Landscaping · Start a Business
How to Start a Landscaping Business
From first mow to full route: how to start a landscaping business in eight steps, license stack to first paying customers.
- Pick a lane (maintenance, install, or hardscape), register the entity, and get a free EIN from the IRS.
- Line up local licenses and the pesticide applicator license before you spray for pay.
- Insure the company, build the kit, and keep clean books from the first job.
- Price every job off labor, materials, overhead, and margin, then quote faster than the competition.
The short answer
Here is how to start a landscaping business in one paragraph: pick a lane, register and get a free EIN, line up licenses and the pesticide credential, get insured, build the kit, keep clean books, price for margin, and quote fast enough to win the work. Every number here was checked live against the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the SBA, and the IRS on July 10, 2026.
The backdrop is steady: the BLS counts about 1,296,400 grounds maintenance jobs in 2024 and projects 4 percent growth from 2024 to 2034, with about 171,600 openings a year. The May 2025 BLS wage survey puts the median landscaping and groundskeeping worker (occupation 37-3011) at $18.82 an hour.
How to start a landscaping business in 8 steps
Work them in order: the compliance steps protect the profitable ones.
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Pick your service lane and validate demand
Maintenance (mowing, edging, cleanups) is the easiest entry: recurring weekly revenue on low equipment cost. Install pays more but runs seasonal; hardscape carries the highest ticket and skill bar. Pick one lane and one customer, residential or light commercial, then count the yards, HOAs, and property managers before you commit.
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Write a one-page plan and startup budget
Answer four questions: what you sell, who buys it, what it costs to open, and the revenue that makes year one worth it. List startup costs honestly, mower to trailer to insurance, then reverse-engineer the revenue target into yards a week.
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Register the entity and get a free EIN
Per the SBA, a sole proprietorship is easiest but leaves you personally liable for business debts, while an LLC protects personal assets like your truck, house, and savings in most cases. Most owner-operators pick the LLC. Then get an EIN directly from the IRS: it is free and issued online in minutes.
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Line up licenses and the pesticide applicator credential
There is no single national landscaping license; your city or county sets the business license and DBA rules. The one most new owners miss: per the BLS, most states require licensing for workers who apply pesticides, and fertilizer rules vary by state. Get the applicator license before you spray for pay, and check whether big hardscape jobs cross your state’s contractor license threshold.
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Buy the right insurance
General liability comes first: it covers the rock a mower throws through a window and the client who trips on the ramp. Personal auto will not cover a business truck, so add commercial auto, and most states require workers’ compensation the day you hire.
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Build your kit: mower, trimmer, blower, trailer, truck
Buy quality on what runs all day, the mower and the trimmer, and buy used or finance the truck and trailer. Rent specialty install gear per job until volume justifies owning it, and skip the full rig until you have install clients.
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Keep clean books from the first job
Open a business bank account the week the EIN lands and run every dollar through it. Track receipts and business miles as they happen: the IRS expects records that support your deductions, and April is too late to rebuild them.
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Price for margin and quote fast
Price every job off burdened labor (the May 2025 BLS median of $18.82 an hour for landscaping and groundskeeping workers is what a crew member earns, not what an hour costs you), materials, fuel, and overhead, then add margin. Customers hire the first clear, itemized estimate that lands, so send yours the same day. Our roundup of the best estimating apps for landscaping compares the tools built for that speed.
Price your first landscaping job from a photo, free →
First customers and a full route
Claim a free Google Business Profile, ask every happy customer for a referral, and put door hangers around every job: landscaping profit lives in route density. Our lawn care marketing guide breaks the local playbook down, and the free landscaping estimate template gives your quotes an itemized, professional layout. Half of learning how to start a landscaping business is keeping the route full without giving away margin.
Quote your first jobs with SimplyWise
Most of learning how to start a landscaping business is compliance and bookkeeping. Winning work is speed. The SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo of the job into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, so you price the yard on the walkthrough and send the quote before you leave. It is free to try.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds Maintenance Workers. 1,296,400 jobs in 2024; 4 percent growth 2024 to 2034; about 171,600 openings a year; most states require licensing for workers who apply pesticides.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011), May 2025. Median wage $18.82 an hour ($39,150 a year).
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Choose a business structure. Liability differences between sole proprietorships and LLCs.
- IRS, Get an employer identification number. EIN is free directly from the IRS. All four sources accessed live July 10, 2026.
A mower makes you a landscaper. Licenses, insurance, and prices built on your true hourly cost make you a business.
SimplyWise Editorial
Starting a landscaping business: common questions
Do you need a license to start a landscaping business?
There is no single national license. Anyone learning how to start a landscaping business assembles the local stack: a city or county business license, a DBA if you use a trade name, and, per the BLS, a pesticide applicator license in most states if you spray for pay. Big hardscape jobs can also cross a state contractor license threshold, so check before you bid.
How much does it cost to start a landscaping business?
It varies too much by lane and region for one honest number. A maintenance start launches lean: a used commercial mower, a trimmer, a blower, a trailer, and a serviceable truck, plus registration, insurance, and marketing. Install and hardscape starts cost more; rent specialty gear per job at first. The EIN is free from the IRS.
Is a landscaping business profitable?
It can be: the BLS projects 4 percent growth from 2024 to 2034 with about 171,600 openings a year. But the May 2025 BLS median of $18.82 an hour for landscaping and groundskeeping workers is a paycheck, not a profit. Owners make money by pricing over burdened labor, materials, and overhead, then adding margin.
What equipment do you need to start a landscaping business?
A maintenance start needs a commercial mower, a string trimmer, an edger, a backpack blower, a trailer, and a truck to tow it. Buy quality on the mower and trimmer, buy used or finance the truck and trailer, and rent install gear like skid steers until volume justifies owning it.
Price the yard while you are still standing on it.
Snap a photo and get an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Send the quote before the customer calls anyone else. Free to try, no credit card.