How to Recession-Proof Your Landscaping Business

Hey everybody, what’s going on? My name is Phil from Vision Landscapes, and today I want to talk to you about how you can make your business recession-proof. Are we in a recession? Let me tell you, I think we are right now, so I’m in a good position to talk about it. First, let me give you a little overview of our landscape business that evolved into a tree care business.

Back in 2009, I started my landscape business. Before that, I was cutting grass for neighbors, but then I decided to get legit. I started with 50 homes and grew that to about 100–120 homes doing maintenance every week. We had regular clients for hedge trimming and small side jobs. Those were the early days, and I always tell people to enjoy that time because it’s the best time of your life—no stress, no huge overhead. Those are the good old days. When you’re small, you want to see your business scale, and time will come for that.

Over the first few years, we specialized in grass cutting and general landscaping—planting, trimming, and basic landscape care. We ran that for about seven years. Then we realized hedge trimming was pretty profitable, so we decided to become specialists. I sold off my grass cutting equipment and became hyper-focused on hedge trimming. It was great for a lot of reasons—it paid better, and I actually enjoyed it more. It felt like an art form, which was better than grass cutting, especially since we don’t have great turf for stripes like in the U.S. We also did some small tree jobs on the side to keep customers happy, but hedge trimming was the main gig. However, after 40 hours a week of that, I was exhausted. I had a broken collarbone from a snowboarding accident that was getting aggravated by repetitive motions. I realized I couldn’t keep doing this forever, so I needed to diversify.

That’s when I met an arborist who joined our team, and our company transformed into a tree care business. Now we do hedge trimming, tree pruning, tree cabling, and more. Though we’re called Vision Landscapes, I consider myself an arborist, and everything we do blends together. Now, let me explain why I think we’re going through a micro-recession where we live. Two or three years ago, we had a crazy ice storm, and an emerald ash borer infestation wiped out a lot of trees. Many companies opened during that time, focusing on tree removals, but now that the storm damage is cleared and the ash trees are gone, those companies are missing work.

We never invested heavily in equipment just for removals because we knew it was a finite market. We rode the growth wave from 2020 to now, but I knew a wall was coming. We’re in a city and don’t want to spread ourselves too thin geographically looking for work elsewhere. So how did we make our business recession-proof? First, we expanded our services. It’s important not to limit yourself to just one service because when that dries up, you’re stuck. For example, I see tree removal companies now trimming hedges, which is funny but smart.

We started offering plant health care (PHC) about three years ago, which includes tree root care, bracing, cabling, management, and injections. PHC often pays better than cutting down trees and helps protect and preserve urban trees. Becoming specialists in this area has been great for us. Diversify your services and become the pros. We’re good at tree removal, but we don’t chase every job—we focus on long-term care that keeps clients coming back every year. Tree removals are usually one-and-done.

Competition is fierce right now. More people are starting tree care businesses, but many won’t last because of the current economy. People are spending money more cautiously, so this year has been tighter for us. We’re still working every day and grateful for that. Sometimes we’ll do landscape jobs like ripping up gardens, replanting shrubs, or laying sod for existing clients. It’s all related and keeps the work coming. If it’s slow, we do whatever makes sense for the client and the business.

We’re still advertising mostly tree care, but we’re open to odd jobs from existing customers within our expertise. We’ve done lots of planting jobs this year—trees, gardens, hedges—which is a great mix and good for team building. It keeps us from repetitive motion injuries. You need a backup plan. Many people have a side job or a secondary part of their business. Maybe you do grass cutting but add fertilizing or pest control, or maybe you do waste collection a few days a week. It’s important to have that plan B because we all have bills to pay.

I have six employees, and keeping payroll going is priority one—pay your team before yourself. You also can’t let your company go to waste. You need steady revenue. Diversify by adding services that will keep profits coming and customers happy. Your tree clients might not need removals every year, but if you offer hedge trimming, planting, or PHC, they’ll keep calling you instead of someone else. Hedge trimming can sometimes be more profitable than tree work, so it makes sense to offer both.

We’re definitely in a micro-recession, so take a hard look at your business and local economy. Run scenarios: what if the work dries up? How will you keep income coming every month? We only work about eight months a year here, so we need to make enough during that time to cover equipment, rent, and expenses. Right now, we’re in full plan B mode. Honestly, we’re hoping for a big storm to create some work—but with more companies coming in from out of town, it can get competitive fast.

One thing that really helps is sending emails to clients. We sent out a batch of 700 emails this spring and got dozens of quote requests. Good follow-up can bring in jobs. Always have a second income source that fits your business. PHC is growing rapidly, and many companies specialize in it exclusively. Our goal is to eventually focus more on specialized care and less on hard labor like tree removals every day. That said, we still do removals—tomorrow we’re cutting down two large trees. But doing that every day is tough on the body.

I’m 37, almost 40, and I’m starting to think about my physical and mental future. You don’t want to be overwhelmed and stressed with huge equipment payments that you can’t keep up with. We have no room to sell equipment right now—all ours is half paid off—but we’re hopeful the economy will improve. We recently fully paid off a chipper, which is a relief, and each year after that, we have a key piece of equipment coming off payments, which will help financially. Don’t get overwhelmed by buying too much gear. Don’t buy three chippers thinking you’ll have a great year, only to be stuck with them if work dries up.

Start small, work your way up, and diversify. For example, buy two chippers and an aerospade kit for PHC. Spend your money wisely. There are also lessons for grass cutters—buy fewer zero-turn mowers rather than stockpiling them. So, those are some tips on making your business recession-proof. I hope it’s helpful.

Again, I’m Phil from Vision Landscapes, a proud member of ECHO Means Business. This is my third year with this amazing group where we share business tips to succeed in the green industry while having a great, safe time. Peace out!