Lawn Mowing – The Simple 9-Step Process for Writing a Winning Business Plan 

Before you can start your lawn mowing business, you need to have a plan. This may seem like a daunting task, but we’re here to help. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the simple 9-step process for writing a winning business plan. So let’s get started!

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that sets out your business goals, strategies, and how you plan to achieve them. It is important to have a clear and focused business plan when starting a business.

Business plans also are a must when doing things like

• Applying for a startup loan

• Applying for a grant

• Keeping your business on track

If you need a copy of Microsoft office then you can get the software from electronic first which has genuine licensed software for a fraction of the retail price. 

Here are some tips for writing a business plan: 

Be clear and focused about what you want to achieve: 

When writing your business plan, it is important to be clear and concise about what you want to achieve. What are your business goals? What strategies will you use to achieve these goals? Make sure your goals are realistic and relevant to what is going on in your industry. 

Choose the type of business plan that works for you: 

There are many different types of business plans, so it is important to choose the one that works best for you. If you are looking for funding from investors, you will need a more formalized business plan. However, if you are just starting out and do not need funding, a simpler business plan will suffice. 

Keep it short, simple and easy to understand: 

No one wants to read a long and boring business plan. Keep your plan short, sweet, and to the point. Use simple language that can be understood by everyone. 

Use Stats NZ’s Data for Business website: 

This website is a great resource for businesses in New Zealand. It provides data and information on a variety of topics such as demographics, industry trends, economic indicators, etc. This website can be helpful when researching your industry and target market. 

Get out and speak with your customers: 

One of the best ways to get feedback about your product or service is to speak with your customers directly. Ask them what they like and don’t like about your product or service. Find out what they would change or improve. This feedback can be extremely valuable when fine-tuning your business plan. 

Do a SWOT analysis:

A SWOT analysis is a tool used to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company or organization. This can be helpful in identifying areas of improvement for your business. 

Ask your advisor or mentor to review your plan: 

Once you have finished writing your business plan, it is always a good idea to get someone else’s opinion on it. Ask your advisor or mentor if they would be willing to take a look at it and give you some feedback. They may be able to spot something that you missed or offer suggestions on how to improve it. 

A well-written winning business plan is an essential tool for any new business owner. It will help you stay focused and on track as you start and grow your company. Use the tips above to write a clear and concise business plan that will set you up for success.

You can also find helpful information at www.business.govt.nz/

Writing a winning business plan. 

1. Define your business. 

The first step in writing a business plan is to define your business. What type of business are you starting? What products or services will you be offering? What is your target market? Answering these questions will give you a good foundation on which to build your winning business plan. 

For a lawn mowing business, you may say something like. 

I am starting a lawn mowing business. We will be offering lawn mowing, gardening, trees & hedges (under 3 meters) Our target market is small to medium domestic lawns in the Hamilton area.  

2. Do your research. 

Before you start writing your business plan, it is important to do your research. This means understanding the industry, the market, and the competition. This research will help you understand what needs to be included in your business plan and how to make your business stand out from the competition.

One good way to work out what the competition is doing is to arrange quotes. Go to Google and do a search for lawn mowing (insert the name of your suburb) and take note of who comes up first. Do this a few times taking down the top names. 

Then it’s time to start ringing them and arranging a quote on a lawn, yours or a family members. (hide your mowers if they are quoting at your place)

List each business and answer these questions

1. Did they answer the phone?

2. If you left a message, did they call back?

3. Did they arrive to do the quote?

4. How much did they quote?

5. How professional and tidy were they? Vehicles, uniforms and cards. 

6. Do they offer other services?

7. If so what are those services?

Once you have done this for half a dozen businesses you will begin to see the gaps and what you may be able to do to stand out. 

3. Set goals and objectives. 

After you have defined your business and done your research, it is time to set goals and objectives. What are your goals for the business? What do you hope to achieve? How will you measure success? Setting goals and objectives will help you stay on track as you write your business plan.

A good goal when starting a lawn mowing business to aim to bring on a couple of new customers a week. The measure of success for this would be to have a full-time income within twelve months.

