Why did you get in lawn care

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Why did you make the move to do lawn care?

Why did you become self employed?

I did because it's easy to me.
I love equipment and big stuff.
I love to be outside.
I like being my own boss.
I like the money I make.
I like the tax benies.

[Mowin4cash]

I got into lawn care 'cause, you know, all those guys with the $40,000.00 Powersmokes, all those Dixie Choppers, all those other neat expensive toys means only one thing.............They are a gettin RICH QUICK!


Mike

[mdb landscaping]

-i love to work period.
-love working outside
-great being able to pick and choose your work
-make more money then working for another LCO
-get to play with lots of cool toys
-you choose your own destiny business wise
-its great to show up to look at something shabby, and sort of make it over the way you like to make it look great.
-landscaping is a type of art that you can create.

[cajuncutter]

I got into it when I was in high school, ever since I got a drivers license. It is the only work I have ever known. I guess you could say I never really made a move to the lawn biz..I just always been there:D ...perhapse one day I will be forced into getting a "real" job( god help me if that ever happens)but til then I'm guna stay a mowin fool:p (starting on my 16th season this year)

[Harvestman]

It Has always been something I loved to do .Started out working at a cementary and have enjoyed ever sence. Harvestman

[bubble boy]

worked for a company summers. graduated with economics degree figured id work at a bank...but after seeing the money that could be made, well...

plus being self employed was a dream come true.

but can't say i inherently love grass, of cutting it, or landscaping. i somewhat like doing these things but on my days off im golfing, not gardening.

plowing i like, but even that i dont love

[OBRYANMAINT]

I actually got into the green industry from the opposite ways....sort of

I have done snow removal for many years and had 3 or 4 trucks sitting around in the summer, and a commercial client base. started doing it on the side of plowing for current customers and three years later the mowing/maintenance side of things does quite well. Now where as well as plowing but keeps me busy just the same!

[CSRA Landscaping]

I was in a pinch at my ETS because I hadn't gotten a job lined up and I had to feed my family. My grandpa gave me a JD 318 and the rest, as they say, is history.

[luv of green]

I have to agree the toys are great, getting paid for a perfect tan , the people did it for me I was a printer for 6 years in the factory morale was low, get outside conversating with customers fixing peoples outdoor problems while most people i see in my days now are smiling or busy doing something they love, and i think very strongly in remaining in a positive manner will reflect how you run your life and take care of your customers, and also true we make a killing mowing grass, but, anybody that is reading this is thinking about mowing, that is my hobby as well as my and your career choice. i am so glad for this website everybody on here has high octane 2 cycle gas running through their veins and we look to this site for comfort and we recieve it every single day.

let it snow,let it snow, let it snow

[scagman]

Unemployed at the time (two years ago) but looking for a job. I was at the grocery store one day when my girlfriend noticed a flier was looking for someone with or without experience starting wage was $8.00 an hour. I got hired and worked with him for about 5-6 months and now I have my own lawn service.

God im glad we ran out of milk that day!!!!!

[PRECISION LC]

i was forced into the business by my mother when I was younger. I finally came around and began to love everything about this business.

[JimLewis]

I wanted to quit my job so bad it stung. So I took 2 weeks off and began my lawn care biz. just to see if I could make enough money to quit my job. Then I'd have time to go interview for other jobs and still make some decent cash. I saw this as just a temporary thing in the very beginning.

After a month or two I realized I just LOVED being self employed, having several different bosses (any of whom I could quit working for if they treated me poorly without too much recourse), being in control of my income, control of my schedule, etc.

I also began to run the numbers. And I soon figured out that if you got enough clients, you could make some serious money at this thing.

So I quit looking for jobs and just kept at it. Never looked back. I was full time my first day out. :-)

[65hoss]

The only boss I ever liked is myself. I hate working for others.

I love a challenge. I want to see if I can grow a business profitable. Not necessarily large, but very profitable.

Gotta love playing with all this cool equipment day in and day out. Other men just wish they had the guts to work like this and enjoy themselves. Ever seen a guy try to show you his new crapsman riding mower? He sure is proud of it. Watch his face when he sees that Lazer.:cool:

[ladibugg]

:confused: My parents sold the farm. No, really. I was born and raised on a nursery/orchard. i have worked for the big corps, but they lied to much to suit me. Went to college and ate the teachers. Went back to the farm to watch grandpa die. My father picked up the shovel and started digging. ( to plant trees, we left grandpa on the porch, silly) I've been making things greener all my life. My yard is a test plot for all sorts of grafting and landscape ideas. People stop in front and ask if they can come in just to see the garden. (mostly flowers and vines.) Then they ask if I could maybe come over and take a look at whatever it is they are trying to grow or sometimes what they are trying to kill. So I say's " self you should charge these people something and find some way to get some regular customers." I bought a john deere hydro and started a marketing program. Now I'm playing with plants every day and making more money than grandpa ever did with his 600 acres.:D

[vipermanz]

i just love being outside doing something i'm good at!.:)

[ladibugg]

:cool: Oh yea, lets not forget the chics. How many time s last year did some babe bring a glass of ice cold lemonade out to your sweaty self to cool you off:cool:

[vipermanz]

ahhh perks:D

[Gary LA]

I started mowing for a huge co. called Atcheson Lawns out of Lee's Summit Mo.

