This season: For some, fall yard work brings opportunity

WEST LIBERTY — Demand for the backbreaking work of raking leaves — and other yard jobs all too common this time of year, before the snow flies — means business opportunity for entrepreneurs around Eastern Iowa.

After Darrick Espinosa, 39, of West Liberty, finishes his day job at the steel mill in Wilton, he and his twin 14-year-old boys, Kyle and Allen, have a side job making a little extra cash doing jobs others don't want.

This time of year, that's raking leaves as well as trimming trees, cutting back shrubs and cleaning gutters.

'It's for the extra money, and to keep me and my boys out of trouble,' Espinosa joked.

The money comes in handy for Espinosa, and his teenage boys earn spending money for video games or snacks. Espinosa handles the more technical aspects, such as gutters, while the boys rake, move bricks and load tools in the truck. They just do outdoor work and travel all around Eastern Iowa to places such as Davenport, Muscatine, Iowa City and West Liberty.

Espinosa, who gets customers through word-of-mouth, also listed the services of 'Darrick and sons' through a Facebook post in a group called Iowa City Garage Sale, which has more than 22,000 members.

More than a dozen fall yard cleanup listings have been posted on social media sites, such as Facebook and Craigslist.

Some are established landscape businesses while others are like Espinosa taking extra work on the side.

After 23 years working as a head hunter, 12 years in sales and most recently six months as a long-haul trucker, Gaylord Hrubes, 60, of Urbana, now has a collection of odd jobs. He flips houses, manages a few rental properties and makes money buying, fixing and selling lawn mowers and tractors. Recently he added leaves to his services.

'I have all these machines sitting around, so I thought, while I got them here might as well put them to use,' Hrubes said. 'It's something I just thought about doing a week or two ago to make a little spending money.'

He uses his mulching mower, which grinds leaves to a 'fine power, which turns into fertilizer.' He charges about $35 a lawn, although it fluctuates by size of the job. It's a good way to provide a service many people don't want to do, and also get some 'spending money,' he said.

'It gets me out of the house and I'm not driving at midnight down icy roads,' Hrubes said.

Juan Partida, 53, of North Liberty, has a primary job at MediRevv in Coralville but on the side has 19 accounts for yard work. Partida and Hrubes both posted ads on Craigslist.

'I just go out after work,' Partida said. 'I've been able to get quite a bit of work.'

He's been taking jobs clearing dead plants and weeds out of front yard beds in preparation for winter. He also mows and gets rid of leaves.

'It just so I can make some extra income,' he said. 'I have medical bills I need to take care of.'

He said many of his customers are just too busy, while others are older and not physically able. In either case, it creates an opportunity for Partida and others.

'Everybody has different projects going on,' he said. 'Most are people who just don't have time to do it.'

In Iowa City, staff are tackling the leaf raking demand from a different perspective with a focus on residents, such as seniors, who may not be physically capable. City staff are volunteering to rake yards for free next Saturday, Nov. 5.

'There are people who aren't physically able to get out there and rake their leaves,' said Michelle Buhman, a program specialist. 'We thought this would be something we can do.'