The idea of a multi-millionaire starting off as a young teenager mowing lawns sounds like a Hollywood cliché. But that is exactly what happened to Bruce Pellegrino. He started off with just a truck and lawnmower. He never finished college. He doesn’t have a degree from a flashy business school. But he went on to build, then sell two businesses worth $90 million and $180 million respectively.
Bruce Pellegrino’s story isn’t anything out of the ordinary. It is about a boy with an insatiable thirst for success and bucket loads of determination. He says his landscaping business was essentially a business playground where through trial and error he was able to learn the fundamentals of running a business like managing your books, selling, marketing, and customer service.
Behind any multi-million-dollar business is the story of humble beginnings. These are the four essentials you need to start a lawn service business to take your first step on the path of owning your own thriving business. For more information on any of the pieces of equipment mentioned here, or to view available inventory, click the link provided.
A Pickup Truck
Your business can start out as small or as large as you want it to. Pellegrino started his lawn service business with just a mower offering to mow peoples’ lawns for a small fee. But you can include leaf blowing, plowing, pruning, trimming, or any other service you feel confident enough to offer.
However, whatever service you offer, you will need a truck to move the equipment around. You can either lease or buy, depending on the capital available. If you have strong credit, you may not even have to make a down payment on the vehicle. For just a few hundred dollars, you can lease the truck and make insurance payments and you are ready to start working
A Mower
The bread and butter of any lawn service business is the mower. It doesn’t have to be anything flashy. A simple walk-behind mower with a 21- inch cutting width and an adjustable blade will be plenty to start out with. If you are setting your sights on corporate clients or live in an area where most residents have a lot of space, you might want to look into getting a ride-on lawnmower to save time, but this is by no means a requirement.
Trimmer
If clients are paying for your lawn care services, you need to make sure their lawn looks tidy. The best way to d this is by using a string trimmer and edger. This will let you get the edges of any walkways of flower beds looking neat and tidy and get any spots the mower can’t reach.
A Blower
Having a leaf blower in your first year of operation will help you expand the services you can provide and allow your working season to extend into the fall months. Without one, you may find your work drops off at the end of summer when the leaves start coming down.
