How to start a gardening business

Starting a gardening or landscaping business can give you everything you’ve ever wanted. You get to enjoy the flexibility and freedom of working for yourself, you can choose your clients, work outside in the fresh air, structure your leave however you want, and more. But getting started requires careful planning, the right tools for the job, and access to finance (whether your own or through a loan).

How to start a landscaping or gardening business

It’s much easier to start a gardening business than many others, where you might need an office space, hire staff, or fit out a bricks and mortar store. Instead, you’re relying on your skillset, reputation, and some high-quality tools.

Define your gardening or landscaping services

Knowing what you’re going to offer is the best place to start. Are you going to work for corporate clients or are you focusing on customer garden maintenance, hedge trimming, etc? You might want to consider building a niche to help you stand out against the competition. For example, you might focus on organic gardening or hedge/tree shaping.

Register your business with HMRC

You can set up a gardening business as a sole trader to start with (it’s free) or pay £50 and register as a limited company. Remember, you can easily become a limited company if you think there’s a benefit to doing so later down the line.

Get insured

As you’re working on someone else’s property, you need public liability insurance. This type of insurance protects you or someone else from getting injured because of your work. Some clients will insist you have this insurance before hiring you.

Consider taking a course

Although you might already have green fingers, it can’t hurt to upskill yourself to give customers confidence that you know what you’re doing. Plus, you might learn some handy tips to make your business even more profitable. Not sure where to start? Check out the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) or City & Guilds for relevant courses.

Build your client base

The best place to start is doing some work for family and friends. Word of mouth is how many people find their gardener. So, having your branded van parked outside someone’s house, or giving out discount cards for neighbours and friends, can help you build brand awareness quickly in the local area.

Price competitively, but fairly

Always take time to research other gardeners, particularly in your local area. What are they charging? Don’t forget to factor your time, travel costs, equipment depreciation, and other overheads like van insurance into your pricing. And when you decide on your pricing, make sure it’s clear and easy to understand.

What tools do I need to start a gardening business?

What tools you buy will depend on the service you provide, but typically, a gardener will need the following tools and equipment:

• A lawnmower (around £550 for a petrol walk-behind)
• Strimmer (£350 for petrol unit)
• Hedge trimmer (£400)
• Leaf blower (£350)
• Pressure washer (£600)
• Safety equipment (steel-toe boots £40, goggles £10, ear defenders £20, gardening gloves £50)
• A reliable van or pickup truck (£27,000+)
• Spade (£20)

Just from this list alone, acquiring your gardener’s startup toolkit could cost you around £29,390.

What do I need to start a landscaping business?

Starting a landscaping business is a bit different to a basic gardening business. With gardening, you’re simply maintaining gardens, i.e. trimming hedges, cutting the grass, and tidying the lawn and border edges. With landscaping, you’re transforming entire spaces. And although you’re likely to make more money from landscaping, the tools, equipment, knowledge, and hired help requirements are more of an investment.

1. Firstly, consider doing an NVQ in horticulture or landscaping. You’ll need to learn about garden health, plant identification, soil preparation, how to manage pests, and more. And although a formal qualification isn’t always necessary, it adds to your credibility as a landscape gardener.
2. Invest in heavy-duty equipment. On top of your standard gardening equipment (above), you might need a mini excavator (or at least somewhere reliable to hire them from), rotavators, compactors, and turf cutters.
3. Purchase high-quality power tools. Landscaping projects are made much easier with all the right tools. You’ll find chainsaws, angle grinders, and concrete mixers can come in very handy. You’ll need to spare no expense here as these are professional-grade tools that you’ll use frequently.
4. Consider buying a trailer and a van. A trailer can be useful when transporting paving slabs or soil. Some landscapers use a trailer and a pickup truck.
5. Take time to build good supplier relationships. You’ll no doubt purchase large quantities of raw materials, or at least visit the same supplier regularly. By building good relationships, you can take advantage of discounts, financing options, or reliable delivery.
6. Hire help. Taking on big landscaping projects can help you grow your business quickly, but you might need a helping hand to deliver the project on time. Budget for this help in case you need to hire a contractor at short notice.

Types of landscaping business loans

There are plenty of alternative finance options available for both budding landscapers and gardeners looking to expand their business.

Startup business loans

If you’ve been trading for around three months, you might be eligible for a startup loan. Lenders design these loans to help you cover your garden or landscaping business startup costs and get your business functioning. To get the loan, lenders will want to see your business plan, and they’ll want to see projected income, too.

Equipment financing

Equipment financing helps you spread the cost of your equipment over time, instead of depleting your cash reserves in one go. The lender usually uses the equipment you’re purchasing as security for the loan.

You use a lot of expensive equipment as a gardener or a landscaper, so without it, you can’t really do your job at all. That’s why it’s important not to skimp on the tools you buy. But they’re expensive, a mini excavator can be around £5,000.

