About Clean Cut Lawn Care

WHY I STARTED A LAWN CARE BUSINESS

My name is Mike Dierker. The events that led me here start in the early 2000's. I was honorably discharged from the Army Infantry (11B) in 2004 and immediately joined my father in a business selling electric bicycles which he had started in 2002. At the time I had zero experience running a business nor did I have a college degree. I had a high school diploma, carpentry trade completion, and a few years of military. I had a lot to learn, but I knew how blessed I was to have such an opportunity. After a couple years of "on the job" training, I slowly took the business over so my father could retire, and I spent the next 13yrs running it. At our peak I had 14 employees, a warehouse, and a reputation I was proud of. We shipped products all over the world. It was a lot of fun, but electric bikes were my father's passion, not so much my own. My passion for running a business was enough to keep me going, but without a passion for the product, it became more and more difficult to be innovative and I was ready to try something new. While I always enjoyed mowing my own lawn, I didn't always have the time. Anytime I hired a lawn company to mow my lawn, I was never satisfied. I've since learned that I'm a little too picky, but to me, the details mattered. At first, the idea of starting a lawn care business was just a far-fetched dream, but as the electric bike market became overly saturated with cheap Chinese products, I felt a real push to do something else. I spent a couple more years really weighing the risk of such a major career change but with the help of God, I finally took the leap. I sold my online business to fund my lawn care dream, and that dream has become a reality that's far exceeded my expectations. 

HOW WE HAVE EVOLVED

When you start a new business, the natural focus is making sure you're price competitive. I learned fairly quickly it wouldn't be that difficult. I realized I had two options, I could strive to be the cheapest or I could strive to be the best. Well....that was a no-brainer for me. I'm a people-pleaser by nature and when you have a passion for something, you naturally want to be the best. I had never worked for a professional lawn care company so I had no idea how they operate, but in hindsight, maybe that was a good thing. I had to figure things out and I just did things the way I thought they should be done. I wanted to be organized, I wanted to be consistent, and I wanted to be reliable. I wanted to provide the best lawn service at a competitive price, and the only way to do that is through efficiency. Instead of showing up to a locked gate and a customer who forgot I was coming, I started texting ETA's a couple days prior to service. Instead of relying on local shops and incurring weeks of downtime for equipment maintenance, I started learning small engine repair. These are examples of what allow us to provide a better service at a more reasonable price, and the best part is that I enjoy it! I honestly feel like I was born to run a lawn care business, and I don't take such a blessing for granted. Lastly, but definitely not least, I have to give so much credit to the amazing employees I have. Finding true professionals in this industry is the most challenging aspect I face, but I always manage to find the "diamonds in the rough". Lawn care in West Texas heat is not an easy job, so I'm truly grateful for the sacrifices they make and the suffering they endure to help keep my dreams a reality. I am also truly grateful to the amazing folks of San Angelo for all your support, it's such an honor and privilege to serve you!