There are always a few people that people know who will always succeed. No matter what these people do, they will do it well. My friend David is one of these people. He does what he dreams and he dreams big. When we were seniors in high school we both cut lawns as our primary source of income. Except that while I was pushing a lawn mower and transporting it in my dad’s Honda Pilot, he was getting pulled by a $10,000 commercial grade mower and transporting it with his own truck.
David started cutting grass when he was in seventh grade for his neighbors, with his dad’s push mower. He soon realized the potential for cutting grass- High prices for work that doesn’t require very much effort and, if done right, time. So he determined that the best way to increase profits was to cut the grass as quickly as possible and charge by the job, not the hour. He saved up and after his sophomore year he bought a commercial grade zero turn riding mower, trailer, and truck. He built a reputation for doing a better job than the professionals, he had a personal touch and care for his work. The summer after his senior year he went legal and turned it into a business. This meant keeping track of paper work and paying taxes, but it also had three large benefits. The first that he got experience with running a small business, the second was that it looked really good on a resume, and the third is that it allowed him to sell his business.
He knew that he would not be able to cut during college and wanted to focus on internships in the summer. So David asked his clients agree to use whoever he finds as a replacement and so he contacted many local landscaper companies. After some negotiation he was able to sell all his clients and riding mower to a company for around $20,000 and sold his truck separately. With the money he bought a nice sedan for around $12,000 and used the rest to pay off the first year of college.
David is now a mechanical engineer at the University of Akron. He biked across America and built homes while doing it the summer after his freshman year. Then this past summer he bought a motorcycle and drove across america. The isn’t the type of guy that backs down from a challenge. He once got interested in wind boarding so he bought a board and frequently drove up to lake moraine and pursued his new hobby. Even though he has not made a big company and hired a bunch of people, he has all the skills to. He is the exact person that one would want to be like to be an entrepreneur. He is a getter and a leader. People want to follow him because he is confidant in himself and his ability to do well. He is also humble enough to know when he can’t do it and so get the necessary help or go a different route.
I like hearing stories like these where it’s someone the author knows! Makes it more real. It sure sounds like he’s dedicated to whatever he does and you are right, he definitely has entrepreneurial skills!