Small business loans

If you’re already trading, you might want to consider applying for a small business loan. These loans are flexible and can be both unsecured or secured loans. That means, if you have poor credit or you want to access better loan rates, you can secure the loan with a high-value asset. Or, if you have good credit or you don’t want to risk an asset, you can get an unsecured loan.

Use this loan to hire staff, purchase materials in bulk, level up your marketing campaigns, rebrand your entire gardening business, or purchase a fleet of vehicles. Spend your loan however you want to grow your business.

Working capital loans

Gardening and landscaping are both traditionally seasonal jobs. A working capital loan can help you maintain cash flow over those slower periods. You still have a business to run even when work isn’t flowing, wages, bills, vehicle and equipment maintenance, etc.

Working capital loans usually come with fixed weekly or monthly repayments, helping you manage outgoings predictably. If you prefer repayments that rise and fall with your sales, a merchant cash advance offers that flexibility instead, as repayment is taken as a percentage of your card takings.

Asset-based lending

If you have a high-value asset already, perhaps vehicles, equipment, or commercial property, you can use these as security for a loan. So even if your business is brand new, you can use your asset to access much-needed startup funds. The lender will lend a percentage against the value of your asset. Explore asset finance in more detail.

How to get a gardening business loan

There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of being accepted for a gardening loan.

1. Create a business plan

Lenders might need to see your business plan to check that your business is viable and profitable (or will be profitable). Lending money is a risk, so having a business plan shows them you understand your market.

2. Improve your credit score

If you have bad credit, there are a few things you can do to improve your credit score, including checking your score regularly so there aren’t any surprises when applying for a loan, not making too many credit applications, paying bills on time, etc. Improving your credit score can give you access to better interest rates, more loan options, and more favourable terms.

3. Understand what you need to borrow

Figure out what you need the money for and calculate how much you need to borrow. Borrowing too much can mean you struggle to make repayments, and it also increases your overall loan costs, including more interest to pay, etc. And if you borrow too little, you won’t be able to run your business how you want.

4. Get your documents ready

Lenders usually need to see proof of ID, address verification, business registration documents, bank statements, and some will need to see your business plan. Having all this information to hand can make your loan application much quicker.

5. Compare lenders using a comparison platform

Capalona helps you instantly find and compare eligible business loans in one place. Compare costs like total repayable and interest rates, before deciding on a loan and continuing with your application through the lender’s website. By comparing your options, you make an informed decision while finding some of the best deals on the market.

Gardening Business FAQs

How to get clients for my landscaping business?

Building a business from scratch is tough. That’s why you need to leverage your immediate network of family and friends. Spread the word about your new business, share what you do and who you do it for. Unashamedly ask for recommendations and referrals. Consider completing some free landscaping work for family and friends, and take this opportunity to take plenty of before and after photos. Pictures speak volumes for this kind of work, then get those pictures on your van and across social media.

How to start a landscaping business with no money?

Alternative lenders make finance accessible to any kind of business, and that includes brand-new businesses. Without funds, it’s still possible to apply for a loan. You can use existing assets as collateral, or apply for a startup-specific loan to help you cover initial business expenses.

How much is insurance for a landscaping business?

There are two types of insurance you might need as a landscaper: public liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance (if you employ people). Public liability for a sole trader landscaper or gardener can be around £100 per year. Whether you hire employees, how many you employ, what services you offer, and turnover, will all affect the cost of your PL insurance.

For employers’ liability insurance, you can expect to pay between £100 and £300 annually. Again, there are a few factors that can influence cost: whether your industry is high-risk, your health and safety record, how much cover you need, how many employees you have, etc. It’s always a good idea to shop around and compare insurance prices before committing.

How much does a small landscaping business make?

Data from Checkatrade suggests you can make around £58,000 a year as a landscaping business owner. But how much you can earn really depends on the type of landscaping work you do, how much experience you have, whether you have qualifications, and the location can also impact income.

What licences do I need to start a landscape business?

You don’t need any particular licences to set up as a landscaper in the UK. What you must do, though, is register your business with HMRC and take out the correct insurance to protect yourself, your staff, and members of the public from your work should it go wrong.

How to advertise my gardening business?

Many gardeners get new customers through word of mouth, but if you’re looking to actively advertise, a great place to start is by branding your van. Make the design on your van eye-catching, and the copy clear and concise. Say what you do, who you do it for, and where they can go to get pricing. Always include social handles, emails, or phone numbers on your van so you’re easy to contact.

How to get into the landscaping business?

Consider working with an established landscaper to shadow their work and see whether it’s a job you’re interested in pursuing. It’s also a good idea to gain some professional qualifications, like an NVQ.

How to market a landscaping business?

Clients will want to see pictures of your previous work, so creating and maintaining image-focused social media profiles is a good idea. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to really show off your projects. Consider offering discounts for new customers, running competitions to increase brand awareness, and attending local networking events to get your name out there.