As a fertilizing service owner, you’re not just spreading nutrients. You’re transforming yards into family gathering spaces, kid-friendly play areas, and gorgeous gardens that increase property values and bring communities together.

You’re also joining the ranks of over 600,000 landscaping businesses in North America, which means competition is steep. But with a little elbow grease and a comprehensive business strategy, you can start raking in customers and cash.

Discover how to start a fertilizing service that’s primed for growth, including how to position your new lawn care business as a reliable, friendly service provider that homeowners actively seek out.

How to start a fertilizing service

If you’ve landed on fertilization services as a primary lawn care offering, here’s how to get started:

1. Create a business plan

Your business plan maps out how your business will grow and also shows potential investors whether your business is worth the investment.

This important document should cover the following information:

• Your business goals
• Your company’s competitive advantage
• Your target market
• The services you offer and your pricing strategies
• Your financial projections

Research your audience before writing your business plan. This uncovers helpful information about your potential customers, like what lawn care services they need and objections they might have.

2. Register your business

To legally do business, you need to register with local, state, and federal authorities. 

Before you register, have a lawn care business name picked out and decide how you’ll structure your business. Most small businesses choose to register as a sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), partnership, or S corp. But it’s best to consult an attorney or accountant for advice.

3. Get licensed and insured

Licensing requirements differ by location, so you’ll need to check what’s required in your area. For example, Colorado doesn’t require a state license for landscaping services, but some local areas do require one.

Lawn care business insurance is another essential. You never know when your mower might kick up a rock and dent a homeowner’s car. Start with general liability insurance and talk to an insurance advisor about what coverage limits make sense.

4. Buy your equipment

Fertilizing equipment is costly. Keep your expenses in check by only starting with the equipment and supplies you need right now. A starter set of fertilizing equipment includes:

• A broadcast spreader for applying granular fertilizers
• A sprayer for liquid weed killer
• Rakes and shovels
• Safety equipment

Don’t forget a truck and trailer to transport you and your equipment to each work site.

Expert tip: You can lower your initial startup costs by renting your equipment or buying it used.

5. Decide on pricing strategies and service packages

Lawn Brothers bundles lawn care services like mowing and fertilization. (Source)

Set prices that help you reach a healthy profit margin while staying competitive. Your pricing strategy should consider material and labor costs and what your competitors charge for the same or similar services. 

Other considerations include lawn size and fertilizer type. On average, fertilizer service companies charge anywhere from one to seven cents per square foot.

You can also offer more value with service packages. These provide a good deal on bundled or seasonal lawn care services.

6. Get the word out about your business

Once you’ve established your business, it’s time to let your local area know. A strong brand with a catchy name or logo can help, but a mix of both online and offline strategies is best for attracting new lawn care leads.

Some effective ways to promote small businesses include:

• A business website
• Social media ads and content
• Service listings like Yelp and Google Ads
• Direct mail flyers and postcards

Create a marketing plan to define your target market, your business’s unique value proposition, and where you’ll promote your business.

What lawn care services complement fertilization treatments?

Parkway Lawn Service offers additional lawn care services related to fertilizing. (Source)

Adding these services could attract new customers or land you year-round contracts:

Mowing, landscaping, and weed control

Most yards need a good trim, and during the summer months, you’ll likely get repeat mowing jobs. Many homeowners also appreciate shrub pruning, edging, and mulching to keep their lawns pristine.

Aeration and overseeding

Galbraith’s Landscaping & Lawn Care provides aeration services to improve fertilization. (Source)

Aerating before applying fertilizer is a must. This process makes the soil less dense, allowing more essential nutrients to reach grass roots. Many fertilization plans also include overseeding, which involves spreading grass seeds over an existing lawn to restore bare patches.

Other lawn care services

Great Oaks Landscaping offers snow removal alongside landscaping services. (Source)

Other lawn care and related services you can offer include: 

• Sprinkler repair
• Trash haul away
• Tree removal
• Snow removal
• Pressure washing

Keep in mind that certain services may require additional licenses and equipment. Do your research beforehand to ensure that adding services makes sense financially and there’s customer demand.

How to assess market demand for lawn care services

Getting a feel for market demand lets you know whether your business is viable and helps you spot opportunities. 

Here’s how to research the market demand for lawn care services in your area:

Research your customers and the competition

Customer research helps you tailor your service offerings, price points, and marketing efforts based on demographic data like the following:

• Homeownership rates
• Average home values
• Family size
• Number of single-family homes
• Population growth trends for certain neighborhoods

Similarly, research your competition. Look into what services they offer and how they price those services to potentially spot any opportunities to provide more value or lower prices.

Go directly to the source with surveys

Survey homeowners about their lawn needs. Ask whether they’re interested in certain types of lawn and tree care, whether they’re satisfied with their current services, and how much they’re willing to pay.

