Lawn maintenance is a great career to get into. Training as a lawn care specialist allows you to earn a good living while maintaining a good work-life balance. This line of work is also relatively recession-proof; while we have had to adjust the way we work in order to observe the coronavirus safety guidelines, the Lawn & Weed Expert team have continued to work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, our business has grown this year!
If you've decided that lawn maintenance is the right career for you, you might be tempted to buy a lawn care franchise. There are a number of reasons why this might seem like a good idea: you'll be trading under an established brand name, and you'll have the support of a company that's already made a success of looking after people's lawns.
However, there are numerous drawbacks to purchasing a lawn care franchise. A franchise costs a lot of money, for one thing, and there's absolutely no guarantee that you'll be successful.
If you are considering buying a lawn care franchise simply because you don't want to risk 'going it alone', here are 3 reasons to reconsider...
1. You'll be tied down by a contract.
Franchisors like to give the impression that they know all the secrets of the lawn care trade, and that you can only learn these secrets by paying to become a franchisee.
This is rubbish. In reality, most franchisors just say this so that they can tie you down to a contract and receive a regular income from your hard work. The contract is usually designed to safeguard the franchisor's interests, not yours, and you may be limited in the type of work you can undertake, how much control you have over your own marketing, etc.
2. It will cost you a lot of money.
When you buy a lawn care franchise, you will be asked to pay a lot of money up front for the rights to use their name.
Then, once you're up and running, you will have to pay the franchisor a percentage of your profits in the form of royalties.
This may well mean that your income would have been greater had you set up your own business instead of going through an established lawn care franchise.
3. You may only be able to operate within a specific area.
Lawn care franchisors tend to assign each franchisee a specific region.
Franchisees are confined to their region and generally cannot accept work in another franchisee's territory.
Is there an alternative to buying a lawn care franchise?
If you want to set up your own lawn care business, but you're not sure how to get started, Lawn & Weed Expert can provide specialist lawn care training and ongoing support for a fraction of the cost of buying a franchise.
You don't have to give us any royalties or commit to any monthly payments - once you've completed your training, any business you set up belongs entirely to you. You can choose your own name and get in touch with us any time you need advice.
We will show you:
- How to offer a wide range of lawn care services (more than most franchises offer!)
- How to survey lawns, identify problems, prepare quotes and carry out a suitable treatment programme
- Where to buy the professional-quality equipment and products we use
- How to market yourself and your business, generating enquiries and converting them into paid work
We have been running a successful lawn care business for over 20 years, so rest assured that the guidance we provide is backed by years of experience. We will never make you sign a contract, and we won't put any limits on what your business can do or confine your business to a small, specific area. (We merely ask that our trainees refrain from operating within a 50-mile radius of Lawn & Weed Expert.) Most important, you will never have to pay us royalties from the money you make!
How long will my training take?
Our lawn care training can take 5 to 10 days. Training is always one on one - we never have more than one person or couple training simultaneously.
We have a few training slots left for Jan-March 2021. Before you make the mistake of buying a lawn care franchise and wasting your capital (or even borrowing money) to finance the purchase, contact Lawn & Weed Expert to discuss training opportunities, prices and dates. We can tailor your training to your existing skillset if you wish.
Call 0800 111 4958 now - we are happy to take calls on evenings (up to 8pm) or weekends.
Start Your Lawn Care Business >
Photo from Pixabay
