From High School Hustle to a $700,000 Landscaping Enterprise

In 2018, Anthony Heathco and Colton Roush were 15-year-old students in Grand Junction, Colorado, looking for extra cash. Today, their venture, Roadkill Lawncare and Landscaping, is on track to generate $700,000 in annual revenue, proving that a neighborhood side gig can evolve into a formidable local business.

The duo began by soliciting yard work through Nextdoor, eventually catching the attention of a local resident named Ron Cotton. What started as basic weed pulling and irrigation repair quickly evolved under Cotton’s mentorship. He encouraged the pair to formalize their operations, transitioning them from sporadic lawn mowing to high-end landscaping projects. By the time they finished high school, they were already managing a consistent client base.

Scaling required a shift in strategy. After relying on borrowed equipment, the founders secured a Bobcat loader, opting to finance the purchase to preserve their capital. This investment allowed them to complete labor-intensive projects in days rather than weeks. As their reputation grew, so did the complexity of their contracts. Despite initial skepticism from clients wary of their youth, the pair relied on word-of-mouth referrals to break into higher-value residential work.

Today, the company employs eight people. Heathco and Roush prioritize reinvestment over personal profit, pouring earnings back into their fleet and equipment. While they acknowledge the difficulty of competing against firms with decades of history, they maintain that steady, quality-focused growth remains the primary driver of their success. Their advice to aspiring entrepreneurs remains grounded in long-term commitment rather than the pursuit of rapid, viral growth.