Start A Lawn Mowing Business

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A lawn mowing business can prove to be a stable and profitable venture, when done right. It might sound basic- all you need is a mower and a client who needs their grass cut, right?

Not quite. There’s a number of legal considerations you need to prepare for first.

Let’s take a look at a few of these legal aspects, so you can be ready to build your business from grassroots to greatness.

How To Start A Lawn Mowing Business

Unlike some other types of business, starting a lawn mowing business doesn’t require any specific licences or qualifications. So, if you’re interested in this industry and would much rather work outside, this could be the right business venture for you.

That said, it’s still important to know what you’re doing. There’s a difference between mowing your front lawn and getting paid to do it for others. Clients will expect a particular level of quality when they’re paying for a service, so it’s important to make sure your skills are up to par!

Starting A Lawn Mowing Business In NSW

Before you start your lawn mowing business in NSW or any other state for that matter, it’s a good idea to check state or local regulations that may apply. Things like noise regulations could be relevant to your business, so make sure you’re well prepared with all the right information before you start a job.

Legal Tips For Starting A Lawn Mowing Business

When thinking of starting a lawn mowing business, budding business owners tend to get caught up in the specifics of the job itself. That’s important and we’ll get to that later. However, it’s equally important to make sure all the legal aspects are taken care of. This way, you’ll be able to happily offer your services to clients knowing your business is well protected.

Let’s take a look at some of the legal components you need to take care of when starting your lawn mowing business.

Register Your Business

Before you get out there and start trimming hedges, you’ll need to make sure your business is properly registered. Your business registration will depend on the structure you choose for your business. Often, most business owners choose to register their business as a sole trader or start up a company.

As a sole trader, you’ll be the only one responsible for the business. That means, the business’s liabilities, finances and legal matters are your personal responsibility. It’s relatively simple to set up a sole trader business. You just need to go to the Australian Business Registration Service and apply for an ABN. This can be done online- make sure you have all the relevant details ready to go.

You might also want to consider setting up a company. Companies are a legal entity of their own. Therefore, your liability can be limited. However, companies come with more compliance measures and additional registration steps, such as dealing with ASIC and getting an ACN. To make sure things are getting done right, it’s best to have the help of a legal expert when Registering Your Company.

Keep in mind, you can always start off as a sole trader and register your business as a company later on if that’s what works best for your business.

Legal Agreements

Like every business, you’ll need to have the right legal agreements in place to keep your venture protected and ensure you have a healthy, professional relationship with your clients.

Service Agreement

A Service Agreement is the contract between you and your clients. It’s best to have a service agreement signed prior to starting any jobs. The agreement outlines important matters such as scope of work, payment, liabilities and dispute resolution. This way, if there’s ever a misunderstanding, the agreement can always be referred back to.

Employment Agreement

If business is going well, you might decide to hire some staff to help expand the operation. Even though it’s very exciting to have new team members on board, it’s crucial to have an Employment Agreement in place. A well drafted employment agreement explains what the respective duties and obligations are for both parties, ensuring less chances of any lines getting blurred and everyone being on the same page.

Privacy Policy

A lot of businesses operate online. It’s how clients can find their services and book them. Being online has many advantages but there’s also a number of risks that need to be combated, as well as legal responsibilities.

Firstly, if you collect any kind of information from your clients, you’ll need to have a Privacy Policy in place. A privacy policy basically lets users of your website know what is done with their information. This is a legal obligation under the Privacy Act 1998 and Australian Privacy Principles, so it’s wise to have a legal expert draft you a privacy policy that meets all the relevant requirements.

Secondly, as we mentioned, being online comes with its own set of risks. The right legal agreements can help manage your liabilities, such as a Website Terms and Conditions and a Cookie Policy. Our legal experts are happy to draft one up that meets the specific needs of your business- contact us to know more.

What Do I Need To Start A Lawn Mowing Business?

Once you’ve taken care of making sure your business is legally protected, you’ll need to sortout a few other things you might be needing to get your lawn mowing business going. Let’s take a look at a few of these below.

Equipment

One of the most important factors when it comes to a lawn mowing business, is having the right equipment. A few things you’ll need:

The right mower
Grass trimmer
Petrol
Garden clips
Blower
Vehicle to haul all your equipment

This can be a pretty expensive list, especially if you don’t already have some of the items here. It might work better financially if you choose to hire some of the equipment you need at first. When you do this, make sure you have the correct Wet or Dry Hire Agreement in place. If the party you’re hiring off doesn’t already have one ready to go, our legal experts are happy to draw one up for you.

Insurance

It’s a good idea to look into getting the right kind of insurance when you start a lawn mowing business. Sometimes, things can go wrong and you don’t want a single incident to take your entire business down. It’s better to be prepared for a scenario where something might get damaged or you might get hurt. The more prepared you are, less any bad luck will be able to keep you down for long (or at all).

Next Steps

Getting your lawn mowing business off to a good start is essential if you want it to grow steadily. Taking care of legal matters is a great way to lay solid foundations for your business. To summarise what we’ve discussed:

To start a lawn mowing business, there’s no particular licences or qualifications but you should check your state and suburb to see if there are any local requirements
You’ll need to register your business and get the right legal agreements in place, such as a service agreement
Then, it’s good to look into arranging things like your equipment and insurance needs

Having the help of a legal expert to set up your lawn mowing business can pay off in the long run, contact us today if you have any questions!

If you would like a consultation on starting a lawn mowing business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.

Sapna Goundan

Sapna has completed a Bachelor of Arts/Laws. Since graduating, she's worked primarily in the field of legal research and writing, and she now writes for Sprintlaw.

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