It’s now up to 70% cheaper to respond to selected Barks!

We’re cutting prices by up to 70% for pros in 25 of our most promising categories, from acupuncture to vehicle window tinting and more.

Why? Because if you’re a skilled professional in the UK, we believe you should be able to quickly grow your business online with Bark, no matter what industry you work in.

Although we get loads of Barks in these categories, competition for them is relatively low – making them some of the most potentially lucrative services we cater for.

They’re ideal if you’ve thought about registering with us before but weren’t sure it was right for your business, or if you offer similar services already and think it might be worth branching out to attract new customers.

So – whatever services your small business provides – make sure you take a look at this breakdown of most heavily discounted categories today:

Category Discount New Price
Acupuncture & Acupressure 50% 3 credits
Business Card Printing 66% 2 credits
Dog Walking 50% 1 credit
Kitchen Tiling 70% 3 credits
Massage Therapy 50% 1 credit
Masseurs 50% 1 credit
Pet Care 50% 1 credit
Pet Sitting 50% 1 credit
Picture Framing 50% 2 credits
Portrait Photographers 50% 5 credits
TV & AV Repair 50% 1 credit
TV Installation & Mounting 66% 1 credit
Upholstery & Furniture Cleaning 50% 1 credit
Vehicle Window Tinting 66% 1 credit

Credits are £1+VAT – so if your company provides vehicle window tinting, for example, you’ll now be saving £2+VAT every time you contact a new customer through Bark.

This change should make using Bark more cost-effective, so you can generate even more business using our service.

As you can see, TV installation, vehicle window tinting and business card printing are now 67% cheaper – and it’s a full 70% less to respond to new kitchen tiling Barks.

But that’s not all, because we’ve also reduced the number of credits you need to respond to Barks by at least a third in another 11 categories:

Category Discount New Price
Artificial Turf Installation & Repair 40% 3 credits
Balloon Artistry 33% 2 credits
Bathroom Tilers 40% 3 credits
Bouncy Castle Hire 33% 2 credits
Carpet Repair or Replacement 33% 2 credits
Martial Arts Classes 33% 2 credits
Pet Photography 40% 6 credits
Video Editing 40% 6 credits
Vintage Car Hire 40% 3 credits
Wedding Car Hire 40% 3 credits
Wedding Stylist 40% 3 credits

We review our prices regularly, and are always looking to strike the best possible balance for everyone who uses our site.

So, as our most popular categories continue to grow and generate more revenue, we’ll often look to pass those savings onto you in the form of price reductions like these.

Better yet, if you’re new to Bark, we’ll even give you enough free credits to contact your first customer on us when you register on our site.

Register today to claim your FREE credits

We always make sure new pros who join our service can contact their first client on us. That way you can see first-hand how easy it can be to find new business with Bark, without needing to spend a penny.

Then, if you’d like us to continue to help you grow your business quickly online, you’ll be able to contact every subsequent customer you find through us at our new reduced rates.

Getting started couldn’t be easier – simply click the link below and open a Bark account today to claim your free Bark credits today:

Click here to start growing your business with Bark.

Writing the perfect customer response – secure more business with Bark in 6 easy steps

The first response you send to a customer is far and away the most important. Many people will decide whether or not they’d like to hire you based on this message alone, so it’s essential you get it right.

Making sure your pitch is the best one a client receives is a key part of pitching for new business with Bark, and we want to do everything in our power to help you stand out from the crowd.

So, in this week’s blog post we’re looking at how to write the perfect customer response in six easy steps.

STEP 1: Promote your company

The best sales pitches all have the same basic structure.  You start by getting the customer’s attention. Then, you explain what’s unique about your pitch. Finally, once the customer has decided you’re the pro for them, you give them an offer they simply can’t refuse.

That’s why your opening message should stress exactly what experience and qualifications you have that make you perfect for the job. Include links to your website, your online portfolio, customer reviews – and anything else you think might improve your chances of securing the business.

STEP 2: Explain what’s included

Next, make sure the customer knows exactly what they’ll be getting for their money, and explain why your service is great value.

In many industries there are ‘extras’ which sometimes aren’t included as standard. If you’re a photographer, are prints included in your estimate? If you’re a cleaner, will you provide your own products?

