Landscaping, business plan: plants for landscape design, necessary equipment and cost calculation. How to find clients for landscaping. Business ideas: Landscaping near apartment buildings Business plan for landscaping the territory
Of course, services for the improvement and care of the territory are becoming more and more popular every year. That is why many are interested in questions about what constitutes landscape design. A business plan for creating such a company should contain several main points, which will be described in this article.
How to open a landscape company? How difficult is it?
Today, organizations involved in the design and landscaping of territories are popular. Naturally, every year there are more and more such firms, but the niche is not completely filled. Of course, landscape design of the site can be a profitable business.
But it should be noted right away that the development of any new company is fraught with some difficulties. Yes and start-up capital for equipment, office rent and advertising, you will need a rather big one. Nevertheless, with the right approach, a business can bring good earnings.
Legal paperwork
Before starting work, you must correctly complete all the paperwork. As a rule, a landscape design firm is formalized either as an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur) or as an LLC (limited liability company). All documents are processed in the tax service.
If you plan to make landscaping near private houses your business, then you can register as an individual entrepreneur (it's cheaper and faster). But if in the future you plan to cooperate with large companies or take on landscaping and conservation of urban areas (for example, parks), then it is better to form an LLC.
Landscaping: business plan
Open own business is always difficult. And some difficulties await you if your calling is landscape design. The business plan in this case should include several mandatory items.
- Legal registration of the organization.
- Definition of the category of clients.
- Opening a design studio where you can receive clients and provide them with introductory information.
- Recruitment of employees and competent distribution of duties.
- Purchase of the necessary equipment.
- Cooperation agreements with certain manufacturing companies.
- Advertising for your company.
Acting according to such a plan, you can achieve significant success in this business. Therefore, it is worth stopping at each of the above points and considering all possible options.
Opening a landscape firm
Some businessmen in this field claim that at the initial stages they did not even have their own office. However, it is better to rent and equip the premises. Although having your own office is associated with additional costs, it will help you organize your work properly and look more respectable in the eyes of future clients.
It is best to open a studio in the city center, although in this case the location of the office is not as important as, for example, advertising. The room should be spacious, bright and well-equipped. Since you will be offering clients design and landscaping, your office needs to demonstrate that you really understand design.
In the office, in addition to cabinets, there should be an entrance hall or waiting room with comfortable furniture. You can decorate it with plants and other decorative items, and hang photos of your projects on the walls (if you have them, of course).
It is desirable that the office has a telephone line, so it will be more convenient to communicate with customers and suppliers.
How to determine the category of clients?
For many people, this type of activity is more likely to be associated with decorating the territory near private houses. Actually clients (landscape design and any other sphere of art) are not limited to "rich private traders".
Although if you have just started working, then it is best to start with them, since the projects here are small.
In addition, the services of such firms are often used by city organizations. Indeed, in almost every city there are public gardens, parks and areas that need to be improved, planted and preserved. For example, you can improve the territory near the school or lay out several bright flower beds in the city center.
There are quite a few possibilities here. But city orders in most cases are voluminous and require not only the creation of a certain design, but also regular maintenance of the sites. In addition, the city administration most often uses the services of firms that already have a portfolio and a good reputation.
Equipment for landscape design
You will need a lot of special equipment to help you practice the art called landscaping. A business plan must necessarily include the purchase of the most necessary equipment.
The first thing to do is take care of your gardening equipment. In particular, you will probably need pruning shears, pruning shears, a power saw and an electric planer. It is hardly possible to imagine a garden without a well-groomed green lawn, so be sure to add a lawn mower to your shopping list. You will need small tools for mounting certain decorations, in particular, screwdrivers, hacksaws, chisels. And, of course, gardening can hardly be imagined without shovels, rakes and other equipment.
Naturally, as your company develops, the set of equipment will be constantly replenished. But at the initial stages, even the simplest things will suffice.
Stones and plants for landscape design - where to get the necessary decorations?
Every novice businessman asks the question "where to get the necessary materials." Indeed, in landscape design, a wide variety of elements are used. These are plants, sculptures, and irrigation systems. Naturally, you can rent a room where a dendrologist or gardener will grow and care for plants. But this is a long and tedious task.
... and a business woman. Today - a rather peculiar story about a girl who, at the age of 20, with almost no work experience, took the opportunity and took over the leadership of a brigade for the improvement of cottages and summer cottages. We left the original author's style unchanged, so the story turned out to be a little informal, but interesting.
