As a landscaper, spring and summer are your busy seasons. Exploring new business directions can help you turn your lawn care company turn a profit year-round with multiple streams of revenue throughout the winter months.
What do lawn care companies do in the winter? Read on to learn more about the options you can turn to during the slow season.
With the growing season ending in October or November for most grass varieties, lawn mowing will stop being a primary activity in the fall.
However, you can keep offering landscaping and winter lawn care services, including:
What do lawn care companies do in the winter? Some landscaping professionals offer winterization packages designed to get yards ready for the cold weather.
The great thing about winterization packages is that you can adapt the services to the unique features of each property.
What’s more, it’s an opportunity to educate customers about potential issues in their yard and upsell additional services that could lead to long-term client relationships.
Here are a few things you can include as part of your winterization packages:
Did you know that an acre of forest could produce as many as two tons of leaves each year? Leaf removal gives lawn care companies a steady revenue stream for the fall since most of your existing customers will need this service.
You can invest in a leaf vac or blower and get a chipper or shredder to dispose of the leaves.
In addition, offer leaf management solutions to stand out from the competition. A growing number of homeowners are turning their dead leaves into mulch or compost. You can also till the dead leaves into the ground to enhance the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients.
Snow removal is a popular seasonal activity among landscaping contractors. The snow removal season will typically correspond to your slowest months for your lawn care service, but the demand for the service can help offset any downturn in revenue.
To start, you’ll likely have to invest in a snow plow, but you could initially utilize a snowblower to clear and de-ice pathways and driveways. Elsewhere, you can reach out to commercial customers who need snow removal for parking lots.
You can sell year-round packages that include lawn maintenance and snow removal or offer a monthly subscription for snow removal only.
Snow removal can become a lucrative business. Experts predict that this market will grow at a rate that exceeds 4% a year in the near future. Regardless, the service may be an opportunity to meet new customers who might decide to use your lawn care company in the spring.
Branch out with a pressure washing service. It’s something you can do year-round, but it can keep you busy toward the end of winter when homeowners and businesses need help cleaning debris accumulated by snowplows.
You can pressure wash walls, driveways, and parking lots once you invest in a commercial pressure washer.
If you decide to invest in a pressure washer, you can extend your services to include gutter cleaning. In the fall, leaves will accumulate in gutters and form clogs, giving landscapers another revenue stream.
You can clean gutters with a specialized tool if you don’t want to purchase a pressure washer. Besides cleaning, your company could provide related services such as fixing cracks and leaks in gutters or installing gutter guards.
If you’re comfortable with heights, think about expanding into roof cleaning.
As a landscaper, you can stay busy in the winter by providing pruning and stump grinding services.
Homeowners will call a tree removal service if they run into a major issue with a tree, but your company can stay competitive with the right pricing and by focusing on minor jobs.
Plus, you have the advantage of visiting your customers’ properties regularly. You can spot trees that need pruning and recommend this service.
Investing in a stump grinder will open up new possibilities for your landscaping business. Tree removal services don’t always include stump disposal or stump grinding when they remove a tree.
The opportunities won’t end there as a homeowner might consider additional landscaping services to enhance their yard after getting rid of a tree stump.
What do lawn care companies do in the winter? Some landscapers provide Christmas light installation and removal services.
Americans buy 150 million Christmas light sets every year, meaning your company could profit from bringing some Christmas cheer to your community. You can even design original displays and start selling light sets.
If your Christmas light displays are a success, think about extending your services to Halloween displays for fall!
You can take advantage of the down season to work indoors and focus on landscape design. Getting started in the fall or winter gives you plenty of time to find leads and create unique designs for your new customers.
Offering consultations to create customized designs can help you secure lifelong customers who will rely on your services to maintain the landscape you created.
You’ll have the time to research the latest trends and come up with beautiful designs that incorporate hardscape elements, outdoor lights, drought-tolerant plants, and other sustainable practices.
You might even want to think about forming business partnerships with other contractors who can help you make your vision come to life. For instance, you could work with professionals who install decks and patios or build firepits and outdoor cooking amenities.
There are various tasks you can complete indoors to prepare for the next season and help your business thrive:
The deadline for filing taxes is in March, but you can do tax prep in December. Sit down and go over your income and expenses for the year. As you review your findings, set some financial goals for the new year.
Take a closer look at your company’s activities with the highest return and identify the revenue streams that are the least lucrative.
You can decide to make a few changes to how your business operates, whether to focus on the most profitable elements or figure out how to boost revenue from “underperforming” services.
Prepare for the spring by designing a fresh marketing campaign. You can reach out to local outlets like radio stations, TV channels, social media pages, and relevant websites.
Take some time to learn about digital marketing. For instance, writing blog posts about lawn care tips or weed control on your official site can help you generate leads and bring in new traffic. You should also look into social media marketing, SEO, and paid ads.
Hire and train new employees ahead of the spring. You can take the time to conduct interviews and start training recruits before you get busy.
Lastly, when considering the question, “what do lawn care companies do in the winter?” some landscapers focus on personal development.
With that in mind, take advantage of the slow season to obtain a new landscaping certification or learn about new tools and techniques. Understanding how to install irrigation systems could open up exciting opportunities for your business. You can also sign up for online business management classes.
The winter can even be a chance to take some time off work or achieve a better work-life balance so you get to spend some quality time with your loved ones before the busy season.
