New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Boys Start a Successful Lawn Mowing Business to Contribute to the Family Economy

This profile features three young brothers that responded to their father's encouragement to start their own business.

Name:

Stefan, Jacob, and Kirk

Family Description:

Aspiring entrepreneurs.

Business Name:

Monster Mowers

Business Description:

Lawn Service: Mow, Edge, Sweep, Trim.

Location:

Texas

Formal education/training:

Homeschooled (10th, 9th, 5th grades).

Prior work experience:

Fence building with older brother.

Forming the Idea:

Our Father encouraged us to make money over the summer, and mowing lawns was one of the ideas that was successful.

How you got started:

We made some fliers, and went door to door in our neighborhood passing them out.  We got 4 or 5 customers the first week, and have since grown to 15. 

What was it like in the beginning:

At first, it was hard to find more customers.  But we asked one of our existing customers if we could put a sign in their yard in exchange for a free cut every other week.  Since the sign is on a busy corner in our neighborhood, we have received many calls about our service.  Quite a few are too far away. 

What stage the business is at now:

15 regular customers averaging 8 lawn jobs per week. (Editor's note: see the boy's sales history chart below their picture.  The simple graph shows their dramatic growth.)

The biggest challenge you’ve faced:

Transportation. Some jobs are outside the neighborhood, so we have to turn down the work.  For jobs that are nearby, but beyond walking distance, our Father will give us a ride in his truck for a small fee. 

Key steps that made the difference:

Good marketing and good pricing.  We used fliers on day one, the sign on week 7 and get occasional referrals.  We acquired 4 customers from fliers, 10 customers from the sign and 3 customers from referrals.  We lost 2 customers because one moved away and the other found someone cheaper.

Lessons Learned:

• You need to quickly return calls before they hire someone else
• You have to do a quality job or they will not rehire you
• You need to keep the equipment in good condition -- especially the blade on the mower
• You need backup equipment (we have 3 mowers, 2 string edgers, 1 electric blower, 1 broken gas blower) and all equipment in working order
  

The best advice you received:

The best advice that we received was to put the sign up in one of our customer's yards.

What your work and family life was like before:

Very nice.

What your work and family life is like now:

Now Hectic, but nice because we're making money and learning about business.