Are you a green thumb who loves nothing more than getting out in the garden and putting in the work to make everything blossom? Well, if so, you may find your true calling by starting a landscaping business or a lawn mowing business. And if you choose to jump in with both feet, BizCover can lend your new gardening business a hand by making gardening business insurance* products:
- easy to understand;
- fast to purchase online; and
- cost-effective (by providing multiple quotes from Australia’s leading business insurers).
But more on that later, including the top three business insurance products that can reduce your exposure to the most common gardening business risks.
What starting a gardening business can offer you
A career as a self-employed gardener offers numerous benefits, including:
- regular and reliable work, with a steady income from week to week;
- a very flexible work schedule and the ability to set your own hours; and
- it will keep you in good physical health, as your working days will see you on your feet operating power tools in the great outdoors.
Gardening business owners can offer many services to many clients. Common gardening services include lawn mowing, plant pruning, tree lopping, fertilising and watering plants and lawns, garden refuse disposal, invasive weed removal, and basic landscaping services.
While many gardening businesses offer several different gardening services, others may choose to specialise in a more niche area of garden care, such as agriculture, nursery work, or arboriculture.
When gardening business owners are not on the tools, they will often be found processing administrative tasks, marketing their business, communicating with customers, speaking with other gardeners (if they are plan to expand their team), or perhaps outsourcing select jobs.
Manage your gardening risks with gardening business insurance
There are certain risks that gardening business owners can face on the job. This is where gardening business insurance can help by reducing your exposure to risk. After all, gardening business owners are certainly not immune to business risk.
Three critical business insurance products for self-employed gardeners
BizCover makes comparing competitive business insurance quotes from leading insurers online easy to understand and even easier to purchase. With business insurance in your toolkit, your small business can avoid the worst of thorny situations. There are three key business insurance products that gardening business owners may consider:
Public Liability
Public Liability (PL) can be crucial for gardeners because it protects your business from the full force of legal fees and compensation costs if a customer, member of the public or a supplier sues you for injury or damage to their property as a result of your alleged negligent business activity.
It doesn’t take much for an accident to occur – for example, a client tripping over one of your pieces of equipment, or you accidentally causing damage to the neighbouring property – for a claim to be bought against your business. PL provides financial protection by covering your legal and defence costs, court attendance costs, and compensation if awarded.
Business Insurance
Self-employed gardeners rely on their portable equipment to get the job done. Mowers, edge and hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, and all the other bits and pieces in your toolbox are what make the magic happen for your gardening business. So it makes sense to protect them, and Business Insurance can come to the rescue here. Thankfully, Portable Equipment cover for specified items – such as push mowers, whipper snippers, tools, edge trimmers, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, business equipment, and electronic items – is included with your Business Insurance policy.
Personal Accident and Illness
Gardening is often very physical, and accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. If you were to get sick, injured, or suffer an injury, how would you cope financially? Personal Accident and Illness provides a safety net when an accident or illness occurs; you will also be covered when you’re not on the job.
Invest in gardening business insurance and avoid getting lost in the weeds
With business insurance in your toolkit, your gardening business will be equipped to avoid the worst of bad situations. Don’t let your gardening business get tangled up in the weeds.
Five evergreen reasons to start a landscaping business
Lastly, let’s look at five fascinating reasons why starting a gardening business may be just the thing for you.
1. Low barriers for entry
You may already have the tools and equipment you need in your home garage or shed. Add to that is the fact that there is also minimal training, licences, or permits required for starting a gardening business. And unlike many other types of small businesses, you also won’t need to rent a shopfront or a warehouse, so your initial overheads won’t set you back as much as they would for other types of small businesses.
Furthermore, there are no costly upfront investments, provided you already own the majority of the tools and equipment and they are all in good working order. This all adds up to making starting a gardening business very accessible; most people can afford the initial investment required to get a gardening business up and running.
2. Demand for gardening services is high
If you are on the fence about becoming a self-employed gardener, it’s worth noting that demand for outsourced gardening services from middle-to-high-income households and older Australians is high. As such, gardening business owners can expect to grow their business over the next few years.
Another important point is that Australia has a year-round pleasant climate. What this means for gardening business owners is that clients will be booking you in at regular intervals throughout the year. Once you have a steady customer base, you will likely have no problem finding recurring work.
3. Enjoy on-the-job autonomy
Owning your own gardening business gives you the freedom to set your own schedule and earn your own income. You are the boss, so you can choose to work as much – or as little – as you want to. You can build your own work schedule (provided it fits in with your clients) and take breaks as needed.
4. Variety on every working day
If you dread the thought of working the same long hours every day in the same setting, then starting a gardening business can give you a more varied day-to-day work schedule. If that excites you, it’s a fair bet that you will enjoy running a gardening business.
If you feel overwhelmed with the work you can hire an offsider to help you. In time you may even grow your gardening business into large company, or even franchise your gardening business.
5. A feeling of accomplishment
Starting a career as a self-employed gardener is not only rewarding, but it can be a profitable venture. It also allows you the freedom to choose gardening jobs you want to focus on, whether it’s basic maintenance work, such as trimming hedges and mowing lawns, or more specific services such as doctoring trees, or planting and watering.
As well as the freedom that comes from managing your own small business, a gardening career offers numerous other benefits, including
- regular and reliable work (earnings are likely to be steady from one week to the next);
- you get to develop good, ongoing relationships with your customers;
- it gives you flexible working hours, and;
- it is a healthy, active outdoors job.
Changing course and putting everything on the line to start a landscaping business can feel scary. However, if you plan well, launching your own gardening small business in 2024 can be well within your reach and give you an incredibly rewarding active outdoors career. Whether you start a landscaping business, become a self-employed gardener, or launch your own lawn mowing business, BizCover can help to reduce your exposure to risk.
Make gardening business insurance simple with BizCover
At BizCover we know that business can be complicated, but business insurance doesn’t have to be. We make purchasing business insurance fast, easy, and cost-effective. Compare competitive quotes online, get covered in minutes, and enjoy a better business insurance experience today with BizCover.
