Dad and Son's WG24
Experience Exchange:
Gabe uses his WG24 to offer stump removal with his lawn care business
The small business owner says the PTO-driven stump grinder is an investment that’s helped save his body from grinding manual labor
Gabe’s WG24 Stump Grinder is a valuable tool in his lawn care arsenal, which he uses to offer an exclusive service in his area.
“It’s such a versatile machine,” says the lawn care expert who has been mowing lawns and clearing stumps for three years. “It’s definitely got enough power to get the job done.”
Gabe is the owner of Dad and Son, a lawn maintenance company in New York state, and he uses his Woodland Mills Stump Grinder to offer stump removal services.
The entrepreneur and father started Dad and Son in 2021 along with his five-year-old son in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The venture started out as a side hustle but over time grew into his full-time job.
“I had a couple lawns I would do here and there, just once a week, and as word got out I started picking up more here and there.”
“We can make our money a lot faster than if we did it by hand.”
The first year Gabe was doing six lawns, but now he’s doing 50-plus lawns annually and offering more than just mowing.
“When the lawn care business isn’t very lucrative, [the stump grinder] opens the doors to other money-making opportunities.”
Over time the business grew, and Gabe says he noted while other companies were taking down trees, none of them were offering stump removal.
“So I looked at that as an opportunity to get into the market, because everybody has stumps around and they already know my name from doing a good job with the lawns.”
Initially Gabe bought a manually-pushed stump grinder, which was a lot of physical effort.
“It’s back breaking work, that little machine will make a man out of anyone.”
One job had him manually grind down 24 stumps in a single day, but when he got home he noted there had to be a better way and he immediately started researching PTO-powered stump grinders.
Gabe says he’s seen a lot of folks in his industry beat up their bodies with years of manual labour and he wanted to take better care of himself by buying the right machine for the job.
"You got to plan for the future, and you’ve got to price for the future too.”
After looking at reviews and crunching the numbers on how to make a return on investment, he pulled the trigger and bought the WG24. In just a few weeks taking stump jobs here and there, he had already paid it off.
“I definitely love this machine because it’s very tough, it’s very well built,” he said. “We can make our money a lot faster than if we did it by hand.”
What sets Dad and Son apart is that he offers to remove the chips and fill in the hole, and just those few extra steps helps make for happier customers who are likely to recommend him to others.
“If you’re going to start a business in the landscaping industry, it’s not going to come all at once. You got to plan for the future, and you’ve got to price for the future too.”
He recommends that anyone who wants to start a business like his begin with basic lawn care and grow into more extensive landscaping services from there.
Begin small, with just a mower, then add more equipment like a weed trimmer or stump grinder as you need them. Once you start offering specialized services like mulching, landscaping or stump removal, that’s when people will really start to rely on you.
And when it comes to stump grinding tools, Gabe says his stump grinder is a positive investment because of its efficiency, and ease of use.
“I’ve been through probably more than 100 stumps with this thing," he says, noting how easy it is to maintain and how low the price is for anyone considering one.