A Good Laugh

[JimLewis]

Well, I am bored so I'll share this story with whoever wants to read it.

When I first started, 6 years ago, I had nothing. I knew nothing. I didn't even know what an edger was. No kidding. Much less how to use one. Anyway, I took out an ad and started mowing people's lawns. The funny part was my set-up;

The first 2 weeks I mowed lawns in my wife's 1989 Mazda 626. I would brake down the handles of the little $50 mower I bought and put it in the trunk after every lawn. Then, I had plastic bags to put the grass clippings in. Those bags went in the back seats during the day and then into the dumpsters at the appartments where I lived at night. This isn't the funny part. It gets worse.

After 2 weeks, the wife was tired of me using her car. So I had to start using my own. I had a 1980 Chevy Camaro at the time. Imagine a 70's Formula Firebird. That's what it looked like. Except I had just painted it custom metallic blue. It glowed. Now imagine a towing package on the back. It gets worse.....

I bought a trailer from a guy for $50 that used to be an old truck bed. It's primary color was rust. But you could still see some yellow too. The trailer, wheels, tires, etc. had been sitting in a field for years. It was damn ugly. It was also a good foot or so higher off the ground than the Camaro was. And the axle squeeked, loudly.

Now imagine that piece of crap being towed by the aforementioned Camaro - the trailer tilting up at the back because the tongue was so low - with a crappy mower, edger, and broom in the back. A Blower? I didn't know about those.

I can't even begin to count how many times "real" landscapers would pull up next to me at a stop light and just die laughing. I could hear the cowls even through their closed windows. I just laughed too. It WAS funny. I knew it. But I couldn't afford anything more at the time.

I was told on several occasions that it looked like my car was going 80 mph but the trailer was going 20. I wish I had pictures. You guys would be dying. Anyway, it's a relief now to have nice stuff. But it's humbling to remember where I started from.

[Edited by jimlewis on 02-17-2001 at 03:55 AM]

[moonarrow]

Jim that is a good story, and it is good that we can look back and laugh, Storys like this I think are a good contribution because it shows the American way that with determination, any one can succeed, and helps the small guys realize this and that they are not alone and if they work at it better things will come with time

[Greenkeepers]

Jim-

You had to start somewhere!! Glad to hear that you're still in business and have moved up the cutting chain :)

[jrblawncare]

I started with a 9.50 ad in the penny saver,a crapsman leave vac.I called myself "The Leaf Man" doing fall clean-ups...the phone rang off the hook.Bad "yes" ,as bad as Jim "NO".

[rdh]

good story jim,
just shows every one how far some people can go with nothing

[Edited by rdh on 02-17-2001 at 05:41 AM]

[HOMER]

Jim,

Did you sell that set-up? I think I saw it the other day in town!
I did have a truck when I bought my first mowing machine, a 22" high wheel Murray! I started out wanting to pressure wash and called a real estate guy. He told me he didn't have anything to wash but he did have a yard that needed mowing. The rest is history but I still remember pushing that first yard, it was one that I would turn away in a second now----------straight up! The Bermuda was so thick I was worn out by the second pass and so was the mower. I wasn't born with a silver spoon, I did have humble beginnings and to some I am probably still humbly beginning----------but I'm a long way from that day and proud of it. Looking back is the fun part. I remember sitting on a swing under my carport with my wife a few years ago, thinking of a way to make some extra money, her words were loud and clear, "I tell you one thing I'm not gonna do----I'm not mowin' no grass"!

Woops :D

Sorry honey :( I'll make it up to ya one day!

[Island Lawn]

Jim, That is a GREAT story!

Reading your posts, looking at your website, I would have NEVER imagined such humble beginings!

And that was ONLY 6 years ago?!?!? WOW!! Inspirational!!!

I wonder what those guys that laughed at you are doing now?

