I know thats a stupid title, but it just popped into my head. It all started when I was 12, I started mowing my yard. My nieghbor came over and wanted me to do his yard. I charged him $25 per cut, and still do to this day, nearly 11 years later. I went about doing this for the next 3 years, just a YardMachines 22 inch pushmower, a Homelite bent shaft trimmer, and a pushbroom. Charging people $25 per cut in my nieghborhood. I then turned 15, and I made a friend with a guy that was 16, and had a ratty, junky, Nissan pickup truck with over 300,000 miles on it, it was on its second engine. We used that to haul two 21 inch mowers, two trimmers, an edger, and two handheld blowers around for about a year. By that time, I had saved up enough dough to buy my first vehicle, I bought it from my Dad, a 1995 Ford F-350 four door with a 7.3 liter Powerstroke engine. I still have that truck. But once I had that, we also went and bought a trailer, and my original commercial mower! A 48 inch Belt drive WB. Boy, I thougth I was really cookin'! I still cant help but laugh at how silly I was... So he and I mowed, and mowed, and got more people, and more clients, until we had to get a Tiger Cub ZTR. By this time we also had upgraded to top of the line trimmers, edgers, and a our first PB-650 Blower. He lost interest shortly after that, mowing wasnt a "cool" job. (but apparently making about a quarter as much at Blockbuster was cool, whatever) so I bought the company from him. I worked at it myself for a while, I think I had about 50 lawns a week. Then, I hired two guys to work for me, and I expanded the company from there. Before long, I had over 100 accounts, and needed to buy another truck. I did so, hired another crew, got more equipment, bought a storage building, and worked my butt off until we had about 200 accounts. Just recently, I bought out another LCO company, crews, trucks, equipment, accounts, everything, that added about another 200 accounts to my company. We have about 400 now. I now own, One huge hangar that I put every thing in. 10 trucks. 14 trailers. Somewhere around 40 mowers (ranging from the 21's to the Saber Tooth Tigers with 72 inches of cutting power) I have no idea how many edgers, trimmers, blowers, hedgeclippers, etc I own. 53 employees. (including the workers, my mechanic, my secretary, etc etc) The usual array of airators, pumps, chainsaws, augers, etc. Lots of people look at me in disbelief when I tell them what I do, and how well I have done. To those people, I simply explain to them that this is what happens when you work your butt off, dont cheat anybody, do good work, and possess an inkling of common sense. Really, I think the main reason I have done so well, is all my administration paper work is taken care of by my secretary, Abby. She is the smartest girl I have ever seen, she can do everything! If she was only good looking, heck, I would settle for decent looking, I would probably marry her!
Thanks Bobby. Writing all that made me curious, so I went back and checked, I have 437 accounts, ranging in size from a $15 postage stamp yard to a massive $1200 yard that we do twice a month(its 35 acres, and has a ton of trimming and bush hedging, VERY rich people). And its 52 mowers, ranging in size from a crazy little 20 inch Push mower to the biggest baddest ZTR around! A SCAG 72 inch Saber Tooth Tiger with the diesel engine!
Cool story Swampbeast, good job. And I'm glad to see you finally saw the light and got a Dodge/Cummins too! Now you're stylin'. I assume that's the 6 speed, or did you get the auto/HO? Randy
Six speed manuel all the way baby! That thing rocks! I had to buy a new diesel, and since Dodge is definately the leader right now, I went with it. I do like Fords, but I can see when they have shortcomings, or should I say shortCummins? Sorry, that was corny...:blush: I have to admit though, those Dodges with the body-color front grill and bumper, especially in black, just look downright wicked.
It would be real nice to see some pictures of your set up, must be real sweet taking a picture with 52 mowers. Would you please post it for the delight and envy of all of us?
Oooh, post pictures? I tried that about a year ago, it didnt work, I tried it again about six times, it never worked. Me and computers dont get along to well. Maybe if my local newspaper had a website, but I dont think they do. Some stupid reporter did an article on me and my company, a "tribute to the work ethic" or something like that. I think its at www.bayshoresun.com or something close to that. Not sure. I will see if any of my employees are hip on computers, maybe one of them can put a pic on here. Oh wait, I need a digital camera dont I? I dont have one. I will see if any of my employees have one though, we shall see.
You can take the photos with a regular disposable camera, and have Walmart develop them to a disc. Which you can then upload. Randy
Good point Randy, but I think this guy is just faking the whole thing' that's just my opinion, prove me wrong.
