Funding a Lawn Care Business

Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 8:29 pm

Funding Your New Lawn Care Business…

For many people who want to start a new business, getting funding is a big issue. That is certainly true when you want to start your own lawn care business. To get your lawn care business going, you need customers, equipment and workers. If you are just starting out, you may be able to do all the work yourself. But if you are going to need the equipment to get to work right away. If you sign a new customer, they may want you to start work that day. So you need the equipment to get the customers.

One approach to getting around the start up costs issue is to use the equipment you already have. If you were a lawn care contractor before you decided to turn your operation into a full time business, you may have a lawn mower, edger and other equipment and a pick up truck so you can begin taking care of your first customer’s needs. If not, you might be able to borrow the equipment from friends or lease it until you get enough customers so you have the cash flow to use to get good equipment.

But many new businesses seek out a small business loan from investors or from a lending institution such as a bank. If you have a solid business idea that you can document in the form of a business plan and the lender sees that your plan to start a lawn care business will most certainly work, then you can get that loan which will fund enough equipment to get started.

One thing you must do to go to a lender for that loan is document what you need and what those costs will be. Be sure you are complete in your evaluation but don’t pad the request. If you need a new truck to transport equipment to the job sites, include one in the funding request. But don’t make it a luxury vehicle. Remember, it is in your best interest to keep the loan reasonable because you have top pay that loan back and you don’t need high loan payments when you are trying to start a business.

To justify the loan, you will also have to show that you have a good business model that will result in customers and a successful start up for your new business. The bank wants you to succeed but you have to show them that you are firmly in touch with the local lawn care market and you have a plan for bringing on enough customers to make the money you need to live and pay back the loan with interest.

This is going to take some research and a well prepared document that shows in detail how many customers you expect to start business with, how much you will charge for your services, how much overhead and upkeep will cost and how much of your income can go toward paying back the debt. Each of these figures must be grounded in reality. If you already have 20 customers that you will bring into the business from your contract work, then you have the grounds for this evaluation because you know the kind of income you can generate from those customers.

Also be prepared to document how you will grow the business so the lender knows you have a plan for success that will result in full repayment of the loan. If you are using investors, they want to know they will make money from your business as well. If you do your homework and document your business well, you will have no trouble getting the funding you need to jump start your new lawn care business. You will be on your way to an exciting new adventure in managing your own business to great success and financial reward.

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