[Currier]

Hey when I started I used my bike to pull my mower/gas/etc on a trailer...I think someone took my picture last year and posted it on here!(LOL)

[Mark]

Great story Jim, I started with a old MTD 36" rider,a broom and a trimmer which was gave to me don't know the brand,but it was a one stringer. Hauled it in the bed of my truck. Had six accounts, that was 10yrs ago. Ill never forget where i came from. Then after around two yrs and alot of praying I purchased my first new mower and trailer, then started growing in accounts, and now im at the point that i have to turn down jobs every yr. Longsuffering as the Bible says and my prayers were answered. Marks Mowing Service

[motor86]

There is a kid a grade younger than me that mows. He drives a OLD John Deere mower around town with a trailer behind it. The trailer is covered in rust. He has a 35 year old lawn boy in the back, and a 15 year old Weedeater trimmer. On the trailer is a big sticker, saying "KQ 98 Hot Country". It is a radio station....everyone laughs.

I am not much better. I have new equiptment, but for the last 4 years of mowing I pushed it around town, since I didn't have a truck.

[MJ]

Motor86 - congrats to you. I'll bet that other kid laughs, too, all the way to the bank. Guys like you will make it when the others are standing in the welfare line.

Mick

[lawman]

Jim that is a true rags to riches story if I have ever heard one. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[JimLewis]

Well I don't know if I consider myself rich or not. But I definitely aint as raggy any more. :-)

[leeslawncare]

I hope you guys know we all were scrubs at one point.so lets not try an knock them ! i'ts a tight biz here an we all hafta start some where .iI staterd a lil better than jim .I had a 87 nissan an a 21 comm.snapper 21" an a homlite trimmer an hand held blower.now i got a 99 z-71 36 j.d. an reddmaxx blower 5x8 trailer an i 'am happy with what i have .Just be thankfull guys because some people have a lot less!

[65hoss]

When my dad got me started when I was about 10 yrs old, we used a 79' Ford LTD with a 5x8 trailer.

At the age of around 12 we bought a 21" Honda commercial mower. That was around 1984. Guess what, this is the same 21" mower I still keep on the trailer today.

[JimLewis]

I know! Hondas rock. I was so stoked the day I could finally afford one. I went out and bought two Honda Commercials my 2nd year in the business. I think I still have one or maybe both of them. They never die. Just a minor repair here and there. Gotta love em.

[Rodney Johns]

I love to hear stories of the little engine that could. We all remember that as we grow and apparantly some of us can still put that story to use. Great success.

[LawnMowerMan2003]

Well, I was directed to this post because I find myself recently with no truck, throwing my old John Deere with broken self-propel into the back of a huge brown '81 Olds. I also have the cheapest Echo you can get, and even that I had to buy rebuilt! I don't even have a blower, unless I can fix my Echo handheld, cause the shop said it wasn't worth fixing. I'm sure it looks hilarious to see me driving down the road, but I have to admit it's better than when I actually first started: I was 15 and I didn't have a car either, so I pushed my dad's 3.5 HP craftsman down the street to mow the huge rocky yards for $10-$15. People on my street were mowing their own yards but when they found out how cheap I would work they paid me anyway! And back then I didn't have any weed trimmer. At least I have experience now, so it shouldn't take me too long to get another truck and some decent equipment.

[IBGreen]

I started with a Murry you buy from Wal-Mart. I opted for the one with the adjustable cutting heights!:D $100

[FrankenScagMachines]

Here's mine. I guess I'll copy and paste it into the new forum for sharing how you started and where you are today.

