To get started, you will need an initial capital of around $10,000. With this money you can buy some equipment – a grinder, a drill, shovels, hand drills, a concrete mixer, etc., as well as a car for transporting equipment.
The office is needed for contacts with clients, storage of documents and drawings, work of specialists. You can get by with a small room, about 20 square meters. m. at a rent in the range of 150 – 300 dollars per month.
Staff
The number and composition of employees depends on the amount of work performed. Ideally, the firm should include dendrologists, craftsmen, builders and designers.
The designer is the most important specialist, because it is his ideas that are brought to life by all other employees. Therefore, a lot depends on his taste and ability to apply different architectural styles, he needs knowledge of color, biology, etc. In addition, the designer must understand landscape graphics, be able to apply the necessary computer technologies in his work.
There are landscape design courses where you can learn a lot. Such courses, if necessary, will cost $ 400, their duration is about 2-3 months.
The basic programs in such courses are Sierra Photo Land Designer, Garden Designer and Punch! Software”, having mastered which the designer will be able to create projects based on photos of the site or from ready-made software elements.
With the help of these programs, it will be possible to create seasonal landscapes of the project, showing the customer how the garden will look at different times of the year, a panorama of the view from the windows of the house. You can develop architectural plans taking into account the necessary communications, and then view the finished project using 3D visualization.
A dendrologist is another key link in the composition of specialists. His work is plants, their selection, planting, care and, if necessary, processing. Some plants require special growing conditions, others simply cannot grow side by side because they are harmful to each other. An error in such cases can threaten your company with loss of reputation and material damage.
The contractor working in your company must be familiar with landscape construction technologies, as well as all the necessary standards and regulations in force in this area.
As a rule, most landscape design firms operate in two different modes, given the seasonality of the business. In winter, the staff is only the “backbone” of the company, the main employees who receive a salary. In summer, when the number of orders increases, the number of employees increases due to the involvement of builders.
Advertising
To attract new customers, the most effective way is a recommendation, or the so-called “word of mouth marketing”, when a buyer recommends your company to their friends, acquaintances, etc. Your company’s website on the Internet is quite effective in this regard. . Place ads in specialized magazines. A good result can be given by placed ads in a new cottage settlement.
Range of services
Your company can choose for itself any range of activities: the arrangement of lawns and flower beds, the design of landscapes and playgrounds, earthworks. Almost 95% of clients choose complex landscaping, but there is a demand for certain types of services, such as ordering planting. A complex order can take anywhere from 40 days to 3 months to complete, and project supervision can take up to a year.
As a rule, customers prefer to contact a company that will solve all the tasks. Therefore, we offer the widest possible range of services for customers: plantings, lawns, flower beds, drainage, paving paths, drains, outdoor lighting, gazebos, fountains, small architectural forms, automatic watering, etc.
At the initial stage, you can offer preparatory services: site visit, site planning, recommendations for maintenance, calculation of drainage systems, development of the initial stage of the project. For such types of work, the payment will be about $ 1,000. Then the territory is drawn up at the rate of 1000-3000 dollars per hectare, depending on the project. The cost of the design project (documentation, excluding the cost of work) will be from 200 to 2000 dollars.
Your company can provide services for the care of the client’s property: the gardener will take care of the plants and order in the client’s territory. This type of service will allow you to earn additional income.
Labor costs and returns
When assessing the cost of work, it is necessary to take into account such factors as the solvency of the client, the area, the topography of the site, its location, the amount of work performed, as well as their urgency.
The seasonality of the business makes adjustments to the work of the company. There is a lot of work to be done in the summer to spread the profits over the winter months. Usually the seasonal decline occurs from November to March. During these months, you can engage in related activities such as shoveling snow, or develop new projects, repair equipment, or even use this time for vacations.
Estimated prices for services:
- departure and consultation of a specialist – $ 26
- development of a garden project – 10-15 $ / ha.
- tiling – from $ 10 per square meter. m.
- lawn delivery – 20 – 30 dollars per cubic meter.
- installation of drainage systems, lighting, flower beds – $ 120 per square meter. m.
- installation of irrigation systems – within 70% of the cost of equipment, which is approximately 1,500 US dollars.
- architectural supervision of the project for the entire period – 10% of the cost of work.
- topographic survey of the area, taking into account the area – 10% of the cost of work.
A start-up company may have the following approximate balance for the month:
- revenue – $25,000 (100.0%)
- general expenses – 19,000 US dollars (76.0%), including:
- purchase of materials (stones, fences, curbs) – $4,950 (19.8%)
- purchase of plants (trees, bushes, trees, flowers) – $4,950 (19.8%)
- purchase of irrigation systems – $2,600 (10.4%)
- salary of employees (5 people) – 6500 USD (26.0%)
- profit (amount without taxes) – 6000 USD (24.0%)
This is an approximate result of the work of a landscape design company in fulfilling a complex order for the improvement of one site. During the season, the yield can be in the range of 15-20%. Of course, a lot will depend on the quantity, volume of orders, and how you market your company and offer your services.
When drawing up a business plan, you need to take into account the prices that have developed in your area. The landscape business is considered quite profitable. Therefore, with a serious attitude, you may well succeed.
