Many times over the course of roughly 20 years of college/university teaching I have advised students to strive for the goal of “working to live (rather than living to work).” I also advise them that achieving this goal does not come easy; it requires dedication and lots of very hard work both during and after their formal educational experiences are over.

Being an entrepreneur—as opposed to working for others—is of course a particularly appropriate path for those hoping to “work to live rather than live to work.”

Yesterday, students in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class heard from a guest speaker that I believe epitomizes the hard-working entrepreneur who works to live—and structures his business around his chosen lifestyle—more than any other speaker we have ever had in the class.

Our guest yesterday was long-time local landscaper John “Beefy” Huston; whose ongoing entrepreneurial saga is both enlightening and entertaining. It is enlightening in that it demonstrates that it is indeed possible—through entrepreneurship—to have a meaningful and enjoyable life. His saga is entertaining to hear told in large part because it at times so sharply contradicts common assumptions about “the imperative of business growth” and the “need to keep up with technology” as to be comical (in a very meaningful, positive, and enlightening way).

Enough from me… I turn things over to Marco Tawadrous to provide further detail on the entrepreneurial story of John “Beefy” Huston.

Have a nice weekend…

Prof. Gabel

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John (Beefy) Houston started his career on his family farm in the 90’s. However, things were hard for family farmers at the time and John decided to start doing landscaping jobs on his own. When he started his business he was only 24 years old. But even then he knew the importance of earning a reputation for being honest and always doing high-quality work. John is not a “cheap” person to ask to come do your landscaping. But he is the right guy you can trust and feel comfortable with because of his focus on doing things right.

Most of the time he starts work in March and ends around Thanksgiving. There is little that can be done in the winter so he travels extensively in the winter months.

Being an entrepreneur is right for John because he sees work as being something that should allow you to live out your chosen lifestyle to its fullest. John sees that life is not only for jobs and we live and die while we are working. He is that type of person that while talking to him you can see that he is the one that makes his work fit his life. Not all entrepreneurs can do this.

He doesn’t want his business to get bigger. For John, getting bigger is just more worries in his life to take care. He said that he can hire up to 10 employees in the summer but he chooses not to. Most of his workers are college students looking for summer work.

His philosophy is “what goes around come back around.” He means that when you treat people right they will treat you right in return.

He doesn’t spend any money on advertising unless it’s for charity. He trusts that the people will know his work because of referrals and because of the quality of the work he does.

John is a very organized person. After the employees leave the work site he usually stays and makes sure that everything has been done right. He also then prepares his equipment for the next day so that he doesn’t have to worry about it the following day. I believe that being so organized and detail oriented is one of the most important things that the entrepreneur should do.

John also advised us to “see and be seen locally in events, dinner, and games.” This means that as an entrepreneur in a small community like Monmouth you should always be aware of what is going around you and get to know more.

He also has a policy “if you will be five minutes late you should call” and let the client know. People always like to see that that type of respect and appreciate it. He also sends thank you letters to his customers after the job is done. It was not surprising to hear John say that he often does work for multiple members and generations of local families because they trust him so much.

Beefy wants to retire by the time he is 55. He believes that the harder he works now the less he’ll have to work later. He is a financially smart business person and consumer in that he always pays off his debts as soon as he can (and always before he has to pay interest!). He buys a lot of materials for landscaping jobs but he always takes advantage of opportunities to get discounts.

Overall, John “Beefy” Huston works for what can help him live his life to the fullest. He isn’t like some other entrepreneurs and business people that you hear about that are always looking for more and more money no matter what it takes to get it.

Marco Tawadrous