A plant nursery is not one of those businesses you have to break the bank to get started. As a matter of fact, you can start a plant nursery from your backyard, and then grow the business to as big as you want.
The only reason why you need to source funds to start a plant nursery business is if you want to establish a standard plant nursery business that will be involved in the cultivation and supply of different types of plants. From available data, someone who wants to start a small-scale plant nursery can look towards spending less than $5,000, while it will cost over $50,000 to start a standard plant nursery business.
In this article, we will look at some of the key factors that can determine the overall cost of starting a plant nursery business.
Estimated Cost Breakdown for Opening a Plant Nursery
- The price for incorporating our farm in United States of America – $750.
- Our budget for key insurance policies, permits and business license – $4,000
- The cost of acquiring / leasing a nursery facility and land – $55,000
- The budget for preparing the soil (for planting et al – $25,000
- The price for acquiring the required working tools and equipment / machines / tractors et al– $600,000
- The price of Launching an official Website – $600
- The budget for paying our workers for 1 year – $500,000
- Other business requirements (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $2,000
- Miscellaneous – $5,000
Factors That Influence the Cost of Starting a Plant Nursery Business
-
The Size of the Plant Nursery
When it comes to starting a plant nursery business, one of the major factors that can determine how much you are expected to spend is the size of the plant nursery business you want to start.
As explained earlier, if you choose to start a small-scale plant nursery in your backyard, then you will spend far less than someone who wants to start a standard plant nursery business that has the capacity to supply different types of plants.
The cost of setting up infrastructure such as greenhouse structures, shade houses, irrigation systems, and storage facilities, will be based on the size of the plant nursery. The bottom line is that the bigger the plant nursery the higher the startup cost and the smaller the plant nursery, the lower the startup cost.
-
Your Choice of Location
Another major factor that can influence the cost of starting a plant nursery is the location you want to start the business. As expected, the price of real estate varies based on its location. For example, you are likely going to get far cheaper lands in Iowa, Kansas, or even New Mexico when compared to New York, California, or even in Florida.
In essence, if you want to cut down on the cost of starting a plant nursery business, then you should look towards cities that have cheaper lands.
-
The Cost of Acquiring the Needed Tools and Equipment
The cost of acquiring the needed tools and equipment to operate a plant nursery is yet another major cost that can influence the startup cost of the business.
As expected, you will require potting benches, potting machines, soil mixers, and various sizes of pots or containers for transplanting and potting plants, pruning shears, loppers, hedge trimmers, and pruning saws, tools like trowels, shovels, rakes, hoes, garden forks, and hand pruners, carts, dollies, and forklifts et al. Trust me, it will cost a significant portion of your startup capital to get all these equipment and tools.
-
Your Supplies
Another important factor that can influence the cost of starting a plant nursery business is the budget for your supplies. The types of supplies you will need, and the quantity will determine the amount you will spend in this regard. As expected, you should plan to purchase seeds, seedlings, or mature plants.
-
The Cost of Labor
The fact that you are expected to start a commercially viable plant nursery business means that you should create a budget for labor from day one. Of course, an individual cannot handle all aspects of the operations involved in cultivating plants.
You will require extra hands hence the need to create a budget for labor when you are planning to start a plant nursery business. Although, you may choose to only hire casual labor if you are just starting, but the bottom line is that no matter how little, there should be a budget for labor.
-
The Cost of Marketing and Promoting Your Nursery Plant Business
If you are starting a new business, you should make sure you notify your target market that you are in business. So likewise, if you are starting a new plant nursery business, you must make sure you promote your plants (flowers, shrubs, trees, and vegetables or herbs) to your target market.
Trust me, if you invest money in marketing and promoting your nursery plant business, you will be able to attract some of the biggest customers in your target market area, and that will translate to sales for you.
Please note that the amount you are expected to spend when it comes to promoting your nursery plant business will depend on your discretion and what you intend to achieve with the business. Interestingly, with a very minimal budget, you can still reach out to your target market.
In conclusion,
A plant nursery business is a business that can be started by anyone with a shoestring budget. But, if you are looking to start a standard plant nursery business, you should consider all the factors listed above, and even some factors not listed here that may be unique to your business model or country.
Just make sure you conduct thorough feasibility studies and market surveys to have a clearer picture of how much it will cost you to get the business up and running.