 |
|
|||||
"Hollywood Stump Man"
JOB: "Hollywood Stump Man," Lithia Springs
WHAT I DO: Quinn Harris, 41, is a stump grinder, a job that turns tree stumps into mulch. He's also an entrepreneur with ambition. He runs a one-man business and wants to improve the image of the profession. He believes in being neat: wearing a pressed khaki uniform, cleaning up the work site and "putting a professional spin on it," he said. And that's just his day job. Harris also is a sergeant on the evening shift with the Cobb County Police Department.
WHAT GOT ME INTERESTED IN THIS: Harris said he wanted to start his own business before he turned 40 because he wanted to make a better life for his family and to bring in some more money. "Stump grinding won't make you a millionaire," he said, but it does get him outdoors. "I can't be cooped up," he said. Harris settled on stump grinding after several years of research into various businesses. A friend in the landscaping and tree-cutting business showed him the need for stump grinders. "I went on the job with a stump grinder and did my homework," Harris said. "It fit every criterion," including the fact that he could do the job by himself during his off time. The drawback was the $45,000 price for a stump-grinding machine. To help pay for it, Harris sold his beloved motorcycle. He ordered a self-propelled stump grinder and had it painted green. "Green is the color of money, and green is my favorite color," he said. He keeps up the professional look by hauling the grinder in a trailer with mag wheels. He's been in business for about two years.
BEST PART OF MY JOB: "Seeing a yard go from cluttered with stumps to something good-looking." Harris works with tree service companies and recounted how one customer, a would-be home seller, liked the look of his yard so much after it was cleaned up that he decided to stay put. Harris especially likes grinding cedar stumps. "It smells so good." Sometimes he'll take cedar chips to freshen the air in his truck.
MOST CHALLENGING PART: "A big stump job," because it takes longer to grind. "Time is money. That's why I have a big machine; it doesn't take a lot of time." A 2-foot-diameter stump takes about 10 minutes to grind. "Using the machine is like using a video game," with its joystick controls, he said.
WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY JOB: "It's cheaper than people think. Some people have stumps in their yards for 20 years with a flower pot on top."
WHAT KEEPS ME GOING: "My two kids." He spends his spare moments from the two jobs with his two sons and wife, Rena, who also is his bookkeeper and moral support. It was Rena, he said, who came up with the name Hollywood Stump Man. Now, fellow police officers have nicknamed him "Hollywood."
PREPARATION NEEDED FOR THIS JOB: "You have to get a stump grinder, a good trailer and something to pull that trailer." He also packs rakes, brooms and a blower to clean up the work site. He suggested that before someone makes the investment, he or she should accompany a stump grinder to learn how to use the machine and to find out what is involved in the business. Harris attended college for two years and is a veteran of the Navy and Army. He graduated from the Augusta and Cobb County police academies.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
