Expanding landscapes and big dreams: High-school senior focuses on growing his business

BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—Before graduating this coming May, Ryan Carver already has his own growing company, and huge ambitions.

“I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, working for myself,” said Carver. “I’m doing my own thing. It’s just always been ingrained in me.”

Carver’s mowing business, RC Lawn Care, started as any might, with Carver mowing his grandparents’ lawn.

“And it just kind of blossomed from there,” said Carver. “I started doing a little bit more and a little bit more and it’s just been growing a little bit each year.”

While his lawn-car business expands, Carver also keeps focus on marketing.

“I wanted to present it as a business you can trust and a business that people can rely on,” he said. “It’s a gold standard. I’ve got three tiers: standard, a silver plan, and a gold plan as far as the lawn care.” 

“On the website, people have the option to pay online or send an email,” he explained. “We do ‘spring cleanups’ and ‘fall cleanups.’

In the past I’ve done advertising with Richland Source, which has got me a lot of business.”

“We did 350 door hangers,” Carver continued, “I think I walked nine miles. We just went around to areas where I mow, to try and get a couple more customers. 

Right now, we’re [serving] Bucyrus, Crestline, Mansfield, Shelby, and Ontario. As far as landscaping, [we travel within] about an hour radius. There’s more money in landscaping; so, it’s worth a drive.” 

To help him with bigger projects, Carver relies on his friends from school. “It’s usually just good guys that I go to school with that are hard workers. They help me out a lot. I know a lot of people from school that are looking for work.”

Though a lawn-care business might seem like a small venture to some, Carver has big ideas for his company. “My goal is to have a multi-million-dollar company before I’m 30. So, I’ve got about a twelve-year span to make that happen.

Then from there, what I’d really like to do is incorporate construction alongside the landscaping [and add] real-estate development, that’s the ultimate goal … I really want to get into commercial buildings, eventually.”

Despite a lack of design software to aid his conceptualization of various projects, Carver relies on a more traditional approach.

“I’m big on drawing the layout; so, I use Google Earth a lot and try to get a bird’s eye view. I usually just draw it on a piece of paper,” Carver explained. “And then I go out to the job. Once I get a sketch, I’ll go and get all the measurements and take it from there.”

Successful branding and growth at such a young age is becoming more mainstream in our culture. But it’s Carver’s dedication to a skilled trade, and a goal-oriented process—rather than the popular pursuit of social media influencing—that makes him different.

“A lot of people my age think that they’re going to start a business and be multi-millionaires in the first year. Maybe for some people, but that is very few, and they’re going to have a lot of money to back that up, whatever that may be. 

And I think that’s because of the Internet. You’ve got all these influencers, all these people saying, ‘Just do this, and you’re going to be a millionaire.’ That’s not necessarily going to be the case.”

“For the most part,” Carver concluded, “it’s going to take time, it’s going to take money. It’s going to take a lot of sweat and some tears, and you’ve got to be willing to take a risk. 

If you’re not willing to take a risk, you’re not going to want to be an entrepreneur, because you might have to go broke to get to the next step. That’s the honest truth.

Do the work. Put the work in. You can watch videos all day, but you got to go out there and do it.”

Carver credits his father for a strong start in developing his skill set.

“My dad’s good with construction, he’s knowledgeable about things that have to do with housing. I just had to learn as I went.”

As if a growing business we’re enough to keep him busy, Carver also manages to find time for musical ambitions.

“I have my own band, and we [play] all original stuff,” Carver said. “We’ve got about ten shows lined up for the summer already, all over Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, and Mansfield.

I play guitar and sing. I play drums and bass. So, if you listen to our music, I [recorded] all of it. I did all the parts. That’s another dream of mine. To do something in music.”

Taken in all, Ryan Carver’s hard work and dedication illustrates what we all must wish for our graduating seniors.

To dream big.