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What Equipment Do I Need to Start a Lawn Mowing Business?

What Equipment Do I Need to Start a Lawn Mowing Business?

If you have a passion for working outdoors, you might be thinking about starting your own lawn mowing business. Whether you intend on doing this full time, or as a part-time profession, the tools of the trade are the same.

Starting your own lawn mowing business can be a lucrative way to earn an income. The best part is that you get to enjoy working outdoors. But, before you decide to start advertising your lawn mowing service, you need the right tools for the job. Your ability to make it a long-term success will depend on your ability to increase your productivity.

While it’s true that veterans who’ve been in the industry for decades will have built up an arsenal of tools and machines, you don’t need to over-capitalise in the early days. So let’s look at the basics you need to get started.

Choosing a Commercial Lawn Mower

Choosing a high-quality lawn mower is vital. The lawn mower is the backbone of every mowing business. Without one, you cannot build your business. But with so many on the market, what lawn mower is best for you?

If you intend to work part-time or expect to be taking care of smaller gardens and yards, a push mower, such as the Husqvarna LB 548S e is a great starting point. A lawn mower built for commercial use is constructed to be used for hours on end, day in and day out. They cost a little more than a domestic-use mower, but they’ll take the demands of professional use, and last for years.

If you plan on providing a commercial scale service for large blocks of land, choosing a ride on lawn mower may improve your service offering and secure you more work. The right ride on mower will offer a large cutting deck, ergonomic driver controls, high powered engine, multi-purpose attachments, plus so much mower, meaning you can offer professional grade services, no matter the size or difficulty of the job.

There are lots of different types of lawn mowers available. The exact type of mower that you need will depend on the scale of your business and clients. These include the following:

When purchasing a lawn mower, also think about what types of power sources are likely to be available to you. A battery powered lawn mower makes navigating shrubs, bushes and ornaments easy. It also eliminates the need to carry and handle fuel as frequently.

Do you intend on mulching the clippings? Or will you collect and dispose of them as part of your service? All of these questions will help you work out what type of lawn mower is best.

Choosing the Best Grass Trimmer

In an ideal world, lawns would be uniform and easy to maintain. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. Many gardens have areas of lawn that are inaccessible or impractical to cut with a mower.

There are also times when the grass has grown too long and first needs to be cut back before tackling it with a lawn mower.

A grass trimmer, such as the Husqvarna 525LST or a battery powered Husqvarna 520iLX will prove to be invaluable for every lawn mowing business. A grass trimmer allows you to cut hard-to-reach areas, take care of lawn edges, trimming around shrubs, trees and along pathways.

Depending on the types of lawn that you anticipate encountering, trimming and clearing tools can make things easier. Some of the more common tools available include:

Grass trimmers are perfect for reducing the height of overgrown grass. They also make it easy to achieve a neat finish along pathways and borders.

Brushcutters are designed to tackle areas of brush. Brush tends to be extremely thick and overgrown. This makes it difficult to cut the back with a standard grass trimmer.

Choosing a Hedge Trimmer

If you want to offer a professional service, offering all basic aspects of garden maintenance to your customers, a quality hedge trimmer will help you stand out from the crowd and make life easier.

A hedge trimmer can also increase your earning potential. The more aspects of garden maintenance you provide, the more you can expect to earn.

A hedge trimmer like the Husqvarna 520iHD60 is perfect for close up jobs, and the long-reach Husqvarna 520iHE3 allows you to showcase the garden at its finest when tackling taller hedges.

With a quality hedge trimmer in your trailer, offering garden maintenance can be a quick and easy way to boost your income using your existing client base.

Clean Up With A Powerful Blower

When it comes to achieving a professionally finished lawn efficiently, it’s best to clean as you go. And the right blower can make garden clean up a breeze by helping to clear fallen debris on the lawn or in and around outdoor spaces before and after you fire up the mower.

A blower is more productive than a broom and definitely easier on the body. A quality blower is ergonomically designed to save your back and arms from strain. By using the power of air, you can sweep across any surface using the one tool.

Modern battery blowers like the Husqvarna 525iB are beneficial in many ways and can take your service offering to a new level of productivity. Offering lower noise and no exhaust fumes to the operator they are an attractive proposition to be considered in place of the conventional petrol blower. Power-efficient brushless motors, cruise control and an advanced fan design combine to deliver lean, mean battery blowing machines that will allow you to start work earlier or finish later. The best part is you won’t be annoying your customer or their neighbours – happy days!

Grass Collection bags

For gardens that receive heavy use, loose grass clippings can be a nuisance, which is why collecting grass is a good idea. Grass clippings are easily picked up by shoes and walked into the home. A couple of heavy-duty grass bags will make it easy to dispose of grass clippings and garden waste.

The less debris that is left behind, the more likely your customers are to be satisfied. When it comes to running a lawn mowing business, a professional finish represents a professional service.

Personal Protective Equipment

When it comes to safety, prevention is better than a cure. So it goes without saying that personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital whenever using garden tools. If you are wondering what types of safety equipment you need for a gardening business, consider the following.

  • Protective shoes or boots
  • Heavy-duty protective gloves
  • Ear muffs or ear plugs
  • Visors, glasses or goggles
  • Protective clothing
  • Hard hat/helmet

Protective shoes or boots can help keep your feet safe in the garden. Quality work boots will be comfortable, ease foot, ankle and leg pain, provide support, and be waterproof to prevent any moisture and dirt from damaging the skin on your feet.

A decent pair of gloves helps to protect your hands from brambles, splinters and sharp edges in the garden. A small cut on the hand is enough to let bacteria enter the bloodstream when working outdoors. Some strains of fungi and bacteria found in soil can prove to be extremely harmful to your health and may result in time off work if not avoided.

It goes without saying that garden equipment can be extremely noisy. Extended use of garden tools can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. Simple ear protection can prevent this.

Protective eye-wear keeps your eyes safe from flying debris, dirt and branches. It is surprising how much damage a small stone or a sharp tree branch can do. Protective eye-wear is a comfortable way to keep your eyes safe.

Quality, waterproof protective clothing that is designed specifically for outdoor use is perfect for lawn mowing businesses. Quality work-wear will breathe better in warm weather and insulate in cool weather, and be designed with durability in mind.

Other basics

The other basic tools that you will most likely require include a garden fork, a spade, a broom, rake and a manual edger. A small pruning saw and a hatchet will help you clear through light overgrown gardens. A few quality fuel storage containers like the Husqvarna Combi Can and 15L fuel can will make 2-stroke and 4-stroke fuel management a breeze. In addition, a reliable compartmentalised lockable trailer to carry it all around will keep you organised and efficient.

Starting a lawn mowing business

As you can see, starting a lawn mowing business in Australia doesn't require a grand initial outlay. While the equipment you need is limited, it’s always worth investing in high-quality tools.

A lawn mowing business in Australia can be extremely lucrative. However, you are only as good as the tools that you use. The better the tools, the better the result. And the better the result, the more custom you can expect to receive.

 

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