This is all about planning your future.
A Year In The Gardening Business
We now live in a world where seasons are often confused. No longer can we predict with any degree of certainty what fortunes the weather will bring in spring. Summer can often be reminiscent of winter, and autumn of summer. As gardeners we must learn to cope with snow in April, brilliant sunshine in February and grass growing late in November.
The Weather
Often when gardeners in the south of the country are taking covers off lawn mowers preparing for their first cut of the season, elsewhere in the country others may still be sweeping snow from pathways and clearing storm damaged trees. With this in mind, the information in this chapter is given more as a guide than a definitive directive on what you should do and when you should do it.
You will need to tailor the material to suit your own business and the climatic conditions you find yourself operating under.
Be Flexible
If running a gardening business has taught me anything, it is that flexibility is a key ingredient in making a successful business.
However, this should not stop you from making a follow-up entry in your diary for spring, to return and either repair or replace the greenhouse as need be.
Planning Ahead
Planning ahead
During the summer months retailers plan their Christmas sales campaign, buyers attend trade fairs and orders are placed for Christmas stock. For us, who will be spending our summer time outdoors working, it’s difficult to imagine planning this far ahead. But to do so is not only sensible, but essential if you are to comfortably survive the winter months, often a time when homeowners do not contemplate spending money on their gardens.
You must plan ahead if you are to remain in business and profitable. To ignore the season that is just around the corner is a dangerous mistake.
In this chapter I have divided each month into two distinct areas:
- what to do in the garden
- what to do in the business.
If you’re only planning to work during the spring or summer months then obviously your needs will differ from those of the all-year round business. However, if your aim is to start your business in the spring, then you will need to start preparations in the winter. It’s far better that you find clients prior to starting than starting and then trying to find work. Similarly if you’re working all year round you’ll need to plan your sales campaign well in advance of your targeted season.
January
Happy New Year!
If you’ve worked all summer and autumn now is as good as any time to have a break and get away from it all. Forget the business for a few days, a week or even longer and treat yourself to a holiday. When you return you’ll be ready to start planning to make this your most profitable and successful year in business.
In The Business
The most important thing you have to do this month is to make sure that you get your tax return to the Inland Revenue by 31 January, and that you pay any tax that is due. A penalty of £100 will automatically be charged for a late return.
Other things that you will need to look at:- Time to revise your business plan and take stock of the past year.
- Budgets – look at the past year’s performance on expenditure and identify where in your business you can make savings.
- Plan your spring sales campaign. Write to all of your clients and those whose business you didn’t manage to secure and remind them that it’s never too soon to start preparing the garden for spring. If necessary, offer incentives.
- Tools – get your lawn mower and the like serviced, blades replaced and ready for the spring.
- Trade catalogues. When the weather’s too bad for working outside, time spent sourcing trade suppliers will be time well spent. If you’re planning a home-based nursery, or looking to benefit from spin-offs, now is the time to source wholesalers. The extra income you generate from selling compost, lawn care products and the like during spring, summer and autumn will compensate for your loss of earnings during these months – but only if you put the work in now.