Typically when a young person has a dream occupation, it is based on a previous experience. The next step is to find a university that offers the opportunity to succeed at something you love. I want to own my own business, as I have since before high school.

At ages 12 and 10, my brother and I were asked to push a mower down the street and mow a neighbor’s lawn for five dollars every other week. With expenses and start-up costs kept low (we used our father’s mower), O’Bros Lawn Service took off. Over the next few years, we grew the business to 17 lawns and bought a lawnmower and a weedwacker. Later, with the addition of a $400 truck and some advertising, we jumped to 50 lawns. With a growing reputation and advertising, last year we expanded to 70 lawns. Now, with a truck, trailer, industrial mower, four push mowers, a weedwacker and a leaf blower, O’Bros Lawn Service satisfies 80 customers every week. The lawn service allows me to have real-life business interactions and experiences that no other high-school job could offer.

While creating estimates and renegotiating prices each spring, balancing expenses with income, and hiring and training new employees, I have realized that I love running a business. This year, for the first time, we had a second crew that worked while I was at soccer - I ran a business without doing the physical labor. I enjoy seeing the growth of this business each year, interacting with customers and employees, and taking pride in our finished product. Running this lawn business forever is not what I strive for, but it has given me the opportunity to find out what I love. With my experience as co-owner, I realize that if I could run a business for the rest of my life, I would have found the perfect job.