Basic Lawn Care Equipment For Your Landscaping Business

Basic Lawn Care Equipment For Your Landscaping Business

Starting a landscaping business is an exciting opportunity to get into an industry where there is constant. From residential lawns and gardens to commercial properties, there’s no shortage of work. But starting a landscaping business requires an investment in a lot of basic equipment to get you off the ground and running. As you get more customers and experience, you can add to your inventory.

The following is a list to help you get started. Keep in mind that your needs might be different depending on if you decide to specialize or not.

Hand Tools

These are the basic must-have tools every landscaping business needs. These tools will help you with everything from weeding, pruning, and yard waste cleanup to digging holes for a new tree.

  • Rakes (steel and leaf rakes)
  • Pruning shears
  • Hedge trimmer
  • Shovels (a wide variety of sizes to suit your needs)
  • Gas cans
  • Blade sharpener (for shears and trimmers)
  • Leaf blower
  • Ax

Keep in mind when you’re buying these tools it’s best to spend more money on quality tools than buy cheap stuff that has to be replaced often. Also, if you have employees, make sure you have enough tools for each employee so they’re not standing around waiting to use something.

Lawnmowers

Lawnmowers are the backbone of any landscaping business. They come in a variety of sizes with a lot of options, depending on your needs. You’ll need a mower that can quickly cut large areas of grass, this means your average residential push mower won’t be enough. The most common mowers for landscaping businesses are riding mowers and stand-on mowers. Both have large cutting widths that will help you get lawns mowed quickly and efficiently.

Before buying a mower, do your research so you know what you’re getting for your money. Consider going with a name-brand, like John Deere; John Deeres have excellent support throughout the country and will cause less issues. When properly maintained, a mower should last you ten years or more.

Utility Trailer

You have all the tools you need. Your mower is gassed up and ready to go. Now you need a way to get everything to the job site. At the very least you’ll need a utility trailer and a pickup truck with enough power to pull the trailer.

Utility trailers come in many different sizes. It’s best to buy one that is larger than you need because this will allow you to add more equipment without the need to buy a new trailer.

Safety Equipment

Once you start hiring employees, you’ll become responsible for providing the proper safety equipment.

  • Safety glasses
  • Hearing protection
  • Gloves
  • Hardhat

Most of these items are relatively inexpensive. And when you consider the cost of OSHA fines and a potential injury lawsuit for not providing safety equipment, it’s well worth the investment. Also, keeping your workers safe will keep them happy and healthy.

What If You Have A Tight Budget

If you’re on a tight budget, consider taking on smaller jobs that don’t require expensive equipment. This will allow you to start building a customer base while keeping your costs low. You can then reinvest your profits back into the business and slowly upgrade your equipment as you go. Finally, in the beginning, you might be a solo operation. Only take jobs you can easily handle yourself.

Landscaping is a highly rewarding business that can easily be scaled to grow as big as you want.

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