A Business is Born…

Here is the fourth post in a series examining my story of Faith.  Last post I explained how my life changed when my dad was saved.  You can check that out here, Initially Inverted.  Now for the middle years…

Now this is when I learned how to work!  Some people think that this is something you just have, a solid work ethic.  I beg to differ.  I firmly believe that my parents instilled this into my brother and me from an early age.  I’ve seen friends and family that sit around waiting for the next handout and never take concern for what they could be doing for themselves nor do they care how this affects other people.  I don’t care to argue about being born into a specific situation, but for the majority of Middle Class America, your parents take the credit for your view on work.  There is a sense of pride that comes with having a reputation of a solid work ethic.  And it doesn’t have to be a snobbish pride, but simply the pride that comes with doing a good job and exceeding the expectations of those who are affected by your work.  And even when no one is looking, this is definitely a sign of character.  It seemed like every job interview I ever had this topic came up.

So when I was about 11 years old or so, the business that would come to be known as Eisenmann Lawn Care was born.  Starting as a couple kids mowing a few yards around town, it would later blossom into what I’ll call the premier lawn care service in the area (although, maybe I’m a bit biased).  It still exists under that name today, but my dad is the sole owner/operator.

Besides high school sports and a little farming, ELC was what we did growing up.  We started mowing yards and all of a sudden it was a family affair, with all of us chipping in (dad, step-mom, me, and 4 siblings).  As we grew up, so did the level of responsibility in the business, especially once the parents didn’t have to drive us around anymore.  That’s when the real growth took place.  ELC went from mowing a few yards in Cissna Park, to a total lawn care doing business in 4 counties!  Services included mowing, fertilizing, spraying, rolling, aerating, clean-up, bush trimming, and sidewalk edging.

My brother and I recruited some friends of ours to help us out along with our cousin Zach.  We worked hard and always were busy with the business, much to our dismay at times.  Sometime, we definitely wished we didn’t have so much responsibility, but in the long run, I wouldn’t change it.  I didn’t have to buy everything, but I definitely didn’t get too many handouts either.  I think my parents did a pretty good job of teaching us money management (even if I didn’t always follow their advice).  This business endeavor taught us innumerable lessons in time management, relationship skills, people management, finances, respect, customer loyalty, responsibility, and prioritization.

Perfection wasn’t out of the picture for us.  I can honestly say that we did good work and were never satisfied with mediocre quality.  This attitude taught me a lot and influenced how I would approach many aspects of my life, including but not limited to my future jobs and school work.  Some would probably even argue that I took it too far and worked too much.

Ok, enough about ELC, but I thought it warranted it’s own post considering it spanned about 8 years of my life and had such a lasting impact on me.  Next post I’ll get into my high school adventures….

Peace,
JAE