1. Understand the Basic Business Model
The core idea:
Offer done-for-you porch flower setups (usually in large pots or planters by the front door, garage, or patio).
Charge a premium price for design + materials + installation.
Focus on seasons:
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter / Holiday
Most customers will happily pay more than the cost of plants to avoid:
Deciding what to buy
Hauling soil and heavy pots
Planting and cleaning up the mess
Your revenue comes from:
Design fee (built into the price)
Markup on plants and materials
Repeat business each season
A simple example for one season:
30 customers
$350 average order value
30 × $350 = $10,500 in revenue for that season
Do that 2–4 times per year and it adds up fast.
2. Choose Your Service Area and Customer Type
Start local and focused. Define:
Service radius:
Typically 10–20 minutes’ drive from where you live.Ideal customer:
Busy professionals
Older homeowners who don’t want to lift heavy bags
People in higher-end neighborhoods who care about curb appeal
Small boutiques, salons, offices with visible entryways
Write this down clearly. Everything else (pricing, marketing, style) should align with this group.
3. Decide What You’re Actually Selling
You’re not just selling “flowers.”
You’re selling a turnkey porch refresh:
You choose the plants
You deliver them
You plant them in the client’s pots (or new pots you provide)
You clean up the mess
You leave the porch looking like a magazine cover
Create simple packages so people don’t get overwhelmed.
Example Package Structure
Package A – Single Door Refresh
2 medium porch pots (client-owned or you supply)
Seasonal design (mix of thriller/filler/spiller plants)
Basic cleanup
Price example: $225–$275
Package B – Full Porch
2 large main pots + 1–2 smaller accent pots
More plants, more variety
Optional doormat or small décor piece
Price example: $325–$425
Package C – Premium Curb Appeal
Full porch package
Plus 1–2 extra planters (garage, walkway, or mailbox)
Extra accents (seasonal picks, branches, or décor)
Price example: $500–$700+
You can tweak the numbers based on plant costs in your area, but keep the choices limited and easy to understand.
4. Learn the “Plant Pie” Concept to Speed Up Your Work
To make this business profitable, you need to work quickly while still creating lush designs.
One common shortcut used in porch planter businesses is something often sold at nurseries as a multi-plant tray or “plant pie” — a pre-grown cluster of flowers in one container that can be dropped into a larger pot for instant fullness. YouTube
You can:
Use these pre-grown combos as your “centerpiece” plants
Surround them with individual accent plants
Finish with trailing plants around the edges
This lets you:
Buy fewer individual starts
Plant faster
Achieve a full, finished look on installation day
If your local nursery doesn’t use that name, just look for ready-made mixed planters or combo flats and adapt the idea.
5. Plan Your Seasonal Styles and Color Palettes
Instead of reinventing the wheel for every customer, design a few seasonal “collections.”
Example Seasonal Themes
Spring Collection
Colors: pastel pinks, purples, light yellows, fresh greens
Plants: pansies, violas, early blooming annuals, cool-weather foliage
Summer Collection
Colors: bold reds, oranges, hot pinks, bright purples
Plants: petunias, calibrachoa, geraniums, sweet potato vine, coleus
Fall Collection
Colors: rust, mustard, burgundy, deep green
Plants: mums, ornamental cabbages/kale, grasses, pansies, trailing ivy
Holiday / Winter Collection
Colors: red, white, green, metallic accents
Elements: evergreen branches, dogwood sticks, pinecones, faux berries, winter-hardy plants
For each season, sketch or mock up 2–4 signature pot designs:
One sun-friendly
One shade-friendly
Maybe one ultra-simple/low-maintenance
This speeds up shopping and planting because you’re repeating proven formulas.
6. Build a Simple Cost + Profit Framework
Before selling anything, you need to know:
Average material cost per pot / porch
Target profit margin
A basic target:
Aim for 50%+ gross margins after materials.
Example: Full Porch Package
Assume:
2 large pots and 1 small accent pot
Plants & soil total: $120
Decorative elements: $20
Total hard cost: $140
You might price that package at $325.
Revenue: $325
Hard costs: $140
Gross profit: $185
If you can complete that in ~1–1.5 hours (including drive time, if you batch installs), you’re earning a solid hourly rate.
Repeat that across 30 clients in a season and you’re at:
$325 × 30 = $9,750 revenue
~$140 × 30 = $4,200 materials
Rough gross profit ≈ $5,550 (before fuel, tools, etc.)
If you introduce a premium package and upsells, hitting $10k+ in revenue per season becomes straightforward.
7. Gather the Tools and Setup You Need
You don’t need heavy equipment, but you do need to be organized.
Basic tools:
Vehicle with space for plants (SUV, van, or truck)
Garden gloves
Hand trowel
Small shovel
Pruners
Watering can or hose nozzle (for client’s hose)
Bucket or tub for mixing soil
Drop cloth or tarp (to protect porches)
Broom and dustpan or blower (for cleanup)
Supplies to keep on hand:
Potting soil (buy in bulk for better margin)
Slow-release fertilizer
Extra small accent plants to fill gaps
A few replacement plants (in case something is damaged on the way)
Having everything loaded and ready before install days makes your schedule smooth and profitable.