If your service costs more than some other providers, explain that’s because you offer a superior service – if you’re cheaper than your competitors, be sure to stress what a good deal you are offering.

STEP 3: Move the conversation forwards

Unless you’re really lucky, the chances are you won’t secure the business from your opening message alone.

Your customer will usually have a few questions they need answering before they’re satisfied that you’re the right pro for the job, so ask them to call you whenever is convenient to discuss things further.

Encouraging the customer to take a look at your previous work and offering to meet them in person to provide them with a bespoke estimate are also good ways to move the conversation forwards.

STEP 4: Give your contact details

Customers you contact through Bark will always be able to reach you via the Bark messenger, and they can get your phone number and email address by clicking the “view contact details” button under your display name.

But to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you, we also recommend including your contact details in the body of your message, so they’re impossible to miss.

STEP 5: Respond quickly

It’s important to respond to new Barks quickly. Our analysis shows that pros who get back to the customers we alert you to right away are twice as likely to secure the business as those who don’t.

So when we alert you to a potential customer you like the look of, it’s best to send them a message right away to register your interest in their business. To help with this, we created our ‘one-click response’ feature – you can find out how it works right here.

 STEP 6: Check your spelling!

Finally, once you’ve finished your response we we highly recommend reading it through carefully before you click ‘send’.

A message that contains typos implies you don’t pay attention to detail, and makes people feel you don’t really care about their custom. So it’s always worth checking each message carefully, just to be safe.

Put these steps together and you should be able to craft highly effective responses for your customers – like this example reply to someone with a serious pest problem:

Hi Hans,

Bark just emailed to say you’re in need of pest control, so I thought I’d get in touch to offer you my services.

I’m a BPCA-approved exterminator with 15 years of experience under my belt. In that time, I’ve dealt with everything from ant infestations to escaped Ocelots (don’t ask!), so there really is no job too big or small.

Take a look at my website – www.the-verminator.co.uk – for more info about my experience, qualifications and pricing. If you like what you see, I’ll happily visit your home to take a look at the problem and give you a free quote.

You can reach me any time on 07811 545548 or at theverminator@gmail.com.

Best wishes,
Vincent
07811 545548 | www.the-verminator.co.uk

As you can see, this response explains clearly what services Vincent provides in a way that’s both attention-grabbing and intriguing.

It makes it easy for customers to contact him by phone, email or in Bark Messenger – and it moves the conversation forwards by offering to visit the client’s home to take a closer look at the problem.

Employ these same techniques when responding Barks and we’re confident you’ll be securing even more business with us in no time.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about how we can help you secure more business with our service, we’d love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to team@bark.com or leave a comment in the space below.

From the Hollywood Hills to the Burmese mountains – freelancing secrets from journalists across the globe

In the spring of 2015, Eve Barlow packed her life into suitcases.

She’d had enough of working for someone else. From that day forward, she was going to stand on her own two feet, and focus on projects she was genuinely passionate about. So, she left her job at one of the UK’s most respected music magazines and boarded a one-way flight to LA.

It was a huge step – but having visited the city several times before, she knew there was only one place she wanted be to start her new life.

“The idea of being a freelance music journalist in the City of Angels just seemed like a no-brainer,” she explains. “So a one-way ticket was purchased. I flew by the seat of my pants, and it’s worked out nicely so far.”

She adds: “Working in the NME office was one of the best rollercoaster rides of my 20s and I wouldn’t change the experience for anything. But it’s a challenge to be Deputy Editor of a weekly magazine and also have time to write.”

Here at Bark, we believe taking your career into your own hands is one of the most important things any skilled professional can do. It’s one of the reasons we started Bark in the first place – and if you haven’t already, you can register as one of our pros here.

Since she moved to LA, Eve has the freedom to choose exactly which projects she wants to work on. So we reached out to her to ask what advice she had for aspiring freelancers thinking about going it alone.

“You are your name, and only you can hold yourself up to the quality you’re aspiring to maintain,” she explains. “You’re only as good as the last piece you wrote. That’s a good and bad thing.”

When asked what advice she’d give a young writer trying to get their first paid freelance gig, she says: “Know what you’re good and passionate about covering, make sure you know more than anyone else about that thing, and pitch at the relevant title in a manner that’s going to excite them.”

