocket science, and it’s not complicated. It’s physically demanding work, but it’s not hard to figure out how to do it. I quickly realized that the key to making money in this industry is labor arbitrage, which simply means buying low and selling high. The company I worked for charged clients $100 an hour per person per head, but they paid me only $18 an hour. This model allowed them to keep the difference as profit.
Once I understood this, I knew I could make more money by starting my own landscaping business and charging clients the same rate. I took the knowledge I learned from working for this company and applied it to my own business.
Working for a Landscaping Company
I started my landscaping business after working for a landscaping company for three months. During that time, I gained valuable experience and learned a lot about the trade. I recommend that anyone considering starting a landscaping business should work for someone else first to learn the craft, service delivery, and how to bid jobs.
Working for a top landscaping company that focused exclusively on high-end commercial maintenance helped me gain an unfair advantage. We mowed lawns, did cleanups, and snow removal for the biggest commercial properties in the area. This experience taught me how to structure a business, what tools to use, how much to pay employees, and how to do financial bookkeeping.
I realized that landscaping is not rocket science and that labor arbitrage is a real thing. The landscaping company I worked for charged clients $100 per hour per person, but they paid me $18 per hour. This difference in cost is the profit that the company keeps. Once I understood this concept, I knew that I could start my own business and charge clients $100 per hour, keeping the profit for myself.
In October of 2021, I started my own landscaping business, and in the first 14 months, we generated $250,000 in revenue. The success of my business was due to the experience I gained working for a top landscaping company and understanding the concept of labor arbitrage.
Starting My Own Landscaping Business
After finishing college, I found myself in debt with $75,000 worth of student loans to pay back. I needed to make some money, so I reached out to a friend who worked at a landscaping company and asked if they were hiring. I started working for them and quickly fell in love with the trade. During my three months at the landscaping company, I gained valuable experience and learned about the service delivery, how to do different jobs, the tools they used, how they structured their business, how much they paid their employees, and how they bid jobs.
I realized that landscaping is not rocket science and that the company I was working for was making money through Labor Arbitrage, which is buying low and selling high. They charged clients $100 an hour and paid me $18 an hour, keeping the difference as profit. This inspired me to start my own landscaping business, and I did so in October 2021.
I knew that I could charge clients a higher rate and keep the difference as profit, just like the company I worked for. I offered a range of services, including mowing, cleanups, and snow removal. I focused on high-end commercial maintenance, which was where the big money was. By doing so, I was able to earn $250,000 in revenue in the first 14 months.
To be successful in the landscaping business, I believe that it is essential to work for someone else first and gain valuable experience. This experience will teach you the craft, how to deliver services, and how to structure your business. I also learned the importance of networking and building relationships with clients.
In conclusion, starting my own landscaping business was a great decision. I was able to turn my love for the trade into a profitable business and earn a substantial income. With hard work, determination, and the right mindset, anyone can start and scale a successful landscaping business.
Understanding Labor Arbitrage
During my time working for a landscaping company, I learned about a concept called Labor Arbitrage. Simply put, it means buying low and selling high. In the context of landscaping, it involves charging clients a higher rate than what you pay your employees.
For example, the company I worked for charged clients around $100 per hour for each employee, but paid me only $18 per hour. The difference between these two rates, minus other expenses such as equipment and overhead, is the profit that the company keeps.
While Labor Arbitrage can seem like a fancy term, it’s a simple concept that is crucial for any business, including landscaping. By understanding this concept, I realized that I could start my own landscaping business and charge clients a higher rate, keeping the difference as profit.
Learning about Labor Arbitrage was a valuable experience that taught me the importance of understanding business models and pricing strategies. It allowed me to approach my own landscaping business with confidence and knowledge, which ultimately led to its success.
Reasons to Start a Landscaping Business
Opportunity
Starting a landscaping business presents a great opportunity for individuals looking to become entrepreneurs. Landscaping is a service that is always in demand, and the industry is projected to grow in the coming years. This means that there is a lot of room for new businesses to enter the market and establish themselves.
Recession Proof
Landscaping is also a recession-proof industry. Even during times of economic downturn, people still need their lawns maintained and their gardens tended to. This means that landscaping businesses are able to weather economic storms better than other industries.
People Are Lazy
Lastly, people are becoming increasingly busy and lazy, which means that they are more willing to pay for services that they would have done themselves in the past. This is great news for landscaping businesses, as it means that there is a growing market for their services. By offering high-quality services at a reasonable price, landscaping businesses can tap into this market and grow their businesses.
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