May 8, 2023
A Kansas man is making a difference in the lives of others in his community with the help of a truck, a team, a lawn mower—and a big heart, reports Fox News.
When Spencer B. (last name withheld), the owner of SB Mowing, sees a lawn that needs some care, he stops his truck, knocks on the homeowner’s door, and offers to take care of the lawn for free. That includes mowing, edging and using a blower to clear sidewalks and walkways.
Spencer, who is based in Wichita, has been in lawn care for 12 years—and he’s committed to spending some of his time by helping others at no charge.
“I started with my buddy mowing lawns in the neighborhood in sixth grade,” the 24-year-old told Fox News in an interview. “We would push our lawn mower down the street and go knock on some doors and get our jobs that way.”
The young entrepreneur, who married his girlfriend last year, kept growing the company throughout high school and college.
“This helped pay for my college,” he noted, saying he would drive home on weekends to take care of his clients’ lawns.
About a year-and-a-half ago, Spencer B. saw a few lawn professionals in videos mowing lawns for free. “That’s pretty cool, I thought — maybe I can start a YouTube channel and do this once a week,” he said.
“So,” he said, “I got out and I tried it.”
He bought a tripod for his iPhone in order to shoot the videos—and began knocking on the doors of homes whose yards looked like the homeowners could use a hand.
After his first couple of YouTube videos, “I was getting a lot of response,” he said of the online feedback. Today, he has over 1 million followers on his YouTube channel.
“Usually with lawn care, the people’s doors I knock on—most of the time they say ‘yes,’ because it’s someone that’s unable to mow their lawn. And it’s been that way for a really long time,” he said.
“If they were to pay someone to do it, it’s going to cost them a few hundred bucks at least. And it’s either that or wait for the city to come out and fine them a whole bunch of money on their property taxes,” he added.
People are usually really surprised, he said—and they’re even “kind of confused.”
He often gets asked, “Why would you do this for free?”
He said he explains to the homeowner or renter that he makes YouTube videos of his work and that he makes revenue from the ads placed on his videos.
He tells the homeowners, “I can completely transform your yard—completely free,” he explained.
Some of these homeowners go on to sign up with SB Mowing as clients, paying “whatever they can afford,” he said.
Around Wichita, you “don’t have to go too far” to see a lawn that needs help, he added.
“The edges are covering the sidewalk and are all the way over the curb, the grass is three feet tall—I try to go out as much as I can every week.”
Noting that he is able to take care of several lawns a week for free—with some harder jobs taking several days—Spencer B. said that it returns a sense of dignity to the people within the homes.
“The number-one thing that people tell me when I get finished is, ‘Oh my gosh, it doesn’t even look like my house anymore,’” he noted.
“It just completely changes the look of the entire hom — the grass and the yard [are] the very, very first thing people see when they pull up to a house.”
Noting that the yard is also the first thing homeowners see when they look out their own window, “it makes them feel good about themselves, and where they live.”
There have been a lot of emotional reactions since he’s started knocking on doors, he said.
One gentleman, a veteran, was “coming on some rough times,” Spencer B. said.
He and his SB Mowing team “came together real quick” and did the veteran’s lawn and “raised some money for him and got him back on his feet,” raising $10,000 through a GoFundMe.
People are “so thankful,” he also said.
Most people are “shocked” by how long he stays working at the home. “I’ll be there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and some take several days to finish,” he said.
SB Mowing has a few different revenue streams. Along with profit from his regular business, Spencer B. offers merchandise, including hats and T-shirts, online, and he receives revenue from ads placed in his videos.
He’s also sponsored by a lawn mower manufacturer, Hustler Mowers. “They give me a nice mower to cut the yards down with,” he said.
Spencer B. will be cutting lawns and improving yards—and lives—for the foreseeable future, he said. “Right now, it’s my career. You never know how long you’re able to do something,” he said. “I might get hurt one day. You never know, it’s a very physical job.”
He added, “One day, people might stop watching my videos, which is totally OK—I might have to tone it back and get a job elsewhere!”
Research contact: @FoxNews
