Stacks of green bills are piled at the end of the table where my youngest son, Lucas, is counting the profits of his summer lawn business. There is a smile on his face, so it is safe to say that business has been good.
The grass hardly grows in our dry West Texas town, but the weeds have kept the clients calling for his services. All three of our boys have mowed lawns in the summer—the older ones passed down equipment and clients when it was time for them to move on.
If you want the perfect summer job for your teenage son, get him a lawnmower.
Here are FIVE reason why it’s worth it (if they aren’t afraid of hard work for good pay):
1. The pay is great. They easily earn more than double the minimum wage they would earn anywhere else. McDonalds can’t compete!
2. They develop communication skills. Our sons communicate with the clients to arrange schedule and billing.They learn to make the awkward call to the grumpy man that lives around the corner, or knock on the door to tell the owner that a pebble just flew out of the mower and cracked a window (yes, that happened this summer).
3. They learn financial responsibility.
- Each time they mow they set aside money for the maintenance fund to repair equipment.
- They pay friends who they hire to work with them.
- They come home from a hard day of work with cash in their hands (I like that better than them asking for spending money from my pocket.)
4. They learn time management and have flexibility
- They schedule their own work each week.
- They can choose if they sleep late and work in the heat of the day, or rise early to take advantage of the cool morning.
- Our family travels frequently in the summer, so I appreciate that they can arrange their schedule for family vacation days that we need off together. They can’t blame a boss that won’t give them off for that special family time together.
- It’s also easy to work around athletic schedules.
5. Compatible coworkers
- Our boys usually choose a friend to mow with so they aren’t out in the heat alone. It helps their motivation (and it helps me to know who they are spending the day with).
If you’re already wondering what next summer will be like with your boys, get a lawnmower now while they are on sale. In the spring start telling your friends that your son will be mowing yards.
You can count on him having a smile on his face and a full pocket at this time next year.