“Whether it’s unparalleled access, a unique argument or something yet-to-be-discovered, make sure there’s something about your pitch that nobody else could offer,” she adds. “Also, put the time into forging relationships with your editors and people who are going to be able to help you get the stories you need in your field.”

She recalls a recent interview she conducted with a band in the public eye who’d been caught up in an international news story.  After it was published, one of the world’s biggest news outlets wanted her to reveal further details she had ‘off the record’ – an offer she ultimately refused.

“You must always remember that your intellectual property is what you’re selling to people and have ownership over,” she explains. “It can be incredibly valuable if it could further a story that’s currently got heat, and if you’re working with the right editorial team they will understand and respect the part you have to play in that.”

Eve’s Los Feliz apartment complex is the sort of setup many young writers can only dream of. But the beauty of working for yourself is that you can put down roots wherever you choose – whether that’s a sprawling American metropolis, or out in the depths of the Myanmar jungle.

“I’ve just come back from a visit to one of the remotest regions of Burma,” says Joshua Carroll, a freelance writer living in Southeast Asia. “A freelance friend and I went with no commission, figuring we’d find stories while there and make a profit on the trip. We were right and it was an amazing experience.”

Travelling by motorbike along precarious mountain ridges, Josh stayed the night at a remote village which gets its water from a brook that trickles into peoples’ homes via a system of elevated pipes made from carved tree trunks.

“The houses cling to the mountainside on stilts, and there is a football pitch on a plateau ringed by distant blue mountain ridges,” he says. “We went there to interview two hunters who were returning their gun licenses in a gesture of solidarity with the depleted wild animal population. I got paid to do that!”

Although Josh has no formal journalistic training, his natural flare for spotting a good story has proved to be all he needed to succeed as a freelancer. He purchased a one-way ticket to Myanmar in 2014, and he’s never looked back.

“For me, not having a boss and motivating myself is the biggest challenge,” he says. “If I don’t pitch, I don’t work and I run low on money pretty quickly. It can be tough to get out of a dry spell.”

“If you haven’t done something you’re proud of for a while, your confidence starts to flag, and that means it’s less likely there’ll be ideas bouncing around in your head – so it can be a bit cyclical at times,” he adds. “Thinking financially helps. If you set a goal of making £X every month, it helps you work in a more disciplined way.”

Speaking about the best way to land your first paid work when you’re just starting out as a freelancer Josh says, for him, the key was simply to enter as many competitions as possible.

“The student journalism award I won led to a string of paid work,” he explains. “Winning stuff is also good for self-esteem, which is vital for keeping motivated – especially in the early stages when you’re likely to face a lot of rejection.”

Josh stressed that to make it as a freelancer, you need to learn to respond to rejection the right way – a sentiment echoed by UK-based investigative journalist Joe Sandler Clarke.

“Research the publication and editor you’re pitching to, before getting in contact. Treat a story pitch like a job interview,” he says. “The most important thing, more important than writing ability and story getting, is to meet your deadlines, be professional and work hard.

“Editors will respect you and ask for you to do more if you’re reliable and capable, more than they will if you’re flakey and brilliant.”

Securing regular commissions is one of the toughest problems all freelancers face, whether you’re a writer living in a remote Asian jungle, or a plumber working in South London.

That’s where Bark comes in. If you’re a skilled professional working in the UK, we’ll find you customers in your area who need your services – whatever industry you work in.

Join today and we’ll even make sure you can contact your first customer on us, you can start growing your business free of charge.

Click here to start growing your business with Bark.

We’re partnering with the Association of UK Accountants to help British entrepreneurs grow their businesses

Great accountants are more than just bean counters – they’re business partners, who’ll use their wealth of experience to help your small business flourish and grow. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Bark is partnering with the Association of UK Accountants.

Unlike other accounting organisations, Association members work extensively in business before going into practice. As such, they’re focused on helping clients maximise their profits using management information, rather than simply helping with tax compliance.

Chartered Accountant, Steve Bicknell
The Association’s Business Development Director, Steve Bicknell

“Our clients tend to think of us more as business partners,” explains the Association’s Business Development Director, Steve Bicknell. “Because we have actual business experience we can provide real support in areas such as funding, cash flow, business strategy, performance measurement as well as advice on tax and compliance.”

