Tommy’s Lawn Care

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Summertime! It’s the time when kids can relax, kick off their shoes, go to the old fishin’ hole and just daydream under the blue skies…. Or not. When I saw a boy on a bicycle towing a wagon with a sign on it around the neighborhood, I had to see what that was about. “Tommy’s Lawn Care.” What’s this?  A young man with a mission. Out to do some work, I guessed. Initiative! I bet he has goals, ambition, and determination. I called out to Tommy and we had a short visit, during which we noted that his wagon had a soft tire and so I pulled out my compressor and gave him a little air. In exchange I got some information about Tommy’s Lawn Care, and arranged to meet him with his parents to learn more.  We got together a few days later at the headquarters of Tommy’s Lawn Care. It is also the home of Van and Krystal Than, and they were most accommodating. 

Tommy’s Lawn Care didn’t have any clients that morning so the CEO of the company had slept in. When he joined us his dad called him Tyler, so that set up my first interview question. 

Bruce: Tyler? Where’s Tommy? Is he coming too? 

Tyler: Well, Tommy is kind of a nickname. My friends chose it for me. How so?  It’s from one of the characters on Cobra Kai, you know, that show… [in response to my uncomprehending stare]  You know, it’s a series based off The Karate Kid, a martial arts show. There are these characters and they have teams and rivals and do martial arts hero things like helping people and they all have names that kind of go together, like rhyming, and Tommy is what my friends named me. 

OK, got that now. I was kind of thinking maybe Tyler was the genius behind the business, and Tommy did the work. Tell me, how did you get started in the lawn care business?  I got started when I was about eight. That was six years ago. I used to watch my uncle through the window. He’s been a landscaper for a long time. I loved watching him work, and after a while he started letting me help him, just around the neighborhood for people he knew pretty well. Just edging and blowing. I wasn’t big enough to do the mowing at first, but I loved the work. That was in Grant Ranch, where we lived before here. 

How long have you lived here in the Southern Gables neighborhood?  About two years. I like it here and the people are nice. And with your lawn care business here, do you have a lot of customers?  Right now it’s just five customers. I’ve gotten a lot of experience with just those five. Every lawn is different. With one, they have a huge back yard with different levels and it was pretty hard at first to get the mower all around, but I’ve got it to where I can do it with no problem, like using the trimmer as a mower where it’s too narrow, and maneuvering the mower in tight places and on the slopes. I’ve gotten to where I could take care of a few more customers. 

What is the hardest part of the job?  Pulling the equipment. Some of the hills in the neighborhood make it really hard. That mower looks pretty heavy, and with your other equipment it makes quite a load… It’s a Toro lawnmower. I use a ramp to get it onto the wagon. I have a Husqvarna 525L weed whacker that I bought myself, and two blowers, a Toro T25 and a Craftsman. Another challenging part of the job is sprinkler heads. With one of my customers, that’s how I got the job. The person she had before kept running over her sprinkler heads and breaking them. I’m careful with details. 

I admire your initiative in getting out and creating a summer job for yourself. How about during the school year, do you play any sports like soccer, baseball, football…?  None of the above. I do drumming and Lion Dancing though. Line dancing? That’s a surprise… No, Lion Dancing. It’s a cultural performance team. They perform for festivals, and holidays like Chinese New Year, and for good luck at business openings. It’s really strenuous, and fun. With two people under the costume, it takes coordination and strength. For some of the moves you have to stack, like to make the lion stand up. That means the person behind has to crouch down and the front person jumps up on their thighs, or even up on their shoulders and they stand up. There are at least two people in each lion. We have costumes representing other animals too, not just lions. There are three team levels. Black for beginners, then silver, then red. I’m on the red team.

I’ve seen that at the Dragon Boat Festival at Sloan’s Lake. How did you get involved with doing it?  That’s where I saw it too! I loved it and I wanted to know all about it. My parents helped me find out how to get involved. The team I’m with is connected with the Queen of Vietnamese Martyrs Church, in Wheat Ridge.¹ They’re really great. They perform all over. Once we performed for halftime at a Nuggets game, but that was with my previous team.  

I expect the drums and the Lion Dancing must keep you in pretty good shape, building strength and all… and that’s good for being able to get your lawn care work done, right?  Yeah, I guess so. 

Tommy’s Lawn Care, 303-931-3686.

With that, we wrapped it up and as I turned toward the door I thought of one last question for the young businessman, rather an afterthought. How do you decide how much to charge?  He told me it just depends on the size of the yard, and how hard a job it is. “The people just know how much it should be, and we agree on it.” 

I think it would be a good thing if everybody could just look at a problem together, agree on it, and then get it done reliably and as agreed. You bet!

On the way home I got in touch with a couple of  Tommy’s Lawn Care customers. Lisa told me he does an excellent job, very detail oriented and efficient. Marnie said, “Tyler is a hard worker and very passionate with his lawn business. He has great attention to detail and is very reliable. Tommy’s Lawn Care is a great addition to the Southern Gables community”

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