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algo's avatar
algo
Contributor 2
25 days ago

Maintenance or Design & Build? Or Both?

Hello Jobber community!

My name is Levi, I am a Canadian 20 year old home service business owner. secind year of business. I am at a big crossroads here, I do not know if I should commit fully to maintenance (lawn care, clean ups, guaranteed recurring revenue) or Landscape / Hardscape design and build (Sod, patios, decks, fences, retaining walls, longer timeline, better margins, etc..)? Currently we are doing both but it is proving to be an absolute nightmare to manage. Both sides of my business seem so different, recurring small jobs with many clients versus large projects with one client. Currently Landscape ? Hardscape is the majority of our topline, but it is very nice to have that recurring revenue from the lawncare. Plus I do not see a way to stop my mow list without effecting my reputation. I also see a very realistic reality in which the lawncare list overtakes the landscaping. Lawncare seems much easier to scale and automate. Without a doubt we will continue to do spring, fall cleanups and snow removal as we make too much revenue in those couple months, this makes me lean more towards maintenance as those go hand in hand. I just do not know what to do, any suggestions?

business advice
business plans

1 Reply

  • EnergizeUs's avatar
    EnergizeUs
    Contributor 5
    9 days ago

    Hey Levi — respect to you for even asking this at year two. A lot of people wait until they burn out to face this decision.

    Here’s what I’ve learned after working with a lot of service-based businesses (and making some of these same decisions myself):

    There’s no right answer, but there is a smarter question:

    “Which model can I systemize, scale, and sustain without burning out?”

    This visual helped me break that exact decision down with clarity.

    Growth isn’t just about what makes more, it’s about what you can build a system around.

    Happy to walk you through the process or share how we mapped out service lines for growth without chaos.