He adds: “SME’s are the lifeblood of Britain. Our members are highly trained and experienced, we enjoy helping and mentoring, and our practices are focused on small businesses.”

As one of the largest accounting communities in the UK, the Association works with over 350 accounting practices nationwide.

Since it was founded in early 2014, it has established strategic partnerships with a broad network of companies, including crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, alternative finance experts Capitalise and angel investing site Angel’s Den.

According to the Association’s latest survey, 39% of its clients have an annual turnover of less than £100,000 – which goes to show it’s never too soon to find a professional accountant to help grow your business.

What’s more, the Association’s work with Angels and crowdfunders means it can develop fundable business plans and use its network of contacts to help start-ups.

“Very few businesses have a business or even a cash flow forecast,” Steve explains. “Often they are too optimistic on sales and don’t have a contingency plan. It’s really important to make sure you have enough resources to get your business started.”

More than two thirds of Association business clients have an annual turnover below £500,000
More than two thirds of Association business clients have an annual turnover below £500,000

“Most entrepreneurs focus on sales and business development and don’t keep proper accounts,” he adds. “We have heard of shoe box accounting where at the end of the year the business owner goes to an accountant with a shoe box full of receipts. That’s no way to run a business and you can quickly lose control.”

“People turn to Bark every day to find skilled professionals to help them with everything from lawn mowing to legal representation,” says Bark cofounder Kai Feller. “We’re committed to finding the highest quality pros for our users, and this new partnership will make it even easier for us to help entrepreneurs throughout the UK find quality business accountants.”

To compare estimates from business accountants in your area – simply place a Bark using the link below and we’ll begin matching you with local pros right away.

Click here to find local business accountants today.

Ask the Expert: How to plan the perfect party

Throwing the perfect party is no piece of cake. Pull it off and your friends will be singing your praises for months after the event. But with so many things to consider, it can be tough to know where to begin.

To help you get started, we spoke with Dez Events founder, Deborah Granville. After more than 15 years in corporate and charity events, Deborah literally wrote the book on party planning – so it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about throwing a great party to really “wow” your guests.

So what do you need to consider when planning your party? Well, according to Deborah, you should start by asking yourself three crucial questions – why, when and where?

“Are you having this party because you feel you should?” she says. “Or do you really want to have it because you want your friends and family around you, and you want to do things that make you and your guests happy?”

Deborah Granville planning one of her legendary parties
Deborah Granville planning one of her legendary parties

She adds: “If you know why you are having it and what you want to achieve, all the planning will flow naturally.”

It’s also important to consider if your party will clash with any other events. As Deborah says, you don’t really want to be competing with the Champion’s League final, or the season finale of Game of Thrones.

Finally, you need to make sure your venue is suitable for all your guests – so think about where it is, how people will get to it, and whether it needs disabled access or parking.

Deborah says: “There are so many amazing venues in the UK, from fancy ballrooms to under-the-arches plain spaces, so whatever your taste and budget, you’ll be able to find something to suit.”

“Just remember that an empty, ‘dry hire’ space won’t necessarily be cheaper, as it may not have the on-site facilities you need,” she adds. “And don’t forget to haggle!”

Time to get the party started

Once you’ve got your venue, you’re ready to sort out the entertainment. If you want your guests to come away having had a fabulous time it’s best to focus on what they’ll enjoy, as well as what you want.

“If some of your guests don’t know each other, help them to mingle by providing some entertainment,” Deborah suggests. “A magician, a balloon artist, or contortionist – something they can ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at together.”

Simple ideas like these should break the ice and help your guests start to relax. Then, once everyone’s loosened up a little, it’s time to really get the party started.

“A live band interspersed with a DJ is always a winning combo,” says Deborah. “But always make sure you prep them with the songs you want and, sometimes more importantly, those you don’t. (Birdy Song, anyone?)

“Music is so important, because it has the power to relax as well as to energise, so having a good DJ – or even your own playlist – can make or break a party.”

And if you really want to impress…

Setting a theme can be a great way to ensure your party stands out from the many others your guests will be invited to this year and, done well, it can add a real touch of class to your event.