I learned to mow on a 30" rear engine Snapper Comet rider with a manual start 8hp B&S, must have been around 7 or so at the time.... but that was just at our house. Then we moved to this house and doubled property size to about 2 acres, mostly hilly, and we got a '93 Wheel Horse 520H hydro tractor with a 48" hydro lift deck with it and a 36" tiller. It "came" with the house. Man I was in heaven! Then maybe 3 years ago I noticed my neighbors were getting very old maybe too old to mow their lawn anymore so I asked them if they wanted me to do it for them. They said oh yes we were wondering how we were gonna do it this year. So I started using their MTD 30" rear engine rider which I now despised after having been spoiled by that Wheel Horse, and also used their 20" Craftsman to trim with. Made all kind of excuses the year after that for mom and dad to let me use their Wheel Horse whenever I could get them to let me!! I couldn't stand that 30" rider they had...the first year they paid me $10 to do it (with their equipment so it was maybe $6-7 an hour no travel) and every year I have gotten a $5 raise. So in the fall of the second year working for them I inherited a 32" Toro rear engine rider. It was a nice mower, a Cadillac in comparison to that MTD 30" they had. So I was using it and their push mower sometimes ours to trim with and somewhere in there mom and dad got a WeedEater brand trimmer (now I laugh at) and they let me use it at the neighbors because the 20" craftsman wouldn't get against the fence. Then the next year (spring '02 I think) I was given a Homelite curved shaft trimmer and needed to sink $40 into it to get it going. We had a trailer by that point so mom and dad were hauling me to a few jobs to do. I was doing a good job working, the Toro rider did a great job cutting and striping and the Homelite got the job done. I didn't have a use for a blower too much because upto that point most of my jobs had gravel driveways but the one or two that had a paved drive I just used a broom or the mower to clean off. In spring '02 I also got a used Toro 21" sp bagger mower for $30, fixed it up had $60 into it now. It was a nice mower except for the Tecumseh engine on it. Then in July my Homelite kicked the bucket and I had enough money I wanted to get a commercial trimmer. That was where I really needed to upgrade the most. So I made a few phone calls and went to the Stihl dealer and walked out with a brand new FS80R trimmer. Found out what commercial equipment is all about!! Somewhere in that summer I sold the Toro 21" for $75 because I wasn't really ever using it. Wish I still had it 'cept for that engine but it had steel wheels too. Well in fall '02 I fell upon some good deals got a LawnBoy 21" push, Echo SRM2400SB with a hedge trimmer attachment, Echo HCR1500 hedge trimmer, Kawasaki KRB400A backpack blower, bought and sold some junk made some decent money doing that this winter, and then in January '03 I bought a 52" Scag hydro walk behind for $800. It needed no work but I have since done alot of modifications to it. Now I ordered 2,000 doorknob hangers and plan to get into it more this year. I got a $1 million insurance policy, registered my business name and am ready to plunge right into it.

Thats my story. From scrub lowballer to pro thanks to lawnsite!
Eric

[GroundKprs]

Got my initial start in mid 50s raking leaves for Christmas money. Come home from school, grab the rake, and solicit door to door. Work until dark for that day's 50¢. Saturday was a $2 day, if I hustled.

Went back to outdoor work in late 70s. Started on my own in '81 with a new Lawnboy 21" and Little Wonder edger in the trunk of a 60s Valiant. Trimmer, blower, and hand tools in the back seat. Had to get a trailer for the 2-stage snowblower, and it was the same as jimlewis's, but mine was given to me free.

The car was replaced in a few years with a new van. Hated to do it, but got rid of that trailer last year - hadn't touched it for 5 years, except to move it. Still have 7-8 of the Lawnboys used througout business years, including original.

Wouldn't be here today, if I wasn't having nearly as much fun as I was back then. Remember the simple start, and how well you did, and keep that rapport with your clients today.

[roscioli]

Ok, since we are sharing progress stories, I will try to keep mine quick. Jim- Yours was great, very inspiring.
Me- I started using my fathers mower and borrowing my buddies truck. At the time (3 yrs ago) I was driving a 2000 Honda Civic Si, I bought it brand new, so you can imagine how hard it was to let my friend drive it for the day when I took his 1988 Dodge mowing. I sold the car the next summer, 2001, and bought my 1994 f-150, trailer and 36" exmark. 2002 brought my 60" lazer 27 l/c, and 3 employees. Yes, 3, I took so many spring cleanups, that I had 3 people all working 35 hrs/ week (not full time because I still had school), and that barely got me through. This year, taking on a few instals, but 0 cleanups for non-weekly maintenance customers. Also bought a 2002 Ranger in August, it is to be used on small lawns. Going for 1 full time and1 part time employee this year, because I still have school and a part time job.
So, 3 years from nothing to 2 trucks, a 36, a 60, and 2 nice 21's, not to mention 2 cycle stuff, rototiller, etc... Pretty boring story I guess.

[Ed Ryder]

I started out with a self-propelled 22" Craftsman in 1979. What a piece of junk! I was 13 or 14 at the time.

At age 18 I moved up to the 21" LawnBoy Scamp that I would throw into the back of my 69 Nova. At that point I was still trimming with hand clippers (not electric).

After college I bought my first 48" Bob Cat walkbehind. It had an 11hp Honda engine.

