Becoming a Landscaping Contractor can be a very profitable and rewarding way to work for yourself and manage your financial future. Organization is the key to any landscaping business start up and must be maintained throughout if the venture is to be successful. A service business like landscaping is one of the easiest to start up and has the best chance of success. By simply tending to the landscaping needs of your clients, you can grow your landscaping company into a multi-million dollar organization capable of supporting your wildest dreams.

Estimated Start up Costs:

The costs of a landscaping business start up are relatively low but they increase with the level of services you intend to offer. Essential to your start up will be: a truck or trailer of some sort capable of hauling your tools and equipment to client locations; a lawnmower and weed eater; a rake and broom; a cell phone; and a computer to help with invoices, bookkeeping, and marketing; and hand tools will all be needed to get your business started. Not including the truck or trailer, a person could reasonably finance a landscaping business start up for less than $2,500.

Pricing Guidelines:

Pricing definitely is dependent upon the range of services offered and how desperate you are to break into the market. A reputable Landscaping Contractor can reasonably expect to command anywhere from $25-50 per hour for residential services. Sometimes you will be forced to bid on entire projects and pricing depends on the level of expertise needed to complete the project.

Recommended experience, skills, and training:

Many states require certification for Landscaping Contractors in order to use certain chemicals and pesticides inherent to the landscaping business. This generally involves a 6-8 week course at a local college and costs less than $200 in most cases. Naturally, any experience or training in horticulture, agriculture, and business will greatly improve the chances of success for your landscaping business start up.

Marketing tips:

The most advisable strategy would be to being with residential accounts and build a good reputation before attempting to win the commercial accounts. To do this, word-of-mouth advertising will be key to the growth of your landscaping business start up. In addition, classified advertising in a local newspaper is also a great way to increase sales. Just make sure to create a professional looking ad for greatest effect and to enhance credibility.

When you are ready to pursue commercial accounts, try using print ads in local business magazines and any other publication known to be read by upper income business members of your community. Also try using direct mail campaigns to local businesses offering discounts for using your service. Be certain that you already have an ad in the Yellow Pages before trying to pursue the commercial accounts.

Financing sources:

For people with great credit and some decent collateral, there are franchise possibilities to consider for your landscaping business start up. These business opportunities come with all the tools you will need to get started in your Landscaping Contractor Business along with plenty of customer service to help you through the challenges that arise along the way. But if you cannot afford a franchise opportunity, financing options are definitely more limited but the low start up cost makes landscaping a relatively easy business to start up and operate.

Income potential

Only working part-time on the weekends and a few nights during the week, a Landscaping Contractor Business might see $40,000 to 60,000 in the first year of operation. Fully dedicated to the business and building it full-time, a person can easily see six figures in the second or third year of operation. If you have always loved working outside and are ready to get serious about self employment and taking control of your financial future, then consider becoming a Landscaping Contractor as the road to your dreams!

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has dozens of home based business articles such as Medical Billing Business. You can also sign up for Randy’s free newsletter and 8 different FREE e-courses: Profitable Home Business Newsletter.

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Selecting a bathroom makeover contractor

It’s important to spend a lot of time designing your dream bathroom makeover before you start your project even when remodeling small bathrooms. It’s just as important to find the right set of contractors but the process of finding and selecting the bathroom contractors that are right for you is often overlooked. Is it any wonder then that so many people have problems with their bathroom renovation?

Selecting your bathroom remodeling contractor team is a two-step process. First you need to find and contact a number of contractors and ask them to give you a quote for the job. Then you need to select the right contractor from the list of those that provided an acceptable quotation.

To find out whether a contractor is right for your project you will need to research the reputation of the contractor. You can do this by asking staff in bathroom showrooms; someone will have some information if the contractor is active in the area. Better still, you can ask the contractor for references of clients that they have worked for. Make sure that you follow up the references before hiring any contractors.

How to find bathroom contractors that you can invite to give you a quotation.

