Local Landscaping Partners is seeking experienced landscaping contractors and owner-operators to complete paid customer projects throughout the Chicago area and surrounding Illinois communities.
PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING
This is a project-based 1099 independent contractor role.
It is not:
- An hourly landscaping job
- A salaried position
- A W-2 employee position
- A position where we provide a truck, mower, trailer, tools, or daily crew
- A traditional employee job with guaranteed weekly hours
We work with independent landscaping businesses, established owner-operators, and contractor crews that can complete customer jobs using their own business setup, transportation, equipment, insurance, and labor.
Who Should Apply
You should apply if you currently:
- Operate a landscaping, lawn-care, property-maintenance, hardscape, irrigation, tree-service, snow-removal, cleanup, or related outdoor-service business
OR
- Have substantial professional landscaping experience and are preparing to operate independently as an owner-operator in the near future
Established owner-operators are welcome. You do not need a large company or multiple crews.
Requirements Before You Can Be Activated for Customer Work
Before a contractor can begin accepting customer projects through our system, they must be able to provide:
- A legitimate independent business or owner-operator setup
- EIN / tax information appropriate for 1099 contractor work
- Completed Form W-9
- Active business general liability insurance
- Reliable transportation
- Tools and equipment appropriate for the services offered
- Ability to complete accepted jobs independently or with your own crew
- Professional customer communication
- Defined service territory
- Current availability for project-based customer work
Not Fully Set Up Yet?
If you have strong landscaping or property-maintenance experience but do not yet have your independent business setup or business liability insurance, you may still apply if you expect to meet the contractor requirements in the near future.
Examples:
- Experienced landscaper preparing to become an owner-operator
- Landscape foreman preparing to operate independently
- Grounds-maintenance professional planning to establish a small landscaping business
- Experienced contractor currently arranging business insurance or tax documentation
In your application, clearly explain what you already have and what requirements you are still working on.
Applicants who are not yet contractor-ready will not be activated for customer projects until the required business, tax, insurance, transportation, and equipment requirements are satisfied.
Applying early allows us to review your experience and determine whether you may be considered for future contractor availability once you are qualified.
You should not purchase insurance, equipment, licensing, or other services solely for the purpose of submitting this application.
Who Should NOT Apply
Please do not apply if you are only looking for:
- Hourly employment
- W-2 employment
- A guaranteed weekly paycheck
- A company vehicle
- Company-provided landscaping equipment
- A daily employee work schedule
- Paid employee training
- A job where someone else supplies the crew and tools
If your goal is traditional employment with an landscaping company, this is not the correct opening.
Pay
This is project-based contractor compensation.
Pay is determined before each accepted customer job.
Typical smaller maintenance, cleanup, lawn-care, and outdoor-property-service jobs may range from:
$200 to $1,500 per completed project
Larger approved projects may pay more depending on:
- Scope of work
- Materials
- Service type
- Property size
- Crew requirements
- Equipment requirements
- Location
- Agreed project terms
There is no guaranteed number of projects or guaranteed weekly income.
Schedule
This is flexible project-based contractor work.
Customer work may include:
- Weekday projects
- Weekend projects when appropriate
- Recurring maintenance
- One-time landscaping projects
- Seasonal cleanups
- Snow and ice work
- Residential properties
- Commercial properties
Contractors decide whether they are available for individual projects and are not required to accept every job offered.
Types of Customer Work
Depending on your experience and equipment, projects may include:
- Lawn mowing
- Edging
- String trimming
- Blower cleanup
- Spring cleanups
- Fall cleanups
- Leaf removal
- Mulch installation
- Garden-bed maintenance
- Hedge and shrub trimming
- Ornamental pruning
- Plant installation
- Sod installation
- Seeding and lawn restoration
- Small tree and branch work
- Outdoor debris removal
- Junk/property cleanup
- Gutter cleaning
- Drainage
- Grading
- Land clearing
- Irrigation
- Paver patios
- Walkways
- Retaining walls
- Residential grounds maintenance
- Commercial grounds maintenance
- Snow plowing
- Salting
- Ice management
You do not need to perform every service listed.
We review contractors for the specific services they already have the experience and equipment to provide.
Contractor Responsibilities
For accepted customer jobs, contractors are responsible for:
- Providing their own labor
- Providing transportation
- Providing appropriate trucks, trailers, tools, and equipment
- Completing the agreed scope safely and professionally
- Arriving at scheduled appointments
- Communicating professionally
- Providing before/after or completion photos when requested
- Reporting site conditions or scope changes
- Maintaining required insurance
- Maintaining required contractor documentation
- Leaving customer properties clean after completion
Chicago & Illinois Service Area
We are reviewing contractors for Chicago and surrounding Illinois markets, including:
- Chicago
- North and Northwest Suburbs
- West Suburbs
- Southwest Suburbs
- South Suburbs
- North Shore
- Lake County
- Cook County
- DuPage County
- Kane County
- Will County
- Nearby Illinois communities where customer demand exists
Applicants will be asked to identify the cities, ZIP codes, and travel radius they can reliably service.
Contractor Support
For accepted jobs, support may include:
- Customer intake
- Initial project information
- Scheduling coordination
- Customer communication support
- Work-order information
- Payment-processing support
- Administrative coordination
The contractor remains responsible for completing accepted field work professionally.
Application Process
Apply directly through Indeed and answer the screening questions completely.
We will review:
- Current business or owner-operator status
- Professional landscaping experience
- EIN / W-9 readiness
- General liability insurance
- Equipment
- Transportation
- Crew or owner-operator capacity
- Services offered
- Service territory
- Availability
- Current project capacity
Applicants who currently meet the contractor requirements may be contacted about the next stage of contractor review.
Applicants with substantial professional experience who are still preparing their independent business setup may also apply and explain what remains before they can meet the contractor requirements.
Again: this is project-based 1099 subcontractor work, not traditional hourly or W-2 employment.
Pay: $50.00 - $150.00 per hour
Expected hours: 1.0 – 40.0 per week
Benefits:
Application Question(s):
- Do you currently operate an independent landscaping/outdoor-service business, or are you actively preparing to operate as an owner-operator?
- What is the legal business name you currently use? If you are not yet registered, state “Not registered yet” and explain when you expect to be ready.
- Do you currently have business general liability insurance? If not, state “Not yet insured.”
- Do you understand that this is project-based 1099 subcontractor work—not hourly or W-2 employment—and that contractors supply their own transportation, tools/equipment, and labor?
- What ZIP code is your business based in, and which cities or ZIP codes can you reliably service? How far are you willing to travel to complete customer jobs?
- How many people are currently available on your crew?
- If you have a crew, are they 1099 contractors or W2 employees?
- How many additional customer projects could your company realistically complete in a typical week?
- Do you carry workers compensation insurance?
Work Location: In person
