My gardening and landscaping business is flat out all summer but I have nothing to show for it — why?
Two causes, and it is usually both. Green waste disposal has risen sharply and most maintenance rounds were priced before it did, so every visit now carries a cost that is not in the price. And the gardens themselves have grown — a round priced four years ago is servicing materially more plant than it was quoted for, at the same visit rate.
Seasonality compounds the damage. A business that earns its whole year in seven months has to price those months to cover twelve, and most maintenance rounds are priced as if the money arrived evenly.
Disposal is the specific line to check. Tip charges for green waste have moved considerably in recent years and it is a per-visit cost, so an unrepriced round absorbs it on every single visit across the whole season.
The growth effect is real and rarely accounted for. A garden four years into maintenance produces substantially more material than it did when quoted, and the visit takes longer for the same fee — the price should have moved twice in that period and typically has not moved at all.
Reprice before the season starts, never mid-season, and offer a reduced frequency at the old price as the alternative. Most clients take the increase; the ones who take the reduced frequency are still profitable, which is the point of offering it.
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Give me three movesPeople also ask this as
- Why is my landscaping business not profitable?
- How to price garden maintenance properly
- How do gardeners make money in winter?
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Figures are typical ranges for small businesses in the UK, US and Canada, given so you can check them against your own books rather than take them on trust. They are arithmetic on stated assumptions, not a forecast, and not financial advice.