How Much Money Can a Lawn Mowing Business Make?
Many Kiwis love the idea of being self-employed. As a result, you may be asking the ever-popular question: how much can a lawn mowing business make? You might even ponder, is there money in a lawn care business?
As with most things relating to money, there is no straightforward answer. We can, however, throw a couple of proverbs your way, such as, you get out what you put in, and keep working hard, and you can get anything that you want.
In essence, lawn mowing business income is all about business sense, making the right decisions, and putting in the hard yards. Here is everything you need to know about lawn business earning potential.
Is there money in a lawn care business?
Knowing that working for yourself can offer you the freedom that working for someone else doesn’t, you have probably thought long and hard about how much a lawn mowing business makes.
There is money in lawn care, but there is no set amount you can make. There’s no minimum or maximum, just a limitless lawn business earning potential that you have to discover for yourself. And how you discover that can come down to how you establish your business.
Firstly, you have to have the know-how. That involves:
Knowing the ins and outs of appropriate lawn maintenance
Being aware of your health and safety requirements
Making sure you are using the best equipment for the job
Aligning yourself with an established brand, or putting in the hard yards to establish your own
Having systems to manage daily business operations
Understanding the need for marketing
Nurturing your current clients and making way for new ones
Having the drive to succeed
Having a solid business plan and goals
A lawn mowing business income can be as little or as much as you want or need it to be, but your efforts have to match. You can’t expect to be earning $5,000 a month by only cutting one or two lawns per week.
How much do lawn care services cost in New Zealand?
Asking how much can a lawn mowing business make can often closely align with knowing how much lawn care services cost in New Zealand. You have to at least break even, with the goal of making a profit to cover maintenance, advertising, and those slower months during winter.
It can be a challenge to work out how much to charge for lawn mowing. Every lawn care provider is different, with a different payment structure in place.
A small lawn can be anywhere from $25, $30, $40, $50 + GST, or more. A medium or large yard may cost higher. Some lawn care providers offer more affordable rates for repeat customers and more expensive rates for one-off cuts.
A lawn mowing business can make plenty of money if it’s priced appropriately in the market. You have to strike a balance between offering value for money, and making sure you can pay yourself a fair wage for your hard work.
Lawn mowing business income: How much should you pay yourself?
When you make the move from having a boss to being a boss, you might think you can pay yourself a hefty sum. Sure, the earning potential is undoubtedly limitless, but it pays to be quite careful with how you manage your money.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner is short-changing your business so that you struggle to have enough money for operating costs. The less money you have in the business, the less money you have to maintain equipment, upgrade equipment, and establish yourself in the community with marketing and advertising.
Your lawn mowing business income, or revenue, can dictate a fair take-home wage. The more minimal your overheads, the more you can take. That’s especially true in the landscaping and lawn mowing industry.
Working for a lawn mowing business is a little bit different. You tend to be paid an average hourly rate between minimum wage and around $25.
And what about winter?
A lawn mowing business can certainly see a dramatic income loss during winter. During this time, some lawn care workers supplement their income with another job. However, some have budgeted or planned for this slow period and make their money go further.
They work long hours in summer, bring repeat customers onboard, then put themselves in a position to have plenty of money to carry them through winter. Some lawn care contractors may also advertise winter services like tree pruning, hedge trimming, and similar.
Once again, the question: how much can a lawn mowing business make depends on your efforts, management, and planning. You are the only barrier to your lawn business earning potential.
Do you want to be your own boss?
Working the 9 to 5 grind and lining someone else’s pockets is not everyone’s idea of success. If you like the idea of working outside, setting your own hours, and aligning yourself with a reputable brand, then you may see the value in a lawn care business of your own. Fortunately, there are plenty of lawn mowing franchise businesses for sale that could tick all the boxes for your needs.