Introduction
OneEarth will operate as a sole proprietorship offering landscaping services to suburban communities in Oregon. The sales strategy will entail initial personal selling to create brand awareness and elicit referrals. Later, media advertisements will be used to market the business beyond Oregon. OneEarth will achieve a strong competitive position by offering quality and professional services. Its personnel will include two full-time employees (management team) and five part-time staff. The business is projected to break even in year 3 of operation.
Business Objectives & Mission
This business plan is for OneEarth Services, a startup business that will offer landscaping services to residential and commercial customers. The three-year objectives for this enterprise include acquiring at least 30 residential clients that use OneEarth’s services regularly, increasing commercial customers by 20% annually, and attaining sustainable cash flow within this period through superior services. The organizational mission is to offer professional landscaping services that meet customer expectations and exceed industry standards.
Company Description
OneEarth, a sole proprietorship, will provide landscaping services to residential units and businesses. The business will be located in Eugene city, Oregon. The range of services offered by the start-up will include lawn cutting and maintenance, landscape edging and cutting, new sod installation in lawns, weeding, and landscape design and architectural services. Additionally, irrigation installation, tree planting, and spring cleanup would be provided on a need basis. These services will be provided once a week but this rate can be increased depending on specific client needs.
Service Plan
OneEarth will offer a range of landscaping services, including lawn cutting and maintenance. To differentiate its services from those offered by other small companies, this company will focus on quality and professionalism. Initially, an experienced supervisor will oversee all landscaping work done by employees to ensure they meet customer standards and expectations. All interactions with residential customers will be professional and involve respect for privacy. Quality and professionalism will yield competitive advantages for OneEarth and help attract and maintain a loyal base of residential and commercial clients.
Start-up Summary
The main start-up requirements for OneEarth comprise assets, rental space, and insurance. The business will need office equipment, including furniture and a computer system with a printer. Additionally, a pickup truck will be required to facilitate movements to and from client locations. Three commercial lawnmowers, a trimmer, and an edger will be purchased for cutting grass near bushes and trimming lawns. Rakes and blower machines will be needed to remove litter on pavements. Safety equipment, such as gumboots, goggles, and gloves, will be needed when working.
Market Analysis
Landscaping is among the fastest-growing industries in the United States. The key growth drivers include high demand for outdoor landscaping services, the establishment of household vegetable and fruit gardens, and a shortage of skilled lawn care providers. Suburban middle-income families requiring backyard cookouts are increasing in the US (IBISWorld, 2021). Households without children are key target clients because they are more likely to require these services than those with preschoolers. In addition, this market is characterized by growth in commercial complexes and increasing penetration of green roofs that need lawn beautification and care.
Competitor Analysis
Competition in this industry is not intense; large landscaping companies such as GrassRoots Landscape Company primarily target big clients, while small lawn care service providers focus on residential customers. Therefore, an opportunity exists for a new entrant into this industry. Additional competition may come from robotic lawnmowers that can be used by individual customers. Competition in this industry is driven by quality and professionalism. Residential customers use referrals when looking for service providers. The low entry costs and labor-intensive nature of this industry mean that most competitors are not large companies.
Customer Analysis
The target customers in this industry can be categorized into two: residential homes and businesses. They include middle-aged homeowners who are less likely than youthful individuals to do their lawns, suburban middle-class families, and commercial establishments. OneEarth will first target middle-income homeowners that are expected to use landscaping services. A secondary customer group will include local commercial establishments, such as schools and office complexes. Advertisements will be placed in local newspapers and social media to enhance OneEarth’s visibility in this market.
Marketing Plan: Targeting & Positioning
Initially, OneEarth will target residential customers in Eugine, Oregon. Personal selling will be used as the marketing strategy for this neighborhood. This approach will leverage employee relationships with the suburban community to create brand awareness and persuade residents to try our services. The goal is to inform potential clients through face-to-face selling by a salesperson. A list of regular residential clients using our services will be compiled. The next step will entail running ads in local newspapers and social media pages to increase the visibility of the OneEarth brand.
Market Segmentation
The primary target segment for OneEarth Services will be suburban middle-income households. The key characteristics of this subset of the market include the absence of children or teenagers to mow the lawn, median income ranging between $50,000 and $100,000, large lawn sizes (3,000 to 7,000 square feet) that need regular care and maintenance, and white-collar occupations. The secondary target market for OneEarth will be commercial complexes in Eugene, Oregon, including business premises, schools, and parks.
Market Penetration
To penetrate the market, OneEarth will use face-to-face communications to market its services in the Oregon community and identify prospective leads. It will initially leverage employee relationships with relatives to enter this market. In addition, superior quality and professionalism will be promoted as OneEarth’s unique selling points. Further, lawn mowing and landscaping services will be offered free of charge to a select group of customers. OneEarth’s services will be competitively priced to attract residential clients. Advertisements in local media and social media will be used to sell this brand to the Oregon community and promote referrals.
