If Your Lawn’s Growing, Call T&M Mowing

How does a parent prepare their growing sons for living life? How do you create a desire to learn math. How do you help them understand that there is a very real connection between academic aptitude and real life skills. How do you teach them that a man’s character makes all the difference in life? How do you instill in a young man a solid business sense that will help support his own family upon reaching adulthood? How do you teach real world skills such as maintenance and repair of mechanical equipment? How do you implant common sense into impetuous young boys? Is it possible to inspire a strong work ethic, to grow dependability?

Over the years, as a homeschool family, we have found many solutions to some of these questions and many more. We believe that character should take precedence over curriculum – that giving a child the ability to find needed answers provides more opportunity than having all the answers. As our son’s primary teachers, Janis and I have always believed that preparing our sons for “living a life” was more important than preparing them for “making a living”! Making a connection between learning and real life has always been one of our goals, and teaching all the above mentioned traits was of paramount importance, but how were we to go about this task? These questions were on our minds as soon as we began homeschooling clear back when the boys were little.

One thing that we as parents of young boys learned very early on was that when you want a child to learn a new thing, it helps for the child to realize a reward for their labors. Having something tangible to hold on to makes the work more enjoyable and also makes it real. So it seemed only natural that in order to instill many of the above mentioned character traits and skills, young boys might be more cooperative and eager to learn when a reward would be forthcoming. We parents enjoy being paid for our labor and so do children.

We began spending time at the local library studying small home based businesses that we felt could help our sons grow, (even though the boys were very young at the time) and the idea of T&M Mowing began to grow in our minds. We found a book called “How To Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns” which was a big help. Although there was no name attached to it, a concept was formulated and we began to study how we might bring it about. We lived in an area in which many folks were in their declining years, unable to do their own lawn care and we began our own little feasibility study to understand what might be possible for the boys. But just having a market did not mean that all of this was going to take place over night – the boys were only 8 and 10 years old and needed much preparation, real skills and determination to accomplish anything resembling a business. Because the boys were so young, we realized that they must be able to do a good job for their customers before we would even allow them to acquire any customers. There was a lot of training that had to take place. We had work to do.

We began by purchasing the basic equipment. Because the boys were so small we knew that a self propelled mower would assist greatly but could also increase the risk of personal injury. So we started with a front wheel drive, high wheel mower by Craftsman (see picture below). The front wheel drive was important because if a boy lost his footing or fell down, the mower would not be able to drag him along – the front wheels simply left the ground, even if they had a death grip on the handle. The larger rear wheel reduced vibration transferred to little hands and increased operator enjoyment and persistance. And then the training began in earnest – on our own lawn of course for the first year. It made no sense to work for a paying customer unless you had the ability to make them happy, and in order to do that you had to be good at what you do. How do you get good? Practice… practice… practice… with a lot of instruction thrown in. At this age the boys did not have the physical size required to operate a gas trimmer so I did all the trimming for them the first year of training and also the first year of working for others. Since their accounts were close, I could walk down the street and trim all the lawns while they mowed the first one and I would then return to check up on their work. During their second year Tyler had gained the needed height and stature to handle a trimmer so it was time to find the right tool for the job. The trimmer had to be small enough for young boys to handle with skill and although they are not as durable, I chose a model with a curved shaft so that small stature would not be a problem. During that year, while trimming our own lawn, there were times that I would require the boys to do the trimming over a second time, until it was worthy of a paying customer’s money. They had to learn the value of doing quality work. By the end of that year the boys had developed enough skill that they could be turned loose on the neighborhood.

