Down to Business: Word of mouth drives the grass-cutting business, Naperville lawn care owner says
Business: Black Willow Lawn Care
Address: Naperville
Phone/website: 888-401-6260; blackwillowlawncare.com
Owner: Sean Sampson, 39, of Naperville
Years in business: 3
What does your business do? 'We specialize in mowing residential properties. We service the Naperville area, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield. Predominantly mowing,' Sampson said.
Why did you start this business? 'I was inspired by another lawn care company called Augusta Lawn Care. It's national. (Started by) a young entrepreneur; his name is Mike Andes. I was interested in serving the community. I found him on YouTube. … I worked in lawn care before as a teenager in the Aurora area.'
What did you do before this? 'I was doing janitorial work. Working in warehouses. … I wanted to be my own boss. … I love and actually still do janitorial work. And I work as a lube tech at Everclean Car Wash in Wheaton. … Between my three jobs I'm working 90 hours a week. It's pretty tough.'
How's the lawn care going? 'I had some hiccups at first. The first year, I fractured my right ankle. I fell off an electric pallet jack. I did the best I could to rehabilitate the ankle and was back at work in four to five months.'
Where do you find clients? 'I would advertise on Craigslist. Since I've built my Google Business Profile with over 10 five-star Google reviews, they are contacting me through my profile.
'I've asked customers, 'How did you hear about us?' They said they saw the good reviews online and that was a deciding factor. So, I'm not advertising any more on Craigslist. It's organic now, based on the reviews.'
What happens when you get a new client? 'I use a software called Jobber. It allows me to schedule clients, quote clients and it accepts credit cards on file. So much easier. … I'm able to look up an address on Google maps and get a pretty accurate quote. You can see the square footage. You can get a fair estimate.'
What do you charge? 'Depending on weekly or bi-weekly, I can usually charge $50 to $65 for a yard.'
Any employees? 'I'm the only one. Last year I had 19 clients.'
How often do you mow? 'We recommend do it weekly simply because it stresses the grass if you let it grow too high and don't stay on top of it. It's always better to cut it each week then let it get out of hand. … Sometimes, you have to cut it twice (in one visit) if you let it get out of hand.'
What mower do you use? 'Right now, I'm using an older, walk-behind, commercial grade mower. It's self-propelled. It's 33 inches wide. It's a big guy. … It's a Ransomes. Very reliable. I'm able to keep it running well.'
Wider means faster? 'That is correct. The wider the mower, the faster you're in and out of there.'
How often do you sharpen the blade? 'At least once a week. Being sharper, it is more consistent.'
What mistakes do homeowners make? 'They'll hire a company that's not insured. I'm insured.'
What about watering? 'Make sure you water it regularly, but don't overwater. Too much water won't kill the grass, but it will be a pain in the neck for the mower. The ground will be too soft.'
What do you like about your job? 'I like to service the community. There's times where there's elderly people and I'll give them the service for free.'
How do you feel after mowing? 'You feel like you're making a difference. It makes you feel good. It's like medicine. … I want to make sure the lines are perfectly straight. …. Switching the direction (you mow) helps the lawn overall.'
Any negatives? 'Customers I do the work for who never answer their phone again or never pay. Not going back there.'
What about competition? 'One thing I like to do is to wave to other (lawn care) companies and talk to them. I don't look at them as competition because there's so much grass to mow. I can't possibly mow it all on my own. … A lot of them are standoffish. But when you are kind to them, they let their guard down and are surprised.'
Any future plans? 'To grow the business to $200,000 in (annual) revenue and beyond. Hire employees and get out of the field. I want to be in the office managing the business.'