There are a number of ways to find contacts for bathroom contractors that might be suitable for your project. There is a selection of methods listed below and you should use them all to produce a comprehensive list of home improvement specialists that you might want to use.

Be prepared for a lot of rejections. When I was looking for suitable contractors to remodel my small bathroom I found it difficult to find even a small number that were prepared to look at the job and some of those never got in contact after they had seen my requirements. Don’t give up though, you will find one eventually even if you have to go on their waiting list.

Bathroom remodeling contractors in the telephone book

This is a good place to start. Call all the Home Improvement and Bathroom remodeling contractors and ask them for a free quotation.

Use the Internet search engines

Get online and use the search engines to find bathroom-remodeling contractors in your area. You could then try sending them an email but it’s probably best to give them a call.

Friends and family

Personal recommendations are often the best. If you can find someone who has had similar work done and can recommend the contractor that did the work for them then you have found a very good candidate for your project. Make sure that you follow up any recommendations made personally.

Friends of friends

Some of your friends might know of others that have had their bathrooms remodelled recently. Make sure that you ask everyone you can think of and do your best to talk to anyone you can find who might have some information.

Neighbours

You may not be friendly with your neighbours but that shouldn’t stop you asking them about any small bathroom remodeling projects that they might know about. Most people are happy to give you this kind of information freely if they can.

Bathroom showroom pin-boards

Many bathroom showrooms have pin boards where contractors leave their business cards. This can be an invaluable resource for finding good contractors. Be sure that you ask the showroom staff if they can give you any information before you leave with the cards.

Real estate agents

Real estate agents and especially letting agents can often suggest names of bathroom remodeling contractors because they have to deal with them on a regular basis. It helps if you give them a hint that you might be looking to purchase new property soon too.

You can take this a step further and actually ask to view property on the market that has recently undergone a bathroom remodel. This can give you more ideas about how you want your new small bathroom to look. There is more about this technique in the article Bathroom Remodeling Idea

Design your new bathroom layout with free graph paper Free Graph Paper for Bathroom Remodeling Ideas at http://www.bathroomsremodeling.this-info.com Steve Gee

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How quickly do you need your contractors license? Can you wait
4, 5, or even 6 months? How about waiting almost 7 months to get
your license number? I’ve seen it happen too many times.

With the current back log at the CSLB, you can expect to wait up
to 5 months to get your contractors license numberand that’s if
your application is accepted without being rejected for corrections.

Here’s the time-lineyou submit your application today, it gets
reviewed by the Application Technician in 4 weeks, assuming the
application is acceptable, it is “Posted” and “Referred” to
testing, the computer will assign the next available test date at
a testing center closest to you. Test dates are currently being
scheduled 4 months out, which gives you plenty of time to study
your exam materials.

The test day finally arrives andCongratulations! You’ve passed
your testbut waithow and when will you get your license number?

Now you need to provide a Bond and Workers Comp and, if you
haven’t already, pay the Initial License Fee (ILF) of $150.
These requirements could add an additional 2-4 weeks or more
depending on State Fund (if you need workers comp) and finances
(maybe you don’t have the ILF at that time) or can’t get a bond
because you have poor credit!

So you see, the process can be very lengthy and stressful.
But now you’re asking yourself, “how can I get licensed in less
than a month?” WellI’m going to tell you The key isThe RME!

If you know of, or can find someone who has taken and passed the
exam(s) within the last 5 yearsyou can get a license in less than
a month. Possibly in as little time as 2 weeksand if you have a
clean record and can afford an expedite serviceeven less than 10
days is possible!

There is, of course, a short cut to every thing. All you need is
the right information and to surround yourself, or hire, the
right people.

Copyright © Phil Cocciante

About the Author:

Phil Cocciante worked in construction for 6 years before he worked
at the Contractors State License Board as an Application Technician.
He took the experience gained while working at the CSLB and started
his own Contractors License Service. http://www.contractorlicenseservice.com
You can contact him at phil@contractorlicenseservice.com

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