T&M Mowing – A Beginning

The spring of 1999 saw two young boys calling on homes within the neighborhood close enough to be able to push a lawnmower to with a gas can sitting on the grass catcher. That 1st year T&M Mowing acquired only five accounts plus one (I’ll explain in a minute). Just enough so that the boys would be able to earn some money, but not enough to burn them out on mowing. Each of these neighbors understood what we were attempting to teach the boys and were very supportive of them. One in particular was very meticulous with his lawn and while being understanding, was also patiently teaching them as well. He would take time to explain just how and why he insisted on certain things and in the process, Tyler and Matthew learned very valuable lessons in customer relations and people skills. To this day, those lessons have paid big dividends, as the boys’ ability to handle difficult clients, and keep them happy is commendable. In fact, some of their most difficult patrons have become the most ardent supporters any business could hope for. The one extra account mentioned above came about when an elderly neighbor friend of the boys suddenly died. Out of kindness for his widow , the boys did her lawn for free. Even at a young age the boys understood the value of community and that they have responsibilities to neighbors, even if it costs you. This account netted them zero monetarily at the time, but the dividends have been great over the years. That first year the average price was only $8 but for a couple young kids, they were rollin! From the very beginning, the boys had to learn how to handle the cash they earned and so began training in money matters – lessons they took to heart and that have served them well over the years. Of all they brought in, 10% came off the top as a tithe to the Lord. Of the remaining, 10% was required to go into “long term savings” which was untouchable . The boys usually elected to put in around 30% into this fund. 10% went into short term savings which could be used to save for desired purchases which could not be afforded at the time. Of the remaining 50%, half was to be used for tool purchases or investment purposes – things that had lasting value and purpose. The rest was spending money. Janis and I were determined that our sons would not end up learning financial lessons by trying to correct bad decisions the way we had. They would get council before the fact, and hopefully not make those same mistakes. They have learned their lessons well.

In T&M’s 2nd year, Matthew, being a year and a half younger was not tall enough nor strong enough to wield a gas powered string trimmer so the trimming fell to Tyler while Matthew did all the mowing. Dividing up the tasks is a practice that remains even to this day, making the day’s work more efficient. We purchased a used John Deere riding mower and a garden trailer. The boys could then load their walk behind mower, trimmer, and gas into the trailer and drive several blocks to service customers and the workload increased to eight accounts. Tyler would drive the John Deere while Matthew sat on the front of the trailer and off to work they would go. I regret to say that we have no pictures of those early years to chronicle the progression of a small business and the maturing of young boys, but the picture I cherish in my memory is a picture of a father’s great pride in his sons.

2001 saw them reaching a plateau of sorts. Their accounts only increased to 9. They were limited by a lack of mobility. There was only so many customers in a limited area. Although they were fairly busy for 12 and 14 yr. olds, some changes had to be made if theirs was to be a growing business.

Year three (2002) was a year of change. The boys’ skills had grown tremendously and their work, even at 13 and 15, was up to par with any mowing company in town. The accounts increased to 15. A new John Deere mower was purchased. This year business cards and flyers were printed and distributed. There were many long afternoons we would spend out walking neighborhoods, attaching the flyers and cards to doors and talking with people. They had the desire to expand but Tyler did not have a driver’s license yet. So that year saw Janis driving the boys to the accounts that were further away. She would sit in the truck and read while she waited or sometimes she would just do some weeding in people’s flowerbeds or some like thing. I rebuilt a 5 x 8 trailer to haul the mowers and other equipment, painted their name and a logo on it and they were officially a mowing company. Up until this year, Janis and I funded the business entirely so that the boys’ enthusiasm would not wane, but this year we began shifting some of the financial responsibility on to the boys. The one rule we had was that if they were going to go into business, then they would do it debt free. So along with new accounts, and new financial responsibilities, they also had to learn all there was to know about profit and loss. (Remember, this was a homeschool project and learning is just part of the deal). Up to this point, Janis had done all the bookwork, but it was time to pass the knowledge onto the boys. During this year the boy’s training also included some basic mower maintenance. The boys showed their natural aptitude in these two areas, Matthew taking over the maintenance of equipment and Tyler doing all the book keeping.

