You may have heard a few references to the “gig economy” recently. The fact is, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people across the United States have been struggling to make ends meet. Additionally, a lot of people are also fed up with working in a traditional 9-5 role.
With the rise of the gig economy, many individuals set out to find profitable side-jobs that ended up turning into full-time endeavors. This ranges from capitalizing on your talents and skills to taking on jobs such as with Doordash and Uber, just to make some extra income.
If you’re one of those special people who can care for plants with a natural touch, and you have a passion for gardening, turning these skills into a lucrative career is possible.
Here, we’ll outline how to get started with a side-hustle in gardening and landscaping.
Choosing Your Focus
You might actually be surprised to learn that throughout the country there are numerous people who love plants and flowers, but no matter how hard they try, once they bring these beauties back to their home, they instantly die.
This is actually a common occurrence for many would-be gardening enthusiasts out there. And, this is where you come in.
First of all, you’ll have to advertise your services in some way. Whether you want to put out a sign in your yard or put up flyers is totally up to you, but getting out and speaking with people is going to be your biggest asset.
Essentially, you’ll become a landscaping professional when you choose to take your love for gardening to the business level. In doing so, you’ll need to choose what type of services you’ll provide. Some areas of landscaping and gardening you can choose to focus on include:
- Planting flower beds
- Hedge trimming
- Groundskeeping
- Hardscapes
- Borders and planters
- Eco-friendly gardening alternatives
Keep in mind that you don’t have to limit yourself to one particular gardening element. But, when first starting out, you’ll want to ease into your side-hustle in an incremental way.
Gaining Clients
As with any side-hustle or business, you’ll want to advertise your services. You can go about doing this in several ways.
The first thing to remember is that you’ll need to create a portfolio of work. If you don’t have one, you can simply take pictures of the work you’ve done around your own home or at the homes of others if you’ve helped out a friend or family member.
Once you have a few images to show, it’s time to build a website to showcase your work and services, and a physical portfolio that you can bring with you to show potential clients.
Getting the Job Done
You’ll also want to acquire efficient transportation for all of your tools, equipment, and materials. Depending on the size and scope of the jobs you’ll be doing, you may require a large truck or even a trailer.
If you don’t have adequate transportation, don’t worry. You don’t have to go out and buy a brand new heavy-duty work truck. While you’re just starting out part-time, you can rent a ½ ton truck or a trailer and this will be perfect for all of your needs.
In addition to having proper transportation, you’ll also be able to make a magnetic or vinyl logo and apply it to the side of the truck while you’re using it. This not only gives you a professional appearance, but it’s also great advertising!
The most important thing to remember is that this is a side-hustle. Unless you’re trying to quit your day job, your gardening income will become a much-needed financial cushion in today’s expensive economy.
And remember, you can always choose to go full-time with your gardening business and make it into a dream career. Sometimes the saying is true, if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day.