As a professional gardener, I know how important it is to have a van. But this certainly wasn’t always the case. When first starting my gardening business many years ago, all I had was a small Ford Fiesta which was far from ideal. If there is a will then there is a way! A car will most certainly limit you to which jobs you can offer, but it won’t stop you in your tracks.
Let’s start with what I use my van for which will quickly give you an insight into why a car will limit you to which gardening jobs you can offer. I use my van for…
- Removal of large amounts of waste, up to 8 ton/bundle bags at any one time
- Offering landscaping, I often collect slabs and bricks by the pallet load
- On larger jobs, the 3 seats in the front of a van allows me to have extra workers
- I carry a huge amount of tools, with a minimum of 2 lawnmowers on every journey
- Landscaping machinery such as cement mixers take up lots of room
- A van allows my tools and machinery to be hidden from thieves
So really, when you look at the above, I am just taking on larger jobs where taking the waste away is needed and carrying lots of heavy machinery is a must. When it all comes down to it, having a van is just so much easier and allows me to stay ahead of the competition with what I can offer.
With a car, you are only going to want to offer garden maintenance. The first thing that you need to check is that you can fit a lawnmower in the back, with the seats down of course. Make sure you use a lawnmower where the handles can fold down to give you a better chance of it fitting. To go with your lawnmower you are going to need a strimmer at the very least, again make sure that it is one where you can remove the handle, this way it will fit with ease. A landscaping multi tool always have interchangeable handles and offer other attachments such as a hedge cutter, pruner and brush cutter. All other hand tools should fit with ease.
The only other thing that you are going to want double check with your customers when offering your gardening services is that they have a bin for green waste as it is unlikely that you will have the room to remove it. Although possible on the smaller garden maintenance jobs where you are only taking away a small amount of grass cuttings.
So that’s it really! Follow these simple steps, and with your car, you can have your garden maintenance business up and running…
- With your seats folded down, make sure you can fit a lawnmower with folding handles into your car
- Make sure to buy a strimmer with a removable arm for easy fitment, preferably being a landscaping multi tool
- Make sure that your customer has ways to dispose of the waste without the need for you to do it
- Oh yes, I nearly forgot! Don’t forget to get the appropriate insurance on your car!
I hope this helps! As your gardening maintenance business grows, so will your vehicle, allowing you to offer more services. If you have any questions then just pop a comment in the box below for a prompt response 🙂