Grant Holden couldn’t find the time to get a job, so he decided to work for himself.
Grant Holden is an 18-year-old from Milan, Tennessee, and
winner of the Tennessee Leadership Council Young Entrepreneur Award. He started
his business, Holden Brothers’ Lawn Care, when he was still in high school,
hoping to earn some extra cash on the side of his busy schedule. While he
started out mowing lawns, his responsibilities expanded, and he enlisted the
help of his brother.
“We will basically manage the yard, anything [our customers]
want us to do, whether it’s raking leaves, putting down mulch or putting in
plants,” Holden, 18 years old, says.
Holden’s business, which he started at the beginning of his
sophomore year of high school, had a modest start, but quickly grew from
working on one yard to up to five now.
At the time, Holden wanted to earn an income, but wasn’t able
to fit a regular job in with his schedule. So he started his own business with
his own schedule.
“First of all, I do it for the money, but also because my
brother and I don’t really have time to have a [regular] job,” he says. “This
kind of business is very lenient and you can maneuver it around your schedule
at any time.”
Most importantly, Holden says, “I like being the boss.”
Over the years, he’s learned to take a relaxed approach to the
challenges ahead when it comes to being an entrepreneur. He advises other
entrepreneurs to keep going and focus on their goals without letting other
distractions get in the way.
“Not everything will go your way, and so you need to learn to
be flexible,” he explains. “You can’t let things get to you. Just take it one
day at a time and be patient.”
For now, Holden hopes to continue his business when he heads
off to the University of Tennessee at Martin in the fall.
“I plan on getting my masters maybe in business,” he says. “I
plan to grow, taking baby steps, making it into a larger company.”
After all his hard work, winning a young entrepreneur award is
an important recognition that will help him reach his goals for the future.
Having the support of the small business community helps Holden feel less like
he is on his own.
“It really helps motivate you because people recognize the hard
work that you put in,” he says of his NFIB scholarship award. “It feels like
you’re not really doing it by yourself then, [because] you have other people
being able to recognize what you’re doing and being able to reward you.”