In 1986 I placed quarter page display ads with the business name "Payless Property Care." Man, at that point I had 70 customers and I couldn't handle it all. I got burned out and let the service fall apart by the end of August.

In 1987 I teamed up with an unemployed older fellow. We rebuilt the business to 60 customers. He used my equipment, I got a percentage while I investigated getting into auto detailing. That worked out great for 6 or 7 weeks, then things got ugly with that fellow. Due to my youth, I mismanaged him.

Then I worked as an appliance salesman for over 2 years and did well. But the job sucked. It was 100% commission and I worked with a bunch of assholes.

Then I started an auto buying service with a partner where we got deals on new cars for people and cut the car salesman out of the process. This partnership also didn't go well. My partner got arrested for drunk driving shortly after we started the business and he fought the cops. So it looked like he had a 2 year jail term coming and his morale was crushed. And then he had more personal problems. I pulled the plugged within a year.

In 1991 I got back into lawncare with a 48" Exmark walkbehind. I was poor and paid $500 for like a 68 or 70 Plymouth Satellite. I had a custom tow hitch made to pull the trailer. And the car lasted less than 3 months. By that point I was able to get a loan for a 1986 F150.

I continued to try other business ideas because my heart was never really into grass cutting. I fell on my face over and over.

Finally I decided to just cut grass and focus on stock investing. I was going for the big kill and eventually decided to focus on one small technology company. I met with the company leaders and they gave me a good vibe. So I invested all I could and I follwed the company closely. The stock was volatile. I continued to buy for more than 4 years.

Finally there was a breakthrough. I had invested around $100,000 and now it was worth around $400,000. So what did I do? I considered everything and decided to hold. When the stock price went down 50% from its peak, I borrowed on margin and bought more. That was a good gamble for about a week, and then things went badly.

I tried to hang on to as many shares as I could and I used up all my surplus cash to pay down the margin loan. I couldn't believe it kept going down!

I sold the grass cutting business that summer and tried to find other opportunities again while I waited for my share price to recover. I spent part of that summer in Russia (my first visit). The share price didn't return to the high levels again.

In 2001 I was desperate again. I was working my *** off and struggling with massive credit card debt and lines of credit. I bought a cheap 48" Lesco, placed some ads and handed out flyers. I got lucky and went from $0 to $1200 a week within 3 weeks. And I continued to add customers.

At it's high my stock was at $10.25. When it went down to 25 cents, I decided that it was time to stop paying on $50,000 in credit card debt, which I had partially used in my investing activities and was costing me a lot in interest. I did a lot of research and had a complete plan in place before I defaulted on the first payment. This enabled me to begin saving again while I continued to hold the stock in case a turnaround would happen. Later I learned that some ******* had targeted my company with illegal naked short selling and they were behind the stock decline.

Anyway, I have 2 other business ventures underway: one is a tourist guide service in Saint Petersburg, Russia. I'm into the second year with it and it is cash flow positive, but it is just a micro business for now. And I'm also working with Russian artists. I plan to be a dealer and publisher of art later in the year and paintings are being made for me now.

Also, I just made the big jump from just using a 48" gear drive walkbehind to a 60" hydro rider. My best week last year was $1849 (solo). This year I should be able to do over $2000 a week consistently - until the summer dry spell. And it appears I will be cutting grass for a while.

The stock market ruined me and I am afraid to take stock market risks now. I'm 18 months into not paying my major creditors and I have them under control. I never thought I would one day have shitty credit. But I blew it with my greed, plus I was unaware my stock was being illegally manipulated. My stock will come back one day, and the people involved in the naked short selling are going to pay with big lawsuits. But I am years away from recovery.

I do have a lot of experience mowing. And working for another pro during late summer/early fall of 2000 really helped me to see how I could build up a better business. I worked for an outfit that had over 400 lawns. I learned a lot with them.

So now I am at the point where I have a good quantity of customers with room for a few more. I do great work. My customers are very happy with me. And I'm hoping to make some progress this year.

[Joel B.]

I would bet that if most people on this website saw Jim's old rig on the road they would be screaming SCRUB!!!

I hope this post reminds us that we all have to start somewhere.

Joel B.

