Have you been interested in starting a lawn mowing business for a while?
Starting your own lawn care business is a great way to make extra money, and even build a successful lawn care company if you decide to scale up.
Depending on how much profit you want to make from your business, you can even start hiring additional workers, and upgrade your equipment within your first year.
It certainly won’t be easy, and will require plenty of effort and some time. But, if you follow these steps and tips, you’ll have a booming business in no time.
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How to Start a Lawn Mowing Business
Before you jump into launching your business, it’s important to step back and decide if you want this to be just a side hustle or a full-time job.
If you want to mow lawns as a side hustle in the summer, then simply working with borrowed equipment, or older equipment that you’ve had for a while may be suitable.
But, if you want to build a profitable business, there are a few things you’ll need to figure out first.
- What will be your business name?
- How many clients will you want, or be able to have?
- Will you hire any employees?
- What services will you offer to your clients?
- Will you offer additional services year-round?
For small business owners, deciding on a business model early on will make the process of building up and scaling much easier and smoother.
Once you have figured out and answered a few of these questions, you can start marketing your business and finding potential clients.
As long as you have the necessary equipment.
Related: How to Start a Successful Food Truck Business with No Money
What is Required to Start a Lawn Mowing Business?
The requirements for starting a lawn care business will vary on whether this is just a side hustle or a full-time job.
When starting your lawn mowing business as a full-time job you will need several things.
- Lawn Care Equipment (varies depending on the services you offer)
- Register Your Business Name (Register at Small Business Administration)
- Business License (not always necessary in some states)
- General Liability Insurance (~ $33-58 per month for Lawn Care Insurance)
- Open a Business Bank Account (not always necessary, but very beneficial)
- List of potential clients
If you are just wanting to run a lawn care business as a side hustle, all of these extra steps may not be necessary. Just be aware that you may be held liable if your clients decide to sue.
Some other things to consider that aren’t always necessary, but are a very good idea is to register your business as an LLC (limited liability company). As an LLC, you will get an employee identification number, which will help protect your personal finances.
An LLC means that your business is a separate entity from you and your personal finances. This limited liability separates your personal assets from your business assets.
An LLC is a better and safer option than a sole proprietorship.
For example, if you happen to cause property damage and are sued because of it, rather than having your personal assets at risk, only your business assets are at risk.
Here’s a great legal template you can use for an LLC.
You can find out how to register your LLC at the Small Business Administration.
Learn more about how to make your lawn care business legal.
This freelance legal bundle includes a legal template for your LLC and all the legal pages you need as a freelancer.
Related: How to Start an Amazon FBA Business (2025 Guide)
What are the Startup Costs for Your Own Lawn Care Business?
The start-up costs will vary greatly depending on what kind of lawncare business you want to run. On average though, it can cost as much as $5,000-$8,000 to start a new lawn care company.
If you want your business to be just a side hustle, then any startup costs will just be getting any equipment you don’t have, and any fuel costs.
Simply using your older equipment, or even requesting to use a clients equipment for a discount (be wary of doing this though) may be a suitable option until you can afford your own.
If you don’t have much money for new lawn care equipment, look at garage sales, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and thrift stores. The equipment you find here is likely to be worn down, and may need some repairs, so do be aware of this.
Related:30 Proven, Realistic & Legit Ways to Make $1000 a Day in 2025
Necessary Equipment
Finding the right equipment for your lawn care business will depend on if it is a full-time gig. The right equipment may also vary depending on your service area as well. If you mow land for a lot of rural clients, you will likely need a sturdier mower than you would in a residential area.
If you are just starting out, you don’t necessarily need new equipment. So keeping your eye out during garage sale season is a great way to save money.
Here’s a list of the recommended necessary equipment you may need:
- Push lawnmower (this is a compact, electric mower)
- Riding lawnmower
- Leaf blower (here’s a great cordless leaf blower)
- Trimmer/ Weedeater (this is a great trimmer/leafblower bundle)
- Hedge Trimmers (try this versatile cordless trimmer)
- Broom
- Business Cards (if you plan on running a full-time business)
If you do decide you want to build up your company, you will eventually want to get a work vehicle for your heavier equipment.
You may also save on fuel costs with a credit card which may earn more points when you purchase gas. Also, consider talking with a local gas station to see if they offer discounts to businesses who have an account through them.
You may also save on fuel costs with a credit card which may earn more points when you purchase gas. Also, talk with a local gas station to see if they offer discounts to businesses who purchase through them.
Building a Client Base
Finding potential customers for your lawn care business can be tricky. Thankfully, having a social media presence and being active in your community can be a great way to build your brand.
You can ask local businesses if you can post up flyers, brochures, or business cards in their store. Just make sure that you do not go against the store owner, or manager’s wishes as this may hurt your future business prospects.
Great places to leave business cards (if they allow it):
- Grocery stores
- Recreation centers
- Libraries
- Restaurants
- Gas stations
Tips for maintaining your current customer base.
