[Terre]

Ok so there are two of us ready for the nuthouse. But my thought is, when they lock me away, if I'm really really nice, they might let me dig in the window box with a teaspoon?

Your business plan is exactly where I was last year. Only yours is more thought out, and mine was pretty much accidental. I did my yard, and a neighbors, and then a friends, and then someone asked how much to do theirs, and it kind of mushroomed from there.

By the end of the summer I was in business. At 53. I guess I'm kind of an Ethyl. Without the Lincoln. I use the 27 year old station wagon I raised my kids in.

I'm still totally amazed that people will actually pay me to play in the dirt and spend their money on flowers!

I focus on small jobs. Usually. Until the small jobs get bigger. And somehow, they usually do. I advertise myself as a gardener but still get calls for the full range of landscaping. It lets me pick and choose what I do.

There truely is a niche for us. Many of the larger companies have enough overhead they can't afford to do these type jobs. It isn't profitable. And I pick up a lot of jobs behind guys who are so focused on higher profit hardscape, that they fail to listen to what the homeowner wants.

Case in point, one of my current jobs is for a young couple who bought their home last fall, and want to hold their wedding in June in the back yard. Another landscaper quoted them a $50,000 redo of the back yard. Yes, it's a $400k home. But he obvoiusly didn't listen when they told him they were paying for their own wedding, and starting a business, and had recently closed on the home. $50K wasn't even in the ballpark. They just wanted a beautiful place for their wedding. For a whole lot less, I'm going to ensure their grass is lush and green, they have perimeter planting beds with lots of texture and color, and she will have a backdrop of giant blue delphiniums for her ceremony. Then next year, we'll do the rest of my design plan.

I do very much as you are saying. No free estimates. If they want me there, they will pay either a design charge or an hourly rate. With a minimum. It serves multiple purposes, but primarily eliminates the tire kickers who have gotten 7 'free estimates' and it presents you as more of an expert.

As a suggestion, do NOT preset your design fee. I learned that lesson this month. Mine was set at $250. I currently have a client in an area who should have had a postage stamp yard to design. It turned out to be a 10,000 sq ft back yard, that is a total scrape and redo, with the worlds biggest PITA clients. Set a limit on the # of changes to the plan you will do for your fee. If these people accept the latest revision to the plan, I'll probably have made about .50 per hour on this project. No way in hell am I doing their install.

Again, from my experience, I think your advertising plan is too broad. Penny saver will get you exactly that. Penny savers. Skip that one unless it's free. And I don't think you are big enough for google ads yet. Too widespread. Doorhangers in the neighborhoods you want to target, mailers, (more than once), are much more effective for what you want to accomplish this year. One thing I'm getting some milage out of is church bulletins. It targets the neighborhood you want since most people don't drive clear across town to go to church, and for some reason, there seems to be a built in layer of trust there. Go figure.

Market yourself as an expert in the 'unique' and 'distinctive'. One of my more effective ads asks "Are you tired of boring, cookie cutter landscapes you see with the same exact plants at every house?"

Another of my ads focuses on DIYers. I draw up the plans, they tell me which parts they feel comfortable doing for themselves either with or without supervision, and I do the rest. It is a big draw, especially for younger couples. It is also a bigger pain to bid. Build in an hourly rate for education and supervision. I'm still working on this one, but at the moment, I am simply bidding the job, and allowing for the homeowner what I would pay unskilled manual labor or I'm separating out and not bidding at all on the part they are going to do, i.e. laying sod.

Investigate the wholesale nurseries in your area. You might be surprised what they have, and at the savings. I use a combination of local nurseries, mail order, since most of Denver thinks there are only 6 varieties of things like hostas or heucheras.

Ok, way to verbose here. Feel free to email me. Maybe we can help each other learn.

Don't get scared. This really is fun!