Herman mows lawns to pay for college

Cole Herman mows a lawn in Halstead, last Saturday. The Bethel student runs a growing business called C4 Lawn Service with about 20 clients in Halstead and Newton.

By Jared Janzen

HALSTEAD—As a football player at Bethel College, Cole Herman has more than just sports practice and homework on his plate. The 19-year-old Halstead native also keeps busy running his own business, C4 Lawn Service.

He spent last Saturday mowing five lawns and admitted that he was worn out by the end of the day.

“I do get pretty tired,” he said.

Herman has steadily grown his business over the past couple of years. He started out with just two lawns for a couple years, and then picked up a few more two summers ago heading into his senior year of high school. Last summer, as he was preparing for his freshman year of college, he had about 10 or 11 clients.

“Now I’m at about 20,” he said. “I’m about maxed out.”

Herman does a lot of mowing on weekends, but also fits it into the week when he can.

“On Tuesdays I don’t have football or weights or anything in the afternoon and I only have one 8 a.m. class, so after that class, I mow the rest of the day,” he said. “Whatever I don’t get done, then I mow on Saturdays and Sundays.”

He usually tries to mow eight lawns on Tuesdays. Most of the yards on his schedule he mows once a week, but he has four or five yards that are bi-weekly. He was also busy last week doing some one-time yard clean-ups, which he was able to do since he didn’t have classes on Friday.

His dad, Clint, and his younger brother, Connor, help him out when he needs it.

“Especially in the fall they help a lot because I have football and school,” he said. “I have yards split between Halstead and Newton, so I can get the Newton ones done, but I’m not able to get to the Halstead ones, so my dad and brother help me out there.”

His family has especially been helpful for one of his customers who lives in the country and has several acres worth of mowing.

“To have more than just me out there really helps with the time that it takes to do that,” he said. “Then, there’s days when it gets hot and I’m just trying to get them done as fast as I can. To have my brother be able to help me really helps.”

The name for his business, C4 Lawn Service, comes from the fact that all four members of his family have names that begin with the letter C.

In addition to mowing, Herman’s services include edging, trimming, blowing off sidewalks, bagging leaves and cleaning gutters.

Herman’s parents helped him purchase his first mower last year, a 36-inch walk-behind mower. Since then, he’s purchased two more mowers himself and other equipment.

Herman said he appreciates the flexibility that his business gives him in the summer. He’s able to create his schedule around his twice-daily football workouts or travel plans.

“Being able to work around whatever’s going on and mow when I have time to do it is really the biggest thing for me,” he said. “It would be hard for me to be able to work a normal job during the summer with all the other stuff I have to do.”

Herman is using the money he makes from mowing lawns to help him pay for college. He’s currently wrapping up his freshman year at Bethel.

“What I don’t get from my football scholarship, I cover the rest—the living expenses, tuition,” he said.

He’s also been able to reinvest some of his proceeds back into the business, as well as save some money.

He recently decided to switch his major to business.

“I took a couple business classes this semester that I really enjoyed, so I want to go that route, I think,” he said.

As for the future of his lawn care business, Herman said he plans to continue it through college and then maybe after that his brother will take it over.

For more information on C4 Lawn Service, call Herman at 316-217-4404.

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