CSI Junior turns his landscaping hobby into a small business, giving his neighbors a helping hand.
By: Fiona Donovan
On the weekends, Jack Plaia dedicates his time to his landscaping business in Staten Island. It all started by helping his grandma, doing simple favors for her, like mowing her lawn. Plaia never thought too much of it, as he never saw his simple favor expanding into a business.
“I actually had no intention of starting a business, but one day my grandma’s neighbor asked if I could do their yard as well,” said Plaia. “From there on I just kept getting recommended to people and started going door to door.”
The small favors Plaia offered to his grandma had opened up a brand-new door for him.
Inspiration struck Plaia in 2023, when he started expanding his offerings to clean up yards. He was blindsided by all of the recommendations he was getting, as neighbors loved his landscaping techniques.
With all of the new clients he was getting, Plaia needed to learn how to balance school work and going to the gym with fitting in clients. Even while he started gaining more and more clients, it didn’t take much adjusting for Plaia to manage his school work and his job.
“It isn’t as crazy as people would think,” said Plaia. “I am able to go to my classes, and usually just take a few hours to organize my work for the week.”
Plaia has been involved in family business his whole life. In his younger years, he was always helping his aunt and uncle in their pool store. He would help organize supplies and sell pool chemicals to customers.
Operating small businesses as a college student is a great way to learn responsibility, according to Poets&Quants. Plaia’s small business has allowed him to sharpen his time management skills as he juggles his school work, personal life, and also his business.
One of Plaia’s struggles was facing defeat. Sometimes he would knock on doors and people would tell him they don’t need him. However, that didn’t discourage Plaia from continuing his job.
Plaia plans to expand his business within close inner circles, helping people he can trust. One of his next services he plans to provide for clients is to create gardens for people.
With the prices of groceries constantly going up, Plaia plans to save money for his clients by learning about growing and taking care of plants.
“At the end of the day, it is always a great feeling seeing my clients happy,” said Plaia. “It’s always the best reward.”
