Carl Polite started mowing lawns to help his sons, just as the title of the story in Walker Talk, Volume 28, read, “Hey Dad, Could You Give Us a Hand?” That was 14 years before the Walker Talk visit in 2006. By then, however, his sons moved on and Polite Lawn Care Service in Aiken, South Carolina, with a crew of four Hispanic brothers, was mowing 35 accounts three days a week. In between, the owner was also working a full-time job.
Carl Polite mows twice a month during the growing season and backs off to once during the winter. In addition to mowing, his 12-month package includes an array of other maintenance services, almost everything, he said, except installing fences.
Fast-forward 11 years and the roles are reversed. Dad, who no longer holds down another job, could use a hand. With only three full-time employees, he now offers full-service landscape maintenance to 80 properties. In addition to mowing, his company provides lawn fertilization and insect control, sprinkler installation and repair, color installation, and mulching, along with several other services all explained in detail on their website.
One could say Polite’s career is taking a rather circuitous route. A retired U.S. Airforce veteran, he worked 31 years for the nearby Savannah River Site, a nuclear reservation, before retiring to mow and maintain lawns full time. In 2009, he dissolved his company to work for a government contractor in the Middle East. The heat ultimately drove him back home after a year and he quickly restarted his company.
“There’s no secret to success in this business or any other,” Polite remarked. “Surround yourself with good, quality people and deliver quality work. Of course, this is easier said than done. Finding and retaining quality people is a challenge today and, even then, your employees will likely not have the eye for details that you have. So it’s important to always keep a hand in your work.”
The Polite Lawn Care Service team (left to right) includes: Bobby Isaac, Carl Polite and Paul Lewis. Kneeling is long-time employee Anzer Williams.
He credits his parents, Emma and Moses, for putting him on the right business track. Said Polite, “They fostered a level of respect for others that is core to my success. Moreover, my father ran a gas station, Polite and Son Mobil in Allendale, South Carolina, when I was a teenager. That was the beginning of my entrepreneurial endeavors. I learned so much from him about how to run a business and never had an idea I would ever use it. Thank God for my parents!”
Today, Polite operates with one Walker Mower, what he proudly calls the Mercedes-Benz of the mowing industry. His enclosed trailer also hauls a Kubota out-front mower for larger, rougher properties and two push mowers. During the growing season, he usually mows twice a month and backs off to once a month during the winter.
For most customers, a list that includes homeowners, cemeteries, homeowners’ associations and a couple of farms, he offers a 12-month package that includes an array of maintenance services, almost everything, he said, except installing fences.
“I try to manage more than I used to,” said Polite, who credits a website for his recent business growth. “Most of my work over the years came from word of mouth, but last year, I created a web page and the business took off. Having a presence on the Internet connects your business with different people who don’t know you or your work, but would like to learn more about your business and the services it offers. If you want to grow, having a website is a great way to start.”
Business is very good, Polite added. So good, in fact, another Walker Mower, or even two, could be in his future.
Read the original story, 'Hey Dad, Could You Give Us A Hand'
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