You’ve put in the long days and nights and nurtured your landscaping business to where it is today. Your client base is well-established, and your finances are looking healthy. Perhaps, you are toying with the idea of expansion, but are not quite sure if your business is strong enough to take on the next challenge.
It’s at this point you need to seriously consider the financial health of your company, and look to your business insurance.
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Are you prepared for success?
According to ibisworld.com, the market size of the landscaping services industry continues to outpace the administration, business support, and waste management sectors in the US, despite the negative factors of high competition and low barriers to entry.
Is your insurance adequate, and will it cover your needs going forward? These are important questions you need to ask yourself before going any further and plow
ing your hard-earned money into any kind of expansion.
6 Innovative ways to grow a strong landscaping business
Follow these excellent tips on how to strengthen your landscaping business and set you up for the next stage.
1. Get to goal planning
Set goals, be it increasing your client base or expanding business operations into another area. Outline your objectives and put a realistic time frame to achieving them. Strengthen your business by identifying your weak areas and working on them. Most importantly commit to your goals once you have set your plans in action.
2. Financial health check
It pays to have a hands-on approach when it comes to the cash flow of your company. Very few small business owners spend the time necessary on this aspect of their business.
A healthy financial balance sheet is vital and no more so than when you are looking to growing your business. Put in the research and find out your business credit score, this will indicate how trustworthy your business will be in meeting possible loan repayments.
3. Protect your business
Protecting your small business just makes sound financial sense. The time has come to take your business insurance requirements seriously.
The informal approach that may have worked for you in the past does not lend itself to growing your business. Investing in the correct insurance policies tailored to your specific industry needs is a smart move.
A Business Owners Policy (BOP) not only saves you time but saves you money too. Instead of buying individual insurance policies for your business, a BOP streamlines the insurance process and bundles insurance policies into one convenient package.
A BOP for a landscaping business would generally include:
- Property Insurance for your office space, as well as moveable equipment and inventory items used for business purposes.
- General Liability covers instances of bodily harm, property damage, and liabilities for which your business can be held responsible.
- Business Income Insurance for those unexpected events that suspend business operations. This insurance helps replace your loss of income and enables you to continue meeting your monthly financial obligations.
There are certain exclusions that a BOP does not cover, and it would be well worth investigating additional insurance policies to add to your BOP portfolio. Take a look at:
- Commercial Auto Insurance. This cover ensures you are not leaving your business vehicles vulnerable to risk, and your drivers are insured too.
- Workers Comp is a legal requirement in most US states, with a few exceptions. This type of insurance handles the statutory obligations of an employer should an employee be injured or made ill due to workplace exposure.
- Professional Liability Insurance, also referred to as errors and omissions insurance provides you with legal fees and an attorney to defend any lawsuit or claim of negligence brought against your business
Speak to a reputable insurance agent, who will guide you through the process of obtaining best-fit insurance policies for your business needs.
4. Customer service is tops
Customer service is the lifeblood of any business. By this stage, you have got to the point where you can rely on repeat business from your customers and have formed a relationship with them.
Practice good time management skills and delegate tasks to your workforce effectively. Now is not the time to slack on the basics of great customer service.
Reliability is key, answer your phone, keep promises made, listen to your customer’s complaints and resolve them regardless of profit.
5. Learn from your competitors
It’s only natural to keep tabs on what your competitors are up to in the landscaping business.
Keeping abreast of industry trends and implementing them will help your business stand out from the competition. Identify an area of your business that you are good at and aim to specialize in it.
Even loyal customers can turn to your competitors if they are supplying a better deal. Look into offering some sort of ‘special’ to include with your landscaping package, which will add value to your business and attract new customers.
6. Marketing
While word-of-mouth, flyers, and business cards may have been your go-to during start-up, the time has come to increase your advertising footprint. Online advertising with a platform such as Google allows you to place advertisements in search results when people are searching for services related to your business.
Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are another effective way of advertising your business.
Be prepared
Starting a business can be easy, staying in business is a whole different ball game. Avoidable mistakes such as not having the right business insurance in place to deal with curve balls could easily impact your landscaping business and set your business back by years. Follow these 6 business growth hacks to strengthen your landscaping business.
