This Naperville Teen Runs His Own Lawn Care Company

Some teens mow lawns or shovel snow in their neighborhood to earn spending money, but Moe Mitchell was far more serious. He is in the fourth year of running his mowing and landscaping company, Moe Mow’s Lawn Care, and he’s only 19.

“I wanted to be in control of my work hours as well as being able to contribute in some way to my community,” Mitchell said in an email to Patch. His long-time childhood friend, Michael Duy was skeptical when Mitchell was talking about starting a business when they were sophomores at Neuqua Valley High School. “Dude, there’s no way. You’re a 15-year-old-kid, what are you going to do?” Michael Duy remembered telling Mitchell.

In 2013 Mitchell used his parent’s lawn equipment and he started with a few customers. He was working at a fast food restaurant and saved most of his earnings to purchase commercial-grade lawn care equipment the following year.

Example of Mitchell's work

“I was still maturing that year and didn't have high goals or visions for my business as at the time,” Mitchell said. While he still was still learning about lawn care, Mitchell put in the hours. Duy said that Michell would work from 7 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. in the summer, and he would start working right after classes during the school year.

“He is one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever met,” Duy said. “Moe loves his customers and makes sure they’re getting the best quality.”

Muneeb Qadri, a new homeowner in Naperville, was initially intrigued by how Mitchell was young and still quite professional. Qadri was impressed by Mitchell’s customer service.

“He cares, that was the big thing for me.” Qadri said. He said that Mitchell would come by after cutting his lawn and give tips on grass care. Mitchell would suggest fertilizers and other lawn care tips without pushing a particular product or service, Qadri said.

One week Mitchell had an equipment failure and was not able to use his industrial mower. Mitchell didn’t want to leave his customers without lawn care, so he used a push mower instead. Not satisfied with the quality, Mitchell didn’t charge his customers, and he came back the next week to touch up his customer’s lawns after his industrial mower was fixed.

Mitchell gained a substantial amount of customers through referrals and marketing. Mitchell also purchased the top of line commercial equipment in the market in order to produce the best results. He even learned the finer points of lawn care by trial and error, reading and by watching YouTube videos.
“He’s been able to sacrifice to make his business work, but he’s still been able to excel at school and sports and maintain a social life,” Duy said.

Example of Mitchell's work

As Mitchell prepared to start at North Central College, he was considering selling the business. A customer suggested that he hired subcontractors to continue his business. Mitchell now has five people who work for Moe Mow’s.

“They all had to sign a very detailed contract explaining their roles as well as their requirements and even quality requirements,” Mitchell said. At the start of the season, he drives to “every single home that was moved that day and then bi-weekly after about a month and a half” to ensure his contractors are working to his standards.

Mitchell is studying entrepreneurship and business management at North Central College. All the money from his business goes to paying for college, Mitchell said. He hopes to work in real estate development after college, and he wants to start his own company in that field too.

“My business has really shown me that you can do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it and work incredibly hard to conquer your goals,” Mitchell said.

Moe Mitchell

More information on Mitchell’s company can be found here.

Photos provided by Moe Mitchell