INDUSTRIES

Spring Planning for Landscape Businesses

The busy season is right around the corner – are you ready? We talk about spring planning for landscape businesses to set yourself up for success.

John Janes | Landscaping Marketing Manager

The busy season is right around the corner, which means many landscaping businesses are gearing up for the work ahead. From labor to landscape equipment to materials, now is the time to have your resources lined up and ready to go once spring starts. Check out our tips for spring planning for landscape businesses below.

Finalize Landscaping Contracts

The first step to spring planning for landscape businesses is to finalize your landscaping contracts. Ideally, the contract process has already started and you’ve been working through some of those details since last year. Once your commercial and residential contracts are signed, it will give you a clearer picture of what labor, equipment and materials you’ll need to meet the workload.

Recruit and Retain Employees

The second step to spring planning for landscape businesses is to have a recruitment plan and a strategy to retain your current employees. This is more important than ever in making sure you’ve got the resources you need to meet your contracts this spring. The past few years have seen big changes to the labor pool, so you may want to consider new ways to reach potential workers. Many people have changed jobs or are still on the hunt and offering training and onboarding can help you attract people who may not have considered landscaping as a career path.

Making the jobs of your current employees easier and investing in their careers can help you retain them. Offering help with certifications and getting them the technology to be more efficient are both good ways to do that.

Want More Advice?

Find the tips and tricks you need to help your landscape business.

Buy Your Materials

You should also go ahead and order any materials you know you’ll need for spring. Things like fertilizer, seed, plants and sod can be ordered now and pre-scheduled for delivery. You’ll also want to order or reserve hardscape materials including pavers and cement. Since there are ongoing supply shortages, it’s a good idea to order as soon as you can.

Have Equipment Ready

An important part of spring planning for landscape businesses is making sure the equipment you need is ready to go before the busy season. For current landscape equipment, keep up with your daily maintenance routine to avoid unexpected downtime and fix any issues before spring. You should also have an equipment replacement strategy based on expected hours of machine usage. If you know you’ll want to replace your landscape equipment after it hits a certain amount of hours and you can estimate when that might be, you can have a plan with your Cat® dealer to get the machines and attachments you need.

You should also have a plan ready for any supplemental rental equipment you might need. The sooner you can talk to your Cat dealer, the sooner you can get that equipment reserved.

With all the changes we’ve seen over the last several years, it’s best to plan ahead as much as you can. It’s never too early to think ahead toward next year, and the earlier you can get a head start on material and equipment purchases, the better off you’ll be.

Become a Certified Aquascape Contractor

Learn how you can add another service to your business with aquascape contracting.

John Janes

Landscaping Marketing Manager

John Janes has been bringing his diversified expertise to sales and marketing initiatives at Caterpillar for more than a decade. Not only does he hold an LIC certification from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), CSP and ASM certifications from the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA), but Janes also serves as an American Concrete Institute (ACI)-certified concrete flatwork technician.

STAY CURRENT WITH ENEWS

We send industry knowledge, useful tips and special offers right to your inbox.

Sign Up