Howard Jensen wears many hats. He's been working for the railroad for 28 years; an engineer for most of that time. He runs a nursery, an RV park, a Walker dealership, and is a respected lawn maintenance contractor. But more than anything else, Howard Jensen is a family man. His railroad career has generated enough income over the years to provide seed money for his business ventures. That, in turn, has given him the opportunity to provide another lifestyle for his wife Susan and two sons.
"My dad was an entrepreneur," tells Howard, who with sons, Josh and Chad, operates J&C Lawn Service in Alliance, Nebraska. "I was hired by the railroad when I was 18. Corporate America has given me a lot, but it has taken a lot away, as well. I've missed many birthdays, anniversaries and other important family get-togethers while operating locomotives and building another person's dreams. I wanted to give my sons an opportunity to choose another course, to be able to build their own dreams and spend more time one day with their families."
Howard began working on that goal 10 years ago when he and Josh started mowing lawns. At the time, Josh, the oldest son, was only seven years old. But that didn't stop him from helping in the new business.
Today, Josh and brother Chad are the backbone of a business that maintains 200 properties every week.
'I tell customers we really don't have any competition in Alliance," explains Howard. 'I have my three Walkers and two sons. Even if as a dealer I sell a Walker to a competitor, I still have my sons. As I relate to my customers, no matter what happens, no matter how busy the season is, there will always be a Jensen on their property."
Chances are the Jensens will always be operating a Walker. J&C (for Josh and Chad) purchased its first Walker in the spring of 1994. It was a 16-hp model with a 42-inch deck. That year, explains Howard, they doubled their customer base. The following year, they purchased a 25- hp model and doubled their accounts again. One year later, after becoming a Walker dealer, J&C bought another 25-hp unit. The company also added a 62- and 54-inch deck.
"When we purchased our first Walker, we were physically tired," explains Howard, who still operates a locomotive for the Burlington, Northern and Santa Fe railroad in Alliance. "With the Walkers, we dramatically increased the size of our business without working any more man-hours."
The mower's quality of cut and overall speed for finishing a job help to sell residential and commercial customers on J&C's services. Operating cost per man-hour is the key selling point for Howard's Walker dealer customers. It's really the same story, but from a different perspective, he explains, noting that both concepts are a bit of a hard sell in the sand hills of western Nebraska.
"Many of our lawn service customers still don't understand what it means to have their property maintained by a professional company. We're no different than any other business that provides a service that people need. We have overhead and we need to make a profit.
"Other contractors need to get that point across to their customers, and understand that part of delivering a professional-looking service is operating professional equipment." In fact, Howard likes to tell contractors who just purchased a Walker that their new mower makes them a real professional. Of course, it takes more than a mower to become a professional. But as he points out, being a professional is 80% attitude.
Having a Walker on the back of your trailer lends a lot toward attitude. 'I can take my Walker mower and my dump truck, and compete anywhere in the country," Howard explains boldly. In other words, if he can make a living in Alliance mowing and maintaining lawns, he can make a living anywhere - as long as his Walkers and his boys accompany him.
Family Ties
Alliance has a population of approximately 15,000 people, 20% of whom work for the railroad transporting coal cars to and from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, and ushering loaded trains to other parts of the country. About 100 trains make their way in and out of Alliance each day.
"As parents living in Alliance, we have to ask ourselves what we offer our young people for a future here," tells Howard. "Not everyone can work for the railroad and not everyone wants to. Furthermore, it's my feeling that life has to be a balance between having financial success and being a success at raising a family.
"My No. 1 challenge in the lawn maintenance business is to get it to the point where my sons would be able to raise a family by working in the business." Howard says the Walkers have helped to meet this challenge by growing the business without growing expenses. The father and sons are also very service-oriented, to the point that they say complete lawn care covers just about anything a customer will ask of them. They've even had calls for property maintenance 70 miles down the road.
"I've told my sons that if they learn to service the masses, the masses will serve them," Howard explains. "This is really a service-oriented country. And those who perform top-of-the-line service will have a key advantage as we move ahead."
The flip-side, of course, is that Howard's sons may never want to operate a lawn service business. Chad, a few years younger than Josh, is too young to know what he wants to do long term. Even Josh, at 18, is undecided. He currently is splitting his time between taking college-credit courses at the Alliance Learning Center and working in the business.
"The new Learning Center gives people an opportunity to obtain a four year degree without having to travel several hours to attend classes," Howard relates. "That's the beauty of the internet. In Josh's case, being able to attend classes close by also gives him an opportunity to continue gaining valuable experience running a business, e.g., interacting with people and making his dollars stretch. The bottom line is that if he decides, or if both he and Chad decide they don't want to operate a lawn maintenance business, that's OK. They've still had an invaluable experience."
In the meantime, Howard and Susan have had the pleasure of interacting with their sons at a level few families can today. That's an invaluable experience for them, as well.
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