Start a Commercial Plant Care Business

If you have a green thumb and you love working with plants, starting a commercial plant care business should be right up your alley. For around $1000 startup fee, you can establish a route that can keep you busy either part-time or full-time. Not only that, but you should be able to make a modest living doing what you love.

This business works best if you are living in and around a major population center. Most of the plants you'll be tending will be situated in common areas within office buildings. It's a fact that many corporations have adopted a greener look over the past few decades. It adds a bit of softness and creates an atmosphere of relaxation in an otherwise cold corporate environment.

The majority of your daily duties will involve simply watering plants and doing some minor trimming. In some cases, your customer will also want plants swapped in and out throughout the year. A good example of this is changing from summer to fall, to winter plants. For this reason, you should be a plant lover and have a bit of experience.

In order to service your customers efficiently, it's a good idea to have a small van or truck. Occasionally, you'll be transporting plants from the nursery to your customer’s site - having said that, you can probably get away with using your car on a temporary basis.

Marketing your services will mean creating working partnerships with local nurseries, advertising in the Yellow Pages, taking out a classified ad, or doing some old-fashioned, face-to-face sales - make sure you get some business cards printed.

Expect to make between 30,000 and $60,000 per year working full time. While this certainly won't make you rich, it does allow you to make your own hours and gives you a certain amount of freedom.