“Some people love themes, as once they’ve picked one, everything else falls into place,” explains Deborah. “Others don’t really know what theme, if any, they want, but as they start to think about the things they want at the party, a theme evolves.

“Here are two to get you started: A Hollywood glam theme, with soft feathers, floral detailing and pewter candelabras, where guests go to town on their outfits. Or, for something a little more pared down, a festival theme, with trestle tables and benches, wooden signs and flowers in mason jars – and ask guests to wear their wellies!”

If you do go with a festival theme, Deborah says an ice cream tricycle is a wonderful way to serve a delicious dessert and is a visual treat which helps to create that vintage atmosphere.

Or, if you’re looking for something a little classier, try letting your guests customize their Champagne cocktails with fruit purees, lavender sprigs, citrus twists and flavoured ice cubes they can spoon into their glasses.

Of course, if you really want your party to stand out from the crowd…

Why not ask our pros to help?

While planning your own event can be a lot of fun, it takes time and organisation to pull all elements of a successful party together. That’s why, for larger events, many people prefer to draft in a professional – and that’s where Bark comes in.

Whatever event planning services you need – from DJs, to marquee hire and more – we can help. Simply click the link below to place your Bark today, and we’ll find you local party planners ready to help throw the party of your dreams.

Click here to find great local party planners today.

With ‘one-click response’ you’ll never need to pass on a promising Bark again

 

Speed is important when pitching for business on Bark.

Customers are highly likely to hire one of the first pros they hear from. But we know our best pros are busy, and often out working on jobs when new Barks come in.

So we decided to create a tool you can use to respond to Barks instantly, even if you’re busy with other things when you receive them. It’s called ‘one-click response’ and it lets you save a standard reply you can send when you’re short on time.

An easy way to get more business with Bark

People who place Barks on our site are generally looking to hire a pro as quickly as possible. Looking at the last 100,000 Barks placed on our site, we discovered users are twice as likely to hire pros that respond quickly over those who take longer to respond.

This stands to reason. Once you’ve taken the time to research something and make a decision about it, you’re going to be reluctant to change your mind.

So when you receive an email about a new Bark, it’s a good idea to make sure you respond quickly – and that’s where one-click response comes in. It’s a simple tool that lets you save a standard response you can send to new customers instantly, with the click of a button.

You can set up your one-click response in your Bark pro dashboard
You can set up your one-click response in your Bark pro dashboard

You’ll find it in the new ‘one-click response’ tab in your Bark dashboard, and setting it up couldn’t be easier.

The first step is to enter your one-click response into the text box provided. The idea here is to create a generic message you could send to any of your customers. Take your time to get it right and, when you’re happy, enable your response by clicking the ‘save’ button.

Respond instantly, with a single click

Once you’ve enabled one-click response, the rest is easy. You’ll see a new button that says ‘send one-click response’ when we next email to alert you to a potential new customer.

If you’re too busy to respond with a tailored message, click that button and we’ll send your one-click response instantly instead. That way, you can get in and register your interest before the customer picks someone else.

Then later, when you have more time, you can follow-up with a personalised response and estimate.

We hope this new feature useful will mean you never need to pass on a promising job because you’re busy with other things again.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about it, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at team@bark.com or leave a comment below.

Turn bad reviews into great adverts for your company with our new ‘report, remove, respond’ feature

Even the best companies in the world get bad reviews now and then.

No company hits the mark 100% of the time. But what sets the customer service greats apart from some companies we could mention is how they respond when they do get negative feedback.

You see, a well-worded reply can turn even the most scathing review into a shining advert for your company – and our latest update to the Bark website is designed to let you do exactly that.

You can now report abuse, remove duplicate reviews and respond directly to any feedback you receive using the ‘Reviews’ tab in your Bark dashboard.

Today, we’d like to show you how this brand new feature works – and run you through our top tips for using it to handle negative customer reviews should the need ever arise.

Why bad reviews aren’t so bad

According to customer support experts Zendesk, a full 88% of customers make their buying decisions based on reviews. That’s why getting positive reviews on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Bark is so important.

But there is a school of thought in marketing that says a bad review can actually be a good thing.

For one thing, it makes people checking your reviews feel like they’ve “done their homework”, taking them one step closer to deciding whether to pay for your services.