Another good goal would be to aim for a turnover of $50 an hour when you are working. You can track this by timing your jobs and making sure that you are charging out at a rate that will allow you to achieve this. 

You could plan to take on a worker once your turnover exceeds a certain amount. Buy bigger equipment for bigger jobs and also think about the direction that you want to take your business in. 

Put it in writing and plan what you would like to achieve in the next 1,5 and possibly 10 years. 

4. Write your executive summary. 

The fourth step is to write your executive summary. This is a brief overview of your business plan that should include your company name, mission statement, and key objectives. Keep this section short and sweet – remember, you’re just summarizing your entire plan in one or two pages!

Although most people will tell you that a mission statement is necessary, I’m not that sure about a one-person business. A mission statement is more to keep a team or organisation on track. I have never bothered writing one myself so you decide what suits you. 

5. Describe your products and services. 

In this section of the business plan, you will need to describe the products or services that you will be offering. What are they? How are they unique? Why will people want to buy them? Be sure to include enough detail so that someone reading your business plan can understand what you are offering.

It is ok to start a lawn mowing business and offer a lot of different services such as trees, hedges, gardening etc. In fact, this is a great idea because it gives you a chance to do a variety of different jobs and decide what you enjoy doing and what earns you the best income. 

As your business matures you will probably scale back on the number of services that you offer as you focus on the activities with the highest margins. 

List the services you will offer, the charge-out rate, the tools you will need and what you will do to make your offering different from everyone else. Some examples that we do it weed-eating old unused gardens around a house to keep them tidy and trimming any branches that touch our van when we go down the customer’s drive. 

6. Create a marketing plan. 

Your marketing plan should detail how you plan on getting the word out about your products or services. Who is your target market? What marketing channels will you use? How much will you spend on marketing? Your marketing plan should be detailed and specific so that there is no confusion about how you plan on promoting your business.

This should read something like

1. List your business on Google Maps

2. Set up a free website using Google my business

3. Advertise my business using Google Ads (budget $150 a month). This should bring you in a couple of new customers a week. (if you need help I can run these for you)

4. Sign-write your vehicle. 

5. Get 5000 local flyers delivered (you will need to get a quote for that)

6. Facebook advertising ($120 a month would work but their targeting isn’t that good so you may get out-of-area calls) 

7. Outline your financial projections. 

In this section of the business plan, you will need to provide financial projections for the next three to five years. This includes an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. If you are seeking funding for your business, this information will be critical for investors or lenders who want to know how much money they can expect to make from investing in your company

A cash flow is a list of income and expenditures are usually written to show a month-by-month view. It can show you in advance when you will be cash positive or negative and the amount of time needed to reach the breakeven point. 

This is an example of a generic cash flow I have written for a fictional lawn-mowing business. 

If you would like to play with the file yourself then you can download a free copy here

Do remember to save your own copy BEFORE you start otherwise your cash flow will be public and anyone can change it. 

Here is a video on how to make a cash flow for your own business. 

The CASH FLOW STATEMENT for BEGINNERS

8. Develop an operations plan. 

The sixth step is to develop an operations plan for your business. This plan should detail how you will run your day-to-day operations, including information on employee management, product development, and customer service procedures. Having a well-developed operations plan will help keep your business running smoothly and efficiently.

9. Review and revise as needed. 

The seventh and final step is to review and revise your business plan as needed. As your business grows and changes, so too should your business plan – be sure to revisit it on a regular basis and make updates as needed. Doing so will ensure that your plan always stays relevant and up-to-date with the latest changes in your industry landscape! And there you have it – follow these seven simple steps and you’ll be well on your way to writing a winning business plan for your lawn mowing business! Just remember to keep it updated as things change in order to ensure continued success down the road! 

 Conclusion: A well-written business plan is essential for any new business venture – especially if that venture is in the lawn care industry! Use this simple 9-step guide to write a winning business plan for YOUR lawn mowing company, and you’ll be sure to set yourself up for success from day one! 

Do remember that if you are stuck, just reach out, I am always happy to help. 

Thanks for reading!