I run a small landscaping company in Austin (been doing this for about 4 years now) and we do the usual stuff, maintenance, design, installations whatever. About 6 months ago I had this commercial client who wanted a complete outdoor redesign for their office building. Normal job right

Except the property manager kept asking me questions that went way beyond landscaping. Like “why do you think the previous company failed” and “how would you structure a maintenance schedule for multiple properties” and basically picking my brain about the whole operation side of things. At first I thought she was just chatty but then she asked if I’d be willing to sit down with their team and basically teach them how to vet landscaping companies properly because they kept getting screwed over

I said sure and charged her for 2 hours of my time, didn’t think much of it. She paid immediately and then referred me to two other property management companies. Now I do like 3 or 4 of these “consulting sessions” a month and honestly its become a solid income stream. I basically just tell them what red flags to look for, how to negotiate contracts, what questions to ask. Takes me barely any time and I’ve got some money saved up from just this alone that I’m putting towards new equipment

The weird part is I never planned this, never marketed it, it just kinda happened. Now I’m wondering if I should actually formalize it or just keep it as this random thing on the side.