- Provide helpful education on services offered
- Offer additional services the customer may need
- Refer trustworthy businesses for services you don’t offer (you may be able to earn referral bonuses or commissions)
- Use email marketing to offer discounts on future services, and to provide helpful content
I recommend Convertkit (now Kit), or Mailerlite for email marketing to help grow and nurture your client list.
You can also sign up for my free email marketing checklist to help you understand email marketing if you’re new to it.
Even though this is a “for bloggers” ebook, much of the content is directly about effective email marketing in general. Either way, it is free if you decide you want to give email a try.
Using Social Media Platforms to Find New Customers
Finding your target market (your ideal customer) locally can be difficult. But, with the benefit and virality of social media, you don’t have to work quite so hard to get seen in front of your target audience.
However, with trying to maintain a strong social media presence, you will want to have an effective marketing plan in place. Otherwise, you’ll just be throwing spaghetti against the wall.
Tips for an effective marketing plan with social media:
- Open a business account on your social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.)
- Create a Facebook page and/or group for your business and start inviting local businesses, and other community members to join
- Post content regularly (daily is best)
- Create an email sign up form/landing page to encourage people to join your email list
- Use your email list to offer sales, discounts, and send receipts if needed
- Set a budget if you plan on getting subscriptions or ads
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that many bloggers are very familiar with. But, as a business owner, you may not have time to learn all you need to for have effective SEO. Fortunately, reaching your target market through SEO doesn’t have to be impossible. Tools like RankIQ make ranking your website on the first page of Google much easier and quicker.
You can also use targeted Facebook ads, start a Facebook group, or open an Instagram account for your business.
Word of Mouth
This is a classic way of building up a client list. However, though it is effective, it can be one of the slower methods of finding new customers.
I suggest starting with a few people you may already be using your services. Then, offer them a discount on future services for referring your business to new customers.
Making sure to have some business cards on hand is always a safe bet.
Becoming a Successful Lawn Care Business
Once you have an established client list, you can start scaling your business. Within your budget of course.
Things you can do to scale your business:
- Purchase newer equipment
- Hire employees
- Hire an assistant for paperwork, deskwork, customer service, etc.
- Purchase a work vehicle
- Launch a second company
Monitoring your progress over time is a great way to track your goals, and determine the next steps of your business journey. If you can afford to, expanding your lawn care business is a great way to diversify your income streams for better financial security.
When expanding your business, you can also choose to offer separate services with the business expansion. Talking with your team when deciding what services to offer is always a safe bet, since they are with you for much of the journey.
Scaling to a Successful Lawn Care Company
Assuming that you want to make your business a full-time job, there are some important steps to take.
- Making sure your business is legal
- Insuring your business against liability and damages
- Building a solid client list
- Partnering with other businesses for services you don’t offer (and earn referral bonuses)
- Keeping your equipment updated
- Offering great customer service
Your lawn care business plan should always be focused on the customer first. While I disagree with the old saying “the customer is always right”, it’s important to put your clients best interest first.
This can mean recommending additional services, or fewer services, based on the clients’ needs, rather than just their wants.
It may also mean recommending another business for specific services (again, here’s a chance to partner up for referral bonuses), or delaying providing a service.
This summer, my grandma needs to get her lawn resodded (it looks so sad and brown). But, being in Kansas where the summers can get very hot and dry, sometimes sod doesn’t do so well.
Instead, she has decided to postpone this service until mid-fall when the sod has a better chance of surviving the climate.
Something as simple as providing helpful and informative information like this can be an excellent way to earn your customer’s support and trust. So, they not only will recommend you to their friends and family but are far more likely to use your services again in the future.
Increasing Profit Margins
In the first year, establishing a strong brand and label within your community is an important step for future success. While it may require much time and dedication, the payoff can be significant in the form of a well-established and successful lawn care business. When it comes to increasing your profit margins, you will want to consider your local market’s demand for additional services.
Some additional services you may want to offer if you intend on growing into a full-time business:
- Landscaping services
- Snow removal
- Leaf, limb, and tree removal
- Gutter cleaning
- Power washing
Even if you don’t want to add landscaping and other services to your business model, it may benefit you to partner with another local business. Even if you only earn a referral bonus.
This can mean you offer labor services with that company, but you partner with them to use their equipment and expertise.
Your business partners are your business assets.
Plus, if you don’t have to purchase or rent extra equipment for other services, this reduces any additional costs.
While partnering may not always earn you as much profit, doing so can greatly strengthen your client’s satisfaction.
Great customer service means continued income for years, and less efforts with marketing your business.
Have you ever seen large companies that heavily marketed their products for months or even years?
Then suddenly, you stop seeing commercials for those products because now everyone knows about them and buys them regularly.
This is why having great customer service is such an important aspect of a strong business model.
Final Thoughts on How to Start a Lawn Mowing Business
Starting a lawn care business can be costly, though it doesn’t have to be. Deciding whether you want your business to be a full-time job or just a side hustle will determine your overall business model.
There are plenty of ways to save money on start-up costs, and there are many ways to increase your profit margins.
Thankfully, with access to more potential customers online, starting a lawn care business can be an exciting and profitable venture.
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