BRADFORD, Ont. — When Lucas Bobala started his business he loaded a trailer with a push lawn mower and other tools, hooked it up to his bike and provided a lawn-cutting service to his neighbours.
He was 14 years old.
Now, at age 21, Bobala Lawn Care runs a summer crew of four people full time. Bobala also partners with another local entrepreneur during the winter months providing snow-clearing services in local communities.
“On my 16th birthday I got my G1. I saved all my grass money to buy a pickup truck,” explains Bobala, who was named Youth Entrepreneur of the Year by the Bradford Board of Trade in November.
But the G1 learner’s permit requires another licensed driver in the vehicle.
“I had to hire somebody from school to drive me around so I could cut grass,” he recalls.
Once he earned his G2 licence, Bobala bought a utility trailer and then his first commercial-grade lawn mower, a 36-inch model, and spent the weekends and much of his time after school cutting grass. Now able to travel independently, he found markets in neighbouring areas.
But as a student at Holy Trinity Catholic High School, his availability was limited. Once he graduated, he was able to jump into the business full time, taking advantage of the busy spring season to build his client list and further develop what had become a thriving business.
“Everything really changed that year … once I went full-time, we had a great year. It was just me and one other guy working full-time the entire season," he recalls.
Two years ago, he purchased a 25-foot-long, enclosed trailer with a full vacuum system, allowing him to bring more equipment to the various jobs. Last summer, he employed a full-time crew of four people who worked from April 15 to almost the end of November.
As a nonprofit organization, the Bradford Board of Trade’s mission is to sustain and promote local businesses.
“We are committed to enriching the lives of our members and the business community through our services, networking and advocacy. The BBT Business Excellence Awards is a way to celebrate the successes of our communities' local businesses,” says Cassidy Hilliard, vice-president of events. “We added this (Student Achievement in Business Award) to inspire and celebrate the next generation of business leaders, nurturing their potential and fostering a brighter future.”
Among the criteria, the nominee must demonstrate innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
Bobala is coming off a busy winter, having partnered with Gavin Counter, who owns Elite Gardens, to provide commercial and residential snow clearing to their clients. Counter’s business is fully equipped for the winter season with four pickup trucks, three loaders, and seven tractors spread across different service areas, including Barrie, Bond Head, Bradford, Cookstown, Gilford, Innisfil and Tottenham.
This spring’s ice storm ripping limbs off trees and devastating the area’s landscape meant a busy start to the next season, in which Bobala is expecting to run another full-time crew of four right into late fall.
"In the summer, I started with grass cutting and slowly branched out into doing other things like spring and fall cleanups, little jobs at commercial places, and garden maintenance,” he says, adding that he’s learned gardening and maintenance along the way, over time.
And while he’s keen on seeing the business grow, at the moment he still enjoys being outdoors with his crew doing the work.
“We’d like to grow the business, add more crews, and continue expanding,” he says of the long term. "It’s great to be on the crew, and when it gets big enough, it would be nice to run it. But for now, I enjoy working with the guys."
