How Landscapers Should Build Next Year’s Budget Step by Step

About this episode:

What if the key to keeping more money in your landscaping business isn’t selling more work—but finally building a budget you’ll stick to?

In this episode of The LeanScaper Podcast, Benji sits down with Meaghan Likes—entrepreneur, financial educator, and owner of multiple home-service companies—who has built hundreds of budgets and helped contractors hit double-digit net profit with simple systems.

Meaghan breaks down why most landscapers avoid budgeting, how to shift your mindset from “restriction” to “design,” and the step-by-step framework she uses to build profitable, realistic plans for the year ahead.

Expect to learn:

Why 99% of businesses operate without a real budget
The mindset shift that makes budgeting empowering, not restrictive
How last year’s P&L tells the real story of your business
Why gross profit is the metric that drives everything
The 5 core numbers every landscaper must call for 2026
How to actually use your budget all year long

If you want clarity, confidence, and a system to build a profitable year—this episode is your blueprint.

0:00 — Intro & quick setup
1:00 — Why most businesses avoid budgeting
2:35 — Budgeting as designing the life you want
5:45 — Getting past the overwhelm of your first budget
8:07 — How to review last year before planning ahead
12:14 — Revenue capacity analysis (simple napkin math)
17:25 — What your P&L reveals about spending patterns
18:11 — The importance of gross profit
22:18 — Start with this number: what you want to earn
30:53 — Turning budgets into better hiring decisions
31:42 — The 5 numbers to call for next year
36:57 — How to stick to the budget all year
39:32 — What to keep, cut, and invest in for 2026
41:37 — Where to find Meaghan Likes