Pinkcat1771

Does anyone have any experience in running a landscape business in the US? We are looking at one for sale in Florida for our E2 visa. We have sales and management experience but no background in gardening or landscaping. The current owner just deals with sales, customer service and managing his team of six labourers. What do you think? Good or bad? Is this a good option for an E2? I know it's probably very competitive. Thanks, Sophie.

Owen778

This is a very bad idea. Most "landscaping" businesses in the south of the US have low profits and employ undocumented Mexicans. I suspect you'll also be told it's not even eligible for E2, though I don't know the rules enough myself to be sure.

Nutmegger

Bad idea. I've gardened extensively in the northeast of the US for many decades, but still would have to go back to square one to learn how to go about planning a garden in the southeast, as the climate would require that the plants and procedures be totally different. If you have no gardening background at all, it makes no sense.

Guindalf

A landscaping business without experience is basically just a grass-cutting service which I doubt would ever support an E2. The real money in that business is in designing and creating landscaped gardens (or yards, as they're called here).

Owen's statement that they 'employ undocumented Mexicans' is not only most likely a Trumpism, but it is just plain wrong. While there is probably no doubt that they pay minimum wage and offer unskilled opportunities, if this statement were even close to being true, the USCIC would be spending ALL their time raiding landscaping businesses! After all, why risk all that border control when all you have to do is plan a visit to the local grass-cutting service? I'm sure that just like any other unskilled, low paying jobs, there will be some illegals, it's a high-profile business that would attract too much attention if that's ALL they employ.

Pulaski

Sorry, that story doesn't stack up. The owner of a "landscaping business" "just deals with sales, customer service" and "managing his team of six labourers".

This only makes sense if this "landscaping business" is a plain vanilla mowing business, otherwise who is discussing requirements for "landscaping" with customers and making recommendations for plantings and plant maintainance if all there is is the owner-manager and six "labourers"?

This just sounds like a bad idea.

Owen778

Honestly, do you live in a different USA to the rest of us? Perhaps Florida isn't like that, but Texas certainly is, and my understanding is that all of the southern US is similar.

There are many thousands, probably millions of undocumented people from Mexico living in the US. They are excluded from many corporate jobs that would check their immigration status. So, what do they do? They work in construction, as housekeepers, as nannies, or they own a small businesses. A small landscaping company is one obvious way to do that. The company that the OP is considering might possibly not employ undocumented Mexicans, but even if they don't, most of their competitors will.

MidAtlantic

No it's just plain fact around here, meaning that those trying to run a legitimate business are priced out.

scrubbedexpat099

I used to know somebody with that size of operation, she had a Degree in whatever has a business in Denver, I remember the problem she has was obtaining and retaining competent staff.

I agree that this sounds more like a maintenance business, cutting grass, trimming etc and whilst I have never enquired about the status of the people doing it in Colorado I agree with the other comments.

Pinkcat1771

Thanks all, sounds like this is a bad idea then! Appreciate everyone's input.

Pulaski

I know for a fact that ostensibly legit manufacturing businesses in NC are employing illegal immigrants, so I would be shocked if most hispanic landscaping labourers aren't in the US illegally.

london_calling

Maybe for the same reason they could visit every bar in Queens and remove half the Irish population, yet choose not to?

Pinkcat1771

I guess when Trump builds his wall and kicks them all out the landscaping businesses will have to look elsewhere for staff!!!

Owen778

That's true, under the very theoretical assumption that he is successful doing both of those.

And having to do their own lawns will result in a big spike in heatstroke cases among middle-class Texans.

Pinkcat1771

Yep! Interesting times ahead! He's already backed down on scrapping Obama care so I can't see the wall happening either, maybe it's an imaginary wall! I'm sure the family will decide!

As for E2 visas we will continue our search and avoid landscaping!

If anyone hears of a business for sale doing great numbers with legal staff and genuine tax returns that match P & Ls let me know! Pigs might fly!!

Happy weekend

Rete

He must. It is exactly that here in Mississippi and having spent quite a lot of time in Florida, it is the same there. Sweltering working conditions for minimum scale pay.

100% correct.