A landscaping or lawn care business in Maryland can provide a great part-time or full-time income. Your landscaping business could include gardening, lawn mowing, leaf and lawn debris removal, excavation, tree work, and more. You may want to start here: How To Start A Landscaping Business. Make sure you research properly as laws are constantly changing.
Getting started– A website created by the state of Maryland on how to start a business can be found here: http://commerce.maryland.gov/start
-Register your landscaping business name.
Find out more about registering a fictitious name or DBA (“Doing Business As”) here: http://www.dat.state.md.us/businesses/Pages/Maryland-Checklist-for-New-Businesses.aspx#regi
If you need help selecting a name for your landscaping business: How to Choose A Business Name and Landscaping Business Name Ideas
-Select your business structure.
Sole-proprietor, LLC, Partnership, Corporation, etc. Find out more here: http://www.dat.state.md.us/businesses/Pages/Maryland-Checklist-for-New-Businesses.aspx#stru
-Register your landscaping business with the state of Maryland.
You can register your business with the state of Maryland here: http://commerce.maryland.gov/start/the-process
-Open a business account at your bank.
You will need to open a separate bank account for your landscaping business with your new business name.
-Register your business for tax purposes and hire an accountant.
If you are a small company, it is not too difficult to file your own taxes. As you grow, it will be easier to have an accountant do the work. More info about taxes here: http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Business_Taxes/New_Businesses/ and http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Starting-a-Business
-Get landscaping software.
Landscaping software will streamline your business before you even start, giving you visibility and control over all your leads, sales, jobs, and tasks from a single program to get your company on the fast track toward growth.
You’ll also be able to create estimates, place material orders, automate the boring (but necessary) stuff, empowering you and your team to finish jobs on time and on budget. Try JobNimbus for Free!
-Get Liability Insurance.
We work with ContractorsLiability.com because they’re the one-stop-shop for General Liability insurance and are able to get online quotes in all 50 states. Learn more >
More about liability insurance here: Contractor Liability Insurance
-Worker’s Compensation.
You will need Worker’s Compensation if you have any employees. Find out more>
-Become a licensed contractor with the state of Maryland.
You cannot legally enter into a contract with a homeowner without having a MHIC license. Find out about the contractor license here: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/mhic/. The registration application for the Maryland Home Improvement Commission Contractor License is found here: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/mhic/mhicapply.shtml
-Get your own health insurance.
Since you will be self-employed, you will need your own health insurance. If you have employees, you will need a plan that will include their health needs also.