Owning your own personal lawn care business is a privilege that is reserved only for a select few. To make it in today’s difficult and certainly challenging economy, you need to constantly be several steps ahead of your competition. These are skills that do not come easy. However, with these three tips, you are all but guaranteed to make your own lawn care business stand out from the local competition. We aren’t necessarily saying that you will successfully eliminate the competition (there is sadly no formula for that just yet), but to be a major player who competitors and customers alike take seriously is a source of constant reward.

1. Ensure that your equipment is the most efficient and your business possesses the most up-to-date technology that money can buy.

This tip is one that could not be more obvious, yet sadly, it is one that is largely ignored by the amateur lawn care provider until it is too late to save their business. After all, just because a favorite piece of your equipment is “trusty” or has some other sort of emotional attachment, does not mean that it is the right machine for the job–or jobs–that you rely on to make your profit each month. You want only the absolute best for your company.

An excellent tool to have in your lawn care arsenal, no matter how big or small your coverage area is the Cyclone Rake by Woodland Power Products. The state-of-the-art Cyclone Rake is guaranteed to be the envy of all of your competitors and certainly your customers. It comes with a stunning array of unique, one-of-a-kind features and add-ons, such as the Miracle Impeller (whose design and material make it nearly impenetrable to obstacles like rocks and other unexpected lawn debris) and premium Briggs & Stratton Vanguard engines. With such an assortment of complex features, it is understandably easy to feel intimidated by the device, almost to the point where you may feel that you need an extra truck just to transport it all! However, the Cyclone Rake’s 12 unique features that cannot be found on any other lawn maintenance product do not end there. The Cyclone Rake sports a very portable, very adaptable design that makes it easy to store almost anywhere–and, of course, transport anywhere! What’s more, it can easily attach to pretty much any lawn mower on the market; this means that, no matter what equipment you count on for your business, the Cyclone Rake can help you get the largest and smallest jobs done–not to mention everything in between.

2. Expand Your Coverage Area

You would be surprised at the lawn care professionals who insist on limiting themselves to a small geographic region. All sorts of reasons–excuses, rather–crop up for this, ranging from unfamiliarity with other areas to an unfavorable view of outside areas and the residents who may reside in them. Let’s face it: if you are a serious homeowner, you want your property to look its best no matter where you happen to live. And if you cannot do it yourself, you want to call a reliable and friendly lawn care professional who will not immediately discount you simply based on your “wrong” location on the unfavorable side of the county line.

Besides, by driving those extra few minutes to get to a customer who may not live in your immediate coverage area can reap rewards that you may not have even yet considered. Perhaps this customer has a friend–or several friends–in your coverage area who are looking for a quality professional. Perhaps this customer will someday move into your coverage area and will thus be overjoyed to learn that he or she will not have to seek out a new lawn care provider. Obviously, we are not saying to expand your lawn care business to the entire North American continent, but going that extra mile–literally–for your customers can make all the difference in the world.

3. Advertise As Much As You Possibly Can

This might seem like a no-brainer, but this most essential part of a successful business is something that small-time lawn care professionals simply cannot–or will not–grasp. Ensure that you have a simple, yet eye-catching, logo and slogan for your business. During your down time, drive around your neighborhood to some of the most populous areas–for everyone to see your company name, logo, and perhaps even equipment, up close and in person! Make fliers and distribute them wherever the most people in your coverage areas tend to congregate: supermarkets, public parks, churches, etc. Simply relying on word of mouth is a recipe for disaster.