Ambition is a gift
Hello, my name is Alexandra. I am from the city of Kyiv. My business was launched in 2010, I was engaged in it for a year. I was 20 when I started my business.
landscape design
There are two types of people: those with an entrepreneurial mindset and those with a subordinate worker mindset. The first of them cannot work "for his uncle", because he understands that he can work for himself and fully control the profit. The second type will not even think of this kind of activity, since stability and the ability not to be responsible for the overall picture of the business are safer for him than risks and possible falls.
I was born with an entrepreneurial mindset. Even as a child, I managed to sell chocolates to high school students that my mother sent when she went to work. Opportunities to increase my out of pocket expenses seemed very interesting to me. But it is very difficult for a girl who has just graduated from the institute to start a business from scratch in a big city. Oh, if only I knew then what I know now. The energy and enthusiasm that rages at that age would not be wasted.
I had not only entrepreneurial thinking, but also creativity, thanks to which I received an education in the architectural area. But all attempts to get a job in the specialty, basically, ended with the phrase of employers "we need a young designer under 30 years old with 25 years of experience."
Genie Investor
So, not without the help of friends, I got a job as an office manager in an advertising agency, where I had to not only receive calls, but pour tea for employees and wash dishes. Lucky! I was lucky to get into the company, the head of which was its owner. He had a talent for seeing hidden potential in people. Never go around such people, communication with them sooner or later will give a positive result, even if your paths diverge. We never know who and how can help us, so show your best sides always and under any circumstances.
He saw in the twenty-year-old girl responsibility and the desire to develop, and also logical thinking and the ability to communicate with people. It was worth working on the manifestation of my best qualities so that my immediate supervisor looked out of his office like a genie. It all started with an increase in authority, and continued with the fact that one fine evening he opened my course project, which I successfully completed at the workplace. It was a landscaping project.
The next day, he called me into the conference room and asked: “If I give you an office space, a phone number, the ability to create your own website, and minimal financial support for advertising and a tool, can you start a landscaping and landscaping company? Answering this question, keep in mind that I can only help you with advice in solving organizational issues, since I am incompetent in this area. Realizing that such a chance happens once in a lifetime, I answered: “I can.” And the next morning began new life…
Knowledge is power
So many questions arose before me, the existence of which I did not suspect, and which no school will ever teach! To start your own business, you need to be able to sell, be cunning, be able to lie and have strategic thinking. All these qualities must be applied simultaneously.
Never show that you don't know something. You need to kill on the nose that you can do everything! And although it is impossible in undertakings, you must believe in it with every cell of your body and every convolution of the brain. Nowadays, information is very easy to get, you just need to want. Your confidence will give confidence to the client and your subordinates, and this is the key to success. You need to know what you don't know. The first step to getting answers is to have questions. And never be afraid to ask people with experience, more often than not they will gladly give helpful tips. My hour has come to learn to be a specialist not only in providing services, but also in doing business.
From architect to programmer
The first step was to create a website for your services. At my age, I knew how to talk on Skype, sit VKontakte and use the Google search engine. But “create a website” sounded fantastic. The internet is filled with ready-made templates- filled in the information and READY, run. But at that time, in 2009, things were much more complicated.
A programmer was found who could do miracles from a picture, as my mentor assured me. My knowledge of Photoshop came in handy, finally, not only for adjusting my photos on social networks. According to my design, the site was created and given to me for administration. In a week, I learned how to change the background, text, pictures on the site, learned how to make elementary button animations, memorized the codes and places where they need to be inserted. I want to tell you, it turned out well, and this fact gave me confidence. After overcoming the first difficulties, it seemed to me that I could do anything.
A seller to himself - exploring the possibilities of contextual and offline advertising
The next step was advertising. Google AdWords and Yandex Direct have become my best friends. I realized how important correctness is keywords For search. Everything depends on this - whether visitors get to your site, and if they do, whether they will become your customers. I realized that the phrase “how to create a design on a site” attracts people who love to make everything with their own hands, and a step-by-step description of the work completely unties the hands of those who want to have a beautiful site, and they, having learned the information for themselves, just go to do everything themselves. And that the phrase "landscape design of the site" is more likely to interest the buyer and is cheaper than the previous one in paying for the context. If the first option cost 5-6 hryvnia per click, then the second 3-4 hryvnia (A hryvnia in 2010 cost about 4 rubles - ed.) . One business day for contextual advertising it took 60 UAH - such a limit was set in order to save money - and this gave me 2-3 calls. On average, 20 calls per week gave one "warm" client. Attracting customers was my main task at the first stage.
