HIS FATHER INSPIRED HIM . “ I didn ’ t want him to worry about me , and wanted him to know that I ’ d be OK ,” says Schwartz . “ My dad contributed to my Go Fund Me page . Ijust wanted to make him proud .” |
|||||
HE USED EARLYCOVERAGE OF HIS NONPROFIT TO GENERATE MORE INTEREST . Schwartz spent some of his own money advertising his services to people 64 and older in the Wayne area . He pitched his story to News 12 New Jersey , and the station reported on his efforts . Schwartz then repurposed the video coverage on social media . Philip DeVencentis at NorthJersey . com interviewed him in August 2020 , and editors at CBS News thought his story would have national appeal , so they covered him , too . Since then , the story of the unemployed New Jersey man who started a network of lawncare volunteers has been told by outlets including CNN , Fox-5 New York , Huffingtonpost UK and Austria Magazine ( in German ).
HIS BACKGROUND IN ADVERTISING AND TECHNOLOGY HELPED HIM REACH MORE CLIENTS . Colleagues from previous jobs donated software so Schwartz could create a voicemail system to collect more information . “ There are other organizations that do something similar , but for a different audience ,” he says . “ Project Evergreen helps active duty families , and we help those who have served in the military . If someone reaches out to Project Evergreen , they send
|
them my way .” He also gets leads from Bergen County Division of Senior Services and Jewish Family Services in Fair Lawn .
VOLUNTEERS CONTACT HIM FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY . After CBS News broadcast their story about Schwartz , he heard from a man in Long Island , he says , and another in Illinois . After he announced on his LinkedIn page that he ’ d formed a partnership with the Cole Group , a Houston-based background vetting company that helps him onboard trustworthy volunteers , awoman named Lauren LaBorde , who ’ d been laid off from her job in the oil industry , started working with him . Schwartz reached out to local affiliates , and Southern Living magazine did a story on her . A man from Galveston contacted him , too , as did a former petroleum engineer from Houston who even converted his motorcycle carrier into a lawnmower carrier . “ A guy in Hawaii mows lawns for the local elders ,” Schwartz adds .
Schwartz can ’ t know when his story will be picked up by another outlet and retold . Recently , “ A guy from Indiana said ‘ I heard you on Apple music , on Country Top 30 Countdown -The Bobby Bones
|
Show ,” he says . Drew Barrymore read about him on Upworthy . com and invited him onto her talk show .
HE HAS IDEAS ABOUT EXPANDING . Schwartz says he would like to invest more in technology . “ Right now , the website is just functional , and I ’ d like to outsource some development work ,” he says . “ Half of the volunteers opting in would like insurance coverage , so I ’ d love to be able to do that . All of them opted in for aT-shirt ; 99 % gave me their shirt size .” He says he would also like to find more revenue streams , perhaps from companies such as Stanley Black & Decker , which made adonation .
HE HAS ANEW DAYJOB . In May , Schwartz became director of e-commerce with Oral Labs , a manufacturer of oral and skin care products based in Parker , Colorado . He credits his technology with making human connections easier .
“ My platform is not groundbreaking ,” says Schwartz .“ And people have been wanting to go next door and mow their neighbor ’ s lawns for a long time .” IWantToMowYourLawn . com , he says , just removes the need to have an awkward conversation about it . ■
|
COURTESY OF BRIAN SCHWARTZ |
||
8 FALL 2021 WAYNE MAGAZINE |