Early Entrepreneurs
Growing up in Chanute, Kansas, I like to joke that I was a “Free-Range Kid,” born into a farming community in the backcountry where kids had paper routes and bailed hay in the summer. From a family of teachers and laborers, surrounded by nature and wildlife, my mother encouraged our interests in the Boy Scouts of America, 4H, the arts, and sciences. My father came from a family of Chicago small business owners who knew the struggles of being entrepreneurs and helped instill a “Strong Midwest work ethic.”
My earliest lesson in customer service was the summer when my father punished me for exploring a drainage ditch, delegating me to mow my neighbor’s lawn for the summer. Natural risk taker and inquisitive, I ignored their pleas to avoid danger, with a curiosity and intuition that allowed me to explore my limits.
One summer morning, my father woke me up early and instructed me that I would be going to the neighbors to offer my lawn services for free, as punishment for breaking the rules. Under his direction, I sheepishly knocked on our elderly neighbor’s door and waited. Slowly the solid oak wood door opened and behind the screen door, our neighbor greeted me with a smile. “Hello, my name is Shawn DeCoster, I..I’m your neighbor and wanted to give you this May Day Basket I made at school, and see if you would like me to mow your yard today?” Delighted she agreed and seeing the joy on her face made me feel very proud. That day I mowed both of our lawns in the blistering heat, upset and cursing my father for making me work. After I finished, my neighbor came out with an ice-cold glass of lemonade and told me how grateful she was to have such amazing neighbors. She offered to pay me but told her “It was my punishment for playing in the ditch.” She laughed, and offered me a weekly mowing job at $50 per week, “with leaves to rake in the fall.”
The few times I had seen a $50 Bill was for the holidays from our rich Uncle Frank! I emptied my pencil organizer and turned it into a makeshift bank, with a balance sheet for my small business. That summer, I was referred to 2 more neighbors, opened an account at Home Savings Bank, and started earning $150-$300 per week. I started a paper route to supplement my income and was able to hit my goal and buy the Sega Genisis and games I had been begging for all summer! Years later, I reconnected with my boss Amy, who recalled employing me for $60-$120 per month. I was proud to be delivering the news, as a kid I had no idea I would be published, and grow up to work in communications, publishing, advertising, PR, and media. As they say, “Dream Big!”
It might have been a humble start, mowing lawns and delivering newspapers for the Chanute Tribune, but it kept me out of trouble and put money in my pocket. Working nearly full-time through the end of my Senior Year of high school, taught me a lot of responsibility. I purchased and restored a vintage 1969 Pontiac Firebird and had a small savings for college. A landscaping business was hard work, but now I’ve learned to work smarter. I’ve learned how to make an environment flourish with enough passion, love, and commitment. I’ve learned how to be a great neighbor and to take pride in where I live. I also learned about revenue, operating expenses, and profit after my dad stopped funding the bill for gasoline.