[Art Stubbs handy 58]

Nice story and very inspiring, not going to share a story but I still get a thrill today knowing where i started and the "LAUGHS" i got. but i "LAUGH" to the bank also now.....and to the people who "Laugh" are now getting sent to jail for tax evasion, so when Big Bubba comes a calling, i wonder if he will remember when "Laughed" at me...... :cry:

[LawnMowerMan2003]

I was wondering if a 30" or so rear-engine rider, maybe a used Snapper would be worth buying if I couldn't afford a WB? After using those mowers what do you think? I know they are not as fast as a walk behind, but how about compared to a 21"? And is your Echo simillar to the PAS260? I've used a SRM2600 before and I was very impressed, and am considering the PAS260 for my next weedtrimmer, because the 21cc curved shaft Echo I bought at Home Depot this year was all I could afford at the time, but I feel that it's taking me signifigantly longer to edge with it. If I remember correctly I used to edge an average lawn in about 20 minutes, maybe less, and now it's possibly taking me twice that long. I also need to come up with a quick blower solution, unless I can fix my Echo handheld myself. The shop seemed to think it was the crank seals and wasn't worth fixing. Somebody reccomended the Weedeater Featherweight to start with, but I hope they have improved since my old gas Weedeater blower, cause it didn't run worth a ****.

[Shuter]

Jim, I started 3 years ago spreading mulch for a material supplier, working out of my trunk with a rake, a shovel, and wheel barrel. I has gotten a lot better since.

[goodbeus]

let's see....I was 10 years old, used my dad's 24" big-wheel Murray push mower and gas can...that was it...I pulled it around on my bicycle, 1 hand on the handle bars, the other hand on the mower bars, pulling it back wards with the gas can on the mower through the neighborhood...I wore out more wheels on that mower from pulling it down the road than cutting lawns....anyway, I still laugh when I think of those days:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[imalandscper]

WEll it is a short story. Me and my mom wanted to do this for about 2 years. So we went to the bacnk and borowed 3250 for a 1 ton chevy flatbed dually. And borrowed some money and bought a 48" scag wb 52" scag wb all for 1200 bucks!!!!! Got a homelite trimmer and a ryobi blower and went balls out in lawncare and landscaping....shorty after that i bought and paid cash for a new echo shred n vac, a 18 x 6.5 trailer (tandem axle)
and this year bought a new bobcat 52" rider. We also now have 3 huge apartment complexes and a couple smaller accounts. That is enuf for me right now cause i like installing patios and retaining walls, new yards and renovations. and it is just the two of us. Of by the way....the first thing i did when i got the truck was have it lettered. The rest of the story will be written this season. Hope you all have a good season.


Andy

[hoffmanlandscaping]

That definitly is a rags to @ least well off story. I can't say I have anything to compete with that I've always loved landscaping and working out side. My dad really got me into it I knew what every plant in the book was mainly because when you were weeding the perinuial beds you'd better not pull out a plant so you learned pretty quickly. Then I moved out bought a farm and needed a lawn mower to mow my grass approx 4 acres worth so a 21" pusher wouldn't even cut it. Well I eneded up buying a new 52" scag hydro (I just can't seem to buy used and always have to have the best) and figured I would start to mow a few lawns in order to pay for it I had a 97 powerstoke and bought a new 6x12 hydr. dump trailer ( I have a gravel driveway 1500 ft long and use that to haul gravel to patch hole in the spring also works great for hauyl mulch or other materials.) I mowed with that set up for 3 years then bought a 61 turf tiger and a 2000 powerstroke. This year I made a new trailer deticated to mowing 6'6"x14' with all kind of holders and boxes, bought a new stihl FS85, HST80 hedge trimmer, and a Toro poro line 22". I still have a few thing I want yet thi year such as a bigger chainsaw, new backpack, and a new edger. But I'd better wait or my wife may kill me (Our aniversey is coming up and I need to get here something nice can't forget about them.) My main goal is to do this full time will I guess I mean get rid of my salary job I do this full time the way it is now but the insurance would eat me alive if I quit the other job with 2 young kids and a wife that is still in college I think she is on the 20 year plan (she wants to be a shrink that all I need someone analizing me!!!!!!!!) Well that's my story not all that interesting but I like it!