In year four (2003) a large trailer was purchased and rebuilt to haul the rider along with the push mowers. Although Grandpa and I did most of the fabrication, the boys got lessons in trailer design and welding, adding to real life skills that will hold them in good stead in years to come. Mathew today is quite a respectable welder. This year the boys and I also took a correspondence course in small engine repair allowing them to take over all maintenance and repair of the equipment.(I learned a lot too.) Along with the physical work, academics were a real part of the mix this year. Tyler’s driver’s license was obtained and their range spread throughout the city and by year’s end accounts increased to around 40.

2004 was a year of big changes for the boys. It was decided that the services T&M provided would be expanded to better take care of the boy’s valued patronage as well as lengthen their working season. This year services offered included Mowing & Trimming, Spring and Fall Clean-ups, Plug Aeration, Dethatching, Debris removal, Rain Gutter cleaning, Pruning and Shaping, Tree removal, and Fertilizing. It was also in 2004 that another big change came for the company. Mid way through the year T&M purchased a Walker zero turn mower. This was a big purchase for two boys (at least in my opinion) and I could not fathom buying a mower this expensive. In fact I initially thought they could buy several mowers for this price (and they could have). Janis and I have always tried to help the boys understand the value of good tools. This was a lesson that I needed to learn earlier in life! It is not necessarily the best deal to buy the cheapest tool and in fact, sometimes it proves to be the wisest deal to buy the most expensive. Although it took an enormous amount of study, I now agree this was one of those times. The boys were making very reasonable decisions with the company and I had to trust that they were doing so here as well. The only stipulation I had was that they had to pay cash – no debt was to be incurred! They had the money before the season was half over. Tyler and Matthew knew what they wanted and they made it happen. With the Walker mower T&M increased their accounts by 80% and did not increase the time spent working at all. They were now working “smarter, not harder”. The boys learned valuable lessons this year in marketing and time management as they now juggled many more accounts and new responsibilities with the added services – and they did a stellar job of it all. They really showed dad what they were made of. This year ended with 64 weekly accounts.

I will interject for a moment here to explain what they do with all the grass they collect. Every day over a ton of clippings are collected in the front of the mowing trailer. To dispose of them in the county landfill would not only be wasteful, it is down right expensive, costing $35-$40 per day. It would be far better to mulch it into the lawns, saving on water and fertilizer costs, but Americans are funny that way. They want picture perfect lawns and they want them now. Every customer insists on the grass being picked up and disposed of or they don’t feel they are getting their money’s worth. So the boys haul it out to a local farmer who raises feeder cattle and pitch it out to the cows. The cattle love this grass, especially if it has sat in the trailer overnight and has started to ferment. I personally would not feed this to my animals unless I knew it was pesticide free, but almost all local mowing companies take their grass to one of two feeder operations in the county. All these cattle end up going to the sale and into the food supply. Another good reason to raise your own beef and know what goes into them.

This year, as in every year since adding services, the aerations, spring / fall clean-ups and other small jobs which are done in the first few weeks of the season paid all the yearly expenses plus any new equipment purchases. This leaves the entire 30 week mowing season to go to profit. Tyler and Matthew concentrate on excellent service and word gets around. Also in 2004, Tyler, Matthew and Janis all took the American Horticulture Society Master Gardner course together in order to better understand the needs of the needs of the lawns they care for. An interesting thing began to happen during this season – the two busiest and most respected mowing companies in the whole valley began to take notice of the two young men in the T&M outfit. They had been watching the boys and taking note of the quality of Tyler and Matthew’s work and how they treated their customers. Both companies contacted and befriended the boys, visiting with them, giving advise and encouragement. And they then began sending customers to the upcoming company that could be trusted to do a good job. This was actually quite an honor to be recognized by these older, more established companies. Each year, word of mouth brought more new customers than any advertising and the guys always end up turning many new accounts away.

