There are a number of steps to start a legal landscaping or lawn care business in the state of South Carolina. Your South Carolina landscaping business could include gardening, lawn mowing, leaf removal, excavation, tree work, and more. You must do your own thorough research, as laws change regularly. You may want to start here: How To Start A Landscaping Business.
Getting started– A resource created by the state of South Carolina to help you start your business can be found here: South Carolina Business One-Stop
-Register your landscaping business name.
Find out if the business name you want is available: South Carolina Business Name Search .
If you need help selecting a name for your landscaping business: How To Choose a Lawn Care Business Name and Landscaping Business Name Ideas
-Select your business structure.
Sole-proprietor, LLC, Partnership, Corporation, etc. Find out more here: South Carolina Business Structure
More about entities here: Handyman Business Structure
-Register your lawn care business.
Find out more about how register your landscaping or lawn care business with the state of South Carolina here: South Carolina Business One-Stop
-Open a Business Checking Account.
You will need to open a separate bank account for your lawn care business with your new business name.
-Find out about taxes and hire an accountant.
You may want to file your own taxes if you are a small company. As you grow, it will be easier to have an accountant do the work. More info about taxes here:
-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>
-Register as a Contractor.
Find out if you need to register as a landscaping contractor licensing here: https://llr.sc.gov/clb/
-Get 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.
-City License.
You may be required to obtain a license to operate your landscaping or lawn care business in a particular locale, whether you are a resident, or not.
-Permits.
Depending on the locale, you may need to apply for permits before commencing certain types of landscaping jobs.
-Special Certifications and Licenses.
You may possibly need to be certified or licensed to work with certain fertilizers or other lawn chemicals.