Your skills and aptitudes

Carry out a skills analysis

Before you start looking at your own individual markets, and working further on market research, you’ll need to carry out an analysis of the skills you currently have.

The tools of our business are not too important at this time. Whether or not you have the latest gardening gismo means nothing if you’re not able to use it properly.

You will need to identify your own skills and recognise what services you can immediately offer. I stress immediately, as knowledge and skills are things which you can acquire and build on as your business grows.

Make a list

It’s time to take a look at yourself in terms of what you can offer potential clients. Remember, if you can cut a lawn then you’ve enough skill to start your own business. All of the other skills can be acquired and learnt. So don’t be put off if you only get one item down on the list.

• Begin by listing all the jobs you can think of that will need doing around the garden at any time of the year.
• You may find it easier to do this if you divide your list into the 12 months of the year.
• Don’t limit your list to outdoors. If you’re a wizard with houseplants then that is another angle for your business.
• Brainstorm your ideas. Do this by writing down everything that comes into your head, no matter how stupid or incredible it may sound.
• When your list is completed take a short break before listing all the gardening skills you have.
• Remember, everything that you can do in a garden is a skill. The apparently simple act of collecting and bagging autumn leaves is a skill, and something that people will pay you to do.
• Skills can be anything from repairing, painting or erecting a fence to sweeping the garden paths. Put everything down.

Interpreting the results

Let’s assume that initially at least you’ve only put down lawn cutting. That’s fine, because this is a service in itself. Lawn cutting isn’t about fashion, it’s about need. Every garden that has a lawn will need it cut either once or twice a week. Thus representing a market for your services. The most important thing is not to dwell on the fact that all you can do is cut a lawn, but to make sure that you cut lawns better than anyone else. Aim for the top end of the domestic market where clients will pay extra for a professional cut. Imagine for a moment that your lawn cutting service were a hairdresser’s or barber’s shop. Are you a £5 short back and sides operation hoping to boost your earnings with tips? Or are you looking to offer the best lawn cutting service in your locality and therefore able to charge more?

Say your list goes beyond this. Perhaps you’re confident at planting and at pruning, or you’re an expert on roses or vegetable growing. Maybe you’re one of the ever-increasing groups of gardeners who are using organic methods of gardening and are determined to make your garden as environmentally welcoming as possible. Then initially, at least, you’re ready to offer a whole range of services that come under the heading of organic:

• organic pest control methods
• preparing the soil using only recognised and approved organic products
• running an organic gardening advisory service.

As I’ve said before, skills are something that can be acquired and learnt. When it comes to gardening, I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to claim that they know it all. Even the most seasoned of gardeners, who’ve spent a lifetime caring for and tending gardens, tell me that they learn something new every day. So don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. Instead, concentrate on what you do know and the rest you can learn as time goes on.

Further research

Libraries are full of gardening books. Huge, wonderful, glossy books full of information and practical advice that are available to you free of charge. At any one time I will have anywhere between three and ten gardening books on loan from the library. Some I take out regularly. Some I need just once for a specific project or job. I have also built up my own comprehensive gardening library. Those books that I have borrowed from the library and found myself going back to again and again, I have eventually bought. To me books are as important as tools. In fact they are such an integral part of your business that buying them is a legitimate business expense and therefore tax deductible.

Have you got what it takes?

In running your own business you will have to:

• rely on yourself
• motivate yourself
• take responsibility for your future
• be flexible
• be your own best friend
• be physically fit
• be mentally prepared.

Below is a list of questions that you should ask yourself. It’s useful if you can write down your answers, but don’t worry if you can’t.

• 1.Why do you want to work for yourself?
• 2.What is your biggest fear about starting your own business?
• 3.Do you enjoy your own company?
• 4.Can you take criticism?
• 5.How physically fit are you?
• 6.What impact will this successful venture have on your current lifestyle? Be specific. For example you may be planning to earn enough money to pay off a large debt, or break free from your present employment.

The objective of the exercise is to help you recognise where in the world of gardening freelance opportunities are most likely to be. Let’s have a look at what this has brought out.

