Joe Wappes of St. Anthony Village spearheaded lawn service with brothers that grew to 40-lawn-per-week operation
The Grass is Greener for NFIB Scholarship Winner
Joe Wappes’ small business is a family affair.
Most teenagers despise their parents for telling them to do chores, but when Wappes’ parents would make him mow the lawn, he was eager to oblige, he said.
“I used to design the lawn like a baseball diamond when I would mow,” Wappes said.
Along with his younger brothers, Brendan and Michael, Wappes started his business, Wappes Bros. Lawn Service, as a way to make a little spending money. But soon, the venture turned into something much bigger, and the teenagers began investing in better equipment to meet the rising demand.
“I was the one to take charge of things,” said Wappes of St. Anthony Village, who is this year’s NFIB/Minnesota Leadership Council Young Entrepreneur Award winner. “I wanted to put out flyers and expand. I was the driving force.”
Wappes and his brothers don’t just mow lawns. They’re armed with an arsenal of lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and hedge trimmers to meet the requests of any customer who desires their service, even doing occasional landscaping work, Wappes said.
The business has seen incredible growth over its six-year lifespan. Starting out, Wappes and company would tend to about five lawns per week. Now they do as many as 40 every week during the summer, he said.
Being a small business is an advantage in this industry, Wappes said. Because their operating costs are smaller than a larger organization, they are able to keep their prices low, which means they can still retain many clients, he said.
As he prepares to attend St. Thomas University in the fall to study philosophy, Wappes is readying himself to say goodbye to his business. He wants to stick around for one more summer or so, but he hopes to pass it off to one of his younger brothers as he pivots to focus on his studies, he said.
