SHELBY — Ryan Carver is committed to “a gold standard” for his customers.
Carver, a student in Pioneer Career & Technology Center’s industrial electricity program, started R.C. Lawn Care in 2022. The 17-year-old has a 25-point quality checklist that he goes through after each job with his customers.
“The checklist seems to really set us apart with our customers,” Carver said. “I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback on it. It’s just an extra level of assurance to the customer that I’ve done what I said I would do.”
Carver started mowing lawns in 2019 and established an LLC last year while in the Richland Area Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy.
He received more than $1,500 from a local investor panel last May that helped him buy a zero-turn mower and other equipment.
“That was a great experience and I learned a lot through YEA,” he said. “Going out into business helped me understand what people need in lawn care and try to cater to that more.”
Carver now offers landscaping services through R.C. Lawn Care including mulching, repairing mulch beds or planting from scratch.
“Some of my good friends help me with landscaping jobs since they’re more in-depth,” he said. “It might take two to three days to re-do the mulch beds and weed, clean out the leaves and all that.
“It can be as easy as doing a refresh with the mulch beds or more in-depth like tearing out sod if there’s dead plants there.”
Carver said most of his existing customers are in Shelby, Crestline and Galion. He is offering landscaping services anywhere in Richland and Crawford counties, but is limiting his service area for regular mows this season.
“Right now, I’m doing lawns in Galion, Shelby, Crestline, Ontario, and Mansfield’s Woodland neighborhood,” he said. “Since it’s a bit of a drive from Shelby, I’m trying to keep it to where I have other customers.”
Carver will graduate from Pioneer next spring and expects to keep his business going after high school. He said most of his customers have come through referrals and word-of-mouth advertising.
“Right now, all my customers are repeating customers, so I mow their lawns about every week,” he said. “Landscaping I can do a little earlier than when mowing season starts, or a little later, so that’s been a good addition.”
R.C. Lawn Care offers zero-turn and push mowing. He also offers weed-wacking, spring and fall brush cleanup, edging, string trimming and shrub trimming.
“Hedge trimming I do once or twice a year for the gold plan customers,” he said.
Carver said most of his customers have standard city lots, but he also does yardwork for a landlord with properties in Crestline. He is also willing to mow or landscape business lots.
“We do free estimates for any new customer, so it doesn’t cost you anything upfront,” he said. “I’m really grateful to all my customers who have supported me so far and looking forward to growing the business.”
R.C. Lawn Care can be reached at rclawncareohio@gmail.com or 567-303-5748. The business is on Facebook, Instagram and online at rclawncareohio.com.