4 Tips for Running a Gardening Franchise

After the pandemic, more people than ever have developed a green thumb and dedicated themselves to nurturing their outdoor spaces and gardens. Now, as offices beckon and life returns to full speed, the demand for experienced gardening professionals is on the rise. There’s never been a better time to franchise with a gardening company, and with these four tips, you’ll be able to do so with ease.

The franchising industry is lucrative and growing, and there are plenty of different opportunities across a wide range of sectors, from finance to gardening. If you’re interested in working outdoors, being creative and solving problems, gardening could be a fantastic fit.

Why become a franchisee in the home improvement industry?

Gardening is a form of home improvement, and in 2021, starting your own home improvement franchise is a sensible investment to make. To give you an example of the scale of the industry: In 2017, ornamental horticulture and landscaping contributed £24.2 billion to the UK economy, and UK households collectively spend around £7.5 billion on garden goods and £2.4 billion on gardening services [Horticultural Trades Association]. 

Beyond the strong demand, further advantages to running your own landscaping franchise include:

• You’ll be joining a recognised, reputable brand and benefitting from its existing customers and operational models
  
  
• You can work flexibly and creatively
  
  
• You have access to repeat business opportunities
  
  
• You have room to develop a niche
  
  
• Working outdoors and on your feet will keep you fit and healthy

How to run a successful gardening franchise

1. Complete the necessary research 

Research is not only a fantastic way to discover which franchise is the best fit for you, but also a great chance to seek information about competitors, location and target market. Knowing your market and understanding demand is an essential part of running a successful gardening franchise, and the key benefits of thorough research are that it:

• Enables you to strengthen and improve your service provision
  
  
• Identifies potential threats to your business/opportunities for your business to thrive
  
  
• Highlights your competitors’ weaknesses 
  
  
• Helps you to spot emerging trends 
  
  
• Helps you to focus on customer need and demand
  
  
• Allows you to evaluate the success of your franchise on a continual basis

You can go about conducting research in many different ways, including gathering data from the general public, visiting gardening shows and talking with current franchisees about their experiences with franchises that you’re interested in investing in. 

Arguably, the most important part is identifying who your customers will be. If you’re unable to understand your target demographic, you’ll find succeeding as a franchisee to be a challenge. Get to know your client base by asking yourself (and/or your franchisor):

• What’s the age range of the average client?
  
  
• Where do these kinds of customers live? 
  
  
• Are they male or female?
  
  
• How much disposable income do they have?
  
  
• How often do they use gardening services?
  
  
• What kinds of gardening assistance do they require?
  
  
• Do they enjoy gardening?
  
  

2. What kinds of gardens do they have?

Assess your skills and gain any necessary qualifications 

The experience and skills that you’ll need to become a franchisee with a gardening company will differ depending on the specific opportunity, though many won’t ask for you to have gardening experience, as they’ll be willing to train you up. 

Here are two examples of gardening franchises that you might consider investing in, along with the skills they require of an ideal franchisee:

• Lawn Keeper - The ideal Lawn Keeper franchisee is determined, has an eye for success, and has to want to own their own business, working smarter rather than harder.

• Greensleeves - At Greensleeves, the ideal franchisee is someone who has the appetite to grow a business and the ability to manage a daily routine. They should also be flexible, committed, hard-working and self-motivated. 

For gardeners, most franchisee roles won’t require any specific qualifications, but gaining qualifications could well help you in your role, as well as helping you to stand out from the crowd to franchisors and lenders when you’re going through the initial investment process.

To be a gardener, you’ll need to enjoy a practical, outdoors lifestyle. Creativity and an eye for detail will help a gardener bring a garden to life, offering enjoyment and interest all year round. There is no set entry route to become a gardener. Employers look for gardening skills, knowledge, a passion for the subject and experience.
—Eden Private Staff

2. Decide on the gardening services that you’d like to be offering/completing 

The services that you offer and potentially complete (depending on the style of investment you make) will be dictated by the type of garden maintenance franchise that you invest in. For example, you might choose to connect with a lawn care franchise, or a landscaping company, or a business that specialises in commercial gardening. Gardening is a wider spectrum than many people imagine, and as a garden, you could choose to specialise in a number of areas, including:

• Landscape design 
  
  
• Garden maintenance 
  
  
• Garden centre ownership and management 
  
  
• Plant pathology
  
  
• Plant nursery ownership and management
  
  
• Plant care
  
  
• Horticultural management

Find your specialism within the sector, and you could well find your bliss. As you probably already know, the best way to run a successful franchise is to make an investment that you feel truly passionate about. That way, the hard work will come more easily, and the profit will arrive more quickly.

4. Take advantage of all the training and support opportunities that come your way

One of the biggest advantages of the franchise business model is the extensive programme of training and support available to franchisees. The specifics will differ from franchise to franchise, but generally speaking, your franchisor should provide you with:

• Initial set-up support
  
  
• Initial training
  
  
• Advertising and marketing assistance
  
  
• Ongoing support
  
  
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
  
  
• Operating standards, manuals and procedures to follow 
  
  
• Employee recruitment, retention, management and training support
  
  
• Help with financial management and business administration
  
  
• Access to point of sale systems and approved suppliers

Become a franchisee with a gardening business and harvest many different rewards

If you love the great outdoors, and you’d like to plant your future firmly in the field of the gardening sector, franchising is the ideal option, and with the above tips, you’ll be very well placed to begin your journey. Browse available gardening and lawn care franchise opportunities right now to begin your franchising journey.