Lawn Care Myths

It is time to debunk some myths….about the lawn care service segment…
The lawn care business is not as well-known, generally speaking, by pest control operators as their general household and structural pest control business. In fact, there are some myths out there that are disseminated by some because they don’t know this very viable, profitable and growing service segment. I had the privilege of building the fifth largest lawn “spray” business in the country. Not that this service needs it, but it is a business that is near and dear to my heart and affords many owners and others involved in it a nice level of personal earnings and wealth. So, those myths:
1. Myth: “The lawn care business is a dying business.” Wow, what a statement! The largest crop grown in the USA is sod…sod for lawns around homes, multi-family homes and commercial businesses. The largest crop in America and it is growing! It is bigger now than it has ever been and growing. How many owners do you know that want their yard to look bad? Owners are obsessed with their lawns. In America today, it is almost a competition in neighborhoods to have the best looking yard. Grass will never go away. It is too valuable to the value of property and does too much for the quality of life for owners. Lawn grass helps clean the air, traps carbon dioxide, reduces erosion, decreases noise pollution and reduces temperatures around homes and structures. Turf grasses in the United States annually cleanse the air of an estimated 12 million tons of dust and many common impurities. Researchers have shown that lawns help mitigate climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
2. Myth: “There is no profit in the lawn care business.” Nothing could be further from the truth than that statement. The Profit Formula is: Revenue minus Costs = Profit. If one has the right pricing strategy, the right cost structure and the right service strategy, one will make good profit in this business. I have friends, that I have had the pleasure of mentoring and working with over the years, who have become one of those “millionaires next door” through the lawn care business. Designed and done right, this is a very profitable business. It is not that especially hard to design and to do right. Read my blog on my website; Lawn Care: Add More Green to Your Bottom Line.
3. Myth: “You have to compete on price if you want to build a lawn care business.” No you don’t. People want someone to take good care of their lawn, to make it look good and potentially the “Yard of the Month” and they are willing to pay for it. Deliver great service and you can get twice as much per 1,000 sq. ft. of grass as your competitor gets in charges. Differentiate on service; not price. Don’t get down in the mud and in those price wars that too many operators get involved in. There isn’t much money there. You have heard it said that the bitterness of poor service remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.
4. Myth: “It is hard to sell the lawn care business when the owner is ready to exit”. Again, that is not the case. It is about the EBITDA. Read my blog on that very subject on our website. It is about the EBITDA. I have been able to show owners how to double their EBITDA within 12 months or less.
5. Myth: “It is hard to fix a “broken” lawn care business. Not so. It is not that difficult to fix a service that is not doing well in terms of growth and/or profit. It is anywhere from a 3 month to a 12 month turnaround, depending on the severity or complexity of the situation. However, when it is fixed, it is exciting and a winner. It is not terribly difficult or hard to fix and then to manage a lawn company on a level of sustained excellence.
Want to start a lawn care line of business? Want some assistance in making your current lawn care business a great business and a cash cow? Want some help getting your lawn care company sold? Contact us at The Clendenin Consulting Group. We can help and we would love to do so. www.theclendeninconsultinggroup.com
-Greg Clendenin