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

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