Everything to Know About a Lawn Care Franchise: Insights & Opportunities

‍Lawn care is part of the landscaping services industry that’s grown at a CAGR of 3.3% over the last five years and is expected to reach an estimated $153.4 billion in revenue in 2024—IBISWorldIBISWorld

Franchising can be a lucrative option for a business owner.

Entrepreneurs buy into instant brand recognition, operational support, and a proven business model. Let’s look at the benefits, challenges, and key insights of owning a lawn care franchise to help you decide if it’s right for you.

Why Choose a Lawn Care Franchise?

The lawn care industry is booming, driven by an increasing number of homeowners and commercial property managers who need professional and reliable yard maintenance. Franchising within this sector provides several attractive benefits:

Recurring Revenue:

Lawn care services often work on a subscription basis, providing steady income and easier cash flow management.

Scalability:

It’s a straightforward process to start small and expand to add additional services or territories.

Lower Startup Costs:

Compared to other businesses, lawn care franchises often require less capital upfront because there isn’t a great deal of physical inventory. Market demand is consistently strong, there are numerous lawn care franchise opportunities available, and the customer base renews services year after year, so you can depend on stable industry growth.

An Efficient Business Model

Successful lawn care and landscaping franchises share common traits:

• Robust training programs
• Strong brand marketing
• Comprehensive support
• Software that tracks customers, scheduling, payments, and marketing

How to Choose the Right Lawn Care Franchise for Residential and Commercial Customers

Look for three things when evaluating franchise ownership:

• Brand Reputation: A well-known brand provides a significant head start to building your customer base
• Support Offered: Tap into franchisee training programs, marketing assistance, and operations support.
• Initial Investment: What are all the costs involved? Compare franchise fees, equipment, and working capital

Due diligence before you invest pays dividends for years to come as you grow.

The right lawn care service is one you feel good about, so speak with current franchise owners to gain valuable insights into the day-to-day operations and potential challenges of different companies.

Financial Considerations in the Lawn Care Industry

The financial outlay for lawn services varies widely. Many franchises offer an industry-leading training program to help franchisees manage their finances for positive cash flow.

Typical expenses:

• Initial franchise fee
• Ongoing royalty payments
• Equipment costs
• Software fees (CRM, marketing, payments, analytics etc.)

Most franchises provide a clear financial model that outlines expected initial and ongoing costs, making it easier to forecast profitability and plan your finances effectively.

Popular Lawn Care Franchises

CompanyFounding YearFranchise YearFranchise UnitsInitial InvestmentRoyalty FeesThe Grounds Guys19872010274 (as of 2023)$61,370 - $184,8205-6% of gross salesLawn Doctor19671967630+ (as of 2023)$116,465 - $141,81510% of gross salesWeed Man19701976700+ (as of 2023)$43,700 - $227,00010-15% of gross salesSpring-Green Lawn Care19771977120+ (as of 2023)$91,000 - $140,0005-7% of gross salesU.S. Lawns19861986250+ (as of 2023)$60,300 - $132,1005% of gross salesConserva Irrigation2010201780+ (as of 2023)$83,800 - $131,2506-7% of gross salesMowBot2017201930+ (as of 2023)$56,500 - $78,5006-7% of gross sales

🔗 Read RealGreen Franchise Customer Success Stories

 

Challenges to Anticipate

Like any business venture, franchising comes with its challenges:

• Seasonality can affect revenue
• Finding reliable labor can be difficult
• Managing all the working parts requires software

These challenges are mitigated with franchisor support, especially in areas like recruitment, branded promotions, market leadership, and trusted software that integrates all the systems (including operations, branding, and marketing material—think truck logos, etc.—sales support, legal support, and management tools).

Your All-in-One Solution for Landscaping Business Management

Streamline your day-to-day operations with tools for CRM, sales, marketing, routing, and more!

Accelerate Your Lawn Care Franchise Growth With the Right Tools

A lawn care franchise offers a promising avenue to business ownership, with benefits including a proven business model, ongoing support, and a recurring revenue stream. Market trends indicate that the landscaping industry is growing. As you consider a franchise opportunity, align with a franchisor whose values and vision complement your business goals.

Whether you run a franchise company or operate one franchise unit, RealGreen’s software is an all-in-one solution that runs everything from lead generation and general proposals to payments. RealGreen users report almost 10% higher customer growth, using RealGreen to do the heavy lifting:

• Build and deploy a complete digital acquisition strategy
• Seamlessly communicate between field and back office teams
• Real-time production and truck tracking
• Estimate, take payments, and add customers from the field
• Manage and track leads and sales
• Monitor franchise sales activities
• Scale your program and meet aggressive development goals
• Establish standardized new-franchise training
• Improve the royalty payment process
• Boost brand awareness (uniform marketing message)
• Track sales, revenue, KPIs, and other vital data points across franchises
• Dedicated support, onboarding, and account management teams
• Ensure compliance with regulatory reporting
• Protect your franchise with industry-leading backend security practices
• Corporate, market, region, and branch-level security
• Advanced SOC 2 compliance

RealGreen’s franchise management software builds brand awareness, delivers consistent messaging, and keeps you focused on your franchise goals.

Connect with our team at RealGreen to discover how we can help you grow a thriving lawn care franchise today..

Download Free Templates for Your Business

Use our free, downloadable templates to quickly create proposals, estimates, contracts, work orders, invoices and receipts for your field service business.

We’ve included templates for lawn care, landscaping, arbor care, irrigation, snow removal and pest control. Easily customize each form to create professional-looking documents.