Starting a Mulch Business? Here's How to Get it Going

Tips on how to establish a business plan for mulching services

There are many businesses and industries that make their own mulch as a byproduct of other productions, whether they're in the forestry industry, landscaping or more.

But thriving mulching businesses prove that there's money in mulch and in this guide we're going to go into how mulch materials can be used to generate profit. 

What is mulch?

Mulch is any material that can be used as a top layer above soil. Organic mulch is typically made of wood chips, soft yard waste like leaves or compost. You can make your own mulch at home using a compost bin and your Woodland Mills wood chipper.

There are also inorganic mulches, like river rocks, gravel, landscaping tarp or rubber pellets but those are more used around patios or in backyards.

How do I make my own mulch?

Mulch is a common byproduct of wood chipping and landscaping and many landscaping companies have huge piles of wood chips that they don't know what to do with.

A Woodland Mills wood chipper like the WC88 or the TF810 PRO is a great mulch producer because you can repurpose wood chips from yard waste. You can use this in your own garden and save money over going to the garden center to purchase it or package it up and sell it.

Some ways of producing your own mulch include:

• • From general seasonal cleanup of your own property

  • When chipping materials for customers as part of your tree care company

  • After cutting down a tree for a client as an arborist

  • From any profession where you are left with an abundance of yard debris or tree material

What's a good mulching business plan?

When thinking about how to make money with mulch you need to examine market trends and look at the most cost effective way of making mulch and selling it to your potential customers.

Here are some general steps you should follow:

Step 1: Figure out how to Acquire Mulch

Oftentimes this is the easiest step because most tree-based businesses or hobbyists are already producing mountains of tree debris from tree branches, bark or even chipped and ground tree stumps from a stump grinder.

Logging companies, for example, produce a ton of tree debris but very little of it goes to waste as it is sold and processed into various products, such as wood chips and mulch that you can buy at your local garden center or hardware store.

If you're starting from scratch then you'll want to build a solid foundation. You'll need basic equipment like a chainsaw, a wood chipper like the TF810 PRO and an ATV trailer like the Multilander to carry materials. If you own or run a tree nursery or private woodlot then these are useful tools to have anyway.

Find time between your main projects to chip material and then have a running mulch pile that you can add to. Spread it out so you're not mixing new fresh wood chips with old mulch and you can pull from the oldest pile to sell to customers.

Generally customers want a consistent mulch that's easy to spread in their garden beds or property.

Step 2: Market Your Mulch

Getting potential customers to learn about your mulch services is important as that's what's going to make you money. Look into marketing strategies like putting advertisements on your work vehicle or using QR codes to share information with others.

Use social media to get the word out and take out ads on Facebook Marketplace to find interested customers. If you're not getting any bites then reach out to local nurseries, gardeners and landscapers and ask them about their needs. Doing this type of market research will help you understand the type of mulch customers want and how to get it to them.

There's also wood chip drop off apps that connect arborists and tree care services with gardeners looking for wood chips and other mulch. Sign up for these apps and see if there's anyone in your area who is looking and then make a connection. Once you've narrowed in on your target market, form repeat relationships and then both you and your customers will be happy.

Step 3: Streamline Your Operations

Once you've got a system going of producing mulch and selling it to your customers see if you can improve how you do business and cut down on transportation costs.

If you have a customer who you know constantly needs mulch, see if he's open to you dropping it off whenever it's ready as opposed to reaching out first. Once you've met customers via chip drop off apps you can probably uninstall them and just chat with customers directly.

If you find a particular social media is best for handling customer inquiries then direct all communications through there. You don't need to handle several social media profiles if just one is doing most of the work.

As your mulching business grows you'll find all the best ways to do business and cut out the parts that are ineffective or wasting your time. This is how you offer a quality service quickly and efficiently.

Other tips for starting a mulch business?

When starting a new business it can be a bit daunting but here are some general tips to get you going:

• • Some customers like the look of colored mulch or wood chips, so find out what your customers want and offer it

  • Ensure you're always using the proper safety gear to avoid injury

  • When creating your business plan don't forget your financial projections. If you're a tree care services that's adding mulch sales to your formula write down your costs versus projected income

  • Make sure you have all the necessary licenses required to do tree care work beforehand

In Summary:

When starting a mulch business be sure to remember all these steps:

• • Have a consistent method to making mulch, such as with a Woodland Mills wood chipper

  • Make sure your mulch is consistent and spreadable

  • Use Marketplace or other social media sites to find customers