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Thanks guys! I appreciate all of the help. I was able to use the information to complete my assignment. I know that some of the questions I asked were going to different in certain areas and such but I was just curious as to what was the most profitable in your market. I don't have anything left on my assignment but there are other aspects I would like your opinion on.
For some background info about me. I'm a senior majoring in Landscape Design/Ornamental Horticulture w/ a minor in business. I have worked at nurseries, landscaping companies, and now the construction of a golf course. I'm a member of IA and ALCA. I'm an IA certified auditor and plan on getting certified in irrigation design though IA next year. I also plan on taking the ISA exam next year to become a certified arborist.
I have a wide range of interest in the business as you can probably tell. My main interest are design, construction, irrigation, nursery, and tree care(small scale). This is kind of a problem because I am not sure which would be the best way to begin as a business or if they would be best ran as a single business.
For example, Would it be best to run an irrigation company as a single service or merge the service with a design/build company? I know everybody is going to have a different opinion but that is what I would like to hear.
I know many businesses where I am from are often design/build with a retail nursery. What are your opinions on this type of setup?
I know that overhead is a huge expense, so I'm also interested to hear how many of you work out of home? Or do you have a store-front? I read the book by Entrepreneur magazine called, "How to start a lawn care or landscaping business" or something like that. They highly recommended keeping the business home based but it also seemed like most of the companies interviewed in the book were very small businesses with the owner being the only worker or having only a few employees. While I understand I will be working on the job-site, I also plan on hiring employees to do the majority of the back-breaking work and for me to focus on the design and business side of the business. I understand where the book was coming from but I believe it would be difficult to run the business out of the home for certain reasons. Feel free to give me your opinions.
Thanks again!
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