How Lawn Doctor Combines the Benefits of Home- and Service-Based Businesses for Franchisees

Over the past year, franchisees of Lawn Doctor, the lawn care brand with more than 600 locations, have been seeing major sales gains as people spend more time in the home. Now, more and more entrepreneurs are recognizing Lawn Doctor’s well-positioned and proven business model, and as a result, the brand signed 20 new franchisees in 2020. 

Ryan Bay of Gatesville, Texas is one such franchisee who joined the Lawn Doctor brand last year. “I grew up in Texas and after going to college, I moved back to start working with my dad at his retail store in Gatesville,” said Bay. “Eventually, he bought a lawn care service in the area, and that is how I first experienced the industry. I was also a licensed technician and worked with a national brand for a few years before realizing I had to either be in or be out.”

Bay decided it was time to start a new chapter in his career, and since he loved the lawn care space, he set out to start his own lawn care business. But instead of creating a brand new concept from scratch, he knew he wanted to invest in a proven brand with marketing power behind it. That is when he decided franchising was the perfect route for him.

”Lawn Doctor was a franchise opportunity that really stuck out to me — I loved the look of the brand and the investment model,” Bay said. “The marketing side and the actual brand name is what initially drew me to the brand, but the more I looked, the more I saw the benefits of the membership-based model, strong support infrastructure, low cost of entry and high profit margins.” 

Since the company was founded in 1967, Lawn Doctor has established a significant presence in the lawn care space. Lawn Doctor franchisees can leverage this brand name while also tapping into a lucrative recurring revenue model by offering high-demand and repeat services like lawn fertilization, weed control, mosquito/tick control and more. In addition, Lawn Doctor offers a low-investment franchise opportunity compared to other concepts in its category because operators don’t need a brick-and-mortar storefront and require minimal staffing. 

In the fall of 2020, Bay signed on with the Lawn Doctor brand, went through the training program and officially started his Gatesville operation in early 2021. Although Bay started his business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he says Lawn Doctor provided him with the infrastructure needed to not only survive but thrive.

“My dad had his brick-and-mortar store, so I saw how much retail was struggling during the pandemic and even before with the rise of Amazon,” Bay said. “Right now, the service sector is hugely popular, and people don’t want to have to worry about their yards. Lawn Doctor offers an easy way to fill that demand through the perfect combination of a service-based business and a home-based business.” 

In addition to a pandemic-resistant business model, Lawn Doctor franchisees benefit from the backing of an established parent company, Happinest Brands, which offers support on everything from marketing and lead generation to staffing and operations. 

“The demand has been very high over the past few months, and the Lawn Doctor sales center is incredibly important in helping us drive leads,” said Bay. “As people spend more time at home and pay more attention to their lawns, we've seen very steady lead generation in 2021.”

Now, Bay says he looks forward to growing in Central Texas, which is a bustling area with a growing population. 

Eric Martin, vice president of franchise development for Happinest, says he is proud to be able to help franchisees like Bay succeed and is looking forward to watching him continue to thrive. 

“At Lawn Doctor, we are always looking for ways to position our franchise owners for success, which is why we’ve continued to grow despite the COVID-related challenges that other companies are experiencing,” Martin said. “As people retreated to their homes, consumer spending followed, and the result has been an explosion of economic activity around the house.

We speak with a variety of aspiring business owners that want to tap into the $600B home services industry and many of them see the Lawn Doctor model as a perfect opportunity to accomplish that.” 

The startup costs for a Lawn Doctor franchise range from $102,015 to $127,065. The franchise fee ranges between $88,950 and $102,000. To learn more about franchising with Lawn Doctor, visit https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/.