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Starting a landscape consulting business: What do homeowers want to know about their landscapes? | |
I'm a horticulturist with 10 years of experience working on all type of properties ranging from small homes to 1st class museum collections. I want to share my expertise by working with property owners to help upgrade and maintain their landscapes. I currently write a newsletter that covers seasonal maintenance tasks, pest and disease issues, and design ideas.
I'd like to be doing evaluations of existing landscapes, quality checks on new installations (you'd be surprised at how many things can go wrong!), and teach gardening classes.
I don't want to be acting as a contractor, rather be working as a referer or liaison between my clients and landscapers. I want to be a client's advocate, not a servicemagic.com paid referal service where landscapers pay for leads or give kickbacks.
I'm open to all any suggestions.
Thanks in advance.
A Northeast Gardener
Answers:
1We had an interior design business in LA for 30 years and offered a similar service. Some of our clients simply couldn't afford $30,000 to $50,000 for a total room design, so we offered a service where we devised a plan based on their lifestyle, needs and desires. We rendered drawings with sample color themes, fabric choices, wood tones, window and floor treatments that they could bring with them as they purchased items.
Actually, most of the work we did for our clients was in a sense serving as a liason between the trades and the clients. All of our installers, upholsters, painters, electricians, plumbers, etc. had their own businesses and contracted with us independently to complete our designs. On occasion, we had a general contractor, when large scale projects required it, but most of the time we were the project's front line quality control, made certain everything stayed on schedule and corrected problems that arose as they occurred.
About 80% of our business came from referrals of existing clients who were eager to tell family and friends about the work they had done. I taught classes at our local community college and adult continuing education center which also brought in new clients. We also did some unpaid work, like designing sets for upstart cable TV shows for the end of show credits. Joining professional membership organizations was helpful, too.
I really think there is a need for the service you want to offer. Focus your marketing efforts on areas or neighborhoods where you see bad landscape design. My little canyon would be an excellent example. We have both front and back hillsides with automatic sprinklers, DG, erosion problems and we are all fighting some kind of tree fungus on our liquid ambers. I, myself have re-planted my front hillside 5 times in 8 years, only to suffer massive plant death. There is only one home in our 37 house neighborhood that has successfully developed a landscape design that provides beautiful curb appeal, has the right plant matter for the soil, sun and conditions we have. If you were sending out a newsletter covering the topics you've outlined to homeowners in my neighborhood, you would surely garner a substanial client base!
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