Start a Landscape Lighting Business

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Start a Landscape Lighting Business

You need a specific business and marketing plan if you wish to open a landscape lighting business, or if you currently own a landscaping business and want to add landscape design and lighting as an additional service. New designers will need to consider whether to start as an independent contractor or purchase a franchise opportunity. Purchasing a franchise may involve additional costs, so consider this in your business plan for capital needs. In addition to initial capital and financial projections, your business plan should include a description of your experience and expertise, how you plan to market your business and a description of your business operations.

Step 1

Determine the knowledge needed for your new business. Inexperienced landscape designers have a number of resources for education and training in their field. Certificate courses at local community colleges offer education and training, and some product manufacturers offer free training to independent vendors and to those who purchase franchise opportunities.

Step 2

Determine your target market. If you already have an existing landscaping business, offer your lighting design services to your established client list. If you are starting a new landscape design business, consider to what market you will offer your services. Determine whether you will choose residential or commercial landscape lighting design and what competitors exist in your area. A study of customer volume and number of competitors can assist in determining the level of resistance you will meet when starting.

Step 3

Choose whether you will be independent, or purchase a franchising opportunity. Franchises sell for as little as $20,000 or as much as $250,000. The advantages to franchises are found in brand recognition, product training and support, profit sharing opportunities and exclusive vendor pricing. The benefits of independent operations include management autonomy, control over profit margins and the ability to use products from other companies to meet consumer demand.

Step 4

Determine initial capital requirements and create a financial plan. List all first year costs, including starting costs. These costs will include equipment, possible franchise fees, inventory costs, marketing and advertising expenses, labor costs, licensing and other business or professional fees. Organizations such as SCORE or your local small business administration office can provide assistance with your business plan and calculating capital requirements.

Step 5

Market your business. Use every means at your disposal to get the word out about your new business. If your budget allows, purchase local media advertising aimed at your chosen market. Join your local chamber of commerce and merchant associations to network with other business owners. Use online resources such as a company website, e-mail and social media to promote your business.

Tips

Obtain knowledge in landscape lighting before starting your new venture.
Create a detailed business plan to give your new business a solid start.
If you are starting a new landscape lighting business, register your business with your local government.

Warning

Research legal requirements for low voltage lighting, as individual states differ on what is allowed.

References

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Thursday, April 24, 2014