You're a lawn care owner (or aspire to be one) and want to grow your business. Growth is a never ending process… in business, in life, in anything. If you want to keep up in today's economy, growth is a must. Books are one of the best tools to fuel this growth. In this case, lawn care books are one of the best tools.
Success isn’t just a goal when it comes to business: it’s a requirement. Without achieving a reasonable amount of success, your overhead costs will quickly eat up any profits, leaving your business in the red. As is the case in many other situations, knowledge is power, so knowing exactly what to do in any situation will surely help your business thrive, not just scrape by.
Many say that failure is the best teacher, or the best way to learn. This is true, but an even better teacher is learning from other's failures. This allows you time save time and money by avoiding certain failures yourself. This doesn't mean you will never fail or you should avoid failure. To some extent, failure is inevitable and just a part of life.
What better place to learn than from the experts themselves? Here are five lawn care books and five general business books you should read if you want to make the most money from your lawn care company!
1. “Cut That Grass and Make That Cash: How to Start and Grow a Successful Lawn Care and Landscaping Business” by Paul Jamison
In this awesome book you can get lawn care business wisdom straight from the host of Green Industry Podcast himself, Paul Jamison! Starting by working out of the trunk of his car and building towards the successful business full of high-profile clients that he runs today, Paul’s certainly built a name for himself over the years.
The perfect read for anyone just starting out or already in the lawn care game, Jamison shares his experiences with the perfect balance of wisdom and humor that will make you want to keep reading. Forged from a combination of Jamison’s own story and those of over 150 other lawn care experts, this book is a must-read on any lawn care business owners list!
This was definitely my favorite lawn care book I've ever read. It is such a raw and authentic story that is guaranteed to leave you inspired and give you some practical tips for starting or growing your lawn care business.
I've never met (not yet anyway… Paul if you're reading this, let's make it happen dude!) Paul Jamison, but he seems like a really great guy that is fun and very knowledgeable about the lawn care industry. He's a great guy to learn from and this book offers you that opportunity.
2. “Mowbiz: The Professional Landscaper's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Own Landscaping or Lawn Care Business” by Mowbiz
Although Mowbiz is no more, their years of expertise and timeless techniques live on within the pages of this book. Lawn care professionals of all levels can learn something from this comprehensive book, which covers everything from calculated business tactics all the way down to the basics of mowing a lawn. As one of the most information-packed books available on lawn care today, you should definitely pick up your own copy before they’re all sold out!
This book is very practical and provides many different processes and strategy you can use in your lawn care business. I recommend this book to anyone starting out or a fairly small company.
3. “Lawn Care: End Money Worries Business Book: Secrets to Starting, Financing, Marketing and Making Massive Money Right Now!” by Brian Mahoney
Using proper lawn care techniques is certainly a crucial part of running a successful lawn care business, but the actual service only accounts for part of the business itself. Knowing how to secure funding, manage money, and invest wisely are all key to maintaining and expanding your own lawn care empire.
Unfortunately, learning all the ins and outs of money management takes a lot of time, so save yourself the trouble, and pick up a copy of the book today! Covering everything from making a basic business plan to SBA loans and free advertising, this lawn care book is one you won’t want to miss!
4. “The E-Myth Landscape Contractor” by Michael E. Gerber
E-Myth is known for providing excellent guidance and coaching to business owners in a variety of fields. Throughout this 252-page book, Michael Gerber takes the concepts often covered in other E-Myth books and guides the reader on how to apply them specifically to landscaping and lawn care. Want to learn business straight from “the World's #1 Small Business Guru” himself?
The original E-Myth book is one of my favorite business books of all time. It is such a practical book with so many great parts. To me, it was almost like a business degree in a book… or at least close to it. I would highly recommend this revised version specifically for lawn care and landscape companies.
5. “The Lawn Care Entrepreneur – A Start-Up Manual: The Ultimate Lawn Care by Jamie Raines
Perfect for lawn care enthusiasts of all levels, this manual covers nearly everything you’ll ever need to know when it comes to lawn care and landscaping. It takes a look at both the positives and the negatives of the industry, providing first-hand knowledge from an experienced gardener on all the business basics from creating a business plan to establishing the proper accounting and registering your business. Raines wrote this in an easy-to-understand style that covers all the bases without being overly technical or dry, making it the perfect read for your next night in.
6. “The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business: Turn Your Ideas into Money!” by Steve Mariotti
Although not lawn care or landscaping-specific, this book is definitely worth a read for anyone considering (or already) running their own business. Spanning over 496 pages, this “bible of self-help” tells the stories of various young entrepreneurs, their successes, their struggles, and provides the reader with lots of thought-provoking content that they can apply to their own businesses. Instead of making the mistakes yourself, give this book a read, and learn how to avoid most mistakes at all!
7. “Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling: Master the Art of Persuasion, Influence, and Success” by Jordan Belfort
Jordan Belfort may be best known for his part in the giant stock-market manipulation scheme that inspired the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, but there’s no doubt that the man is a business genius. Learn the best business techniques from the “Wolf” himself in the 256-pages that make up this sales and persuasion playbook. If you’re struggling to achieve success when bidding on potential properties then this book should definitely be in your Amazon cart!
8. “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
You may be wondering why I have listed a war strategy book as one of the top business books for lawn care companies. The Art of War has principles that you can easily apply to many different areas, one of those being business. This is one of my favorite books of all time. There are so many practical strategies from thousands of years ago that can and should be applied to your business.
If you would prefer a book that uses a lot of principles from The Art of War, but relates it to modern day, I would recommend “The 33 Strategies for War” by Robert Greene. If you want to get real crazy, I'd recommend the rest of Robert Greene's books below:
I recently read and reread all four of these books and let me tell you… they are really great. It's really crazy how much information is packed into each of these books.
Back to “The Art of War,” I highly recommend checking out this book. It is one of the best books that can be applied to so many different things.
9. “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
Ever wish you could make people automatically like you? Well, using the techniques contained in this book, you can! A must-read for anyone (business owner or not), this business classic by Carnegie reveals the secrets behind making friends, maintaining positive relationships, and influencing those around you. Applicable in both business and your day-to-day life, this Carnegie classic is one you simply can’t afford not to read!
10. “Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant” by W. Chan Kim
There’s a reason this best-selling book is available in 46 different languages around the world—it works! Many of the other books we’ve gone over so far focus on improving yourself and using general business strategies that are proven to work.
This guide from W. Chan Kim takes a different approach, arguing that the world is constantly competing over an ever-shrinking profit margin and teaching you how to adapt, overcome, and make your own marketplace within the industry. Lawn care and landscaping are both highly competitive fields, so read this book if you’d like to start making your own “blue ocean”!
Audible Trial
Maybe you aren't a fan of reading or don't have time? One of the best ways to learn as a lawn care owner or worker is by using audiobooks. You can get almost any of the books above as an audiobook through Audible and starting listening to your favorite books.
When I owned my landscaping company I listened to countless audiobooks while driving and mowing lawns. When I began working for a mower manufacturer, I drove A LOT. This gave me a lot of time to listen to audiobooks as well. I would highly recommend checking out Audible.
Try Audible today with a 30 day free trial.
Wrapping it up
Which one of these books do you have already? Let me know in the comments.
If you’re interested in staying up-to-date on reviews of the latest mowers sign up for our newsletter below!
