Don & Sue from the sunny Tauranga region bought their franchise as a way to earn good income but still have time for their family and hobbies. They now run a successful lawn mowing business and own their own orchard. 

You can read below what they had to say about their lawn mowing business in Tauranga

So what were you doing before Crewcut that drew you towards buying a Crewcut lawn mowing business? 

Sue: Before Crewcut, we actually moved to the Bay of Plenty in 2003. Prior to that, we were actually in farming and agricultural research backgrounds. When we moved up here, we bought a 10 acre orchard, where we have limes, avocados and tamarillos. We actually retired for a year, but became a little bit bored. There wasn't quite enough on the orchard to keep us busy. So we looked around for another small business and Crewcut was something that fitted us well. Cos we didn't want retail, we didn't want staff again - and we wanted a little bit of flexibility, as in not full-time job. So with Crewcut you've got the ability to be flexible. You can work as many days as you like by building up lawns, or if you build up too many, you can sell them to other franchisees. Yes the outdoor and physicality of it really appealed. 

Don: Saves you going to the gym

Sue: Absolutely!

So what does your regular day look like? 

Sue: We jump out of bed, feeling like a box of fluffies, and probably leave here about 7 in the morning. We try to get done earlier in the day. Some of our days - as the grass grows longer, become longer. We usually try to be home by 5, but the growing that we've had over the last couple of summers - it's been a little bit later than that. 

So how do you work together as a couple in your lawn mowing business?

Sue: Yeah we work together. We have a ride on mower and push mowers and it depends on the property as to who does what. We both share the work. Don because he's older than me, does more ride on than I do (laughs).

Don: That's very uncalled for. In fact, a husband and wife team's a very good team. It works well. You can bounce off one another and the day goes quickly. 

Sue: Yeah.