Starting up a small gardening business

ambroze

Looking for advice from self employed gardeners.
Looking to set up a small gardening business having completed RHS training, and doing the basics to start with. I have the money for van and equipment, my question is how much should I charge, and how much of that would be profit?

For example if I charge £15 an hour, roughly how much of that would go towards tax, insurance petrol and other costs etc and what would I be left with? Thanks

paddyrg

Simply put, self employed, you are the business, so you take what you earn, deduct the cost of doing business, and at the year end, pay tax on that.

It's not as simple as how much of £15 is left over, as you have a tax-free allowance, and the amount you spend on petrol and insurance is unknowable by randoms on a forum! If you do one hour a week that may be 100% going on fuel, if you do 70h in one location it may be 0%, for instance.

If you want a VERY crude guide, put £3 from every £15 (or 20p from each pound) into a savings account to pay your taxes, and you'll get a little windfall each year as a result.

ambroze

Thanks Paddy.

I know it's impossible to be precise, just wanted to know from gardeners how much they generally pocket after tax and expenses.

Thank you for your advice though

Mistral001

ambroze wrote: »

Thanks Paddy.

I know it's impossible to be precise, just wanted to know from gardeners how much they generally pocket after tax and expenses.

Thank you for your advice though

I am afraid most business people keep their rates/expenses etc. to themselves as they are arrived at usually through lots of hard experience. Real life business is not like Dragon's Den.

ambroze

I guess I should ask this question on a gardening forum!

PlutoinCapricorn

How about this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Become-Self-Employed-Gardener-ebook/dp/B00NMVDPAG

ambroze

Thanks. Am going to see if I can get some advice from a gardening forum from people who have just started up and are willing to help others who are in the same boat. Thanks all for your advice

redvision95

We wouldn't be able to tell you what you would be looking at earning after tax etc etc etc as it depends on so many factors.


It depends on how much work you can secure, don't always expect to have work because you may have work one day and be sitting at home playing FreeCell the next day waiting for work.


The amount you should charge depends on loads of other stuff, the area you live in, the type of gardening you want to do, the services youll offer, the quality of your work etc etc.


Youll find that other traders/gardeners etc wont tell you what they really charge because its a dog eat dog world out there and everyone likes to keep their prices between them and their customers so nobody comes in and undercuts them, that's one of the basics of being self employed and being successful (earning a living) of it.


We cant tell you how much the insurance or fuel for a van will cost because it varies, for example - I am a self employed courier running a Mercedes sprinter LWB 2.1 turbo diesel I have to put 1/2 of whatever I charge back into the bank for running the van alone.


were sorry but youll more than likely get the same answers from a gardening forum too.


IF it helps, a gardening customer of mine (doesn't have his own van and hires me when he needs stuff moved) charges £30 a hour or hell charge by the garden instead of by the hour, one garden he could charge £300 to cut the grass, trim hedges, weeding etc etc the next garden could be £100 for the same. Its all dependant on many different things.

ambroze

I've been very lucky in that two gardeners have contacted me (they do however work miles away from where i'm located so there was no fear of competition!) and each have given me what they take home on average in various scenarios.

Any fellow newbie gardeners with questions, i highly recommend joining gardening forums for advice and you will be messaged privately.

Thanks for all your replies though. I wasn't looking for business advice, just for a self employed gardener to give rough, average info based on real experience. I chose wrong forum, sorry!

fishybusiness

http://landscapejuicenetwork.com

That's where I go.

pooch

ambroze wrote: »

Looking for advice from self employed gardeners.
Looking to set up a small gardening business having completed RHS training, and doing the basics to start with. I have the money for van and equipment, my question is how much should I charge, and how much of that would be profit?

For example if I charge £15 an hour, roughly how much of that would go towards tax, insurance petrol and other costs etc and what would I be left with? Thanks

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