The most basic thing that clients wanted was to do everything.
Therefore, when choosing this kind of business for yourself, remember that you must sell both services individually and their complex. Otherwise, if you cannot plant a lawn and provide lighting on the site at the same time, then your competitors will do it with pleasure, and you will limit yourself to “finishing” someone else’s work, planting one tree per month.
Each area has its own way of advertising. Having learned this, I traveled almost the entire suburb of Kyiv with flyers and signs. It worked much better than outdoor advertising in the city and required little expense. For example, 2000 copies of good quality brochures cost 1000 UAH at that time.
First client for landscaping
Plot decoration And then came that enchanting moment when the first order arrived. It is worth noting that landscape design is a business where the project takes more than a month to complete (if the order is serious and complex), and its cost is on average 180,000 - 250,000 UAH, where 30% is your net income (about 250 thousand rubles in terms of - ed.). For any business, this is a very good profitability; in this area, net earnings could be increased to 40%, or even 50% of the total amount, being a professional in their field. The estimate is signed, agreements with guarantees that Mother Nature will in no way harm the customer's yard are signed.
Having received an advance payment of 50%, it was difficult to cope with joy, how can you keep such money in your hands! The order, although limited to laying turf and adjusting existing irrigation, was estimated at 112,000 hryvnia. Overcoming my excitement, I deliberately indifferently counted the money.
Never say "thank you" if the client pays you - he pays you for the services. Say "I'm glad to cooperate"!
San Sanych said this phrase smilingly and with slight sarcasm, giving his instructions before the first trip to the client for an advance payment.
Starting investments in a landscape design business
Oddly enough, but all the words of my genie - the fulfiller of desires were confirmed. At the beginning of this simple business, it took a little money. Perhaps the costs that I will talk about will be a lot of money for someone, but the numbers definitely cannot be compared with contributions to a start-up for the production of a product. All the money that was needed - for the site of the "economy" option, for advertising, a monthly fee for a landline phone and small transportation costs - amounted to only 10,000 UAH. There were also standard tax expenses in the amount of UAH 1,000 per month for a Limited Liability Company, but their payment was already made from payment for the work performed.
The purchase of tools and car rental were included in the amount of the first order, the net profit from which amounted to UAH 26,000. The most expensive tool was a manual roller for leveling the soil - 750 UAH. The rest of the tools - all kinds of shovels, rakes and watering cans - did not require special financial costs, only 500 UAH were spent on them.
Everything was simple, at first glance. But if everything went smoothly up to this point, then the time has come to make mistakes, and I learned about them later.
Making money on paper is like a black and white chessboard
The institute does not teach that there should be two estimates for the performance of work. And that is exactly what it is. The work is done not only for the client, there is a price for your expenses and a cost for the customer. In the "clean" estimate, you write only the prices for the work, and in the "draft" - all the amounts, gaps and risks. For example, the price for earthworks for the customer is one - 12,000 UAH. For you, there will be 3 columns in the estimate: the price of work is 8,000 UAH; price for the customer - 12,000 UAH, earnings - 4,000 UAH. Otherwise, you will never know what you will get and how you can do better next time. Because risks often turn into costs… your costs.
The human factor, or the best lessons are your own mistakes
In order to do the work, people are needed, they must be experts in their field. Having thought carefully about how to make better money, I hired 6 simple workers who were not afraid to do hard work with the land for 120 hryvnia per person per day.
While doing such work, I realized 3 truths for myself:
First:
You should never become a foreman yourself and talk about work because:
a) You are the head of your company. If you yourself stand above the head of everyone, then this automatically lowers your status.
b) You will not be able to do everything at the same time: communicate with the client, follow the work, select material, manage and teach. As a result, the efficiency of your work will be so low that all this fuss will lose its meaning.
c) It's good when the leader knows how each of his team lives, but from now on, everyone's problems will become your problems. And it will be exactly so if you will be on the site nearby the whole working day.
d) One of the most important points is to be aged plus/minus 5 years from the oldest of this team. Otherwise, you risk losing control.
e) When organizing work with a foreman, you must understand that, most likely, he will have entrepreneurial thinking and he cannot be trusted with a “rough estimate”. So you can get a lot of financial claims.
