How to grow a business on the side until you can go full-time?

Question

Hey everyone, Aaron here with Latiolais’ Lawn Co. out of Lafayette, Louisiana 👋
I started my lawn and property maintenance business while working a full-time job during the week, and have been growing it through hard work, referrals, and trying to provide dependable service every time.
Jobber has honestly helped take my business to another level with estimates, invoicing, scheduling, and keeping customers updated professionally. It’s helped me run smoother operations and build stronger relationships with customers.
Excited to keep learning from everyone in this community and continue growing the business 👍

For those that started owner-operated, what helped y’all the most when making the jump toward full-time?

hugehomepros · Answer

Well you already took the first step by getting Jobber - it's the easiest way to appear bigger than what you are when you have automations etc.

To get more reach, early on I was a big fan of pay per lead platforms like Thumbtack. This helps get money coming in and is easier to track if it's worth it or not. I remember spending $100-$150 on leads to make $1500-$2000 in a week. I was stoked on that! Keep your price low till you get enough reviews then give yourself a little bit of a raise. I'm not saying be crazy cheap but be on the lower end until you have enough reviews to give you the credibility of charging more.

anthonysalazar · Answer

I worked my full time job, scooped dog poop 7 days a week until the sun went down and did content creation for 3+ years before I grew large enough to quit my job and focus on my business full time. What really helped me grow was consistently being unreasonable with how much I was willing to serve my clients, leveraging their glowing testimonials on Facebook groups and ads, and being relentless on following up with leads and past customers. Just because someone says no today doesn't mean they won't need your services in the future.

Also what helped me a lot was joining groups specific to my industry and meeting/speaking with other business owners who were dealing with the same crap (pun intended lol) I was dealing with. It makes you realize that a lot of the problems you run into someone has already solved that issue and that you're not alone in the struggle.

Keep your nose to the grind stone, you'll be surprised with how far you can get if you don't give up!

maximemoreau · Answer

Keep it up! A lot of businesses start as side-hustles until they grow out of it naturally.&nbsp;

greg · Answer

Hey Aaron, the way my lawncare business started is similar to you. For 3 years I was doing lawncare on the side of my full time manufacturing job. I started Redeeming Lawncare LLC in February 2026. As soon as spring came in late April here in Pennsylvania I started to get calls for lawncare. I was taking to many days off from my manufacturing job that they terminated me.&nbsp; Them firing me has bean the best thing that has happened for my business, I was turning away lawncare jobs because I was trying not to miss to many days from my manufacturing job. There is alot more to my story. But my advice to you is to ask Jesus Christ to help you make the right decision with when or if you should keave your job to go all in for your lawncare business.&nbsp; For me I have no regrets and trusting thats God is going to take care of my business. I hope this helps.

deansbw2026 · Answer

I agree with you on that. I'm currently doing the same thing here. I work a full-time job and run my own pressure washing business on the side.&nbsp;

Forum Discussion

How to grow a business on the side until you can go full-time?

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