2005 began with 72 weekly accounts and ended with 91. This was done working only three days a week in the field and one day at home to do maintenance and bookwork. The boys had decided long ago that they did not want to be away from home all the time. They were now very careful about picking up new customers. Two very significant things occurred during this summer … 1- the company that manufactures Walker Mowers contacted us from Fort Collins Colorado about running a story about T&M Mowing in their international magazine “Walker Talk” and 2 – In the spring of this year, Tyler began dealing with some major health issues and ended up enduring two major abdominal surgeries. At the time, we came very close to losing Tyler. Because the surgeries were such a trial in themselves and the future of T&M was uncertain., we did not agree to do the story with Walker Talk. During his recovery, his grandfather, a good friend, his mother and I, all filled in to take care of the accounts and keep T&M afloat. Tyler was soon strong enough to take over the portion of the mowing in which the riding mower was used while Matthew and I trimmed and used hand mowers.

An interesting note here just to give you an idea how much grass is mowed on a typical day. I wore a pedometer during this year whenever I was mowing and it showed that I walked 12 miles every day. This is only one hand mower. It would be hard to get fat doing this job!

In 2006, after Tyler had recovered fully, Walker Talk Magazine again contacted us about running a story and this time we agreed to speak with them. The editor flew to Twin Falls and spent the day following the boys around taking pictures and listening to T&M’s story. It was an exciting day for us all to have Tyler and Matthew recognized in this magazine. They were the first mowing company in the State of Idaho to be featured, and that at 17 and 19 years old. They became instant celebrities within the mowing circles of Twin Falls as a result of the story. The local Walker dealer is one of the top producers in the west and they host several activities centered on the Walker Mower each year. Although the boys had attended a few prior to the story being run, they have not attended any since, not wishing to be made a big deal of. You can read the article here in PDF form. It is entitled We’re not just making a living, we’re making a life found in volume 28 of Walker Talk Magazine.

In 2007, Bob Walker, President and Founder of Walker Mowers contacted Tyler and Matthew while traveling cross country. We spent several enjoyable hours visiting over lunch with he and his wife. They are a wonderful Christian couple and it is always an encouragement to fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord from other parts of the country! During this year, Tyler and Matthew began working 4 days away from home increasing their weekly accounts to 105 for the duration of the season. They had one major setback when the crankshaft of their diesel pickup sheared. The repair bill was more than the truck was worth and they were forced to buy another mid season. At 105 accounts, Tyler and Matthew experienced “critical mass” in respects to time . Although the two of them were able to handle this workload in their 4 day work week, they learned that there is more to life than work and they experienced first- hand what the family of a work-a-holic goes through. The days were hard and whenever they had time off, it was used to recover. Maintenance and billing became a big chore and family life became very, very limited. This ran contrary to all that the boys believe about work and family and they knew something had to give, and it would not be family! Much thought and consideration went into deciding what to do about T&M. In the end they decided what was important and they took the initiative to make that a reality. They began to make plans to scale down the business at the end of the year.

2008 would be yet another year of change. Both boys wanted to spend more time learning the ways of the farm, involving themselves in animal husbandry and gardening. These are the areas in which they are interested in spending their lives and it was decided to cut back significantly on the mowing and engage themselves in those areas. So now they work away from home only two days a week and the rest of their time is spent on other pursuits at home. Either Janis or I mow with the boys on Fridays each week now which allows us all to finish the day by 2:00PM and get back to life on the farm, and we work as a family. I have to say that working with my adult sons is immensely enjoyable. The dynamic is so different than it was a few years ago when the focus was on training. Now, the focus is on just “being”. It does a father’s heart good to watch his sons mature.

T&M was always understood to be a means to an end. It began as a homeschool project to teach our sons those things spoke about in the beginning of this post. It was a vehicle to take Tyler and Matthew down the road to manhood. It was two boys experiencing real life. It was a means for our sons to enter into life and marriage debt free. It has done all that and so much more. Actually my sons have done all that and so much more! T&M is a tool, in the hands of two young men who can get things done! Two young men who’s father and mother couldn’t be more proud of them!

T&M MOWING

It’s not about making a living…it’s about making a life.

Allen