Today we’d like to introduce you to Reed Carnell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Right before Covid in March of 2020 I started Mr. C’s Lawn Care as a small weekend hustle. My brother owned some rental properties that he provided lawn care for his tenants. I asked if he would be interested in letting me cut them for the season. In March of 2020 I bought a push mower, blower, and weed eater. The intention to start small and see if I enjoyed it. No desire to turn it into anything other than a side hustle. Soon after I started, the Covid lockdowns began. I didn’t have much that I could do during that time, so I spent all my free time after my normal work hours learning, improving, and focusing on the yards I had to complete that week. Id work from 8-5 M-F and either after work or on the weekends I would cut yards and study more on the industry. The next year I took all my profits and invested in a zero turn mower and a trailer. Still working on the weekends but with better equipment able to do more work in the same time. In 2022, I decided to take a leap and go full time. The first year was quite intense, balancing many plates at once. Many long weeks and little sleep. One thing that I learned in this time, people we took on as new customers, were having trouble with communication and customer service with their past landscaping companies. I decided to go all in into providing the best communication and service we can as a lawn care company. After a couple years I was able to delegate some of those responsibilities to employees that I am lucky to have found. Allowing us to take on more customers and provide quality communication to them for the services they have signed up for. This allowed us to break through some of our bottle necks and grow quickly. Being a small business starting out, each employee had to carry weight and step up to challenges to reach our goals we set each year. Without the quality people in the company, we couldn’t have grown as much as we have the past couple years. I have been very fortunate to have a good crew that take pride in what we are building. It’s quite an exciting time we have entered due to everyone’s efforts. It’s been a rewarding journey and very excited to see what we can accomplish together. Really looking forward to the coming years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a easy road. I wouldn’t wish the stress and challenges on anyone. The first four years were filled with obstacle after obstacle. Many sleepless nights trying to figure out issues. I have had many weeks where I’ve had to work more than 100 hours. Many leaps of faith that I didn’t know for sure would pan out but with some luck and persistence broke through, sometimes barely. Working harder and more than you ever have before in your life, and getting paid less than you ever have in your whole life, really does a number to your doubts. It has been a very challenging journey. When starting out you have to do everything. Out of necessity because you can’t afford to pay anyone to help you. You barely have enough to pay yourself to do what needs to be done. There comes a point where you can’t do anymore and you must hire someone. I have been in the position a couple times where I have hired someone that I absolutely needed to grow, but not being sure if I could make payroll. But with planning and sometimes just brute force, I have come to learn hiring that person was the best thing to do especially at that time. We have never missed payroll even after being faced with such a scary decision. Sometimes you just have to make a plan, be ready to adjust as needed, and jump. Try to figure it out as you go. With a little luck and dedication, you can stick the landing… sometimes. That’s where the luck comes into play.
We’ve been impressed with Mr. C’s Lawn Care, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Mr. C’s Lawn Care provides lawn care and landscaping services in the greater Memphis area. We have dedicated people who strive for excellent service and communication. We have people in the field striving to do the best job every time, and people in the office keeping the engine running. Constantly making sure we provide the most stress free and frictionless service at your property. We do things from cutting yards, and doing landscape projects, to professional installation of Christmas lights. For a full list of services we provide you can see them on our website. We take a lot of pride in our customer service and try to keep the personable level of business while still growing. I usually say, people want a yard guy, not a yard company. We try to keep that spirit in the culture of our company. Allowing the customer to feel heard and build trust with our loyal customers.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I am Memphis born and raise. I love my home town. Though I might live elsewhere one day I think I will always have a foot still in Memphis. I love how real the city is. People can be nice, mean, fun, intense, but never fake. You go to the store, you will get a full 100% unfiltered encounter, good or bad there is something endearing about how genuine people are here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mrcslawncarememphis.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrCsLawncareMemphis
