Jade Cuts Wade Kelly and Jake Hicks

Mission Statement  Our goal is to provide the best service possible at an affordable price with 100% customer satisfaction. We are dependable, efficient and will leave your property with a clean finish and superb job. We are committed to customer satisfaction.

About us:  Jake Hicks and Wade Kelly are co-owners of Jade Cuts. We have worked together for 5 years to make our business what it is today. We both have had many years experience in lawn care and business management before combining our resources. We will treat each lawn like it’s our own. We provide full service lawn cutting, trimming, edging and other property maintenance upon request. We will bring out the beauty in any lawn.

Budget- Start Up Cost  4 X- Mark 60” Tractors (used)= $24,000  4 Weed Whackers= $800  2 Leaf blowers= $350  gal gas tanks= $80  2 16ft trailers= $4,200  2 F-150 Ford trucks= $50,000  4 pairs of head phones= $40  4 safety goggles= $40  Insurance= $3,000/year  Liability, workers comp. vehicle  Total= $82,310

Weekly budget  Salaries- 2 people minimum wage= $720  Gasoline-1.65gal/1 $486  Oil- 1qt/10 acres= $50  General Maintenance fund= $800  Total weekly income= $  Total yearly income= $103,712.00

Funding for initial start-up  Private funding (family)  Set up payment plan to pay back in 3 years  Work payment into weekly budget-once equipment is purchased the first year, expenses will be greatly reduced and investors will be paid back.

Sales forecast  In order to grow, business must become more efficient  Try to bid on whole neighborhoods so you can cut more lawns in 1 day- less travel time  Try to establish commercial customers- industrial+ business parks, shopping centers  Less travel time will allow for more time to cut  Purchase more equipment as needed to handle bigger contracts-higher more workers  DON’T EXPAND TOO FAST!!

 If sales decrease or maintenance issues cut into profits:  Expand business  Snow plowing  Mulching  Landscaping  Weed control

Interview  Barrett Ersek  Happy Lawn-Concordville, Pa  Q-What experience and education lead you to this business?  A-During high school I was always the entrepreneur, looking for ways to make money. After graduating and attending college for a few days, I realized it was not for me and felt I could jump right into the business world.

What made you decide on the business of Happy Lawn?  I had worked in the cancel department of True Green- another lawn care company and heard why people were canceling their service. By just returning phone calls and following through on commitments,I could make customers happy. So I decided to start my own lawn fertilization company.

How did you finance the business and what kind of structure was it?  Happy Lawn is an S-corp and funding to start it came from my father and uncle, who believed in my dream. Since then we have private investors that hold 49%of the company and I control 51%. They are angel investors since they are not involved with decision making or day to day business.

How did you get your customers?  My original customers were friends, family and neighbors. Then the company name spread by word of mouth. Now we do mass marketing, spending about $200,000 annually. We send postcards, discount coupons and make lots of phone calls to potential customers.

What kind of hurdles have you had to face?  Finding the right employees has been the biggest task. They have to be positive, hard working and trustworthy. The biggest issues we have are equipment failure,mother nature and competing against bigger companies like Scott’s, Lawn Doctor and True Green. We are constantly re-evaluating what we do and trying to improve all the time.

What future goals do you have for Happy Lawn?  Our future goals always include keeping our customers happy and providing good service, while continuing to grow the company. We hope to grow the company to $20 million but never lose the personal touch we give to every lawn! “Grass green, the American dream!”