what dreams may come...

[fearthedeere]

As a kid I always loved being outside on our old farm and riding the tractor all over the place with my dad whatever he was doing. I was either on his lap or the fender. Then we moved and quit farming, but our new house had about 4 acres of grass to mow. Dad bought a John Deere LX188 so I could learn how to help him mow. I was 7 when I started mowing. I really enjoyed driving that little tractor. In '97 dad bought a John Deere 345 garden tractor so we could both ride on Green machines. in spring 2000 I got the opportunity to mow a lawn for some church members and had a neighbor whose murray's drive wheels fell off and I mow her lawn now. the next year I obtained another neighbor's lawn. With the money I had earned I bought my 6.5'X12' tandem trailer and obtained 4 more accounts the next spring to put it to use. My parents began to see with all the rough lawns I was mowing that I needed a heavy duty mower and the 345 would tack over 1000 hrs soon and was taking a beating. On may first of '02 i got off the school bus and took a look in the garage and there was my late b-day present with a big red bow on it. A 2002 John Deere X485 tractor. It has been awesome ever since, and this year I've added 10 more accounts to the other 7 and have broadened the services offered. I registered my business name as The Mean Green Cut last winter and have been insured for a couple of years now. I hope to pay for part of my college education this year and for the rest of it in the years to come. I want to become an elementary teacher and keep The Mean Green Cut running on the side when out of school.

thanx for reading my story!

[fearthedeere]

Haha, wow, what a testament to things changing. I'm a Junior at Purdue University majoring in landscape horticulture and design now. Thankfully not for elementary education! I have been blessed with a growing business every year and enough green to pay for my college education without taking out student loans since I've typed the above post. It's been tough running a business through college, and it has required sacrifice...like driving 5 hrs. every weekend to go home and work on my business during the growing season. However, I'm very proud of my dedication, and I look forward to graduating and expanding my business on a career level at that time.

I'm not here to boast my equipment acquisitions anymore, but I have had fun in the past several years building my lineup, and I look forward to continuing that.

I have also been blessed to be in the situation where I can be selective about the clients I take, thus yielding a higher quality, more loyal client base. My goal of becoming a full-service company is nearing fulfillment, and a new focus on landscape design and installation due to my newfound knowledge of design/construction concepts I've learned at Purdue. I'm looking forward to an exciting future in this field, and I hope that I can report back in another 4 years to reflect on further successes and more exciting avenues. Thanks again.

Kevin

The Mean Green Cut

[Ford's Lawncare]

I have lawns that I started at 13 and grew until I have 22 now and a feshman in college. I drive 3 1/2 hours during the growing season, get help on the weekends and have about the same setup as you