I would be tempted to add house sitting services, needs some extra insurance but lots of people go on holiday all year round now. Feed the cat, move the post, water pot plants, check everything is ok, Milk and bread on last day, whatever they need.
Don't forget to advertise jobs like cleaning green hours, clearing gutters, making raised beds - things that are done at the end or beginning of the season.
If you have space to do them and find good suppliers hanging baskets and filled pots sell themselves, small ads in local papers work, also flyers can combine the gardening with the plants. Your customers will end up getting all there's off you too. Winter colour in baskets and pots works well too.
Short courses in brick laying won't have you building a house but maybe moving, or building garden walls.
assuming you have a van, take it to a market once a week and sell seedling veg, filled baskets etc out the back of it.
i think it's a bit of a case of needing to build many layers to the business as each one peaks in demand at different tines.
Hi Nick, I have a friend who was made redundant in the eighties. He started by cutting hedges and grass, as he put it doing the boring bits that clients didn't want to do, over time he did horticulture courses. He now takes the work he wants as he has built up a loyal client base. He said recently there is a need for gardeners to help small builders do basic gardens on new builds. You could maybe contact some small independent builders and offer services. Btw he now says being made redundant was the best thing for him and he knew very little about gardening when he started.
I would also add though, that you do really need to learn about horticulture in order to advertise yourself as a gardener. I met a 'gardener' at the local nursery the other day who was planning on planting a Rosa Rambling Rector up a ordinary fence panel for a client who'd given him some cash to plant up a bed. He'd heard that it' grows quickly'. Thankfully I managed to stop him! It also gives us gardeners who have spent time and money learning about horticulture a bad name when others just come up and hack back at shrubs willy nilly etc. But on a more positive note, I, also, ended up gardening because of an unexpected career change (forced out of job because of a bullying line manager) and it was the best thing that could have happened. It has given me the freedom to work around bringing up two small children, an opportunity to work in the fresh air listening to birdsong, getting some exercise, and every day I learn about different plants during the season. Go for it and you won't regret it, but just please try and learn about your profession - watch Gardeners World every week, look on the internet, read books etc.
In the winter months, you could advertise yourself as someone who can do garden renovations. Last winter I worked on two gardens who hadn't been touched for years and there were lots of dead shrubs that needed pulling out (you have to learn to identify which is dead and which is dormant by the way!), clearing scrub, mulching. Get yourself as book about gardening all year round and you'll see what can be done at what point in the year. Good luck and best wishes.
To build up customers from scratch is hard work, but definitely doable.
Start of by deciding what you want to specialise in. General gardening is fine, but also add some other services so you don't seem like a jack of all trades.
Garden Design is a great way in, and there are good online courses you could do. The advantage of that is you can offer a cheap garden design service, and off the back of it you will likely get work to do the construction or planting. Even if the landscaping itself isn't your thing, you can partner up with a few landscapers and pass them the work, in return for commission.
Get the basics right too. You need business cards, a simple memorable name that says what you do (Nick's Gardening & Design), and a website.
Don't pay much for the website. A simple Wordpress site will do the job. It just needs some images, a description of what services you offer, and of course your contact details. You can do it yourself, or get one built for £100 or so at vworker.com or a similar site
Other things you can try are leaflet drops (cheap), direct targeted mailings (e.g. www.mailpoint.co.uk - more expensive) or advertising in a local journal (most expensive). I'd try door to door leaflet drops first.
Once you have customers treat them like gold, and ask them to recommend you to neighbours. If you've done a good job most people will be very happy to do so. People like to help others. Leave them 3 or 4 business cards so they can pass them on.
Building the customers is the hardest part. Once you have a list of people you'll find you probably have more work than you need, and you'll not need to advertise again. Word of mouth will do the rest.
Posts
I'm looking to do a course as well in something
I get it thank you sorry for being abit thick ????
I would be tempted to add house sitting services, needs some extra insurance but lots of people go on holiday all year round now. Feed the cat, move the post, water pot plants, check everything is ok, Milk and bread on last day, whatever they need.
