Local business owner gives free mower to 11-year-old entrepreneur in the making

[May 14, 2021: Alexandra Bahou]

At 11 years old, Kenny Lozon of Taylor has big dreams.

"I want to save enough money ... to buy [a] four wheeler and then get the plow thing to get rid of snow. I want to save enough money for that, and then I'll have enough money for a house ... I want to go to flight school when I'm 14," he said.

But in order to save that money, first he has to make it. And lawn care, Kenny thought, was his ticket.

There was just one problem.

"I only could get like two thousand square feet of a yard, and I only can get like half way ... and my lawn mower would be dead because I only had two batteries," he said.

So he went on a search for a new lawn mower, with just $150 saved up. He called place after place.

"They were saying like, 'no, we don't have any. But the cheapest one is like around 350. And I don't have that kind of money," he said.

But then he tried Modern Mower in Sterling Heights. And that’s when he talked to owner Brian Rismoen.

"He said he was looking for a reliable lawnmower so he could cut people's grass. And I told him, I said, 'you called the right place,'" said Rismoen.

The right place indeed. Not only did Brian give Kenny a free lawn mower, he offered him free service, too.

"When you're starting your own business, especially as a kid, the overhead costs take all the wind right out of your sails. So you work all summer long and then you have to pay to fix the mower ... so I thought I would cover that for him. If he's willing to work, I'm willing to help," he said.

Kenny was elated.

"I was happy. And then right when he actually told me that, after he hung up, I ran outside and just jumped on my trampoline because I was excited for it," said Kenny.

His mom, Michelle, couldn’t believe it.

"He called me and told me that somebody was giving him a lawnmower to sponsor him. And I thought it was a joke or a scam," she said.

Brian recounts the comical conversation: "She said, 'is this Brian?' And I said, 'yes.' And she said, 'you own Modern Mower?' I said, 'yes.' 'Did you offer to give my son a lawnmower?' And I said, 'yes.' And she said, 'I thought he was lying to me.' She thought he was lying," he chuckled.

Now Kenny has four lawns that he cuts regularly, and Michelle said he’s finding ways to pay that kindness forward, cutting lawns for senior citizens for free or a small tip.

"You don't really find people that do stuff like that anymore. So I think it made Kenny realize that there's still a lot of nice people," said Michelle.

For Brian, he says he started Modern Mower after someone gave him a hundred bucks and pushed him to do something with it.

In Kenny, he saw that same kind of drive.

"Somebody give him a little break, give him what he needs to get started, get the entrepreneurial juices flowing in him and bam, he's probably going to be out there not working for anybody ever again, said Brian. "This kid is going to go places for himself, on his own and by himself."

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Tags: #Good_News, #Kindness, #Charity, #Kids_Doing_Good, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News