It also helps to legitimise all your good reviews. After all, if you were going to fake them, why would you bother making up a bad one?

Most importantly, it gives you a chance to respond to the feedback and show people how great your company really is.

Remember, when responding to any review your prospects are your real audience. Show them that you care about your customers and they may decide you’re the right pro for them after all.

Here’s how to use our new interactive reviews feature to do just that:

How to effectively combat negative
reviews in three simple steps

Contrary to what many people think, negative reviews actually have the potential to increase the number of sales you make.

It’s all about how you respond to them – and thanks to our latest site upgrade, now you can! Simply log into your Bark account and click the ‘Reviews’ tab to the left of your screen to manage your reviews.

There, you can quickly ask your previous customers to leave you a review, report any abusive ones that come in, and reply to all the feedback you receive directly:

You can now review, report and respond to all your reviews in your Bark profile
You can now view, report and respond to all your reviews in your Bark profile.

We’ll happily remove any review that’s abusive, or from someone you’ve never actually done business with. But please note that we’ll never remove a review simply because it’s bad.

Of course, we hope you only ever hear from your many satisfied customers. But, if you ever do need to deal with someone who was less than happy with your services, here’s how we recommend you handle it:

  1. Acknowledge the issue and own it – your first objective when responding to any complaint is to communicate that you’re paying attention to the issue. Show anyone who reads the review that when someone has a problem, you listen.
  2. Show that future customers won’t have this issue – next, you should communicate that something has changed and anyone reading this review needn’t worry about the same thing happening to them.
  3. Offer to fix the issue, if possible. Even if you feel like the reviewer is way off the mark, and the problem is with them not you: don’t write that you feel that way. Stay polite and friendly, and suggest that the customer might like to email you directly to resolve the issue.

The important thing is to show anyone who reads this very public conversation that you care about your customers, and are doing everything you can to ensure they receive a superior service.

It’s easy to take negative feedback personally. So perhaps the most important advice we can give is to never send your response in the heat of the moment. Draft your reply, then take a little while to cool off. Come back to it later on with a fresh pair of eyes and make sure you don’t sound too defensive before you click ‘send’.

Of course, the best way to balance out bad reviews is to make sure your happy customers post about their experiences on your Bark profile.

But sticking to these simple guidelines should help you transform any negative feedback you get into glowing adverts for your future customers – which is exactly why we launched our new reviews feature in the first place.

We hope you find this new addition to our site useful! Let us know what you think of it by emailing team@bark.com, or leaving a comment below.

Transform your small garden with these creative landscaping hacks

When the sun is shining everyone should be able to enjoy basking in their own back yard – whether it’s a vast country manor, a compact city garden, or even just a small concrete area.

No matter how small your garden is, we want help you transform it into your own little strip of paradise for the summer.

So we met with one of our top gardening pros, Harrison Gardens founder Julian Harrison-Jones, to run through four creative ideas to liven up even the tiniest city garden.

Garden hack #1: Wall pallets

Liven up your garden with wall-mounted pallets
Liven up your small garden with stylish wall-mounted pallets

When you’re short on garden space, the key is to start thinking vertically. One classic space saving trick is to plant things in wall-mounted pallets.

This technique has become so popular in recent years, you’ll even see it used on building sites to make them look more attractive – and they’re something Julian and his team often use to liven up small gardens.

“We’ve done that quite a few times. It’s great for space, and it looks really good,” he says. “You start it horizontal and you plant everything. Then you leave it for three weeks to establish before you lift it because, obviously, you have to wait for the roots to establish before you do.”

“There are offshoots of that,” he adds. “You can have pots attached to the wall. But if you want things actually growing from the pallet, which I think looks the best, you want it horizontal first.”

Garden hack #2: Climbing plants

Another great space saving technique is to make the most of the edges of your garden using climbing plants. Boundary walls and fences that are covered with climbers will blend into their surroundings, making the garden seem bigger.

“Climbing plants are a good solution as well, you know – clematis, honeysuckle, whatever it may be. You could have a vine. You could have wisteria,” Julian explains. “But think vertical really, if you want to be saving space.”

Plants like these are relatively quick-growing compared to specimen shrubs, which means they’re also ideal for disguising things you’d rather not look at.

