Learning from the inside

[sleona]

OK, I've been lurking around this site for awhile, only asking a couple of questions, but here is one thing that's bugging me. I'm seriously interested in pursuing a residential lawn care bizz in my area. My part of town is mostly upper-middle class yards with an average size of .50 acre lots, and there is a very good demand for lawn care. Anyhow, through reading these forums I've come to believe that the one of the best ways to learn more about the lawn care industry is to simply start working in it as a laborer.

Problem: I live in Texas...south Texas (aka: little Mexico). I don't speak Spanish. How in the world can I work for one of these guys if they're needing bi-lingual folks for the job? What's a Gringo to do?? :)

Problem #2: Let's face it...I have bills, so I need money. Most of the lawn care companies around me who need workers usually end up getting the illegals who will take less pay for the job. Is this the practice of most lawn co's, or am I looking at the wrong type of lawn care Co. to work for?

I guess what I'm asking is, do any of you folks need a hard-working anglo whose willing to learn about the industry from the inside? :p

I've tried searching for this using the "search" feature, but the results haven't been satisfying. Thanks for the help...

Adios,
Sean

:blob3:

[script]

Hey Sean, if a lot of companies hire Spanish speaking people that don't speak English and they seam to manage just fine, why couldn't you manage even though you can't speak Spanish. As long as you do good work, it shouldn't matter whether you can talk at all. If that's what you want to do I'd keep looking, because you probably just haven't found the right company to check into.
#2- No, all lawn companies don't hire illegals to work for them.
Good luck and learn as much as you can from this site.

Bobby

[awm]

id approach it from another direction. in short
a good walk behind,a trimmer ,blower and edger of some kind,
and youre ready.if you cant get it all,get mower and trimmer to start.study lawnsite archives and go out an sell your self.
this way its all up to you. good luck,

[sleona]

Thanks for your helpful advice.

I suppose the language issue shouldn't be as much of an issue as I'm making it, but there still remains the problem that a good portion of the lawn Co's here require that you be bi-lingual - not just suggest it. What I can't understand is why do I have to be bi-lingual but the Spanish-speaking guys do not? Oh well, in the words of Bruce Hornsby, "That's just the way it is.".

I've also considered getting myself a good 21", perhaps a Honda since I've had good experiences with them, and a commercial grade Echo trimmer and blower to start off with. The stumbling block I run into is money; I need more of the stuff. Since I really don't want to spend the money on a 21" push that I might be replacing in a couple years in favor of a 36"-48" WB, I thought it would be better to save up the cash while working in the industry (but keep my part-time job), gaining some good experience on the commercial end of the gig at the same time.

In the meantime...I'll be registering for some Spanish classes at my local Community College. It'll be useful when I've finaly established my Bizz :p

Sean