Pricing Strategy
OneEarth’s services will be competitively priced to attract and maintain customers. Lawn cutting, which usually costs $45, will be offered for $40. Landscaping companies are paid $20-$25 per square foot for edging. OneEarth will demand $22 from clients for the same quantity of work. Sod installation and weeding, which cost an average of $0.35-$0.80 per square foot and $65-$120, will be priced at $0.35 and $67. Other services, including landscape design and trimming, will also be priced competitively.
Marketing Mix
OneEarth’s marketing mix will include specific products, prices, places, and promotional strategies. Besides landscaping services, such as trimming and lawn cutting, OneEarth will offer weeding and insect control to clients. Regarding price, a low-cost strategy will be pursued with discounts offered to loyal customers. Eugene, Oregon, is a strategic location for the landscaping business. The suburban community in this city includes middle-class families with large lawns that need maintenance. The promotional strategies that will be used include advertisements in local papers, social media marketing, ads in local radio stations, flyers, and the use of bloggers.
Marketing Phases
The sales strategy for OneEarth will be implemented in phases. In year 1, face-to-face communications with prospective clients will be conducted. This approach will involve marketing to family members and leveraging referrals by relatives of OneEarth employees. The staff will communicate the unique selling points of this business – quality and professionalism. Year 2 will involve personal selling and ads in local media outlets. Advertisements will feature testimonials from previous customers to elicit interest in the brand. In year 3, as the business expands, bloggers will be engaged to market OneEarth’s landscaping services beyond Eugene.
Operations Plan
The operations plan for OneEarth is aligned with the three-year objectives of the landscaping business. Short-term processes or routine tasks that will be completed in the day-to-day running of OneEarth include receiving and processing customer orders, purchasing supplies such as weedicides and insecticides, and routine equipment maintenance and repairs. Engine oil and filters will be inspected to ensure that machines are in good working condition. Long-term goals for the landscaping business including serving 100 customers and reaching $90,000 in revenue by the third year. Additionally, OneEarth will be launched in two other cities besides Eugene by the fifth year of operation.
Management Team
OneEarth is owned by Jake Milton who is also the founder. Jake was first introduced to landscaping as an undergraduate student. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has previously worked for a large reputable landscaping company. OneEarth’s general manager is Zack Williams, an experienced loan mower operator, and business leader. The landscaping business also has a board of advisors that includes Rick O’Connor (a successful entrepreneur) and Hull Kim (a startup management consultant).
Personnel Plan
OneEarth’s personnel will consist of full-time (FTEs) and part-time employees (PTEs). FTEs will include Jack Milton who will be responsible for signing up new clients and handling customer orders and Zack Williams whose role will entail new staff recruitment, training, and supervision. PTEs will be employed in two phases, as the business expands. In year 1, the initial three PTEs will be hired to do lawn mowing, trimming, and other landscaping services. An additional two employees will be recruited in year 2. This staff population will be increased steadily to reflect the seasonal demand for landscaping services.
Personnel Costs
Personnel costs will vary between year 1 and year 2, as an additional part-time staff is recruited. The annual gross salary for two full-time employees (the founder and general manager) will be $22,500 and $12,800 respectively. In year 1, the estimated personnel costs will be $67,700, which includes salaries for three part-time staff. This amount will increase to $89,300 in years 2 and 3, as more employees are hired to cater to an increase in demand for OneEarth’s services.
Financial Plan
The three-year financial plan for OneEarth is based on two main assumptions. First, the approximate interest rate will remain constant for three years, at 10%. Second, the estimated tax rate (25.42%) will not change during this period. The business is expected to break even after three years, assuming a monthly revenue of $3,900. After this period, OneEarth will be self-sustaining in terms of cash flow.
Income Statement
The three-year income statement for OneEarth is based on some assumptions, including sales will increase by 50% between year 1 and year 2. In addition, depreciation is expected to rise during this period. As stated above, OneEarth will break even in year three (a profit of $5,500). In years 1 and 2, the business will incur a loss of $15,200 and $13,100, respectively.
Balance Sheets
The projected total assets for OneEarth will be $10,700, $20,700, and $22,700 in years 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The liabilities will decrease from $17,300 in year 1 to $15,900 in year 2, as the business begins to pay back its loans.
Cash Flow Statement
The net cash flow is projected to increase from $1,200 in year 1 to $22,200 in year 2. The sources of cash will include sales and account receivables during this period. Expenditures for the business will comprise purchases of supplies and bill payments.
References
IBISWorld. (2021). Landscaping services industry in the US – Market research report. Web.