JULY 2019
847-515-8970 • www.KineticPTS.com
MY FIRST JOB MAKING THE CUT
If you’re like me, summertime is full of nostalgia. Seeing kids ride their bikes down the street or smelling freshly mown grass takes me back to my own childhood. In fact, lawn mowing was my very first step toward becoming a small- business owner. If it weren’t for those summers all those years ago, Kinetic wouldn’t be what it is today. I was in the fourth grade when I picked up on what the neighbor kids were doing. I saw them out mowing the lawns but never really got why. Then one day, one of these kids mentioned their allowance, and I stopped them — “Wait, you get money for that?!” I immediately asked my dad if I could start mowing. He probably paid me about $5 the first three times I did the job but, after that, decided it was just part of the cost of living under his roof. Fair enough. Thankfully, my dad didn’t completely cut off my income. Instead, he helped me expand. He reached out to friends and family who wanted their lawn mowed by a budding professional. I had soon built up quite the customer base. For a few summers, I had five or six lawns to mow once a week, earning money I could call my own. This experience showed me the value of a dollar and a good work ethic.
When I entered high school, I decided to get a job stocking shelves. While this kept me in air conditioning during the hot summer, it wasn’t quite the same as my “grass roots” business venture. I had managers and
shift supervisors looking over my shoulder, a big departure from my solo operation. While I learned a lot about working as part of a team, I also picked up on the fact that I didn’t want to be someone’s employee my whole life. yards gave me a greater sense of personal responsibility and accomplishment. I’d always made sure to do a good, thorough job caring for other people’s yards because it reflected on me and made the landowners happy. Stacking cans a certain way just because a manager said so didn’t have the same appeal. So, while it didn’t kick-start a career in landscaping, those mowing summers of my youth still taught While the money was better stocking shelves, mowing
me one of the most important business lessons: I wanted to do work I could be proud of and call my own, the kind that put customers first and brought a smile to their faces. When the choice came to either continue working in big box therapy centers, or take a leap with Emilie to start our own community-focused clinic, my decision was clear. This summer, Zack and Nathan are officially taking over lawn care duties. To be honest, I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to pay them, but Nathan is already showing that entrepreneurial spark. Maybe I’ll help him find some leads, like my dad did for me. So, do you know anyone who needs their lawn mowed? –Mike Ulmer
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