The key to a busy lawn maintenance business this spring is careful preparation.
Hey Clippers!
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Springtime is crazy time in the beautiful business. You’ll be so busy you can barely take a minute to sit down, especially if you’ve got new customers.
But that’s a good thing! Revenue is seasonal in lawn maintenance, and this is one of your biggest potential earnings seasons. Play your cards right, and you’ll be making money hand over fist.
If you want to really maximize your earnings, you’ve got to set the stage for a successful spring. Here are a few things to your to-do list so you can hit the ground running when the weather turns:
Hire the right team.
The labor shortage is top of mind for many business owners these days. And odds are you’re not the only person in town looking for seasonal labor.
You cannot get away with lazy hiring practices, especially—not this year. Don’t wait for warmer weather to start hiring your people or your competitors will get them first.
Call up last year’s stars as soon as possible. Be proactive about gathering referrals for new hires. And take a look at my favorite tips for hiring. That way, you’ll be all staffed up once calls start pouring in.
Clean the winter dust off your equipment.
Most of your gear has been sitting around all winter. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to bring it out of hibernation. If you’re scrambling, you’re bound to overlook routine maintenance issues—and wind up with problems on the job.
Haul everything out early and give it a once-over. Change the oil, tune-up the engines, and wipe off any dust. Check your maintenance logs from last season to make sure you’ve addressed any fixes as necessary. The first few jobs of the season will go much more smoothly as a result.
Tune-up your company trucks.
It’s easy to forget about vehicle maintenance if you’re not driving them all winter. And it’s hardly a crime, so long as you actually remember to do the necessary maintenance in the spring. But if you let it slip, you can end up really paying for it. You don’t want to lose valuable time when the season starts because you procrastinated on taking care of your trucks.
That’s why spring is a great time for a little refresh on your vehicles. Tune-ups save you money too, so call your mechanic and schedule a tune-up and oil change for the whole fleet. Take a close look at your tires, too, and replace them if necessary.
Stock up on supplies.
Even when the supply chain isn’t under strain, it’s foolish to put off ordering all your odds and ends. You don’t want to be waiting around for the delivery truck when you could be working.
Lawn and leaf bags, work gloves, and mower blades keep just fine, so order them early. Review your entire inventory line by line and make sure you have what you need. You’ll thank yourself when you’re not having to rush-order supplies halfway through the season because you ran out.
Start marketing early for a busy lawn maintenance business spring season.
Now is a good time to start if you’re looking for more customers. Most folks’ lawns are in a sorry state after a long winter, and they’ll be itching for help. Make sure you’re the first person they think of.
Here’s my exact strategy for bringing in new customers. You can turn around a marketing campaign pretty quick if you’re intentional about it. So start hanging door flyers now. You’ll be glad you did once the season starts and you don’t have time for marketing.
Of course, your best asset during the insanity of a busy lawn maintenance business this spring is to have good lawn maintenance software.
CLIP makes it easy to plan routes and keep track of the details of each of your customers. Our software takes away the guesswork, so you can do what you do best.