36 Start-Up
BLOG SMALL BUSINESS
Yasmin and Mark Roworth, from Chorley own a small landscaping business called MPR Landscapes. Here Yasmin tells us about their road to starting the business – all the concerns and costs involved before you even start to make any money, and the importance of setting the standards high…
T
he opportunity came earlier this year to create our own business in the Landscape sector, allowing us to work together full
time. Mark’s 10 years of experience in the sector and my administrative, marketing and website design skills were put into action and MPR Landscapes was born.
Of course, the decision to start up wasn’t easy. The usual worries plagued us; would work come our way? Will we make enough money to survive a very harsh winter? Would clients choose us over our competitors? The scenarios were endless but we ploughed on and we got past the point of no return. Firstly, we educated ourselves by listening to others in the industry – and this is still important to us. You never know everything. Getting all the essentials to start up a business is
far from easy on the budget; sufficient funds are needed for even the basics. Purchasing a decent van, insuring it and getting it sign written takes up a large portion of the funds. Buying new tools and health & safety equipment is another big expense, but of course a necessity. We also needed computer equipment, business software packages and specialist stationery ie business cards and leaflets, plus logo design costs, a website and marketing. The list seemed endless and even when we thought we had covered everything – something else appeared on the ‘to do’ list. Whilst there may have been disagreements in
the start-up of our business, both of us agree looking professional and having high standards in our work is something that will make us stand out for the right reasons to potential clients.
THE NEXT PROLANDSCAPERWILL BEA
INTERVIEW WITH ANOTHER BIG INDUSTRY NAME
4 INSPIRATIONAL PORTFOLIO FEATURES SAM HASSALL PROVIDES MORE IN DEPTH BUSINESS INFORMATION AND READ THE LAST IN OUR SERIES FROM DAVID WINCH – SALES TACTICS AND ADVICE
FEATURES ON UTVs, PAVING, PLANTS & SEEDING, OUTDOOR FURNITRE AND EXCAVATORS
| October 2011 | Volume1 | Issue2 Telling all our friends, family and contacts that we
were starting the business was probably the best thing we did. They were all so supportive and having seen the quality of Mark’s previous work had no qualms in recommending us. When other landscapers say ‘word of mouth’ is really the best type of advertising there is, I was sceptical but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The shiny new diary we bought all those weeks ago was starting to get ink on the pages……. See next month’s issue to find out what happened when MPR got off the ground, their first jobs won and the day to day challenges of running your own small business. Visit them at
www.mprlandscapes.co.uk and follow them on twitter @mprlandscapes
BUMPER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER ISSUE WITH LOTS MORE INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE ARTICLES. MAKE A NOTE IN YOUR DIARY TO EXPECT DELIVERY MID NOVEMBER AND YOU CAN READ THE FOLLOWING:
PLUS ALL OUR REGULAR FEATURES including – The Little Interview, Look Out For…, news from THE APL and BALI
Don’t forget you can keep up to date with all that’s going on at
www.pro-landscaper.co.uk, join our linked in group and visit our facebook page. Why not follow us on twitter @ProLandscaperJW?
www.pro-landscaper.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52