Equipment You Need to Start a Landscaping Business

Landscaping is a very lucrative business in India right now. No matter the scale, there’s a gig for every landscaping business, you just need to be armed with the right equipment to tackle the job.

The fact that there are hundreds of landscaping tools only makes it harder for someone new to the field. This is because Landscaping involves a large variety of activities like lawn mowing, pruning, and even construction. It is always advised to make a solid list of services you are willing to provide and then buy the equipment accordingly. If you don’t have the means to tackle all kinds of landscaping jobs, it is better to handle only specific jobs that you are equipped to deal with perfectly.

Here is the list of Equipment you will need for your Landscaping Business:

Transport

Unless you plan on pulling a handcart laden with your equipment or you are well-versed in the arcane arts of instant Teleportation, you will need a vehicle to get to your client’s home. You will have to get your equipment over too, so pick a vehicle based on the kind of services you offer. Pickup trucks and Utility Vehicles are your best bet, they are available in a wide budget range and are multi-purpose too. You can always repurpose or sell them in the future if you want to upgrade to a better vehicle.  

Equipment is not the only thing you will be transporting if you offer services like tree removal, then you will have to have a way of moving cut trees, dirt, and more. On the other hand, if you only offer basic services like lawn mowing or use simple hand tools, you can pick a vehicle more suitable for you.

Hand Tools

These are what you will be working with most of the time when doing medium or small-scale projects. They are simple and affordable, which makes them accessible to landscapers who are just starting out. You can always switch to power tools later on if you feel the hand tools are lacking.

Here are some basic hand tools to consider-

• Spade
• Shovel
• Trowel
• Rake
• Pruning Shears
• Loppers
• Lawn Edger
  

You will be using some of these tools regularly, so it would be worth investing some money to get sturdy tools so that you won’t have to keep buying them again soon. Tools like Lawn Edgers are specialized, meaning they will only be used for specific situations, so while buying them it is important to think about how often you might get a gig requiring their use.

All of these tools come in varying sizes, sometimes having multiple sizes of the same tool is a big plus, especially with tools like Spades and Shovels.

Power Tools

You won’t be able to bruteforce your way through all your tasks, this is when you will need to borrow the power of technology. This again should be done after careful consideration because power tools are not cheap, at least the good ones.

The power tools you will want are-

• Lawn Mower
• Leaf Blower Aerator
• Chainsaw
• Wood Chipper
• Hedge Trimmer
• String Trimmer
  

Once again, I’ll have to emphasize that these are specialized tools, don’t buy them if you don’t need them. And most of these tasks can still be done with hand tools, but they will be labor-intensive and time-consuming. It is recommended to invest in these tools, once you have a good amount of experience in the field. But if you are planning to start big then you might as well have a couple of these tools in your shed.

Other Equipment

Safety Equipment

There are other essential equipments that you need to own in this line of business, take gloves for example. Not only will it provide safety, but it will also emanate a sense of professionalism. It’s the little things like these that make a strong impression on your clients. While we are on the topic of gloves, you better add some more safety equipment and a first-aid kit to your list.

Moving the Soil

If you want to offer hardscaping services you will need a way to move dirt and rocks, for which a wheelbarrow is your best friend. Even if you don’t plan on offering hardscaping services, heavy-duty baskets/buckets for moving soil, sacks, and lawn bags are a necessary investment.

Sprayers

Now we move to Sprayers and Hoses, you might not always need hoses, but sprayers are a different story. They are what you need when you have to apply something like pesticides or fertilizers. Spreaders are the next upgrade for you in this path, albeit with slightly varying functionality.

Technology

This might seem a little out of place here, but it is not. It is very much relevant now and its influence will continue to grow in the future. When I said technology, it also includes Smart irrigation systems, yes this too is a niche business part of landscaping. You can provide a Smart Irrigation system as a service too if you are knowledgeable in that field. Since it is not that widely spread right now you will have very little to no competition. For this, you will have to buy sensors, and other IoT devices to set up a smart system for your clients.

By the way, irrigation is not the only thing that benefits from automation or technology, you can use it for decor too to tune up the aesthetics. Apart from setting up systems like these, there is one more crucial aspect of technology that is beneficial for all levels of landscapers- Software.

With business management software like Workbell, you can track and manage your orders, send invoices to your client and do much more.  

Although this article mentions some basic landscaping tools, you need not get all of them, you will only have to buy the equipment that you will be using. There’s no point in buying pruning equipment if you plan on providing only lawn mowing services. Remember, you can always buy more equipment and expand your business as you grow.