Consider the influence of climate and geography

Depending on your location’s growing season and the time of year, offering seasonal leaf cleanup, snow removal, and gutter cleaning can draw more customers.

Climate influences the types of landscapes you’re working with. For example, drought-tolerant plants require a different lawn care program than a yard full of crabgrass. Certain outdoor pests may also pop up in different climates, so offering different types of pest control services could appeal to homeowners.

6 marketing strategies for lawn fertilization services

While traditional and digital marketing costs money, it helps to look at these strategies as an investment in the future health and growth of your company.

Marketing strategies for lawn fertilizing services include: 

• Email marketing: Send newsletters with helpful lawn care tips, seasonal offers, and upcoming service reminders.

• Social media: Share lawn care tips, before-and-after photos, and seasonal promotions.

• Direct mail: Mail postcards with your business name and phone number. Customers can save your information and give you a call to get a quote.

• Referral programs: Reward customers who refer their friends and neighbors by offering them a discount or free service.

• Website: Publish valuable content on your website, like an article explaining the benefits of organic fertilizers or the differences between cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses. Add your contact information, offerings, and lead capture forms so customers can contact you.

• Reviews: Encourage customers to share online reviews for your lawn maintenance business. This spreads the word about your services and can entice new customers to pick up the phone. Software like GorillaDesk can help you request reviews and publish them online.

SB Mowing promotes its lawn care services and keeps its neighborhood looking beautiful by trimming overgrown lawns for free. (Source)

Another unique way to promote your lawn care business is to find neglected lawns. Knock on the owner’s door—or a neighbor’s door if it’s an abandoned home—and ask to do some free yard work.

While this strategy doesn’t earn money right away, it shows that you genuinely care about your neighborhood while demonstrating your professional services.

7 best practices for running a successful fertilizing business

These tips can help you run an efficient fertilizing business that adds value and vibrant greenery to your neighborhood:

1. Streamline operations with software

Lawn care software like GorillaDesk connects to accounting and payment platforms to improve business efficiency. (Source)

You’ve got your mower and spreader ready to go, but what about your software? You might be running your business with pen and paper or even spreadsheets right now, but software like GorillaDesk helps you juggle estimates, invoicing, and scheduling along with customer communications.

Administrative tasks and inefficient software eat up your valuable time. This is the challenge Florida lawn care company PurLawn found itself up against. 

“Our biggest challenge was billing customers,” said Matt, PurLawn’s co-owner. “We had to rely on a third-party company that was not integrated with our old CRM.”

With help from GorillaDesk, PurLawn has earned about $245,000 in revenue in 10 months and has signed contracts with 480 customers. “My time can now be spent more constructively, working ‘on’ the business versus ‘in’ it,” Matt adds.

2. Don’t cut corners

Trust is huge when you’re working on a homeowner’s private property. Be honest and respectful and avoid cutting corners. 

Similarly, always treat your customers’ neighbors as if they could be a future client. Avoid blowing lawn clippings and debris into their yard, and clean up shared spaces like sidewalks.

3. Diversify your services

Building a client base is one of the biggest challenges for lawn care businesses. Many lawn care business owners find more clients by offering additional services like shrub trimming, tree pruning, pressure washing, and gutter cleaning.

4. Always close the gate

It’s likely you’ll meet a few children and family pets while taking care of neighborhood lawns. Ensure that they stay safe by closing the gate or door behind you.

Pro tip: Learn the names of your customers’ kids and pets. Many families view a pet as another member of the family, which means befriending their dog or cat can strengthen your business relationship.

5. Don’t forget safety equipment

Water, sunscreen, ear protection, and safety glasses protect your most valuable asset—you—while on the job. Safety glasses and ear protection are especially important since lawn care often involves loud equipment and flying debris.

6. Practice at home

Fertilizing can be as much of an art as it is a science. In this case, practice can make perfect—or close to it. Instead of potentially leaving discolored stripes or dead grass in a customer’s lawn, practice using your spreader on your own lawn until you’re comfortable using your equipment and products.

7. Educate yourself

For services like fertilization, education goes a long way. Understanding soil test results, pH levels, and how nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium influence lawn health can help you choose proper lawn treatments. 

Some books that many lawn care providers recommend include: 

• Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
• Organic Management for the Professional by Howard Garrett, John Ferguson, and Mike Amaranthus

It’s also helpful to join lawn care communities where you might discover new trends or products.

Get your fertilization business up and running efficiently with GorillaDesk

Successful businesses provide high-quality service and customer support. But it’s hard to do that if you’re short on time and juggling inefficient processes.

GorillaDesk automates time-consuming tasks like invoicing, estimates, and sending service reminders. It’s designed specifically for field service businesses like yours, so you don’t need to worry about clunky setups or jury-rigging connections to your payment and scheduling apps. 

Give yourself more time to focus on growing healthy lawns. Start your free 14-day GorillaDesk trial today.