8. Create Before/After Examples (Even If You’re Just Starting)
Visuals sell this service.
If you don’t have clients yet:
Use your own porch, a friend’s porch, or a low-cost “model” location.
Buy plants for one or two complete setups.
Take clear before photos from multiple angles.
Install your designs.
Take after photos in good lighting.
Use these images:
On a simple one-page site or landing page
In social media posts
In local community groups
In a simple PDF you can text or email prospective customers
This is often all it takes for someone to say, “Can you do that at my house?”
9. Price and Package Your Offer Clearly
Now combine everything:
Name your packages
“Front Porch Refresh”
“Full Porch Makeover”
“Four-Season Porch Plan”
List what’s included in one or two bullet lists per package.
Set a clear price or a tight price range (e.g., “$325–$375 depending on pot size”).
You can optionally offer:
One-time seasonal install
Full-year subscription (customer pays for 3–4 seasons at a slight discount)
For example:
Four-Season Porch Plan – 4 installs per year, pre-scheduled, paid up front or in two payments. Each season includes new plants, design, and cleanup.
Subscriptions smooth your cash flow and help you secure repeat clients.
10. Get Your First 10–15 Customers
You don’t need fancy ads to get started. Use hyper-local outreach:
10.1 Personal Network
Text friends and family a simple message:
❝“I’m offering seasonal porch flower makeovers this [season]. I handle everything — plants, design, and cleanup. Want me to send you the details and before/after photos?”
Post to your personal social accounts with your best before/after photo and a short description.
10.2 Local Neighborhood & Community Channels
Local Facebook groups
Neighborhood apps or email lists
HOA newsletters (if allowed)
Keep the post simple:
One strong photo
2–3 sentences describing the service
Clear call to action: “Comment ‘INFO’ below” or “Message me for details and available dates.”
10.3 Small Business Outreach
Target businesses with visible entrances:
Boutiques
Salons
Cafés
Offices
Walk in during a non-peak time:
Show them 1–2 before/after photos on your phone.
Explain you handle everything and can set them up every season.
Offer them a business-rate package (slightly higher, because commercial clients often accept higher pricing).
The goal is to quickly reach 10–15 paying clients for the first season. That’s enough to validate the model and get momentum.
11. Batch Your Install Days for Profit
Instead of driving all over town every day for one job, batch your installs:
Collect bookings for a defined window (e.g., two weekends + one weekday).
Group clients by area.
Plan routes that minimize drive time.
Load plants by “stop” so you’re not sorting materials at each house.
For each stop:
Lay down a tarp or drop cloth.
Remove old plants and soil (if necessary).
Fill containers with fresh soil and slow-release fertilizer.
Place your feature plants (e.g., a centerpiece or “plant pie”), then fillers, then trailing plants.
Water thoroughly.
Sweep and clean the area.
Snap a quick photo for your portfolio.
When planned well, you can often complete:
3–6 standard porches per day
More if you have help and your routes are tight
That’s how a handful of days can create several thousand dollars in revenue.
12. Provide Simple Care Instructions (and Upsell Maintenance)
Customers worry about killing their plants. Reduce that friction:
Create a one-page care sheet you can print or email:
How often to water
Which plants like sun vs. shade
Simple fertilizing tips
What to do if something starts looking rough
Offer a maintenance add-on for those who don’t want to deal with it:
Weekly or bi-weekly watering and trimming
Mid-season refresh (replace anything that didn’t do well)
Small additional fee per visit or flat seasonal maintenance fee
This adds another layer of recurring income on top of your installs.
13. Repeat the System for Each Season
Once you’ve done this for one season, you’ll have:
A client list
Photos
Proven plant combinations
A pricing structure
Now all you have to do is rotate through the year:
Email or message past clients a few weeks before each new season:
Show the new seasonal designs or color palettes
Offer early-bird booking
Reward repeat clients (small perks or priority scheduling)
Each season becomes easier because:
You’re reusing designs that worked
You know which nurseries are reliable
You have word-of-mouth from happy customers
You can predict how many jobs you can handle
That’s how this grows from a single experiment into a reliable $10k/season side business or more.
14. Scaling Beyond the First $10k Season
Once demand is proven, you can scale carefully:
Raise prices modestly as your schedule fills.
Introduce higher-end packages with more pots and décor.
Hire part-time help for planting and cleanup on install days.
Add related services: window boxes, back patio planters, mailbox planters, etc.
Standardize your plant lists, shopping lists, and install checklists so anyone can help.
The core doesn’t change:
Seasonal installs
High perceived value
Efficient, repeatable systems
Executed consistently, this becomes a dependable seasonal income stream you can layer on top of whatever else you’re doing.