What's your advice for someone starting a business? 'It's very important to have a website and to start advertising. It's crucial to have a Google Business Profile because as customers leave reviews, that's going to generate a buzz around your company.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
Profitable Side Hustles That Actually Work In 2025
There's no denying that the 2025 economy is Not Great™. Even if you have a steady full-time job, it can still feel like a struggggggle to make ends meet. But there are ways! Recently, Reddit user Lucky-Disaster6244 asked the r/povertyfinance subreddit, "What's something you do on the side that makes real extra money — not just $20 here and there?" Here are some of the best responses that are actually doable: "I host bar trivia. It's usually three hours a night, and it makes me about $150 a night (plus tips). I'm actually trying to make this my full-time job; I enjoy it so much. It's not hard to buy trivia games or hook up with an existing company. I am independent and write my own games that I try to sell on the side." "I have a kettle corn pop-up. I do fairs, festivals, pumpkin patches, and can turn $300 of product and space rent into $6k+ sales in a day." "Election work. Literally in 14 days this year, I'll gross $6,900. Long days, easy peasy work." "I make cosplay props for people." "I put up and take down Christmas lights on weekends and evenings from October to January. $24k a season is very doable, but you gotta be able to haul and carry ladders, confidently and safely climb up and down ladders, and be OK with working in the wind and rain in the coldest part of the year. It isn't glamorous, but it can be a nice chunk of extra money." -u/LeftCoastBrain "I sell rare house plants on the side. If I want some money for a spa or date night, I'll just chop and propagate some plants for an easy $300-$500. Rare alocasias, monsteras, and anthuriums. There are a ton of people who collect, trade, etc. It's my hobby, which has made it so easy to turn into a side hustle. Best part is it's all cash." "I bartend on Saturday mornings. I make around $500-$600 extra a month from it. It's not much, but it covers my divorce fees." "I did Rover for three years, boarding dogs in my home. I made $11k a year consistently. Month to month could vary widely, $0-$2k, but I always finished the year the same. "I started a YouTube channel a few years ago, and now it's actually pulling in between $1,500 and $3,000 a month! It's nuts!!! It was just a hobby." "I used to flip furniture on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I did have to invest in a small trailer and a good cleaner. But I would get free or cheap furniture. Clean it and spruce it up. Sell it for a couple hundred bucks. Mostly couches." "I freelance write on the internet, but it's hard to get started these days. To do it entirely on your own, you need to build an audience first, which is getting harder every year as social media companies monetize their users (by making creators and brands pay to access them). You can get hired as a writer and build an audience through an existing website/brand. When all of my clients are buying, I can make $2k a month, but most of them are ad-supported, so the work dries up when the economy is bad, and then I can make $1k a month, tops." "I used to do clinical trials." "Deliver pizza for a local place under the table. You can do pretty good Friday night through Sunday." "Landscaping. Cash under the table, you dictate how many jobs you want to take on, and you can focus on one specific neighborhood to limit gas mileage. A mower, trimmer, blower, and small trailer will all pay themselves off in three weeks. It'll beat you up a little, but it's rewarding work. It's also extremely straightforward. As long as you do what you're supposed to do, the customer will be happy." "I work as an ad model. All kinds of ads. Internet, TV, print. Work is sporadic and irregular, which means you'd better have solid income from a main source. But a little $500-$800 check from time to time sure comes in handy." "My very first month of donating plasma, I made $900. Paid for my three-and-a-half week road trip last summer to Canada. I only do it once a week now because the center closest to me changed their hours, so I get $40 a week instead of my usual $100, but that's still an extra $160 a month I put back into savings that doesn't have to come out of my normal paychecks, it's just extra. So that's nice. I do miss the $400 months, though." "If you're even a little handy, you can make good money as a handyman in elderly neighborhoods. My dad started out just helping neighbors with hanging curtains, painting bathrooms, etc. After about a year, he was busy enough to quit his full-time job and just work for himself. You don't need a lot of tools or an expensive truck, but if you can operate a drill, swing a brush, and are good with old people, there's good-paying work out there for you." "None of these enterprises have made me two thousand a month individually, but all of them combined have equaled that over many months of production. Edible mushrooms. Microgreens. Composting worms. Compost. Vegetable plant starts. Cloned fruit trees. I've been doing these for years, and I sell directly to consumers, no restaurants or middlemen." "I make about $120/hr coaching baseball lessons. I'll spend a weekend with 10 lessons coaching middle school to college athletes. I also charge $75/month to program throwing/pitching training. This can be 10-30 pitchers a session, ranging from high school to professional. It's about 5-15 extra hours a week." "I used to sell my artwork online, it was a good $15,000 to $20,000 a year. My ex said it was taking up all my time to cook and clean, so I stopped selling my artwork for him. I plan to sell again now that I left him." "I work freelance in the arts. I've done a decent job advertising my own business and have developed a side hustle doing social media marketing for other small businesses. Writing posts, finding imagery, and scheduling the posts in advance. The