You need to understand the local market and your prospective customers before you can decide what services you will offer and how you will offer them.

You also need to understand a little about your competitors to get an understanding of how the local lawn care market works and how you can fit into it and succeed.

A great way to start your research is to get out and talk to customers in an area that you think would be good to target. Take some long walks in that area, examine the condition of the lawns and gardens and try to get some conversations going with folks who happen to be outside there homes. Your aim should be to find out who is currently doing their lawns, how much they are charging and if they are satisfied with their present lawn care contractor.

If you are polite you can get away with this approach. Going door knocking is another way to go about it but you should proceed with caution as some areas have regulations in place that dont permit unsolicited house calls.

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A lot of people suggest getting your lawn ready for spring before the first snowfallbut of course time gets away from a lot of people. So, here are some tips for those who werent able to find time to baby their yard before the snow came.

When most of the snow has melted, get your wheelbarrow out and start picking up the debris left behind from the fall and anything the snowplows may have thrown into your lawn. You will want to get your rake out so that you get all of the twigs, branches, leaves, etc. that are in the yard. (This will also make it easier to mow when it comes time for that!)

Then get out your shovel (hopefully for the last time) and flatten out any piles that are taking longer to melt. They might be lining your sidewalk from shoveling previously or in areas that dont get as much sun. Why? While the extra snow shouldnt kill the grass, it might stunt the growth and that wont make for a superb lawn.

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