How to Start a Lawn Mowing Business: A Clear Path to Success

Lawn mowing businesses are growing in popularity, so now is a great time to learn how to start a lawn mowing business. 

While you probably don’t need much convincing if you’re reading this post, but a great  reason for starting a business can be that there are plenty of grass lawns attached to residential homes and commercial properties that require regular maintenance. 

This guide will cover everything you need to know in regard to how to start a lawn mowing business from scratch. Read along for some helpful tips!

What is a Lawn Mowing Business?

A lawn mowing business helps clients ensure that their lawns are in the best condition possible by cutting the grass. 

Getting Started: The Pre-Planning Steps 

Research 

Doing your research early on will ensure that everything is in order, when you launch your business. When starting a lawn mowing you are going to need equipment and tools, so  understanding what you will need and how much it will cost is a good place to start. You should also do your research to find the best deals to optimise the profitability of your business.

Location

It is important to choose an appropriate location where you can operate your business. You will need a location where you are close to all you clients, so that you can provide an efficient service. 

Equipment

The next step involves thinking about how you will deliver your service logistically. A lawn mowing business involves expensive equipment such as a lawn mower, an edger, a weed trimmer and a leaf blower. Such heavy equipment also needs to be transported since the business needs to be fully mobile. In this case, a truck might be the transportation of choice.

The purchase of all this is well outside the financial capacity of many new business owners. Instead, a hire purchase agreement would allow owners to hire the equipment for a set period of time through installment payments. The agreement gives you the option to buy equipment at its cessation. It’s definitely worth looking into hire purchase agreements to ensure you are legally protected. 

Develop a Lawn Mowing Business Plan

Excellent planning will often lead to success. Using your research, you should develop a formal business plan to guide your business. This might include your:

• Business objectives and goals
• Business structure
• Target market
• Competition
• Marketing strategy

You can always seek assistance from a professional accountant or business lawyer to assist you with this, if you aren’t confident in developing a business plan yourself. It’s important to revisit and review your business plan regularly.

Determine your Business Name

Now you need to decide on a business name. Once you decide on your name, you can check the availability of the business name you have chosen. 

If the name is available, you can then register your business as a trademark to ensure that you have the exclusive rights to your business name throughout Australia. 

Determining your Business Structure

You will need to decide on a business structure to establish your business plan. Consider whether you will operate as one of the following. 

• A sole trader is someone who owns and operates a business under their personal name. 
• A partnership is when two or more people come together to form a business.
• A company is when you register your business as a separate entity from your personal affairs. 

You should contemplate which structure will work best for your business goals. It is important to know what the legal ramifications are of each structure and how they can affect how you operate. 

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Registering your Business

You need to register for a few things in order to make your business official. For instance:

• A business name
• An Australian Business Number (ABN) to help the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and customers identify your business. 
• It would be good practice to also register your business as a company (ACN) so you can benefit from limited liability. 
• Register your Tax requirements. 
• Ensure that all relevant licences or permits are valid. 

Source Insurance 

Insurance is the most important step when setting up your business. It is imperative that you protect yourself and your business from any legal action. Firstly, you will need a type of public liability insurance, this will be beneficial for you and your business when customers or staff experience injuries on site or otherwise. 

Public liability insurance from insurance companies such as BizCover can help you protect your property and your employees from damage or injury. 

Additionally, you will want to ensure you have worker’s compensation set up for these instances. Finally, you will need a form of coverage for all your equipment to protect against loss, damage or theft. 

Hire Employees

You will want to consider hiring additional staff to help ensure that your business runs smoothly, especially as it expands. You will need to decide how many employees you are looking to hire and what type of employment they will receive. Will they be full time, part time or casual workers? 

You will then need the appropriate employment agreements drawn up and signed. There are different types of employees that you can hire, learn more about how they may affect your business in the Webinar below.

Marketing Your Lawn Mowing Business

Now all you need to have a successful business is working on appropriate jobs. When considering how to advertise your lawn mowing business to help you attract individuals or companies in need of lawn mowing work you may want to implement a strategic marketing plan to cover all your bases. This will allow you to gain insight into your target market. 

It will also be beneficial in helping you understand what is the most effective marketing method to reach your target market. Some marketing methods you may choose to use include starting a social media page or putting an advertisement in your local newspaper. Another simple and effective approach of reaching new customers is through word of mouth. 

Having an online presence is important even for construction companies. Using websites like Shopify or GoDaddy can help you create a well-established business so that your customers can easily find you. Additionally, you should set up and maintain a website which means you need to consider any website terms and conditions to ensure that your customers are safe.

Considering the Law

While there are no formal licensing requirements to start a lawn mowing business, it’s important to consider what you will need to safeguard all your hard work. 

Franchising

Starting a business from scratch can be a lengthy process. You may choose to buy a franchise of an existing lawn mowing business. 

This will save time on establishing your business image and reputation. However this means that you will be required to report on performance, potentially be required to meet performance targets and have additional duties owed to your franchisor. Read more on what obligations franchisees are subject to in our franchisee guide.

Alternatively, if your business is successful, you can potentially leverage that success to grow into a franchise. 

Legal Documents you will need

To get up and running, you should consider these legal documents so that you can protect your business. Some documents you should consider include:

• A Services Agreement can outline the service you provide so that your customer can know what to expect. 
• A Employment Agreement can outline your employee’s responsibilities and their obligations to your business. 
• A Sub-Contractor Agreement can be useful if you need to employ another business or sole-trader when operating your business. 
• A Privacy Policy is put in place to ensure you deal with your clients data in a reasonable manner. 
• A Franchise Agreement can help you set out what is expected of the franchisee and franchisor. 
• A Refund Policy allows for you to inform your customers of your refund policy. 
• A Tax Invoice allows you to create a formal request for payment and ensure your records are up to date. 
• A Hire Purchase Agreement sets out the obligations, terms and conditions regarding the rental of equipment.

How Lawpath Can Help

At Lawpath, we can help guide you through starting your own lawn-mowing business. One of our Experienced Lawyers can provide you with all the legal information and requirements necessary for your business to succeed.