So, what's your business plan?
write it all down, on paper, then it will really start to see.
S Corp, LLC, single proprietorship, whichever, work with your accountant. (and get a good accountant)
You'll need a business checking account, along with a business credit card (although you have to open your S corp/LLC/SP and get your employer ID number first).
It's a great tax break the first year esp. before you make any money.
Get insurance
get the truck and trailer registered in the business name (which requires business car insurance, not regular insurance, do it with the same agent that does your liability)
if it's more than you, you'll need workman's comp insurance too.
Once you get customers, it's great, you keep most of them and add a few more thru referrals, etc each year, but it's getting that initial core group of customers that's hard.
What's your advertising plan/marketing plan? (and it won't be cheap), the 2nd year you can cut back and probably by the 3rd or 4th year you won't have to have any advertising.
What's your ideal customer? is it in one area? age group? type of lawn? small lawns, big lawns? etc? Then, how do you reach that person.
have a logo/theme, graphic designers work cheap. I can put you in touch with an excellent small business advertising guy, who's very affordable. Get signs on your truck. Actually get vinyl for your truck and trailer, not those cheap magnetic signs. Be professional. You are professional, you are paying all these legal BS rules, you should advertise that. And hey, it's the cheapest long term advertising you have.
Get a website. yeah, i don't think it adds much, BUT it shows you are not fly by night, you are here for real and even just a simple one page one, let's people refer to you. A web page and name is pretty cheap for the first couple years (unless you do big bandwidth which is unlikely)
don't bother with the yellow pages, crazy expensive, nobody uses that anymore (they all use the web). Direct mail? classifieds, display advertising? fliers?
BE AVAILALBE.
I call places and i get "oh, my husband Joe is out doing some jobs, can you call back?"
Would you call back? of course not. Use a cell phone for your business. Be available all the time, even at your real job (or have someone else answer) and call back and set up appointments for bids after work. (I do this all the time).
Dress nice, have a nice gimmick. (a shtick). What's different about you than a 1000 other guys? That's the key.
And yeah, illegals are a big problem. They don't pay the taxes, insurance, rent a yard to run their business out of etc. It brings the prices way down, they can always undercut you on price. (NEVER compete on price) So, how do you differentiate yourself?
BTW, that point about price is key. You should know what you need to make on a 1 hour basis to make money. Never bid below that. What's the point? you're losing money, why work to lose money?
HTH