Landscaping/lawn care service
Description:
: I worked for Purcell Landscaping & Maintenance. It is a business that my father has owned and operated for over 30 years that does landscaping projects and lawn care maintenance. I have worked for the business for a few years. I had several responsibilities that I performed. I was responsible for training new employees. I was also responsible for using many different types of equipment including commercial grade lawn mowers and other machinery. I started out with little responsibility and participated in simple jobs where not much skill was required. As I gained new skills and experiences I was able to work on harder jobs and begin training others. Someone who is looking to get into the landscaping business should be willing to work hard for long hours and be able to work outside for a long time.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I found out about the job because it is a business that is owned and operated by my father. I was not forced to have the job though. My dad always told me that it was my choice whether I wanted to work for the business or not. I chose to work for the business though because I knew it would teach me skills that I would be able to use for the rest of my life and I would be able to make more money than most of the kids my age. I was able to be successful in the job because I learned quickly and was willing to try new things.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the challenges I faced is that starting out in the business because I was new I often had to do the jobs that were the least fun and often the most strenuous jobs. I overcame this by trying to gain the perspective that soon there would be someone else who would have to do these jobs and not me. It also helped when I realized that I needed to be able to do these jobs in order to progress in the business and train others. Another challenge I had to deal with was when I had to train new employees. New employees often made mistakes and so I had to watch them closely and help them correct mistakes so that they could learn properly and become productive employees. It was also important that mistakes were corrected because it is important to provide quality work in a service industry.
What I learned:
I think the most important thing I learned is having a strong work ethic. Whether or not I continue in a landscaping job or something else I know it will be important to have a good work ethic. I was able to gain this through many hours of hard labor jobs. I also learned how to deal with people and conduct myself in a professional manner as I would interact with clients. Another thing I learned is how to work in a team setting with multiple employees and how to train new employees that will serve me well if I am ever in a leadership position in another industry.
Lawn Care Service
Description:
A couple of my friends started a lawn care service company. The service consisted of mowing lawns, weed whipping, leaves cleanup, and other various related lawn care duties. My two friends were in charge and they had three of four employees working for them. One of the things that made their business so successful was their contact with home owners associations and management companies. They would go around and contract with these different groups of people and as a result had a lot of business. It was much more effective than going door to door to find different clients. Many of the management companies really wanted their services and were able to pay very respectably compared to an average college students salary. My two friends took the responsibility of speaking and dealing with the different contract companies. Their employees did most of the lawn care. The earnings were divided up fairly evenly providing the individual with a good deal of money to help out with the costs of college and also to go toward their savings. This is something that would pay well that would not be too difficult to start. One could start out with just a couple mowers and a couple weed whips and start contracting. There is room for growth as income grows and clients grow.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
At first I had no idea of what to write about because I didn’t know of any particular ingenious employment. I began looking at different websites to get good ideas. Nothing really stuck out to me. I thought of all the jobs I have held over the years and yet again nothing stuck out to me. I finally started asking around and I was reminded of these two friends and I knew it was a great idea. They went through a similar process when thinking of employment and trying to find a way to make income. They realized that lawn care was something they both were good at and had lots of experience in. They realized door to door would be slow and as a result decided to try for bigger and more rewarding customers. As they went out and sought out the management companies it paid off when many of them accepted offers.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the challenges faced was having the proper equipment. My friends only had two mowers and a weed whip. They knew they would need more equipment to handle the kind of business they were hoping for. They stated off slow and with the profit they initially made they purchased new equipment. With the increased equipment they were able to more effectively and quickly finish jobs and increase their revenue. Another challenge was scheduling. It was hard to finish all the jobs with some of the employees in school. This was simply solved by writing up a schedule with what needed to be accomplished, who could do it, and when. If I were a mentor I would suggest trying this type of employment opportunity. This could provide a lot of profit during the summer months and this could even translate to a winter job doing such things as snow removal and other such duties that need to be done.
What I learned:
I have learned that there are a lot of business opportunities out there for those that are not afraid to open their mouths and talk to people. Of course there are some rejections, but with rejections also come acceptances. If you create a plan and present it in an appropriate and professional manner, people are much more willing to listen to you and give you an opportunity to succeed. It has been helpful to me to see what kinds of things I might do during the summer as I am attending medical school. Probably a bigger thing that was helpful to me was the insight I received can be passed on to my kids one day who will be struggling through college just as I am. I have seen an increased level of commitment and responsibility in these employees. It has provided structure outside of school. It has also given them the means to focus more on their studies which will give them the added benefit of being more competitive in graduate school applications. This could pay off in the long run with an increased earning potential.
Seed Picking
Description:
In Sardine Canyon during the winter the plants have little seed things on them. You just take one of those big black trash bags and hit the sagebrush type bushes with a tennis racket until all the seeds fly off into your bag. Once you have a bag full the oil companies will pay about $40 per bag because they are required by law to replant things in the areas where they have done all their oil drilling. It is easy to fill up a bag in an hour or two so it is not bad pay at all for a college student.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
Last semester I went to Utah State. During my time there my roommate heard about the job opportunity from the bishop of his home ward.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
It was FREEZING!!! The canyon winds and the high altitude made the temperatures get really really low. We had to dress in a lot of layers and always wear gloves and hats. It was sometimes hard to keep the seeds from blowing away in the wind after you hit the bushes but we came up with several different strategies to overcome it.
What I learned:
I learned that there are always ways to make money if you want to do the work that nobody else wants to do.