Second:
Always take a good gap both for the time of work and payment from the customer, and for paying your subordinates. At the time of execution, try to add yourself always 2 weeks for unpredictable cases. And to the total price, add 15-20% insurance of the entire price and break the amount down into all items. If you do not need insurance, you will have a plus to net earnings. Landscaping is an unpredictable job, especially for beginners. The first year of work - the losses will be clear. It is up to you whether you insure them financially or not.
Third:
If you are a woman, turn off your femininity, fragility, defenselessness and stock up on iron nerves. Clapping eyelashes innocently will not work, I tried.
Business test
Orders were coming, work too. We had one order per month, an average of 150,000 UAH. Success has been variable. My mentor went abroad to build his future, and for a while I myself became a mentor to my colleagues. Motivation, encouragement of the team took place, as the earnings were good. I invested all the profits in development, an old minibus for transporting building materials and workers from site to site was purchased almost immediately for a symbolic amount of 5,000 USD. e.
Good conditions for the team and corporate training were essential. My builders, whom I found at the station, became good professionals and earned 300 hryvnias a day, and the foreman got the opportunity not only to independently negotiate with his team, but also to have a decent percentage of each order. I was proud of it. But as their knowledge grew, so did their ambitions, and when they asked for higher pay, I did it, hoping to increase my credibility. And that was the first mistake that had to be paid for.
One day, my foreman told me that he and his team wanted not a fixed fee, but a percentage of the entire business - 50%. This is what happens when you cross the line between management and subordinates and become friends, sharing their problems with them. The foreman was fired, the conditions for the team remained the same, but respect was lost forever between me and those people. On their part - for the fact that they did not receive a percentage of the common cause, on my part - for their stupid courage.
And then autumn came, there were fewer orders, and more problems. I was so busy developing that I missed the most important moment - the arrival of winter. At that time it seemed to me that winter is the time design work and there will be many. Design work costs a lot: full-fledged project documentation costs from 10,000 hryvnia (it all depends on the area of work performed). Orders became less and less. And in December I had to disband the team due to lack of funds to pay wages. Having given the last supplies to people for life, I was left alone with an old minibus, he was the only one who agreed to quietly stand in the garage until spring.
Hibernation
With a reserve of 6,000 hryvnias for the next 3 months of life and paying taxes, I became a secretary in the office of a large trading network. I had enough to live on, and the earnings from the artistic painting of the walls all went into a box called "Future". It came to me the following spring in the form of another business.
hope dies last
On cold autumn evenings, I wrote fresh thoughts and new strategies. I remembered my mistakes, drew conclusions and will try never to repeat. There will be new ones. But it is on how many times we got up after the falls that our future success depends. Now I am 26 years old, and my husband and I family business for creating websites. It's 2016 and winter brings back old memories. But unlike that interesting year my life, today I have a folder on my desk in my office called “Business Plan. Improvement". And I am sure that in the spring of 2016 a new life of my old favorite business will be born. Only this time this life will stand on strong legs.
Never give up, because with every mistake in business, we gain new strength to fight for our financial well-being.
As a rule, in territories adjacent to multi-apartment
residential buildings are in disarray. A typical picture for many cities: before
the front of a residential building stands a stall covered with rust for a long time,
there is no playground, the middle of the yard is filled with cars, the lights are not
work, benches are broken or missing. All of this makes the residents sad.
evokes a sense of total loss.
It is possible to turn the improvement of such territories into a business and
make money by helping people.
Demand for services
landscaping
Lawyers note that neglected yards are typical for
multi-storey buildings that were put into operation earlier than 2005. This
due to the fact that the previous requirements for the improvement of adjacent houses
territories were vague, and construction companies often ignored them.
The desire of residents to clean up their own yard,
make it cozy and comfortable growing. Social services regularly
surveys and note: the number of people who own apartments and are willing to spend money
for the improvement of the adjacent territory, today it is 41%. Ten years
back wishing was only 13.4%. For entrepreneurs, this is a good sign:
solvent client base with which to work is growing.
Legal aspects
The first step in home improvement is
precise definition of its boundaries. Not always the territory that residents consider
his, really belongs to them.
Attention should be paid to the rule contained in
Housing Code (art. 36, part 1): the scope of the territory belonging
apartment building are regulated by law. The boundaries are written in
cadastral passport, therefore, first of all, you need to familiarize yourself with this
document.
If an entrepreneur starts doing work for someone else
territory, he faces litigation and fines.
