How Landscaping Businesses Survive the Downturn

With rising gas and grocery costs among other issues affecting homeowners, many now manage their own lawns and gardens instead of using landscaping businesses to save money.

Two businesses felt the pain of the economic downturn, but didn't let that stop them from finding ways around it.

The Pinnacle reports on a landscape and maintenance business came up with a niche: Going green. Peggy Churchill, owner of Cutting Edge Landscape and Maintenance Company, Inc. changed her business and going green in the process.

Churchill's specialty in drought-native plants also helps her provide her customers with options. Homeowners want to conserve water. Churchill provides them with plant options that don't need as much watering and yet still grow leafy and flourish.

She has also reused things people were throwing away. For example, one home had many bricks. The business reused most of them in the homeowner's yard.

The Washington Post tells the story of Meadow Farms -- a business that has lost many landscaping jobs -- and its use of incentives to get leads. Meadow Farms also owns 22 nurseries and has had success in compelling customers come in for their early bird sale.

The business, however, doesn't negotiate on services-related jobs especially large ones like landscaping and building patios.

Negotiation varies from business to business. One company negotiates during slow times and keeps prices up during good times. Another won't negotiate unless he can do the job right there as soon as a homeowner signs a contract -- it saves a second trip and gas money. He'll offer a discount if the homeowner agrees.

While slow times benefits homeowners as they have more opportunities for price breaks, they require landscaping businesses to come up with different ways of doing business to survive. A loan may help the business get what it needs to recreate itself like Peggy Churchill did by going green.