Customer Reviews

How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Landscaping, Nursery, or Lawn Service Business: With Companion CD-ROM

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first glance I didn't think this book looked all that impressive, but after taking a closer look, I found I was wrong. I've always enjoyed landscaping and this book's got all the bases covered. I was surprised, first of all, by how easy it was to read.

The layout of the book was easy to follow as well. I found the step-by-step process a great help in determining right off if pursuing a landscaping business was right for me (everything is divided up into six simple sections for easy reference).

Most of all, the case studies of actual real life people were a benefit. And the business plan process will be a great help in my brainstorming. I don't know if landscaping is right for me, but I do know that this book had opened my eyes to a lot of aspects I never could have even considered on my own, I give it Five stars! It's a must read if you're thinking about going into business for yourself! It provides all the details you'll ever need, -from A-Z!

Your lawn is your first impression to the world. "How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Landscaping, Nursery, or Lawn Service Business" is a guide to breaking into the lucrative lawncare and landscaping business for those who enjoy the great outdoors and working with plants and lawns. A business guide, the Atlantic Publishing Group gives readers a vivid introductory dive into the basics of lawncare as a business and how to get started. "How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Landscaping, Nursery, or Lawn Service" is a grade-A pick for anyone trying to break into this business venture.

How to Open and Operate A Financially Successful Landscaping, Nursery, or Lawn Service Business: With Companion CD-ROM is a beneficial necessity for anyone looking to start a business of their own. But, don't let the cover fool you. This guide can be used as a reference for any kind of business. Complete with 290 easy-to-read pages, it is a realistic portrayal of what developing a business truly means. It is broken down into nine sections with step-by-step instructions. The format helps in strategizing and creating a distinct "personality" for your business, ultimately becoming the anchor that will bring in your customers.
The author is very responsible in explaining not only the background of business development and management, but also the details on financing and hiring as well, going into such distinct detail as to what equipment will work best for your particular goals. From the opening sentence, we can be assured that nothing is sugar-coated: "This book does not sell dreams - rather, it shows you, step by step, how to make your personal dream for working for yourself in the outdoors come true." It explains how "passion" is a great first step, but cannot be the only driving force.
Taking a very holistic approach to entrepreneurship, the book even examines how knowing yourself and your limits before you open your business will be beneficial in the long run. And, to help give you a better understanding of what that truly means, it's equipped with a Personality Quiz (my favorite part!). The layout of the book flows seamlessly, from the basics all the way down to the "nitty gritty" details. The resource section in the back of the book is an excellent tool for aspiring business owners. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to be profitable with their business.

With green and eco-friendly living an increasingly more socially responsible choice for home owners and businesses, it is also a great opportunity for outdoor-loving entrepreneurs to begin and/or build a business in landscaping, grounds keeping or plant nurseries.

The unfortunate reality of starting and running a business is just that: learning the basics of how to run one successfully. This How-to guide breaks down what is often the most intimidating and difficult aspect of small business ownership--setting up the business correctly from the start so that it runs smoothly in the long run. Whether you choose to buy into a franchise, purchase an existing business, or begin from scratch, every vital aspect of starting a landscaping-related business is outlined step by step, including: tailoring the business to suit your strengths, developing a business plan, becoming a small business, branding, financing, money management, dealing with vendors, purchasing insurance, supplies and equipment, cost estimates, bidding on a project, hiring workers, marketing, government paperwork, web site design, finding customers and finally... collecting payment.

This guide is a remarkable resource, offering solid, reality-based strategies for building an efficient, profitable outdoor-services business. Case studies of specific businesses illustrate the pros and cons of one type of business versus another, and also walk the reader through worst-case-scenarios and provide personality tests that encourage the reader to be realistic about their role in the business and the double-edged nature of being one's own boss. The entire process is broken down into straightforward, do-able parts, so that the most important thing--the love of green things and making beautiful lawns, gardens and landscapes--can be the focus, along with a healthy dose of realistic expectations.