Experienced businessmen confirm: even if the tenants are convinced,
that this or that territory belongs to them from the moment the house was erected, and even
if visually this is so, the law cannot be ignored. Only the document is
the only and irrefutable proof of the belonging of one or another
area of an apartment building. It is better to prevent trouble at once than
face the claims of the developer after the completion of the work.
Potential
customers
According to the observations of experts, the majority of residents do not
wants to prepare documents. There is also little hope for managers
organizations and associations of homeowners: both of them are hostile
adjusted towards various works on the grounds near the houses with which
they have agreements.
Management organizations were conceived as subjects,
serving tenants, but in reality they behave quite differently. Today these
companies are increasingly taking the position of owners. In each particular case
the relationship between residents and organizations is determined by the contract: sometimes in
they contain such conditions that completely deprive tenants of the right to
manifestation of initiative.
In this regard, it is recommended to pay attention to the residents
multi-storey buildings in which direct management operates. It is they
the easiest way to get in touch. If associations of owners and managers
organizations when placing orders provide for a commission
remuneration, in this case it is excluded.
This is interesting: read our other articles -, and.
Duties
management companies
You can demand money for improvement from the manager
companies. It's difficult, but real. Focus on Rules and Regulations
operation of the housing stock MDK 2-04.2004. This document states that
tenants who pay for the maintenance of the dwelling and, in particular, the adjacent territory,
have the right to demand from the managing organization the improvement of this very
territory, namely:
Strengthening flag holders, street signs, stairs;
Hanging and removal of flags;
Opening and closing of ventilation windows;
Placement and coloring of waste bins;
Painting gates and fences, including protective grilles;
Cleaning leaves, grass, branches, as well as large waste;
plant care;
Maintenance of children's and sports grounds in the proper form.
It follows that almost all the main works on
landscaping is already included in the price utilities paid
tenants. The only exception is the arrangement of car pockets.
Business promotion
A company that plans to be engaged in landscaping
territories near multi-storey buildings, can be promoted by placing
advertising in the immediate vicinity of the objects. In addition, it is necessary to personally
communicate with tenants who enjoy authority in their home.
Don't get into conflict with managers
organizations. Of course, they have duties to the tenants, but wait
active actions from the moment of application take a very long time. As a rule, these
companies are limited to painting benches, installing trash cans, etc. achieve
planting flowers or beautifying a playground is extremely difficult. That's why
it is recommended to immediately establish cooperation with specialized
organizations.
In some cases, the business may be supported
municipal authorities. Local authorities willingly cooperate with
landscaping firms, unless
officials indirectly own the governing organizations.
First of all, you need to focus on houses with
direct management, you can also try to work with partnerships
owners. Before applying, you need to prepare a sketch using
Photoshop or a similar program using real photos as a basis
object. You also need to draw up an estimate to justify the cost of the work to the tenants.
As a rule, they favorably refer to a 20 - 25% mark-up.
Development prospects
The home improvement business has a social
orientation and may well become successful due to the active interest
potential clients. The first successful work will serve as a good
advertising for residents of nearby houses and not only.
Observations show that
large capital is not required at the start: the business does not involve the introduction
high technologies or transportation of large cargoes. At the same time, it is profitable
and pays off fairly quickly. Success depends on the ability to convince: businessman
should make it clear to the residents that the yard is an integral part of their life, because there
their children are walking, their cars are parked, etc.
Landscape design is a relatively new phenomenon in our country. The owners began to put in order backyard lawns a couple of decades ago. In addition to private customers, the services of designers are ordered by offices and institutions, municipal authorities. Approximately $10,000 is enough to start.
Landscape design as a business in our country has become in demand relatively recently. With the growth of incomes of the population, more and more summer residents and owners of cottages dream of a beautiful well-groomed lawn or garden. The order market is divided into sectors: private, urban and corporate.
When choosing a field of activity, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of each sector. City orders for the development of territories are advantageous in their scale, but in order to receive them, the company must participate in a municipal tender.
A significant drawback of such orders is that the city authorities often delay payment. It is easier to find private orders, the company has the opportunity to realize its design findings, to get excellent practice. But such orders are usually short-term. Therefore, it is most advantageous to combine all types of orders.
Start-up capital
To start you need initial capital approximately $ 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.
You will need an office 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. with a rent in the range of $150-$300 per year.
