DeMarcus Hawkins of Baldwin grows landscaping business

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When DeMarcus Hawkins, 15, launched his landscaping business, he extended his father’s legacy into the yards and gardens where he now works. The incoming junior at Baldwin High School realized that he was the same age as his dad, Anthony Hawkins, when he embarked on his entrepreneurial journey.

“History is repeating itself,” DeMarcus said.

On the Spot Home Services is now in its second year of operations, after its inaugural season of lawn care last summer, with DeMarcus making adjustments based on things he’s learned along the way.

He began his entrepreneurial career in eighth grade, but on a different path: washing cars. That lasted for roughly a year, DeMarcus said, until he broke his leg in a bicycle accident, which brought the work to a halt.

He switched to landscaping near the end of his freshman year at Baldwin High School, and discovered that it was a much steadier source of income, as well as great summer exercise as he prepared for the high school football season. His father became his mentor, because Anthony, too, had created a landscaping business in his teen years.

“Landscaping is hard work,” DeMarcus said. “But it also pays off doing it: It’s fun, and has a lot of benefits, with exercising being one of them.”

Last year, one of the biggest challenged he faced as a budding businessman was his age, which prevented him from driving. So he relied on a bike trailer and pedal power to make his way around Baldwin. The trailer was packed with electric tools instead of gas-powered ones, though that environmentally minded policy posed its own set of challenges.

“Not everyone had outlets,” DeMarcus recounted. “So it was hard to maneuver around the properties. So I had to get some gas tools.”

To make that change, he needed the support of his father and older sister, Vanessa, who helped cover his expenses despite not being convinced that he could turn a profit.

“It means a lot,” DeMarcus said. “Not everybody wanted to help, so I got the few I could. My sister is a big help to me, because she invests a lot in my business. My dad teaches me a lot of knowledge in landscaping, too.”

DeMarcus typically works on Saturdays during the landscaping season, from spring to fall, and some friends from school join him. His mother, Darshell, has helped him overcomes his transportation challenges by renting a U-Haul trailer for his tools, which makes it easier for him to travel to jobs across Nassau County and into Queens.

His dedication to the enterprise has evolved beyond merely wanting to make money, to encompass valuable lessons about hard work and the details of running a business — and following in his father’s footsteps.

“It makes me feel good,” DeMarcus said, adding of his dad, “It didn’t hit me then, but when he told me about it again, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I do remember you telling me that.’

“It makes me feel like this is meant to be, because everything is working in my favor,” he said.

He now works on yards in communities including Baldwin, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Rockville Center, Bay Shore and Queens, and his prices range from $20 for small lawns to $30 for medium-sized spreads, and $40 for larger jobs.

For more information, contact DeMarcus at (516) 641-6640.