We recently connected with Deandre West and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, DeAndre thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I was working as a supervisor in a corporate healthcare role for years, and I began to get professionally frustrated. Simultaneously, my wife, twin girls, and I moved into out 1st home, and the front lawn was horrible!
I started pulling from what I learned working with my uncle in lawn care during the summers to bring my lawn back to life. After ridding the lawn of the weeds, I went through reseeding and fertilization techniques until a neighbor asked me how much I would charge to cut, hedge trim and blow.
I gave them my price of $40 for the front and the back, not knowing any better, then took my push mower from the pawn shop and electric hedge trimmer and blower to go to work.
The client was so happy they asked me to come back in 2 weeks. I came in and told my wife “I think West Lawn Care just started!”
My wife, Brittany, would confirm that since high school I said that I wanted to work for myself by the time I was 35, even though I didn’t know what that path would look like. Fast forward to 2017 and I start doing more lawns from the neighborhood on weekends and create a Facebook and Instagram page for the business.
At 1st the growth was mainly from referrals and I could handle all of my clients on Saturdays and Sundays.
As the client list grew, I would sometimes clock out of the corporate job, come home to kiss the wife and kids, then provide lawn maintenance to a client.
It was at this time where I started to pray specifically for change and breakthrough. I was approaching 34 and was starting to see writings on the wall that the corporation I worked for was going to close our division. At the same time, my wife had been promoted to manage the social media and entire online reputation of a Georgia based security company. She was learning all about how to get clients, create SOPs and communicate well across various platforms. My wife and I finally had faith in 2019 to run Westlawncarellc.com full-time for year-round property maintenance.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

West Lawn Care began as dream to provide caring property maintenance to businesses and residences while showing that professional family run businesses are the way to go! Since 15 years of age I’ve learned the ins and outs of lawn maintenance, and that expertise allows us to help companies and people who need lawn care or landscaping services with great communication and timely arrival windows.
We began to offer Monthly Lawn Care Maintenance plans in 2020, around the time of the pandemic, when we noticed the need for “no-contact” estimates and lawn care. Today, we allow our clients to choose from weekly or bi-weekly recurring services and we provide invoices for the services they need. We call it “set it and forget it” for lawn care because if your invoice is satisfied and your agreement has been signed:
1. You will get a reminder of your appointment by text, email or both.
2. We will be there during your window.
3. The services included in your itemized invoice will be performed.
4. You can sign up for automatic debit for your regular services and you’ll receive loyalty discount opportunities.
We have Monday make-up days for inclement weather and we always respond within 24 hours.

We see several industry leaders and landscape professionals doing a wonderful job in our online community! West Lawn Care LLC is happy to be going strong for 5 years with hopes to grow!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

We had to learn that we can’t say “Yes” to every opportunity and that “all money isn’t good money.” As a small business owner, rates set and rules enforced can save you from some negative situations. Remember when I told you that I serviced my neighbor’s front and back yard while providing hedge trimming and blowing for their requested price of $40 in 2017? Well that price range was not sustainable for long. We realized the price of labor is not all that goes into account for running a business full-time.
Once we gained more knowledge, experience and stability, we saw that the price of:
business insurance,
equipment repair/replacement,
sick day funds,
tags and registration,
uniforms and marketing,
and so much more needed to be accounted for in order for the business to survive and thrive.
That meant we had to have a boundary in what prices and services we would agree to. It also meant that every lead in Metro-Atlanta that contacted us may not be for us. However, we certainly thank God for and appreciate the long-time clients that are for us!
So we’ve thankfully been able to learn from past mistakes in several areas and set those concerns right!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Looking back, “pivot” could be our middle name. Our 1st time getting pregnant, my wife had a vivid dream she had twins. Then shortly after we found out the dream was correct, they tried to come early and my wife was on bedrest for 2 months. Then, here the girls come, both beautiful, and both on the spectrum!
After beginning our business we made sure to do continuous fundraisers for organizations that support individuals with autism and their families. What all 3 our our children have taught us is to plan the best ways you can, with the information you know because we will always be students.
If we had known then what we know now, we would have told ourselves that every milestone doesn’t happen for everyone at the same time. Just run your race.
So, whether the milestone is trying to get to 50 words spoken by your neurodiverse twins, or grinding to make your 1st 100k per year as an entrepreneur, there is a blessing in the learning and the pivot.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://westlawncarellc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westlawncare/?next=%2F
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westlawncarellc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/west-lawn-care/?viewAsMember=true
• Twitter: https://x.com/Westlawncare2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@westlawncarellc
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/west-lawn-care-stone-mountain-3