Staff
The number and composition of employees depends on the volume of work performed. Ideally, the company should include dendrologists, a foreman, builders and a designer.
The designer is the most important specialist, since it is his ideas that are brought to life by all other employees. Therefore, much depends on his taste and ability to competently apply various architectural styles, he needs knowledge in 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 approximately 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.
It will be possible to create seasonal landscapes of the project using these programs, showing the client how the garden will look at different times of the year, a panorama of the view from the windows of the house. It is possible to 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, treatment. Some plants require special growing conditions, others simply cannot grow side by side, as they have a detrimental effect on each other. A mistake in such cases can threaten your company with a loss of reputation and material losses.
The foreman working in your company must know the technologies of landscape construction, as well as all the necessary standards and rules applicable in this area.
Typically, 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. During the summer period, when the number of orders increases, the number of employees also grows due to the involvement of builders.
Advertising
In order to attract new customers, effective way a recommendation is considered, or the so-called "creeping marketing", when a client recommends your company to his friends, acquaintances, etc. Your company's website on the Internet will be quite effective in this regard. You can also advertise in specialized magazines. Pasted ads in a new cottage settlement can give a good result.
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, the implementation of earthworks. Almost 95% of customers choose a comprehensive arrangement of the territory, but there is a demand for certain types of services, for example, an order for planting plants. It takes approximately 40 days to 3 months to complete a complex order, and supervision of a completed project can take up to a year.
As a rule, clients prefer to contact a company that could solve all the tasks. Therefore, offer, if possible, a wider range of services for customers: planting, lawns, flower beds, drainage, paving paths, drains, outdoor lighting, gazebos, fountains, small architectural forms, automatic watering, etc.
On the initial stage services can be offered preparatory work: site visit, territory planning, recommendations for care, calculation of drainage systems, development of the initial stage of the project. For such types of work, payment will be about $1,000. Then, the territory will be equipped at a cost per hundred square meters of land in the range of $1,000-3,000, depending on the project. The cost of the design project (documentation, without the cost of work) will be from $200 to $2,000.
Your company can provide further services for the care of the client's homestead: the gardener will take care of the plantings and order on the client's territory. This type of service will allow you to have additional profit.
Cost of work and return
When assessing the cost of work, it is necessary to take into account such factors as the solvency of the client, the area and topography of the site, its location, the volume of work performed, as well as their urgency.
The seasonality of the business makes adjustments to the work of the company. It is necessary to work intensively during the summer period in order to distribute the profits received over the winter months. Usually seasonal recession takes place between November and March. During these months, you can engage in related activities, such as shoveling snow, or develop new projects, repair equipment, or even use such time for holidays.
Approximate prices for services:
- departure and consultation of a specialist - $ 26
- development of a garden project - $ 10-15 per hundred square meters.
- tile work - from $ 10 per sq. m.
- delivery of lawn land - $ 20-30 per cubic meter.
- installation of drainage systems, lighting, arrangement of flower beds - $ 120 per sq. m.
- installation of irrigation systems - within 70% of the cost of equipment, which is approximately $ 1,500
- architectural supervision of the project for the entire period - 10% of the cost of work.
- topographic survey of the area, taking into account the relief - 10% of the cost of work.
A start-up firm may have the following approximate monthly balance sheet:
- revenue – $25,000 (100.0%)
- general expenses – $19,000 (76.0%), including:
- purchase of materials (stones, fences, curbs) – $4,950 (19.8%)
- purchase of plants (shrubs, trees, flowers) – $4,950 (19.8%)
- purchase of irrigation systems – $2,600 (10.4%)
- salary of employees (5 people) – $6,500 (26.0%)
- profit (amount excluding taxes) – $6,000 (24.0%)
This is an approximate result of the work of a landscape design company in the implementation of a complex order for the improvement of one site. For the season, profitability can be in the range of 15-20%. Of course, a lot will depend on the quantity, volume of orders and how you promote your company and offer your services.
When drawing up a business plan, you need to take into account the prices prevailing in your area. The landscape business is considered quite profitable. Therefore, with a serious attitude, you may well achieve success.
Landscape design services in our country have become in demand quite recently. First of all, this is due to the development of cottage construction outside the city, an increase in the income level of the population (the emergence of a middle class, which will be your main customers) and the emergence of a need for aesthetics and design. We bring to your attention a business plan for a landscape design company.
