If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and a green thumb, you might have thought about ways of making money from a plant care business. A plant care business is easy to start, because of the low investment required set things up. It can also serve as a stable income source in the long run.
What are the Pros and Cons of Getting into the Plant Care Business?
Pros
- If you like gardening, a plant care business will stay close to your heart. Nothing is better than connecting your passion with your profession.
- You will need a small amount of capital for this startup, mainly for transportation and insurance.
- If you manage to get a few big projects initially, you can grow by hiring employees to take on some of the work and generate more revenue.
Cons
- You will need extensive knowledge of plants. Moreover, you will need to keep yourself abreast of the different plant species, trends and new varieties.
- Many people will consider plant care as a luxury service. So, in case of an economic recession, this kind of business could go through turbulence.
- Pest Infestations and Insect attacks can be a big nuisance for your business. You will have to obtain a good knowledge of insecticides and pesticides to fight the problems prevalent in your target area.
Plant Care Business Basics – How To Get Started
Pick a Location and Study the Trends
- Like any other business, conduct a market survey before starting a plant care business.
- Analyze what the clients need. Plan your services according to what is in high-demand.
- Search out your competitors and study the services they are providing.
- Think of the ways to outperform your competitors by providing better services.
- Study the local flora to determine what kind of plants grow well in your environment to minimize losses.
What Are the Basic Supplies Needed To Start a Plant Care Business?
Once you have completed the preliminary steps, the next thing to do is gather supplies and resources. You will need:
- Transportation suitable for a plant care business, to offer doorstep services.
- Insurance and a business license, depending on the requirements of your state and municipality.
- Business cards and other marketing material to advertise your business and its services.
- A small bookkeeping setup to manage transactions efficiently.
Do’s and Don’ts of Starting a Plant Care Business
- DON’T Hoard Supplies At Home. A lot of beginners tend to stock up on fertilizers and pesticides along with other supplies, right away. This is not a very cost effective approach. Start small until you learn exactly what you’ll need on a regular basis.
- DO Adopt a Customized Approach. Visit your customers, analyze their needs, and make a list of things you will need. Every plant has different soil requirements and different nutrient requirements, so you should study the plant needs before presenting an estimate to the client.
- DON’T Buy Sub–Standard Products. Poor-quality products and services, regardless of the money you think you’re saving, are just bad for your business. It’s better to spend a little more and get the best.
- DO Be Selective about Products and Suppliers. Conduct online research to make sure you only buy quality products. Most every product has reviews online, as do the stores where you’ll purchase them. A little time spent upfront will make a huge difference in your business.
How To Get Customers For Your Plant Care Business
Local nurseries can be favorite hubs for joining relevant gardening circles. You can:
- Get attractive business cards and posters printed and post them at the local nursery.
- Make a website and advertise your services there. Make sure to drop the link of your website with every friend or family member, and request them to share it on their social media accounts.
- Offer your services on freelancing websites, or buying and selling platforms like Craigslist or NextDoor.com.
- If you have a bigger budget, you can run ads on local gardening blogs and get a good number of clients from there.
What Are The Types Of Plant Care Services You Can Offer?
When entering the plant care business, your main focus should be on selling your services, and not so much on selling plants or plant-related products.
Sure, you can earn profit if you buy different plant care products and sell them to clients by keeping your profit margin. However, it is not recommended in the beginning, as you will need extra investment for inventory, and it can be a lot of hassle to manage for beginners.
If you are a newbie in the plant care business, focus on honing your skills and providing matchless services.
Different Kinds Of Plant Care Services You Can Provide
Plant Maintenance
Plant maintenance can contribute a lion’s share to your income, given you excel at providing these services. A lot of plant lovers and businesses cannot care for their plants, due to busy routines or lack of knowledge about different species. This is where your services will come in handy.
You can offer different plant maintenance services like watering, trimming, pruning, cleaning, polishing, potting and repotting of different plants. There are numerous leaf shiners, plant pruners and other supplies that will help you to get started. Insect control by adding pesticides, and growth amplification by using fertilizers will also be a part of your job.
You can provide reasonable complementary plant replacement services for dead or wilting plants to gain customer satisfaction and loyalty initially. However, ensure you don’t incur a loss to your business while doing so.
Floral Services
A lot of people love flowering plants in their home or office, with the main goals of natural decoration and aesthetic pleasure. You can provide floral services to your customers, which will include grafting, training and pruning bushy flower plants, and recommending fragrant or colorful varieties of flowering plants. Flowering plants reproduce by grafting. You can learn grafting from online channels easily and launch a profitable plant care business based on it.
Interior Landscaping
The plant care business has grown into an interior landscaping business niche, and it demands extra knowledge. However, high profits call for high-quality work! You can land big interior landscaping jobs, earning excellent money. You can try different ideas like decorating a wall with a creeper or creating a hedge out of plants. If you have a passion for interior designing and architecture, interior design using indoor plants is a great plant care business idea for you.
Sell Terrariums and Customized Plant Containers
Growing terrariums can increase your earnings by selling them to small offices or homes, in addition to providing plant care services. Terrariums are simple to manage and attractive indoor plant ecosystems that are increasingly popular. The benefit of selling terrariums is that they are easily replaceable. If your customers want to replace your terrariums, they will definitely call you again. Terrariums are easy to grow. You can either grow your terrariums by buying plant containers online or by buying pre-decorated terrariums already available in the market.
Would You Like To Start a Plant Care Business?
What are the challenges you are facing in setting up your plant care business? Share your concerns and ideas with a community of green entrepreneurs and get your answers through our social media channels.
