How to grow a landscaping business stuck at “owner + one crew” stage
TLDR: My spouse and I run a small landscaping business that’s stable but stuck at the owner + one crew stage. We still have to work in the field daily because we haven’t been able to develop reliable crew leaders, and hiring more staff feels unmanageable. Our maintenance model works well in a dense service area but doesn’t scale easily to nearby towns, and clients mainly see us as a maintenance company rather than landscapers. We’d like to move toward higher-value work and build a business that doesn’t rely on our physical labor long-term. For those who’ve grown service businesses: how do you break past this stage and start working on the business instead of just in it? My spouse and I run a small landscaping business that we somewhat fell into unexpectedly, and we’re looking for advice from people who have grown service businesses past this stage. The business started informally in a neighbourhood about 20 minutes outside a nearby town. Over time, several gated communities were developed nearby, adding a few hundred homes. Many are vacation properties and many residents are snowbirds, so there’s strong demand for property maintenance. Right now we operate with one truck / crew (2–4 people including us), and season that runs roughly March–December. We do have another truck and a few other trailers so have had short stints of running two crews. The business is financially stable. We pay ourselves modestly, have an accountant/bookkeeper, and use QuickBooks and Jobber. However, we feel stuck at this size. Main challenges We’re still on the tools every day. Most hires are entry-level and turnover is high, so we don’t have anyone who can reliably run a crew, quote jobs, train others, or solve problems independently. Crew leads aren’t long-term. Even when someone steps up, they still require constant support. Growth feels unmanageable. Hiring more staff means more work to manage, which already feels like full capacity. Our model relies on a dense service area. Maintenance works well in the clustered neighbourhoods we serve, but expanding into nearby towns becomes inefficient (plus there is a lot of more established competition outside our main service area). We’re stuck between models. Clients mostly see us as a maintenance company, but we’re not big enough to run separate maintenance and landscaping crews. Goals/Ideas We've Thought Of Move toward higher-end design and installation work Reduce dependence on daily physical labor Build a business that is sustainable and potentially sellable For context, I handle marketing (website, social media, Google reviews) and have a graphic design background. One of us also has an irrigation technician certificate, but we haven’t added irrigation services yet due to limited experience. Each winter we plan to work on business development, but the time usually goes toward preparing for the next season. Questions How do service businesses break past the “owner + one crew” stage? How do you develop reliable long-term crew leaders or managers? Is it better to scale maintenance crews or pivot toward higher-value landscaping work? How do you make time to work on the business when operations already take everything? Where do you start to work on the business? We’re approaching middle age and don’t want to rely on physical labor forever. I’d love to build something more sustainable than just owning a job. Neither of us have "dream" careers, but owning a landscaping business wouldn't have been on the list of contenders. We want to know how to make this work and how to figure out what to do in the future whether that is with the current business or doing something completely unrelated. If anyone has gone through this stage in a landscaping or service business, or just as a middle-aged person who still doesn't know what they want to be when they grow up, I’d really appreciate hearing what helped you gain clarity / move forward!
How can a dirt or excavation business add recurring services instead of one-off jobs?
My business is 1 year old, first year i did everything to test the market and see what services are in demand. I found property debris clearing is the most prevalent but i did hardscaping, lawn installs, grading and such. For the first year i am surprised how busy i was bringing in about $100k in revenue. Key Point: i find what i am doing are one off jobs and inconsistent, i would like to pursue services that estabishes recurring business. i do not want to mow lawns. What would you suggest a good complimentary business, landscaping such as installing grass, bushes, plants etc or something else?
Are there any car detailers on Jobber?
Hello Jobber community, I’m Zane Smith, a 21-year-old business owner based in Broward County, Florida, and co-owner of Spray Wipe Wash alongside my partner, Niwangee Nicolas (22). We run a luxury vehicle detailing company built around dealership-level standards. Over the past six years, I’ve specialized in detailing Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Lamborghini, and other high-end and exotic brands, working directly with those dealerships. That experience shaped how we operate Spray Wipe Wash today—every vehicle gets treated like it’s sitting on a showroom floor, not in a driveway. While our core focus is luxury automotive detailing, we’re actively expanding into boat, plane, and residential detailing to offer a full premium care experience for our clients’ entire portfolio of assets.We’re new to Jobber and I’ve noticed there aren’t many car detailing companies on here, so I’m excited to connect with other owners, share ideas, and grow alongside a community that takes their business as seriously as we do.What photos should a pest control company be uploading to a business profile?
I am going to be starting a Google Ads campaign and want my Google profile to be as good looking as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions what types of photos I should upload? I am thinking about some "action" shots, showing me doing some real work. Also some showing that I am professionally equipped to deal with any pest issue. I push hard the exclusion side of the business so maybe some before and after photos of work I do? Any other suggestions?
How do window cleaning businesses stay profitable during the winter slow season?
We have been in business since 2005 most of the years we have always shut down for our slow season being winter. Since maybe 2019 we have worked in the winter doing snow removal/carpet cleaning and hanging Christmas lights to drum up work. We have had a good bit of growth over the years, and I am curious with other window cleaners have y'all found a good niche for the slow winter months?The Handyman Business Machine: Non-Negotiables for Scaling
Non-negotiables that turn a handyman business into a repeatable machine—systems that make the business operate whether you “feel like it” or not. Think standardized scope, flat-rate pricing, SOPs, quality control, scheduling discipline, job costing, and a comp plan that rewards speed + quality. If you had to boil scaling down to 5–10 tenets, what are yours—and which ones moved the needle the most? Make sure they are measurable actions and results. “What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get done.” - Peter Drucker
