The Lawn Ranger taught high schooler about communication, finances.
Eli Everson never planned to go into residential landscaping.
As a sophomore at Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale, Washington, he started doing lawn work to help out a family friend. Another family heard of Everson’s work and asked him to help around their lawn. Then came another. And another.
Everson’s work is now a full-fledged small business, called The Lawn Ranger, with a steady client base of 33 families, its own logo and advertisements in local media. In April, he earned a college scholarship, the NFIB/Tsillan Cellars Young Entrepreneur Award.
“It was an accidental business,” he said. “It was something I found out I had a knack for. Word of mouth spread, and I decided to make a business out of it.”
Early on, Everson got a crash course in the financial challenges of starting a business. He couldn’t afford his own equipment, so he had to grow the business by mostly relying on using what tools the families could provide.
“Using the families’ mower and equipment could only take me so far,” he said. “So it was definitely all about building a client base of regular customers in order to start the business. From creating the logo to local advertising to equipment, it’s an expensive thing to get started.”
Now, as a senior in high school, he provides front and back yard mowing and trimming, with his own equipment. It has taught him a lot about being organized, he says, but also about communication.
“It’s as much social as it is physical, working with all different types of people. When I show up to a house for a first-time client, I have to come out, ask what they need done, how they want it done and do things the best I can. Every time is different.”
Everson will be heading to Arizona this summer to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to become a pilot. But his business is still in good shape—he’s had multiple people ask to buy his client list, and at least one offer to buy his entire brand.
