Seasonal fluctuations are part of any green industry company. When you run a lawn care and/or landscape company, you expect to be busiest in the spring and summer. In Texas, the weather usually stays warm enough that you’ll stay busy during the fall as well.
But are you ready for things to slow down in the late fall and over the winter? To keep your company prospering, you’ll need a plan for how to weather the slow season.
Exactly what your plan looks like will depend on your specific business and the services you offer. For some lawn and landscaping companies, winter means a shift to different services. For others, it’s about careful budgeting and getting ready for next year’s season of work.
Seasonal Cycles
As the weather warms up in the spring, business starts to pick up as customers need preemergent herbicide applications to control weeds, aeration to take care of compact soil, and repairs to sections of the lawn and landscape damaged over winter. Lawn mowing starts, and lawn care and landscaping tasks keep going strong throughout the warm growing season months.
In the fall, your company might stay busy with clearing fallen leaves and getting the lawn and landscape ready for winter. Then, things typically slow down quite a bit over the winter. The cooler weather means little—if any—lawn mowing and fewer landscaping tasks.
Market Winter Landscape Services
If you offer any winter landscaping services, make sure you let your clients know about them. In addition to marketing the services to clients, you’ll want to include explanations for why winter is a good time for these services.
For example, if you offer landscaping services including tree pruning and planting, let your clients know that those services are still available over the winter. Educate clients to let them know that for many trees and shrubs, winter is the best time to prune them. Winter is also a good time to clean up the landscape beds to get ready for spring.
Consider Expanding Services
Many lawn and landscape companies diversify their winter services by offering holiday lighting and décor installation. This can help keep your company busy for a few months during the winter as you put up holiday lights and decorations, then take them down again. Depending on your skills and niche, you might also expand into other winter services, such as after-storm yard cleanup.
Before diversifying your service offerings, make sure you weigh the pros and cons and research your options. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin or invest in new equipment if there isn’t enough demand for the new service.
Work With Your People
Because of the seasonal fluctuations in the green industry, many lawn and landscape companies hire temp workers for spring, summer, and fall. How many permanent employees you have will depend on how busy your company stays over the winter months.
Winter is often a good time to invest in your permanent employees by providing training. It’s also a good time to talk with them and ask for feedback. They might have ideas for improving the company that you could start implementing during the slow season.
Balance Your Cash Flow
Careful budgeting—and sometimes small business loans—will help a lawn and landscape company weather the slow season. If possible, save cash reserves during the busy season to help carry the company through the slower months of the year. Ideally, you’ll have a plan for managing cash flow about six months into the future.
Remember to factor seasonal changes in expenses into your budget as well as seasonal changes in income. During the winter, you’ll likely have different expenses than during the growing season. For example, you might spend more on marketing during the winter but less on wages.
Improve Your Marketing
Marketing during the winter is a great way to attract new clients and remind current clients to renew their contracts. If you work with commercial clients, you’ll want to get your company on their radar as they review yearly budgets and make plans for the upcoming year.
If you aren’t already investing in an online presence, winter is a great time to start. Make sure your website and Google business profile are up to date. Set up an email newsletter for clients so you can send them updates, blog posts, and deals. Consider setting up at least one social media profile for your company (but only if you can update it regularly).
Take Care of Pre-Spring Tasks
There are several things you can do during the winter to invest in your company and set yourself up for a great next year. Now is a good time to research landscaping trends and start sharing ideas for the next season with clients through your website, newsletter, and other marketing efforts.
Winter also gives you time to take stock of your inventory. Make sure you budget for key supplies and order anything you’ll need before the spring rush. You don’t want to run out of key materials like fertilizer or mulch in the busiest season of the year if you can help it.
Invest In Your Equipment
Winter is a good time to invest in your equipment fleet. If you’re replacing equipment, doing that over the winter ensures that you’ll have the new equipment ready to go in the spring. For equipment that you’ll reuse next year, winter gives you some downtime to clean the equipment thoroughly and catch up on maintenance.
Here at Richardson Saw and Lawnmower, we work with a lot of commercial clients and carry top-quality equipment for lawn and landscape professionals. Whether you’re looking for a fast and tough zero-turn lawnmower, a top-quality chainsaw, or cutting-edge battery-powered equipment, we’ve got you covered. Come visit us if you’re looking for new equipment, replacement parts, or service for your commercial equipment.
