From Side-Hustle to Career: How to Make a Landscaping Hobby Into a Living
Does the thought of spending the day working outdoors excite you? Maybe you simply love working with natural elements or you’re adept at forming designs using landscaping materials.
If any of this describes you, you probably have a love for landscaping, outdoor decorating and gardening, and working with natural elements in general. And if this is the case, why not earn a little money while doing the work that you love?
We all have our hobbies, but when you can monetize a hobby and earn a living from doing work that you enjoy, this takes the term “earning a living” to an entirely different level. Because if you think about it, most of us earn our living doing work that we’re not that excited about every day.
If you want to take your love for landscaping and make it into a legitimate form of employment, the following guide will give you a place to start.
Start Building a Portfolio
Maybe you’ve done a few landscaping projects in your own yard. Or perhaps you’ve worked in the yards of friends or family members. Either way, you’ll want to document these projects and build a portfolio so you can show prospective clients your skills.
Every artist needs a portfolio of work in order to be taken seriously as an artist and to be considered for projects and commissions. As such, a landscaping professional is no different. And you’ll probably find that if you go out in search of landscaping clients, they’re going to want to see proof of your skills in some form.
Your professional portfolio can simply be a collection of pictures in an album that you keep with you. Or you can build a website and upload your design images. No matter which method you choose, having a portfolio of quality work is going to be your ticket to landing jobs in the landscaping space.
Equipment and Tools
If you’re going to be working in the landscaping business, you’re going to need the right tools. And while you probably have some hand tools or gardening tools that you’ve already collected over the years, you’re likely going to need a whole lot more.
Landscaping also requires heavy materials at times such as planters, construction materials, sod, seeds, flowers, and many other elements which you’re probably not going to be able to fit into your car.
If you want to begin doing legitimate landscaping work, your best strategy is to get a reliable truck to use for your jobs. And if you don’t have a truck, you can rent one to help move heavy materials until you’re able to purchase a truck for your business.
Additionally, you can place a magnetic business logo on the side of a work truck rental so you can advertise your services as you drive from job to job.
Landing New Clients
If you want to jump right into the landscaping business, you’re going to have to get out into your local community and start talking to people.
You might be tempted at first to build a website and start advertising on social media. But building a following online takes a long time. So if you want to begin landing clients quickly, driving through neighborhoods and checking out properties is where you should begin.
A commonly-known best practice when starting out in landscaping is to have business cards and flyers made. Then when you have some spare time, take a tour through neighborhoods within your local community.
When you see properties that could be made better through landscaping design, stop and knock on a few doors and talk with property owners. Not everyone will be interested, but you might be able to land your first few clients this way.
And if the property owners aren’t home, leave a business card or a flyer on the door.
At the end of the day, there are a variety of ways to break into any business. But it’s going to be through your own perseverance and hard work that lands you the clients that you’ll need to become successful.