Don't forget to advertise jobs like cleaning green hours, clearing gutters, making raised beds - things that are done at the end or beginning of the season.
If you have space to do them and find good suppliers hanging baskets and filled pots sell themselves, small ads in local papers work, also flyers can combine the gardening with the plants. Your customers will end up getting all there's off you too. Winter colour in baskets and pots works well too.
Short courses in brick laying won't have you building a house but maybe moving, or building garden walls.
assuming you have a van, take it to a market once a week and sell seedling veg, filled baskets etc out the back of it.
i think it's a bit of a case of needing to build many layers to the business as each one peaks in demand at different tines.
And....please, please, please. Nick, never say you are being a bit thick, you are not/, nothing wrong with asking questions.
Don't put yourself down, you CAN do this if you really want too, me.... I have no ambitions whatever, and never had!!!
Good luck with your new venture.
Just need to be my own boss at 42 don't feel like being a office junior anymore
Hi Nick, I have a friend who was made redundant in the eighties. He started by cutting hedges and grass, as he put it doing the boring bits that clients didn't want to do, over time he did horticulture courses. He now takes the work he wants as he has built up a loyal client base. He said recently there is a need for gardeners to help small builders do basic gardens on new builds. You could maybe contact some small independent builders and offer services. Btw he now says being made redundant was the best thing for him and he knew very little about gardening when he started.
I'm sure you can do it, best of luck
Thanks Cathy
I would also add though, that you do really need to learn about horticulture in order to advertise yourself as a gardener. I met a 'gardener' at the local nursery the other day who was planning on planting a Rosa Rambling Rector up a ordinary fence panel for a client who'd given him some cash to plant up a bed. He'd heard that it' grows quickly'. Thankfully I managed to stop him! It also gives us gardeners who have spent time and money learning about horticulture a bad name when others just come up and hack back at shrubs willy nilly etc. But on a more positive note, I, also, ended up gardening because of an unexpected career change (forced out of job because of a bullying line manager) and it was the best thing that could have happened. It has given me the freedom to work around bringing up two small children, an opportunity to work in the fresh air listening to birdsong, getting some exercise, and every day I learn about different plants during the season. Go for it and you won't regret it, but just please try and learn about your profession - watch Gardeners World every week, look on the internet, read books etc.
In the winter months, you could advertise yourself as someone who can do garden renovations. Last winter I worked on two gardens who hadn't been touched for years and there were lots of dead shrubs that needed pulling out (you have to learn to identify which is dead and which is dormant by the way!), clearing scrub, mulching. Get yourself as book about gardening all year round and you'll see what can be done at what point in the year. Good luck and best wishes.
Hi wheelie
I must admit I am abit of a gardeners world addict and I did a rhs course last year
To build up customers from scratch is hard work, but definitely doable.
Start of by deciding what you want to specialise in. General gardening is fine, but also add some other services so you don't seem like a jack of all trades.
Garden Design is a great way in, and there are good online courses you could do. The advantage of that is you can offer a cheap garden design service, and off the back of it you will likely get work to do the construction or planting. Even if the landscaping itself isn't your thing, you can partner up with a few landscapers and pass them the work, in return for commission.
Get the basics right too. You need business cards, a simple memorable name that says what you do (Nick's Gardening & Design), and a website.
Don't pay much for the website. A simple Wordpress site will do the job. It just needs some images, a description of what services you offer, and of course your contact details. You can do it yourself, or get one built for £100 or so at vworker.com or a similar site
Other things you can try are leaflet drops (cheap), direct targeted mailings (e.g. www.mailpoint.co.uk - more expensive) or advertising in a local journal (most expensive). I'd try door to door leaflet drops first.
Once you have customers treat them like gold, and ask them to recommend you to neighbours. If you've done a good job most people will be very happy to do so. People like to help others. Leave them 3 or 4 business cards so they can pass them on.
Building the customers is the hardest part. Once you have a list of people you'll find you probably have more work than you need, and you'll not need to advertise again. Word of mouth will do the rest.
Good luck!