property enhancements

There’s a reason why “growing pains” is a well-known term. Growing any business can be tricky, but for landscapers the statistics can be downright disheartening. In fact, 95% of landscaping businesses peak and get stuck in the adolescence phase without reaching maturity, with only 5% reaching $1 million in annual revenue, according to Envisor Consulting, a business management advisory firm for the landscape industry based in Alpharetta, GA. Complicating matters is that there is no “one size fits all” recipe for expansion success because there is no “one size” landscaping business. From sole proprietor lawn care operators (LCOs) to large design-build firms, the assortment of services offered to clients under the umbrella of “landscaping services” varies greatly. So where do you start? Where Do You Fit? First, let’s take a look at the industry. The landscape services industry has annual revenues of $99.5 billion, profits of $8.5 billion, employs 1,096,000 people and represents 505,643 businesses, according to the Landscaping Services in the U.S. Industry Report (LSIR), released this past March from IBIS World, an international producer of market reports. Since 2014, the industry has grown at an annualized rate of 4.6%, with 1.9% revenue growth in 2019 alone. The industry is characterized by a large number of small operators, according to IBIS World. Interestingly, while sole proprietors comprise the largest majority (75%) of businesses, they typically generate less than 15% of total industry revenue. According to the latest Economic Census, 94% of landscape service businesses employ less than 20 workers. ...