Garden hack #3: Tree stump features

Many people view old tree stumps as eyesores that need to be removed. But this can be expensive and, Julian argues, seeing them as a positive can help you create really interesting garden features.

“When tree surgeons take down a tree, they don’t usually take the stump,” he explains. “Another creative solution is to make a feature of that stump. You can hollow it out and make it a bed for woodland-type plants.”

Garden hack #4: Raised beds

Harrison Gardens installing a raised bed
A raised bed will make a great addition to almost any garden

Last but not least, raised beds have long been popular among serious gardeners.

They’re a great way of growing a wide range of plants, and are particularly popular for growing fruit and vegetables.

But, as Julian explains, they’re also great for small city gardens with limited space for flower beds, or very poor soil.

“In city gardens, if it’s just a paved area, then an obvious one is a raised bed,” he says. “You can use old sleepers or something and then you put the soil in, because you don’t want to dig really.”

Find a local gardening expert today

Hopefully these creative garden solutions have got you thinking about what you can do to create a garden you and your family will love spending time in this summer.

Now you’ve seen how you can turn even the tiniest outdoor space into a stylish city garden, the next step is to find the right pro to help you – and that’s where we come in!

With 3,186 registered gardening professionals, giving your garden a makeover in time for summer is easy with Bark.com. Simply click the link below to find gardening professionals in your area today.

Hire a pro to transform your small garden today.

Ask the Expert: Five essential gardening jobs to do this spring

With spring in full bloom, now is the perfect time to create the perfect space to relax with your friends and family. Getting on top of things now will make all the difference as temperatures start to rise and barbeque season gets into full swing – and that’s where Bark comes in.

To help you make the most of that neglected outside space, we asked one of our top gardening pros – Harrison Gardens founder Julian Harrison-Jones – to run you through five essential gardening jobs to do this spring.

1. Fix up your lawn

You can find hundreds of Lawn Care specialists on Bark.com
You can find hundreds of Lawn Care specialists on Bark.com

One of the main things that people think about at this time of year is Lawn Care. Weeds are coming through, the edges aren’t done and it’s starting to look overgrown.

“It’s time to start working on your lawn,” says Julian. “That means aeration, mowing, weeding and feeding. You feed the lawn twice a year, in Spring and Autumn.”

“When you’re starting to mow the lawn, because it will be the first cut of the year you should do it on a high blade,” he adds. “You’re just encouraging new, healthy growth. Don’t go crazy otherwise you’ll do damage and you might kill the lawn.”

2. Get on top of the weeding

Your lawn isn’t the only thing growing again now the winter months are behind us. Rolling up your sleeves and tackling the weeding now will mean you have a head start going into the rest of the year.

“To be honest, weeding is probably ‘number one’ because of the time of year,” says Julian. “You’ve left it over the winter, they’re coming up now and if you don’t tackle weeds now they’ll compete with shrubs and plants that you want to keep.”

“Basically, they’re all competing for nutrients and water,” he adds. “So if the weeds take over, they’ll take that away from the actual plants. As well as some weeds, like Ivy or creeping weeds, which will can strangle and kill your plants.” 

It’s time to start working on your lawn

3. Choose your ‘feature’ plants

Julian planting flowers for one of his many happy clients
Julian planting flowers for one of his many happy clients

Once you’ve got the weeds under control, it’s time to think about the plants you actually want to look at.

“It’s still relatively early in the gardening year,” Julian explains. “So you can plant your ‘feature’ plants or architectural-type planting – your shrubs, the backbone of your garden.”

He adds: “If you like roses, this is the perfect time for them, as well as perineal flowers and trees.”

4. Get mulching and feeding

Mulching and feeding goes hand-in-hand with weeding and planting, but the exact type of plant food you use depends on what you’re using it for.

“It could be manure, it could be peat, it could be leaf mould or compost,” Julian explains. “If it’s roses, for example, they really like a horse manure. Whereas, in general, your shrubs prefer bark just to supress weeds and keep the heat in.

“With your lawn, it would be nitrogen. Generally, a well-balanced fertiliser containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in equal proportions. You can’t go too wrong with that.”

5. Repair damaged trees and fencing

Starting with storm Desmond back in December, the UK has been buffeted by a wave of severe storms over the past few months. Thankfully, the worst of it is behind us, and you can now be thinking about repairing those damaged fence panels.

