How to Start a Lawn Care Business with No Money

One of the biggest misconceptions in the world of business is that you need lots of money - today, we’re going to show you how to start a business with no money. In particular, how to start a lawn care business.

Firstly, the fact that you have no money means that you may need to build much slower than a business owner with more expansive resources. Secondly, many methods of alternative business funding exist. Even if you have bad credit, you could find a solution in this guide that helps whether it’s equipment financing or merchant lines of credit.

Step 1 - Laying the Foundations

Later, we will explore some of the best methods of alternative business funding to get you up and running. However, we recommend slowing down and considering the foundations first…especially if you’re short on funds.

Demand and Competition

Firstly, is there demand in your location for lawn care services? Although it sounds obvious, you don’t want to lease equipment and put lots of effort into branding if the demand simply isn’t there for lawn care services. Speak to people in the neighborhood, gauge the opinions of friends, family, and colleagues, and determine the demand for a service like the one you plan to launch.

Competition is linked to this; if there is demand in your neighborhood, the next question is whether this demand has already been snapped up by other companies. Will you struggle to get clients or is there room for you to move into?

Services

What services will you provide to the community? If you only have low funds, this question is even more important. You might decide to start with simple lawn mowing services before then expanding into landscape architecture, tree trimming, branch removal, irrigation, pest control, and other services as the business grows and you have access to more funds.

Licenses

Next, you’ll need to check with your Department of Agriculture to see what licenses you need to start the business (if any!). Rather than knowing just how to start a business, we assume you want to know how to start a lawn care business legally. Without the right license, you could get into trouble and face all sorts of penalties and fines. What’s more, the Department of Agriculture can close your business and stop you from operating just for this one small mistake (don’t forget licensing!).

As well as an initial license to operate in the niche, you may need additional licenses to hire employees and provide certain services. If you’re unsure, don’t be afraid to ask.

Marketing

How do you plan to advertise your new service? Thankfully, word-of-mouth advertising is still one of the most powerful techniques even in this modern, technology-laden world. Once you have a couple of clients, they will soon pass on your name (so long as you go above and beyond to offer a positive experience!).

What’s more, social media is another free tool. Create a profile, post every so often, and engage with the local community. Some other potential marketing tips include:

• Paid ad campaigns
• Sponsoring local events
• Direct mail marketing
• Leaflets in shop windows

Business Plan

Not only do you need to consider all these foundations, but we also highly recommend getting them down onto paper in the shape of a business plan. People often ask how much to start a lawn care business - while there is no universal answer, you will have a much better idea once you’ve got a business plan. Once you know what services you want to provide, you’ll know what equipment you need, for example.

Of course, we’ve been skirting around one of the biggest problems of all if you have no money…funding. Assuming you’re like everybody else, you don’t have a money tree growing in the back garden. So, how will you start a business with no money?

Part 2 - Funding Your Lawn Care Business

At first, people with bad credit and no money believe that they don’t have the tools required to start a business. Fortunately, this isn’t the case. In many cases, you can access equipment financing, merchant lines of credit, and other forms of alternative business funding. In this next section, we’re going to explore some of the options that the South Florida Funding Group can help you to obtain.

Merchant Lines of Credit

How much to start a lawn care business? For the most part, you can begin with very little. In fact, all you need is a lawnmower to start cutting grass for people in the neighborhood. People lead busy lives, and they often don’t have time for this task, so they’re willing to pay others to do it for them.

With this in mind, merchant lines of credit are a fantastic option. Like a personal credit card, you will have a limit on your account to how much you can borrow at any one time. Only when you use the line of credit will you pay interest; otherwise, it will sit until you need it. During the early days, this is a great way to access funds when you need them while building up your services and earning money.

If you have bad credit, this is potentially an option because you’re not borrowing a loan from the bank or another entity. What’s more, constantly repaying what you borrow could help the business’s credit performance and future lending capacities.

Equipment Financing

Lawn care businesses are equipment-heavy, so you might decide to choose equipment financing instead. This time, you will get the equipment that you need without having to find the whole cost upfront. Like financing a car or a new fridge, you pay monthly before becoming the owner at the end of the contract. If you fail to meet the payments, the lender will take the equipment from you (so keep up with all payments!).

Using this technique, you can pay monthly for lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, and other expensive equipment rather than having to buy everything initially. Once again, this is a great way to get your business off the ground and start earning money from clients.

When the contract is finished on one piece of equipment, you can move on to the next one until you have the funds to buy new equipment outright.

Merchant Cash Advances

Although this option is a little more difficult for new businesses, the idea is that you borrow an amount from a lender and then repay it as a percentage of all future sales. The good news with this option is that you don’t need perfect credit and you don’t need to arrange collateral.

Ultimately, the amount you borrow depends on what you need. In this guide, we’ve addressed how much to start a lawn care business. Regardless of the amount, the lender will take repayments as a percentage of all future credit and debit card sales. If you’re confident that sales will take off in the future, this is a good way to go. Essentially, the loan will allow you to buy essential equipment before making the money back by expanding your services and increasing revenue.

Unsecured and Secured Loans

The South Florida Funding Group has also helped many new businesses to get unsecured and secured loans. If you have assets, you can secure the loan using an asset as collateral. Remember, this means that the lender can take possession of the asset if you fail to repay the loan. On the other hand, an unsecured business loan will use your creditworthiness to determine what and when you can borrow.

SBA Loans

Although the application and qualification process for SBA loans is difficult, we shouldn’t ignore them since they are designed for small businesses. In short, the Small Business Administration secures a large percentage of the loan. Since you don’t have to secure so much yourself, you’re more attractive to lenders and this can often lead to a loan that you otherwise wouldn’t have accessed.

Conclusion

If you’re seeking bonus tips to start a business with no money, your wish is granted:

• Get the right insurance policy (this will save money in the long term and keep you protected)
• Learn how to start a lawn care business legally with licenses and insurance policies
• Protect your brand with copyrights, patents, trademarks, and other solutions
• Get professional certifications so that your skill continually improves
• Create a website and offer a digital presence on social media
• Always under-promise and over-deliver to keep clients happy

There we have it, how to start a lawn care business with very little money and even bad credit. If you’ve chosen the lawn care industry, the overheads are limited at the start. If you have a lawnmower and a vehicle to get around, you can start making money. If funds are an issue, explore the options we’ve considered today (the South Florida Funding Group is here whenever you need assistance). Also, expand slowly and build a reliable group of clients to earn money!