I seen how easy and quick it was to make big money with a couple of disciplined guys.

The most employees I've ever needed was 4 and I like it that way.

95% of my bus. is commercial accts.
It's very competitive,long hours- plenty of bosses,but nothing has ever compared to the satisfaction I get out of driving by my properties and being able to see what I have accomplished ,-and feeling great about it.

The mowers are cool too.;)

I haven't yet figured out the bennies part though.Buying a new home was a real treat being self employed.
they really stuck me on my interest rate.

[David Haggerty]

I bought a riding mower to make it a little easier. I was an engineer for GTE, but with 3 kids and a new house things were tight. We couldn't really afford the mower, so I thought I'd take on a yard or two for a season to help pay for it. Got hooked on being outdoors. Liked running my own show. Found out I really do like mowing the lawn.

Dave

[longslawn]

My father retired after 46 years on the same job and wanted to do something else. He was a great gardner and this type of work he enjoyed so I took a contract that was offered to me and that was the start. I finally went full time 2 1/2 years ago and have enjoyed it for the most part. I too like to work outside and call the shots on my future.

Tim

[GrassChopper]

I was in Law Enforcement for 15 years. I got tired of the politics and wanted a job where I controlled my own destiny. I also enjoy being outdoors.

[swonkeg]

Oldest child was turning five so we checked with local public school to enroll in Pre-K, school had the nerve to tell me that she didn't qualify because of my
income level (said I made too much Ha Ha) So I inquired at a local private church school and got enrolled then had to figure out how to pay for it. (Have sent each child since to this same school as they get old enough for school.)
Started mowing for a retired sales rep at my current employer and have continued mowing and growing for 5 years now. Found this site, bought commercial equipment, and have just about doubled my growth in a year and half. (Working Smarter not Harder) Have just sent off to get study material
for commercial applicator license in Texas. THANK YOU LAWNSITE & MEMBERS

[Jason Pallas]

Started in high school - put myself through undergrad doing it - continued in grad school. After I got my masters, I found I could still make more money doing this that I could in my field. That was 20+ years ago - still love every minute (or almost every minute).

[Rodney Johns]

Everything mentioned is right on so I won't rehash.
2 other things for me is I get to be creative and do something different almost everyday.
and more than anything.....I am leaving something behind. A tree, planting, or job might be around years after I am gone. There is that potential for a little legacy on each job site. Not mention it just looks better than when you started.
I just love what I do.

[King City Lawns]

I was raised into it.. Sort of.... My grand father was a golf course superintendent, his brother,my father, my uncle, my brother, and my cousin are all superintendents. My sister even maried into the biz. Her husband is a super a golf couse in Pebble Beach Cal. (not Pebble, though it is within Del Monte Forest) His father and brother are also in the biz. I have always worked on a golf couse. When i was younger I would have to put a weight from my brother weight bench on the mower seat because I did not weigh enough to hold it down. After high school and a fail attempt a college I started working at a local factory. It only took mr 3 years to really start to mis being around the golf comunity. So, next likely thing without a degree in hort around here? Why not try my hand at landscaping? Three years later so far so good... I am still in the factory though. Just can not work up the nerve to give up my job. I have since become a supervisor,making the move that much harder (more money) It is however very nice to go out every morning(i work monday thru friday midnihghts) and follow my own path to employment freedom.

[thegrasscatchers]

Its not a how I got started story.. but more of a how I realized im in my perfect career. 2 summers ago, we were unloading the trailer.. and the mailman strolled by.. happily saying hi.. and looking quite content in what he does. So I said to the guy who was working for me "I want a job like that.. look at how happy he is".. and then it hit me.. i love the landscaping business.. i love being outdoors.. i love the phyical labor.. and I too am as happy as that mailman.. hey.. even the dogs go after us!! hehe

[mklawnman]

Got into the Lawn Buz like 5yrs ago doing neighbor yards with a JD 214 and then dad bought a used 314 so me and my brother started doing lawns in our neighborhood with those two machines. Im now 18 going to school for Landscape horticulture and running my business. Now with a Scag Turf Tiger and a nice truck for now, after college gotta buy a bigger truck to do some plowing. Love being outside and being the boss. Flexible hours, love working hands on and with big machines. Looking to expand into landscaping after college.
Matt(Lawnman)

[SUNSHINE LAWN]

When I was 13 years old the next door neighbor asked if i would mow his lawn until he sold his house. The house did not sell all summer and i had made good money for a 13 year old. The next couple of years i mowed lawns on my block within walking distance for summer income. Then after high school i took a job as the head grounds keeper for a small private school and stayed there for several years until i got laid off. So, back to the lawn business part-time while taking on various jobs working for other people getting paid less to work more. About two years ago i went full time with my lawn business and have been building it up in stages. Now i am working smarter not harder while enjoying the benefits of being self employed and they are numerous (freedom, self growth, income, business tools, strength, satisfaction with a job well done, and many others). I found LAWN SITE this winter and it is has been a wealth of information to me. I look forward to applying all I have learned from this site in the spring and hope to contribute to the great exchange of info and ideas on this site.

[awm]

u named most of mine . except i never thought we got many tax benefits. we are two small to have a lobby working for us as far a taxes go.we just like anybody else working for his self . we in a world of red tape desighned i think to discourage small buisiness.
if thats not what its for,i think thats what it does. . shore can be discouraging.later now tm