Business plan: range of services
As a rule, a landscape design business is organized either by designers who recruit workers to their team and purchase equipment, and manage the process themselves and generate ideas, or builders who have gained extensive experience in this field hire specialized specialists - dendrologists, designers. Both paths are quite reasonable and can lead to success.
Experienced entrepreneurs in this field are advised to create a company offering a full range of services - lawns, planting, paving paths, drainage, gutters, electricity, outdoor lighting, gazebos, small architectural forms, fountains, streams, flower beds, automatic watering, etc. As practice shows, clients prefer to contact those firms that solve several problems at once.
Business Plan: Lot Maintenance
In Russia, the niche of home garden care services is practically empty. Therefore, if you hurry, you can take it and build a very successful gardening business. On the one hand, potential customers have not yet fully realized that a gardener is a specialist, and a lot in your garden depends on his professionalism. But on the other hand, the realization that garden care is the lot of professionals is already coming to our landowners. And this means that the prospects for this direction are the most promising.
The main feature of this business is labor intensity. We will have to maintain a large staff of gardeners and personally supervise and check their work. In addition, it is necessary to calculate the profitability in advance. average salary gardener is 400-500 dollars, the cost of the services of a company providing such services should be even higher. It is better not to reduce prices, it is so easy to be in the red.
Business plan: design
The number and specialty of landscape design firm employees depends on the scope of work. Ideally, it is good to have dendrologists, foremen, builders and, of course, a designer. The designer is the key figure of the landscape company. It is he who generates ideas that all other workers bring to life. The experience and skill of the designer is of great importance. You should not hire young graduates of institutes as designers - they have great ambitions, but in practice they can only serve as assistants to a real professional designer, they do not have enough experience.
A home garden designer, in addition to good taste, should understand: architectural styles, laws of composition, color science, coloring, biology, dendrology, landscape graphics and computer modeling. All this can be learned in special landscape design courses. Their cost varies from $300 to $400 per course, the duration of training is up to 3 months.
Usually training is based on three programs "Sierra Photo Land Designer", "Garden Designer" and "Punch! Software". With the help of the first, you can enter photographs of the site into the computer or create a view from the elements provided by the program. Each element can be moved around the "picture" depending on how you see the future site. The second program is an object library with all elements for garden planning and design. It will also show how the site will change with the seasons. And the "Punch! Software" program combines the ability to draw up architectural projects (with all the necessary communications), develop interior and landscape design with 3D visualization.
Upon graduation, you will be able to offer a client a project that provides for everything from how the garden will look in late autumn and early spring to the views opening from every window.
In addition, the designer must understand plants, have good knowledge in the field of dendrology: some plants do not fit together, some do not grow together, and it happens that, planted together, they simply kill each other. The customer makes all claims not to the designer, but to the company. Therefore, a designer's mistake can result in a loss of reputation and the customer, and hence the profit of the company.
Seasonality is another factor that the owner of a landscape design firm has to consider. Most firms operate in two modes - winter and summer. During the winter period, only the main workers remain in the state - the backbone of the company, who sit on the salary. But in the summer, when orders begin, the situation is different - builders and foremen are gradually being brought up, and the staff is increasing significantly.
Business Plan: Advertising
The main channels for promoting landscape design services are specialized magazines. And they use not only design magazines, but also real estate publications and magazines such as Ideas for Your Home.
A good return is given by your own page on the Internet, but here you must definitely post photos of your work.
But the majority of clients usually come by recommendation. Therefore, the quality of work and reputation are the basis of a successful business.
As for advertising on television and radio, as well as outdoor advertising, these channels are not profitable - the high cost of this type of advertising does not justify the return. Often, simple posting ads in cottage settlements is much more effective.
Business plan: work control
The main task of the business owner is complete control over all employees of the team. And not only for builders, who traditionally need increased control. It is necessary to control and check absolutely any processes. That is the nature of this business. Therefore, it is better if the owner himself understands the construction and design aspect. Only in this way will he be able to achieve the desired result.
Business Plan: Taxation and Benefits
According to Decree No. 406 of the Government of the RSFSR dated July 18, 1991 "On Measures to Support Enterprises in the RSFSR", firms that organize landscapes provide for the possibility of establishing tax benefits, applying mechanisms for accelerated depreciation of fixed assets, and creating funds for financial support at the expense of budgetary funds. What does this mean?
Advance income tax payments have been canceled for architectural and landscape enterprises. In addition, the amounts of value added tax paid on the acquisition of fixed assets and intangible assets are deducted in full when fixed assets are put into operation and intangible assets are registered (according to Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 22, 1993 No. 2270 "On Certain changes in taxation and in the relationship between budgets of various levels").