“Because of the recent storms, any damage that’s been caused over the winter – fencing, staking trees – those kind of essential works can be done,” Julian explains. “That’s what took up most of January. Lots of fencing work.”

“About two weeks ago we had a job that involved a lot of staking and getting everything back into shape,” he adds. “You should have two large stakes either side of the tree, which should be tied together firmly, then the tree tied to that.”

Find a local gardening expert today

With thousands of registered gardening professionals, giving your garden a makeover in time for summer is easy with Bark.com.

Whether you’re fixing the fence, clearing away those pesky weeds, or planning a full-blown garden renovation, we can help. Simply click the link below to find gardening professionals in your area today.

Why we’ve stopped asking for budgets

“There needs to be a way to stop timewasters who ask for a quote without any intention of ever going ahead,” says one Bark pro. “Maybe a guide with realistic budget advice may help this?”

This was a piece of feedback we heard time and again in your responses to our recent Seller Survey. The overwhelming consensus was that we should give people more guidance to make sure they have realistic budgets.

It got us thinking about what we could do to make sure everyone who uses our site knows what things actually cost. We’ve been testing a number of ideas behind the scenes, and today we’re happy to announce what we think is the ideal solution.

It’s called the Budget Estimator, and it essentially simulates the experience of having an expert on hand to let you know what everything costs.

Here’s why it should mean a better experience for both you and your customers:

The problem with letting the
buyer dictate the price

So why were so many people selecting unrealistically low budgets when placing their Barks in the first place? Are they all cheapskates?

We don’t think so. Based on the feedback we get from you and your fellow pros, it looks like most people simply don’t know what things cost – especially when they’re first-time buyers.

For example, you might guess that a 10-shot photo shoot lasting two hours costs less than a 200-shot wedding shoot with album and retouching services. But unless you’re a professional photographer, you probably have no idea what the price difference is.

Some people intuitively consider this when setting their budgets, and get good responses as a result. But, unfortunately, others do not.

So, when presented with a series of prices and not knowing what something is really worth, most people worry about getting ripped off. They think: “I don’t want to be quoted more than I should be, so I’ll choose the cheapest option just in case.”

How we used to ask for Buyer's budgets
How we used to ask Buyers their budgets

The upshot of all this was that people tended to select the cheapest option available when placing their Barks, even when that’s not what they really wanted.

This led to a mismatch between what people placing Barks expected to be quoted and what pros like yourself usually charge for their services.

The result was bad for everyone: buyers got fewer responses at higher prices than they were expecting, while pros felt that most Barks weren’t worth their time and didn’t bother responding to them.

Luckily, our new Budget Estimator changes all that…

Now the power is in YOUR hands

Letting our users specify their own budgets clearly wasn’t the way to go. That’s why, starting today, we’ll be doing things differently.

Instead of having people guess what a service costs, we’ll show them what to expect based on what you and your fellow pros usually charge. Here’s how it will work:

  1. Whenever someone submits a Bark, we’ll identify what they’re looking for based on their answers to our questions.
  2. We’ll then cross-reference their request with historic estimates for Barks in the same category and area, and remove any outliers that look far larger or smaller than usual.
  3. Finally, we’ll present the customer with a range of prices to help them work out what they can expect to be quoted.

As you’ve seen, our old system meant people expected unrealistically low estimates because of the “Market for Lemons” effect.

But our new Budget Estimator should give everyone a more realistic idea of what the services they’re looking for actually cost.

Our new Budget Estimator in action
Our new Budget Estimator in action

You’ll be able to see the guide prices we provide for each of the Barks you receive, so you can consider them before responding.

If you decide to give an estimate that’s less than the industry average, your customers will feel like they’re getting a great deal – and your customers should still be happy to pay more than the industry average in exchange for a premium service.

In short, we believe our Budget Estimator will help educate our users – so you can win more business at higher prices than you might have been able to in the past.

Let us know what you think!

We’ve tested this new website feature thoroughly to ensure it works smoothly for buyers and sellers alike, and we hope it means you can win even more new business thanks to our service.

Please let us know how you’re finding it by emailing our friendly Customer Service team at team@bark.com, or leaving a comment using the form below.