LeAnne Queen, Big Mama’s Mowin’
Big Mama’s Mowin’ — Saving Lawns & Lives One Family at a Time – of Tulsa, Okla., is a full-service lawn and landscape maintenance with a twist: I mow lawns to lose weight and get my family back on a healthy track.
‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: When I mowed my first lawn. It was hard work but so fun! Who knew I’d love mowing lawns?
Ideal customer: Anyone with a lawn in the Tulsa area.
First customer: Word of mouth is a great tool. My first client was a good friend of mine. While I mowed her lawn, my kids passed out flyers and this brought in two new clients. Now I share what I am doing with anyone I can, leading me to more clients all the time.
Measuring success: In the lawn business, there is a constant turnover of clients. In this economy, everyone is looking to save a buck and mowing their own lawn is one way they can keep their cash in their pocket. If I continue to build my client list, have more coming in than going out, I consider that a huge success. I love to give my people more than they pay for, going the extra mile anytime I can. Whether that means taking the time to talk for a few minutes with a client or pulling a few weeds. Building a good relationship with my clients means success to me.
Biggest struggle: Getting out the door. I know it sounds crazy that I love to mow but hate leaving my house, but it is true. I have had to work really hard to get out of my own way and literally out the door in the morning. One of the things I do to overcome my desire to hide in my house is plan my week at my Sunday night business meeting and stick to it. It doesn’t work if I don’t follow the plan.
Surprise!: The support others continue to pour out to me. After working in the “business” world for a very long two and a half years, I began to believe that people only cared about covering their own back. The truth is that there are a lot of people out there who want to help and support others in anyway they can. It is up to me to ask for help when I need it. Something else I am not very good at.
Promoting Business: It sounds really silly, but passing out flyers has worked really well for me. However I have learned that the most effective way to promote my business and therefore get sales is to talk to people. Building a relationship with others is the most important way to build any business.
What you wish you would have known: I still feel like I know nothing about running a business – although I now know that it is OK not to be perfect, to have set backs, and even to fail sometimes. As long as I don’t give up and I learn from my mistakes I am doing alright.
What keeps you up at night (business wise!)?: Everything from how to gain more clients to what color to paint my trailer. I eat, sleep, think, & dream Big Mama’s Mowin’ almost all of the time.
Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job?: Totally! When my weed eater got ripped off, I thought about quitting. When it is a million degrees outside, I think about getting a “real” job. But the temptation is never enough for me to throw in the towel. What I am doing is far more important than a little discomfort.
Biggest goal: To teach other overweight moms how to make money and lose weight through franchising Big Mama’s Mowin’. Honestly I don’t know if it will happen in the next 12 months because I have no idea where to begin. I just keep researching and pondering how to make the franchise dream happen. It is a big goal and I need to improve my business overall before I can even attempt it. Although I do believe anything is possible so I will continue to reach and grow so that I can get closer to teaching others how to achieve success through lawn mowing.
Pricing: Research what others are charging for what you do. Knowing what is out there is important so that you don’t over or undercharge. Than you have to decide if you are willing to do the work for the going rate. I tend to undercharge at times — but I never walk away from a deal feeling like I haven’t charged enough because I am willing to do the work at the rate I quote.
Funding: I only needed $2500 for new equipment and I went to Indiegogo.com to crowdfund for it. With Tory’s advice and 52 people’s generosity I was able to raise the money I needed in a couple of weeks. Anyone with a worthy need should go for it. I love to help anyone who is looking to crowdfund. Please email me at LeAnne@BigMamasMowin.com if you need help with your campaign.
The absolute best part of owning my own business is: that I get to be the boss. I like being in charge.
If I had to start all over again, I would have: quit my job instead of waiting to be let go.
I never imagined: balancing family life and business would be so difficult.
If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: “You can do it. It’s your turn to believe in you.”