I'm sure we have all been victims of a poorly planned business. Whether it is a restaurateur who can't pay his employees each week, a contractor who doesn't get work done on time or within budget, or some other business blunder, the management of a small business can make or break it. Especially in a struggling economy, small business owners need to get everything right in order to stay afloat. This book sets out to help potential owners of Landscaping, Nursery, or Lawn Services businesses turn their ideas into reality in a responsible way.
Landscaping obviously had unique issues that other business owners would not encounter. Wasnak includes chapters on "The Nitty Gritty of Landscape Work", equipment and supplies ("buy the best you can afford, it will be cheaper in the long run"), and hiring outdoor workers (including precise advice on how to pick out the most effective candidates). The author does a good job of showing how a passion for landscaping design is not all you need to run this type of business. Customer Service, profitability, and marketing techniques are the priority, as well as the focus of this book. The Bibliography and Additional Resources at the end of the book are also a very helpful tool to get even more in depth information.

This book completes all the background research necessary in order to understand the landscaping business as a whole so that prospective owners will make the best choices as they are first beginning their business. From detailed information on equipment, advertising, business forms, hiring practices, financial backing and narrowing the focus of services to offer, no area of concern is left unexamined or open ended.

Beginning with a Personality Quiz to better identify what type of business owner the reader aims to be, the chapters work through partnerships, franchise possibilities, and independent ownership as an option. The following chapters provide information on forming a Business Plan, determining the bottom line to cover expenses, estimating job bids, marketing, finding the best customers and even how to set up an office.

Taking the guesswork out of business ownership, there are checklists that cover the pieces of a business plan, forecasting revenue, insurance requirements, services to offer to customers, seasonal services, and additional information on the permits, regulations on hiring, use of chemicals, and laws that vary from state to state. I recommend this book not only to anyone who is considering running their own business in Landscaping, Nursery or Lawn Service, but also to anyone who may dream of opening their own business of any type. It forces the reader to weigh all options in advance, warns against bidding low on jobs that it harms their end product, and arms the future business owner with all necessary tools to become successful and profitable.

This book has 290 pages and deals with "How to" start a landscaping or an outdoor business. The nine sections in the book provide a step-by-step guide for a person new to business. The author set out to provide detailed instructions for setting up a landscaping/ lawn business and succeeded in doing this.
After reading this book, the reader will have more than enough information to know how to start and run a business.
I found this book to be very informative and recommend it for the following reasons:- if you are in the landscaping business or trying to decide if that is the business for you, then this book will show you how to shop for the right equipment, provide you with information on the procedures and practices required in starting your new business. The case studies in the book provide information on how others have built their businesses.
If you are not in the landscaping business, this book provides you with great information too. You can skip Section 2 which deals Landscaping as a business, and use the outstanding information in the remaining sections. Information such as: characteristics of a small business; the book talks about, "Passion" being a prime ingredient. A successful business is "more than a business to its owner". It encourages you to know yourself before you start a business, and to plan for success while branding your business.
This is simply a great book for any person interested in starting a business, any kind of business -outdoor or otherwise.
However, I feel that the title of this book may prevent business owners in a different niche from purchasing it, because they may assume that it deals specifically with starting an outdoor business, which unfortunately is not the case at all.

I rate this book as a 4 star.

I'm insulted by the mere title of this book. Running a nursery is nothing like landscaping or lawncare, and neither is landscaping. It's a slap in the face to the industry that someone thinks they can cover the technicality of either of these three vocations in one text, let alone that of the nursery business, being the most technical of them all.

The opening of this book draws in everyone because it shows the benefits that everyone could have from this book. It tells how simple your entrance into the landscaping business but accompanies it with the problems that many new start-ups will run into. Also showing the demand for landscaping has increased in the United States can almost made me want to start a new lawn mowing and gardening business!
I like the layout of the book. It seems to flow from the basics all of the way to the very little details that anyone starting a business will run into before they can have a successful business. This book is very easy to read and I feel that everyone could learn many things from this book about landscaping, but most importantly about life. I really believe that the section on knowing yourself before you start a business is genius. Many people do not know what type of personality is required for these different jobs but this book lays it out for you and it is as easy as following a checklist to know which path you should follow.
The case studies contained within this book are very helpful. Each case study allows the reader to see a different situation, equipped with your very own Personality Quiz. It is very nice to have real life circumstances shown for the many sections within this book because it shows why exactly they included each chapter. All of these sections contain questions that you should ask yourself when starting and maintaining your business. There are websites and walkthroughs for these chapters that will come in handy to those who are serious about following the steps suggested. This book is so helpful for anyone looking to start a business of any kind!