A couple of years ago I received a flyer in the mail from a neighborhood landscaper. It was non-descript and looked as if it had been printed on a home printer. At the time, I was becoming somewhat disenchanted with our landscaper and so decided to dial the number on the flyer.
The gentleman who answered sounded young, but was very professional and friendly. He could take care of anything we needed from cleaning the gutters to fall clean-up along with the usual lawn maintenance. His level of confidence coupled with the young sounding voice prompted me to ask if he worked alone. "No," he told me, he had a crew. We struck our deal and he was to start in a week.
A day or so passed and some friends popped in for a visit when they were in the neighborhood dropping their son off at a friend's. As the conversation went from topic to topic, they told me about their son's friend whose brother had his own landscaping business. Yep....same guy.
It turns out that my young sounding landscaper was 14. I don't know what age he was when he started his business, but he already had a professional grade mower, two workers, a trailer, leaf blower, and all the other necessary equipment and tools. His only problem was that he didn't have his driver's license. He depended on his dad to drive him on Saturdays to his distant clients. The word had spread.
One day I met his father. How proud he is of his son and rightly so. I was told that he's an "A" student, successful businessman, and has money in the bank for college!
He's now 16. His flyers are professionally printed, a jazzy business card is always included, and his invoices are mailed. Everything designed and coordinated in a professional manner. Very impressive.
It just goes to show you that anyone, even someone that young, is capable of so much when they set their mind to it. The only thing required beyond determination and confidence is the encouragement and support from those around you.
I have no doubt that he will be the most sought-after landscaper in the area some day.
