Now it’s spring, don’t let the grass grow under your feet
GARDENING franchises look appealing in the spring sunshine. You don’t need horticultural experience, but it takes more than green fingers to be a success.
Lawnhopper franchisee Jim Pearson, 57, provides a mobile lawn treatment service to more than 400 customers in Greater Manchester.
Jim says: ‘ You must be happy being outdoors all year round and willing to work on generating new customers, administration and managing your business.’
Jim, a former operations director of a plant hire company, invested in the franchise in 2009 and now has one employee. He says: ‘I now devote more time to growing the business. I plan to have three or four vans on the road soon.’
He adds: ‘ You must enjoy meeting people and be a good timekeeper. It’s important to grow the business, so management experience helps.’
Stephanie Boyd from LawnHopper says: ‘We look for people who want to invest in a business, rather than to buy a gardening job. We expect you to be managing a team of several people within three to five years.’ Investment starts at £19,500.
Lawncare is a growing but competitive market, so look for a franchise which provides good marketing support.
Terry Nicholson of £16,995 lawncare franchise Lawnscience says: ‘We prioritise marketing and provide franchisees with £ 8,000worth of marketing in year one and up to £5,000 in year two.’
It includes leaflets, direct mail and postcards, multiple websites for each franchisee and targeted email campaigns. Franchisees with garden design and landscaping franchise Lime Orchard must also be happy selling.
Judy Behl, of Lime Orchard, says: ‘It suits people with proven sales and project management skills, and an interest in garden design and construction.’
The £23,500 package includes training, access to garden design experts and a Smart car.