But... Landscape firms, being architectural and construction enterprises, still do not belong to the priority sector of the economy and therefore are not exempted - like, for example, construction companies - from income tax in the first two years of existence.
However, according to the aforementioned Decree No. 406 of July 18, 1991, landscape and architectural enterprises in the first year of operation can additionally write off as depreciation deductions up to 50% of the initial cost of their fixed assets with a service life of more than 3 years, as well as accelerate the depreciation of the active part production assets.
An interesting fact is that landscapers have the right to receive an investment tax credit in the form of a tax deferral and a reduction in income tax by 10% of the price of purchased and put into operation equipment (according to the Law of the Russian Federation of December 20, 1991) .
It is important that when determining taxable profit, profit directed at the construction, reconstruction and renewal of fixed production assets, the development of new equipment and technologies is excluded (according to the Law of the Russian Federation of December 27, 1991 "On income tax of enterprises and organizations").
Business plan: investment
Starting investments in a business can start from $10,000. With this money, you can buy a Gazelle car for transporting equipment and some equipment - a grinder, a drill, a concrete mixer, etc.
Separately, it is worth considering the rental of an office in which you will receive clients, although landscape designers often go to the customer themselves.
All other materials necessary for work can be purchased as needed. For example, we needed land, crushed stone, sand - let's go, agreed. Plants are needed - eat and buy again.
Business plan: office
The presence of an office does not affect the choice of the customer. Therefore, renting it is purely a matter of your choice. Many private traders do not have an office and work on a home phone, leaving themselves to the customer. Others, on the contrary, rent a representative office, furnish it with good furniture and hang out their work, demonstrating solidity in every possible way. But this is not the main and far from the only way conquer the client.
Much The best way win over a customer - for example, excellently "make" one section. And then he will offer his services to the neighbors of this client. A win-win...
Business Plan: Supplier Relationships
The specifics of the landscape design business is that in it the relationship with suppliers is not decisive. The diversity of the company's orders does not allow looking ahead for a long time and establishing long-term contracts. Of course, it is worth establishing contacts with companies from which you plan to regularly make purchases. But do not seek to conclude agreements with everyone. At first, look closely and study offers, prices, assortment. The supplier market is huge today. Do not rush, after a while, the suppliers themselves will come to you with offers.Business Plan: Clients
In a green business, as in any other business, customer preference is paramount. It is important to identify their needs and try to satisfy them as much as possible. So, for example, if a customer wants to meet a specific amount, it is worth considering this requirement and helping him do it in the best possible way. Or, if he is ready to spend a large amount of money on the design of the site once, but is not ready to bear the cost of caring for him in the future, it is worth choosing for him a design option that does not require special ongoing care.Business plan: large orders
It is much more profitable to work on large orders both in terms of labor costs and in terms of organization. On a large plot it is easier to "turn around", and the life of workers is easier to organize. And of course, large orders are more profitable.
But it is better for a start-up company to practice on small orders and gain experience. Small customers are often not the focus of attention of large landscape design firms, so this sector is relatively free. The only advice is not to look for customers far from each other, ideally, if these are plots in the same cottage village.
Business Plan: Give Back
Landscape business - enough profitable business, one order here can beat off the cost of training. So, for example, the cost of package documentation of design services without work ranges from $250 to $1800. A turnkey design can cost from $1,500 per acre.
In general, of course, the cost of creating a project is determined individually and depends on many factors: the composition of the project, the scope of work, the total area land plot, terrain, etc. And, of course, much depends on the solvency of the client.
Self-confidence, a competent pricing policy, an individual approach to the client and new ideas - all you need to succeed in this business!
Estimated cost of design work on landscape design of a plot of 6 acres:
- Specialist consultation with site visit - $26
- Sketch (in 2 versions) for choosing a landscaping option - 6 acres - $160
- Project documentation:
- general plan
- dendroplan
- landing drawing
- layout drawing - 1 weave - $35 - Plan of a flower garden, rockery, reservoir with a qualitative and quantitative study of the assortment (characteristics of plants, recommendations for care) - sq.m. - $4
- Estimated documentation - 10% of the cost of work
- Author's supervision - 10% of the cost of works
- Topographic survey of the site (depending on the complexity of the terrain) - 1 weave - 10% of the cost of work