amount of actual work varies from month to month, but the retainer fee does not, and it's made my life much easier and more predictable." "I started a cleaning business. It was very easy, and I did it on Saturday afternoons. I just posted my contact info, services, and prices to local online communities. I worked for a young, wealthy couple cleaning a condo two to three times a month. I got around $600 extra per month for just a general cleaning. I also now include move-out cleans, which can get me $400-$600 per job. It's not huge cash, but it helped me kick a car note down from $24k to $16k. And that was with one client." "I got a box truck and run deliveries on the weekend for a retail store. It's mostly like furniture and wood. Sucks some days, but in the thick of the summer, my monthly income is about two and a half times higher." "During the winter, I sell 3D-printed ornaments and make between $100 and $300 a week for the first two to three weeks of December. "Real estate Photography. It's usually $150 per house, $300 if it's a large property, and I need to use a drone." Do you have any side hustles that are bringing in a little extra cash each month? Dont' gate gatekeep! Tell me about them in the comments.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trending in Texoma — Tech giant in court hearings and weekend box office ranks
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Whether it's happening on the other side of the country, somewhere else in Texas, or right in our communities, Digital Producer Mariana Vela takes a look at the stories currently generating the most interest on social media. Social Rundown: 90 in a 35 trend, Carrot Ribbon Salad, and Labubu internet sensation Google is seeking to appeal a case it lost after a federal judge ruled that Google had illegally dominated two markets in online advertising technology. Google is awaiting the court's final opinion and will assess its options. First: Lilo and Stitch live action- $63M Second: Mission: Impossible- $27.3M Third: Karate Kid: Legends- $21M Fourth: Final Destination: Bloodlines- $10.8M Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNET
3 hours ago
- CNET
Death to Gmail? Google DeepMind CEO Wants AI to Solve This One Annoying Problem
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis might have won a Nobel Prize for his work on AlphaFold 2, an AI model that can predict protein structures, but the solution to the problem he really wants to solve still evades him. The problem in question is infinitely easier to grasp and more relatable than Hassabis' work in the field of chemistry. "The thing I really want that we're working on is next-generation email," he said, speaking at SXSW London on Monday. "I would love to get rid of my email." Based on the crowd reaction, it was a popular sentiment in the room, where earlier that day, the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted to sending only one email for the entire 10-year period he was in office. There is some irony to Hassabis' quest. The prize-winning scientist is responsible for developing some of the most complex and sophisticated AI models the world has ever seen, all in aid of working toward cures for diseases that are beyond anything we have access to today. His mission to render email (presumably Gmail?) – an annoyance of our own human invention – obsolete feels like small fry in comparison. But it also exposes the duality of Hassabis' responsibilities at Google. He is, and always has been, deeply committed to pursuing AI for the benefit of humankind. "My personal passion is applying [AI] to the frontiers of science and medicine," he said. At the same time he is beholden to the corporate interests of Google, which acquired DeepMind in 2014. Hassabis always imagined the development of AI to be more of a "scientific-led endeavor," spearheaded by a computer science equivalent to CERN, the famed particle physics lab in Switzerland. But the technology went a different way, becoming commercially viable much quicker than he anticipated. From there, he said, "the capitalist engine has done what it does best." Hassabis almost speaks as though he is separate from the "capitalist engine," but of course he is deeply embedded within it. DeepMind being owned by Google means that as well as pursuing his passion project of curing disease with AI – arguably the most noble use of AI – he must split his attention to ensure Google's AI products, from Gemini to Veo and everything else the company announced at I/O last month are up to scratch in a competitive market. In pursuit of AGI The competition is "ferocious" and it's a hefty work schedule for one man, who says he sleeps very little and doesn't expect to until "we get to AGI," or artificial general intelligence. Along with developing DeepMind's core AI models, and translating them into science, he continues to pursue the development of AGI, or AI that fully matches (or exceeds) human intellectual capabilities. "My feeling is that we're about five to 10 years away," he said. His vision for AGI is that it will unlock a world in which "we can cure many, many diseases – or maybe even all diseases," and "unlimited renewable energy." In some ways, the Google products are stopping off points on the way. One of the reasons DeepMind has built Veo 3, its latest video generation software, said Hassabis, is that AGI needs to have a physical understanding of the world around it. The world models built for Veo 3 are key to this understanding. In turn, these world models will be essential for a breakthrough in robotics, which Hassabis believes is due in the "next few years." While it's sometimes not clear where DeepMind's worthy mission ends and Google's commercial priorities kick in, it's clear that Hassabis is finding ways to make it work for him, and his long-term pursuit of an AGI breakthrough. In spite of the seismic shift he predicts this will cause, even he is skeptical of the hype around AI in the short term. "I mean, it couldn't be any more hyped," he said. "Therefore, it is a little bit overhyped."
