
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991                   TAG: 9104120097
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHERYL ANN KAUFMAN/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ONE-MAN LAWN-CARE OUTFIT RAKING IN BUSINESS

Joel Mullen wanted to be a civil engineer but decided that the grass was greener in the landscaping business. So the 23-year-old college student who mowed yards to finance his education became a one-man lawn-maintenance outfit, full time.

"I started with my father's push mower and a pickup truck," said Mullen. "My dad taught me that if you have a pickup truck you can always make money."

Mullen's father, Bertrand Mullen, is a Roanoke contractor with 30 years' experience.

"I moved in with my father when I got out of the Navy two years ago," said Mullen. "I got out of the Navy for one reason - that's because I don't like working for other people. It's very satisfying to complete a job and look back at a yard and see how nice it looks. I really enjoy the outdoors and I like working for myself."

Mullen said that living with his parents rent-free allows him to recycle his earnings into his business. "It takes money to make money and I plan to do that first."

Mullen's father provides additional financial assistance by having his son maintain the yards of the homes he builds until they are sold.

And when a job gets too big for his one-man operation, Mullen said he can usually rely on one of his eight brothers to lend him a hand. He also has two sisters.

Thanks to his family's support and his own hard work, Mullen's lawn-maintenance business has resulted in a fair amount of green. During his first month of yard work, Mullen raked in $1,000.

One year later, Mullen had earned nearly $10,000.

This year, Mullen expects to make $18,000 with his fleet of eight lawn mowers, weed eater and newly acquired leaf blower.

Mullen also attributed his success to his reasonable prices.

"My minimum fee is $15 for mowing, trimming and sweeping off the driveway and sidewalks."

In addition, Mullen will clean gutters, trim hedges and spread mulch.

In the off season he does odd jobs.

"Business is good; it's picking up. And I'm doing a lot more commercial work," said Mullen, whose business relies primarily on word-of-mouth advertising - other than the one ad he placed in the newspaper that simply read "College student seeking work."

Mullen - who had dropped out of high school to join the Navy - today is a straight-A student who still is working on his civil engineering technology degree at Virginia Western Community College. He will graduate in May and plans to continue his education at Old Dominion University while operating his business.

He said his degree still is handy because "in a way, civil engineering helps with landscapes. It helps with the design of bridges and roads, and with landscaping you're simply designing the land around them."

Mullen plans to expand his business into a full-fledged landscaping enterprise after he takes some additional classes in horticulture.

by CNB