They say it’s never too early to get started. Lampasas High School freshman Kord Bumpus has taken that message to heart. The 14-yearold Lampasas FFA member already is a business owner, having started his landscaping company. Ever since he was a child, he said he has enjoyed riding in a mower.
“I don’t really remember this but when I was younger, my parents said that I used to ride around with my grandpa in the tractor and not even mow – just ride with him, and we would go around in circles,” Bumpus said. “I guess I liked it back then.”
He first started mowing lawns as a seventh-grader. Over the years, he has watched videos on YouTube to learn more about lawn care and landscaping. Through the web, Bumpus said he has learned proper techniques for safety and preferred machinery.
The lawns he cares for vary in size.
“It really depends on the people,” Bumpus said. “I’m just starting out, so I did probably 20 to 25 lawns. So, some were big, and some were small. We did a ranch this summer in Lometa, and they had three big houses, and it took three of us seven hours.”
Bumpus highlighted customer satisfaction as the key.
“That is one of the reasons why it takes us a long time because we want it to look good, but we also want to be efficient and get as many done as we can,” Bumpus said. “We walk around and go with the customer to make sure they are fine and everything. If they see something they want us to touch up, we obviously go and do that.”
Bumpus said for smaller yards, he has one additional helper, whereas larger yards require three helpers. As a young business owner, he thinks navigating work and friendships is a fun challenge.
“Sometimes they don’t like it because I’m younger than them, but I pay them so they gotta do what I say,” he said with a smile. “It is fun working with them, but sometimes they get a little annoyed when I tell them to go back and do it, and they are tired, and it’s hot outside.”
Bumpus also is a member of the Badger basketball team. Like on the hardwood, lawn care requires a strong work ethic with dedication.
“You have to be really dedicated,” the student said. “It takes a lot to get it done, and you may be really hot and want to go home, but you have to do a good job and finish it so the customers can rely on you.”
At the Lampasas County Youth Livestock Show in January, Bumpus earned reserve champion honors in the Ag Mechanics competition for his 7-foot by 4-foot trailer with two-foot-high walls. He said he conducted the project to further his business.
“I knew I wanted to build something that was going to help me in my business,” he said. “I wanted to expand into landscaping more and went up to the trailer dealership and looked at features on ones that I liked, and took it from there and built it.”
Bumpus acquired sheet metal to make frames and ordered axles and hydraulic cylinders from a trailer shop for his project. He said Lampasas-based welder Bobby Gene Carroll was instrumental in helping him learn to weld for his trailer project, which took more than 200 hours to complete.
“It was all by myself; I welded everything,” Bumpus said. “He was just there if I had a question or had to call him, he would come and help me. … He taught me all my welding stuff because my dad isn’t much of a welder.”
Although Bumpus still has some time to plan his future, he doesn’t rule out continuing his lawn care and landscaping business.
“I would love to continue this and grow the business and hopefully do this when I’m older,” he said. “I’ll have to see where this takes me.”
