How to become an independent gardener?

Flowers and plants hold no secrets for a gardener. The gardener prunes trees, cuts hedges, mows grass, takes care of the growth and health of plants and flowers, and so on. He is a specialist in planting and maintaining all green spaces.

He also works on sports fields and roadside verges. He knows all planting techniques, applies seasonal treatments, identifies pests and disinfects using chemical or natural products.

He can work as an employee in a company, or on a freelance basis. freelance (i.e., self-employed). Many gardeners make this choice to become their own boss, to choose their missions, their customers and their day-to-day organization. It also allows them to better articulate their personal and professional lives. Would you like to start your own business?

You've come to the right place!

Diplomas and training: are they compulsory?

No diploma is required to work as a gardener.

On the other hand, it's important to have a number of important skills to convince your customers.

Numerous training courses are available at all levels:

• CAP level: a CAPA with the option "Travaux paysagers", "Productions horticoles, spécialité pépinières, productions florales et légumières"; a BEPA with the option "Travaux paysagers" or "Horticulture & Pépinières"; a BPA with the option "Travaux des aménagements paysagers".
• Baccalauréat level: a Baccalauréat Professionnel (vocational baccalaureate) with the "Landscaping" option; a Baccalauréat Technologique STAV (Sciences et technologies de l'agronomie et du vivant (agronomy and life sciences)).
• Bac +2 level: a BTSA with the "Landscaping" option.
• Bac +3 and higher: Engineering and architecture schools offer specialized training courses

Legal status: How do you choose?

To become a freelance gardener, we recommend that you choose one of the following legal forms:

• EIRL (Entreprise individuelle à responsabilité limitée). As the name suggests, the entrepreneur is only liable for the amount of capital he or she has contributed to the company. His or her personal assets are protected in the event of bad business, and cannot be used to recover any debts.
• EURL (Entreprise universelle à responsabilité limitée). It offers the same advantages as the EIRL, but its manager is considered a self-employed worker. It benefits from a specific social protection scheme, less effective than that of salaried employees.
• The SASU (Société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle) is particularly flexible. Its day-to-day operation is set out in the articles of association. The Chairman of the SASU is covered by the general social security system.
• The micro-entrepreneur status status is particularly easy to set up, manage and wind up. Your social security contributions are calculated on the basis of your gross sales. This is capped at €176,200 for sales activities and €72,500 for services. This is the option favored by the majority of entrepreneurs, due to the administrative, legal and fiscal flexibility of this status.

Acquiring customers: How do you build your portfolio?

Acquiring private or professional customers requires in-depth work in your area of intervention.

To reach business customers (BtoB), enter your identity in online databases and other business directories (Yellow Pages, etc.). Also, creating a Google My Business listing is essential to reach a wide cross-section of your local population.

To target individual customers (BtoC), it's probably more effective to create an account on more popular social networks, and share your passion for your work. Instagram and Facebook are, without doubt, an extraordinary way to promote yourself at very low cost.

Word-of-mouth is always a safe bet, as is distributing flyers to shopkeepers, marking vehicles or advertising in local newspapers!

Finally, there's a valuable element that is all too often overlooked when it comes to facilitating the success of your project: using the services of a domiciliation company.

A domiciliation company offers legal domiciliation services to individuals and legal entities. Approved by the local prefecture, it provides its customers with a registered office as well as a postal, commercial and administrative address.

Choosing your own home means you have to publicly disclose the address of your home, threatening your privacy. At the same time, you won't have to rent commercial premises, and you'll be able to improve your local SEO ranking on search engines, thanks to your head office keywords! You can also reduce your tax bill by choosing a commune with a low CFE (Contribution Foncière des Entreprises).

With SeDomicilier, you can obtain your certificate of domiciliation in less than 5 minutes, in a 100% online process. What's more, all your services are then available in a personalized, secure virtual office!