Me trimming overgrown grass, wearing the Ottawa Student Landscaping vest.

Background

Entrepreneurship represents the purest form of freedom and ingenuity to me. It is simply beautiful. Since my early high school days, I’ve been building ventures of all kinds. My first success was in my junior year of high school when I built and launched websites for local businesses. I would continue to grow this venture to reach more businesses and a widened service offering consisting of social media and search advertising. However, as I entered University, I lost the desire to keep innovating and ultimately scaled back this venture. Despite scaling the business back, I promised myself to not lose my creative spark. I looked forward to meeting like-minded people and ultimately creating something bigger and better. My freshman and sophomore years were a blur. I hustled my way through the academics, and let loose on weekends. There were definitely highs and lows, but the last two years flew by way too quickly. Study, sleep, drink, repeat. That was often the name of the game. Looking back, it was fun at times, however deep down I was not happy as I felt like there was more potential and untapped opportunity in my limited student years.

Summer 2022

When I took some time to reflect this summer on my post-secondary journey, and how I have passed the halfway point already, I felt like I was failing myself. I knew I had to do more and work hard during the summer to prove to myself that I am capable. On a random Saturday evening, I was watching a Youtube video and saw someone from Texas conducting a very detailed analysis of his landscaping business, running through all kinds of numbers and strategies. This video reminded me that simple side hustles can be quite profitable if executed well. Not all businesses need to be high-tech or fancy. Often, the simple and old-fashioned services done properly are all you need. Furthermore, I had most of the equipment and expertise already, so I figured the barrier and cost to entry would be quite low. 

After watching the video that evening, I was inspired and figured that the past summer was the best opportunity, if not last to give it a fair shot. Armed with my passion for building, in addition to my desire for a new challenge, I set out to find other like-minded students to work alongside me. At the same time, I spent every hour I had outside my accounting summer internship publishing digital ads and researching how to fulfill the services I was trying to sell. Luckily for me, in no time my phone was ringing with leads looking to get a quote for their properties. Little did I know that the demand for landscaping services was way higher than I expected, with more  established firms frequently turning down work. As the excitement and energy started building, I also quickly learnt that scaling any business was no easy task. 

Core landscaping team: James Laughton (left), Seth Bowlby (center), and myself (right)

Lessons from Landscaping

First, I found that talent is extremely challenging for startups. Finding people who are as motivated and committed to the vision as I was is extremely hard, let alone trusting them to work independently – especially on something challenging and novel. Through this experience, I really learnt and appreciated the importance of putting people first, in order for them to take initiative in taking care of your business. Secondly, scaling a business is all about ensuring your customers are happy. By doing a good job, and having genuine conversations with my clients, half our business started becoming repeat and referral based.  

As the summer chugged along, I quickly discovered all my weekends were fully booked with landscaping work. A month in, I started feeling extremely burnt out as I put myself in a situation where I had virtually no time to actually enjoy my summer and reflect on myself. During my work weeks, I was putting in an average of 50 hours of work, as I aimed to make a good impression during my internship. As soon as I got home, I was busy running around the city giving quotes, and taking calls/scheduling projects anytime I found in between. For the first few weeks, I loved the challenge of a “24/7 grind”, as it was something I missed during my second year in University. However, I quickly realized that maintaining a balance was extremely important for mental health, which I can discuss in more detail in a future blog. As a result, I worked on leveraging my team as best as I can, streamlining our operations, and ultimately – saying no to projects that were not in alignment with our goals. This decision turned out to be a good one, as I saw the business do just as well, if not better than when I was constantly working on it, every minute of the day. By taking a step back, I was better able to analyze the inefficiencies, and see what can be done to maximize the profits that were being generated on a day-to-day basis. 

All in all, running a landscaping business was an incredible experience. I learnt an unbelievable amount about myself, people and their needs, and business as a whole. Additionally, I also surpassed my initial revenue as well as profit goals, so I was glad this experiment proved to be a success. As busy students, it is common to fall into the trap of repetitive mediocrity. Days, weeks, and months go by too quickly. However, we must maximize our time, and challenge ourselves to maximize each day. It is important to take a step back and actively make time to pursue the initiatives that you are passionate about, beyond just academics. Only then, can you truly make the most out of your time in school.

Seth Bowlby, my team leader handling an interview by CTV Ottawa Morning Live. 

Looking Ahead

I know my summer landscaping side hustle was just another litmus test proving I have the ability to be better. This experience further reaffirms my passion and drive to continue building wherever I go. As I enter a new school year in a new, more rigorous program, I am aware there will be lots of change and discomfort. However, I will continue building. Building ventures, experiences, knowledge and most importantly, genuine connections with people – because that’s what makes a life worth living. 

With Love,

Alan Guan