11-year-old Quentin Hines is his own boss.
According to CBS Mornings, Hines founded QJ’s Professional Lawn Care in 2022. His lawn-care company offers services like mowing, edging, weed treatments, and leaf pickup. His interest in lawn mowing began when he could walk, and he began to take greater control in mowing alongside his father when he was 8 years old.
“I really enjoy it. It makes me feel very soothing,” Hines told CBS Mornings.
In the summertime, Hines invests extra time into his business. When he returns to school in the fall, his business activities are limited to weekends.
Hines’ father Quentin Sr. and his mother Shirley run the business’s social media accounts to support their son’s business efforts. Hines’ fifth-grade classmates also support his business venture, and he is in the process of recruiting some of them to help expand his business.
His overarching dream for his business includes securing a contract with the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
“Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to get a contract with the Charlotte airport, and sometimes when I would go out there, they would have the mowers out there, so I would stay there for a while,” he told CBS Mornings. “My parents would say, ‘It’s time to go.’ But I would say, ‘Just a few more minutes’ because I would want to watch them cut the grass.”
The outlet surprised Hines with a visit to the airport and he was able to connect with staff and cut airport grass for over an hour.
“I’m speechless… I know when he was four how he would look at this tractor here from the picture and say, ‘I’m going to get that contract. I’m going to cut the grass at the airport,’ And today being the day, man, I don’t have anything else to say,” Shirley expressed to CBS Mornings.
Hines’ entrepreneurship journey has generated visibility and financial support. Hines has raised $7,275 (at the time of this writing), surpassing his goal of $5,000, to purchase equipment for the business, according to a GoFundMe page.
Among its donors includes Senix, a company “redefining and manufacturing outdoor power equipment and power tools with edgy innovation and relentless passion,” per its website. Senix discovered Hines story and donated $1,000, WCNC reported.
“This is really just showing Quentin now that people will stand behind you and support your dream when you let it be known,” Quentin Sr. explained to WCNC. “So I think that is very big for him at his early age.”