Interpreting your answers

1. Why do you want to be self-employed? Certainly being self-employed has its attractions. It’s estimated that around 80% of the working population would like to be self-employed. The question is why? Why would so many wish to give up all the rights of an employee to branch out on their own?

While there are lots of advantages to being self-employed, there are also some perks that initially you may have to forego:

• regular wage/salary
• paid holidays
• paid sick leave
• the daily social contact with your work colleagues
• support in making decisions.

Starting a business from nothing is probably one of the most exciting things that you could ever do, particularly when your business grows and become profitable. But be warned, getting there takes lots of hard work and commitment. You must remember also that you, and you alone are responsible for all that happens in your business. This means sharing in any losses as well as profits.

2. What’s your biggest fear? What’s stopping you from running your own gardening business? If it’s lack of knowledge of the nuts and bolts of setting up and running the business, then you won’t have to look further than this book. However, I suspect that lurking somewhere in your mind are other fears. These may include meeting people for the first time, or stepping into the unknown, or worrying that you don’t know enough about gardening to do it professionally. My biggest fear was that I didn’t know enough about gardening to be able to actually charge someone for my work. If this is yours, don’t worry. There are ways that you can increase your knowledge and which will help give you the confidence to get started. Here are some examples:

• Evening classes.
• Correspondence courses.
• Short courses.
• Take a part-time job with a local nursery.
• Read as many gardening books as you can.
• Befriend a local nurseryman or woman. In my experience, nothing quite compares with the knowledge and enthusiasm for plants and plant care than that of these men and women who spend their lives growing things for our benefit. You’ll find they’ll be only too happy to share their experience with you.

Whatever your greatest fear is, you can overcome it. Decide now to start doing just that.

3. Do you enjoy your own company? Gardening for a living can be a solitary affair. I have worked on a number of projects where apart from an occasional robin following my progress, I have been on my own for the day. This wouldn’t suit everyone. I recently took over the management of a large estate where the previous gardener had to resign on the advice from his doctor as he was suffering from depression. His doctor told him that he wasn’t suited to working on his own and needed an environment where he was in contact with other people.

4. Can you take criticism? Hopefully the times that your work will be criticised will be few, but there will be occasions where despite your best efforts you will fail to please someone. How will you cope if this happens?

Flying into a defensive rage with your customer will solve nothing. So if you’re the type of person who shoots first and asks questions later, you may be better suited to the life of an employee.

Criticism can be constructive, part of the learning experience.

5. How physically fit are you? If you’re to be successful and enjoy running your business, being physically fit is a must. There’s an enormous difference between clipping and mowing your own lawn for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon and spending eight hours a day, five days a week gardening.

Get fit before you start your business.

6. What impact will running a successful venture have on your lifestyle? Can you visualise the impact your successful venture will have on your lifestyle? It’s important that you can. Working for yourself, being your own boss, whether it be a few hours a week or every day, means that you alone are responsible for motivating yourself. Particularly in the early days when everything is somewhat unsure, and you’ve stepped out of your comfort zones, you may find your motivation wavering. This is perfectly normal. When you’re on your knees pulling stubborn weeds with a freezing wind biting at your neck, it can be difficult to visualise your success, particularly if you’ve enjoyed the warmth of working in a comfortable office with fresh coffee on the go and time to phone your friends. Not to mention a regular salary.

Never lose sight of your dream

No matter who you are there will be times that you will lose sight of your dream. The vision of where you want to go will be lost to a deep, seemingly impenetrable cloud of pessimism. You are what you think. If you think you’re successful, then in your eyes, you are. If you think you’re a failure, likewise, in your mind you are. That’s why it’s so important that you continually remember why it is you’re doing what you’re doing.

You must see yourself as being successful right from the start. You’re the one with the guts and enthusiasm to start your own business. The muck, sweat and all the rest that goes with it, is part and parcel of your new life. From now on you’re going to be paddling your own canoe, often not really knowing what’s around the next turn. Being responsible for your own future brings with it a number of challenges and one of them is to keep motivating yourself to keep going, especially when times get tough.