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What do you hope to achieve professionally from starting your business?

“I know how to run a business by myself, and I know what to do to keep it going. I know how to start a business now. That’s good experience to have, and I know it will be useful in the future.”

Michael Marcin knows that money doesn’t grow on trees. It grows on sago palms.

Marcin owns and operates Sago Palm Specialists, a sago palm care and removal service, with his father Jay. The father-and-son duo trim, shape and even remove sago palms for around three-dozen clients every year.

Marcin decided to specialize in sago palms after a stint mowing lawns in his neighborhood two years ago to earn extra money over the summer. When he realized that his competition was a lawn-care service with expensive mowers and trimmers, Marcin knew his business model had to change.

“Sago palms are hard to cut, and people just don’t like to deal with them,” Marcin says. “People are amazed at how well they clean up.”

The hazards of the job are many. The Marcins work in the heat of the Louisiana summer, trimming trees that have sharp fronds as well as two- to three-inch spikes on the trunk and a center that makes a prime residence for everything from fire ants and snakes to raccoons and armadillos.

“It can be tough, and it’s hard work,” Marcin says, a smile on his face. “It’s a good side job and it’s good money. I’m fine with it.”

The bulk of Marcin’s business comes in the summer when clients are active in their yards. His marketing strategy is simple—observe if there are overgrown sago palms in a yard, walk over and introduce himself, bright yellow flier in hand.

“Once I do the work, I ask if they have a lawn service and if they are happy,” Marcin says. “Sometimes I wind up mowing their yard, too.”

The price and amount of time a job takes depends solely on the size and condition of the palm, Marcin says. On an average-sized palm, most trimming jobs can be done within an hour for $35, he says. Removal takes longer and costs more.

“Basically, when you talk to people, they’ll say it’s overgrown and dangerous and that they want to get rid of it,” Marcin says. “We normally say, ‘Why don’t you let us trim it for you, and then you can decide.’ Most people decide to keep it.”

Marcin’s next step is to offer his services online and on Craigslist in order to expand his service area. While he is still reliant on his father for transportation, Marcin will earn a learner’s permit this year. The goal, he says, is to make enough to begin contributing to the family general fund.

“I wanted to teach him the value of a dollar,” Jay Marcin says. “Things are not given to you, and you have to earn everything you have.”

Michael Marcin smiles broadly as he thinks of the expressions his clients have when they discover what was once an annoyance is now a talking point for yard enthusiasts.

“I just want them to be satisfied with it,” he says. “I had one client in the Goodwood neighborhood put a pagoda under hers. Driving by and seeing that was pretty cool.”

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