NORTH LIBERTY — Like many high school students, Landon Adams is always looking to make a little money. It’s the scale that might set him apart.
“Last year I ended up making about $40,000,” Adams said one afternoon in July. “This year, I told my parents I want to make $100,000. They weren’t putting me down, but they said ‘That’s a lofty goal.’ I said, ‘Watch me.’”
Adams, 17, launched what’s now Adams Lawn & Land four years ago.
“There were two neighbors at the end of my street,” he said. “I started knocking on their door. Those were my two customers for about a year and a half, and I ended up getting another customer, my next-door neighbor. I got good work, so I’m going to keep doing this.”
Instead of pushing the family mower down the block, Adams now hauls his equipment in a new trailer behind his Chevy pickup. His father helped finance the upgrade.
“I was storing all my trailers and equipment at my friend’s grandma’s back yard,” he said. “But I grew out of it. I just started leasing a shop.”
Adams could boost his revenue this summer through High School Hustle, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that encourages and advises young entrepreneurs. The organization’s Crawford Coats Hustle Award distributes $5,000 to each of its 20 top-performing student-run businesses this summer.
“I saw a few other kids in Indiana posting about them” on social media, Adams said. “So I signed up for their summer competition. I think I’m still in the top 10.”
“The idea was to awaken the next generation,” said Hunter Beale, High School Hustle’s executive director. “That’s who we’re trying to find. Accelerating these students is extremely contagious to other students.”
Tech entrepreneurs Scott Lingle and Peter Servaas launched the organization in 2022, about the same time Adams landed his first customers. From about 20 students the first year, High School Hustle now mentors and supports about 3,300 student-run businesses nationwide, mostly in Indiana. Adams is the group’s first Iowa participant.
The organization also sponsors a “Beat the Summer Job” award, $500 to the first 100 students nationwide to reach $2,500 in sales, and startup grants to help students get their businesses off the ground.
“What is it that they’re doing that others aren’t?” Beale said. “We have milestones students can unlock and get grants.”
The group also connects students with experienced business owners in their communities.
“We’re coaching students on how to find a mentor,” Beale said. “When you have a business owner who has a student reach out them, nine times out of 10 they’re going to say ‘yes.’”
Adams plans to follow up with a list of names High School Hustle forwarded to him.
“I’m going to send out those emails and see if I can get in touch with some of those people,” he said.
“Most students are scared to do outreach to businesses, but there’s a few who really have fun doing it,” Beale said.
“I was a little nervous to talk to adults,” Adams said. “Now, I actually love talking to adults. That’s part of what I do.”
Adams’ management evolved with Lawn & Land’s growth.
“I use QuickBooks, I use customer relationship management (software) for my customers,” he said. “One thing that’s really helped me is (online) credit card payments through my invoices. Keeping track of that has been really helpful.”
Hiring and managing employees — Adams has two full-time — was another challenge.
“I was thinking I can do it all myself, but that’s not actually true,” he said. “A big thing about scaling the business is hiring employees, because I really can’t do it all myself.”
The new staff is key to Adams’ plans.
“I’m starting to train them on all the skills,” he said. “When I turn 18, I hope to buy another truck. My dad said I can’t buy another one until I’m 18, so hopefully I can buy another truck and have them out on their own.”
Starting out maintaining private homes, Adams has expanded his services to commercial properties.
“I’m happy we got into the commercial work, because I can see it’s completely different,” he said. “They have different demands. It’s nice to get into the best of both worlds.”
His upcoming senior year at Liberty High School will slow Adams only slightly.
“It does cut into the work time a little, but I try to work around it,” he said. “We usually schedule the jobs after school. We’ll just go to school and then work until dark. It’s a little tough, but you’ve just got to make it work.”
Beyond high school?
“I’d like to keep scaling the business as much as I can,” Adams said. “That’s what I’m really focused on, seeing what I can do to improve the business and improve myself. I plan to do landscaping, and I’d also like to get into real estate. I’d like to buy my first property when I’m 18, probably a duplex. I want to see what I can do to get some investors going.”
That strategy reflects Adams’ basic motivation.
“The quote that ties into that is, ‘Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right,’” he said. “I’ve been going by that. A lot of it is just believing in yourself. I’m pretty confident I can make things work if I just put my mind to it.”