Isaac Wilson cleans yards with his leaf vacuum

Fall brings crisp air, acorns, pumpkins, Halloween, ghosts, goblins, Thanksgiving, and LEAVES!

If you have more leaves than you know what to do with, call Isaac Wilson and his leaf-eating machine, officially known as a leaf vacuum. No burning or bagging is necessary, your leaves will disappear into the mouth of a ten-inch hose where they are sucked and mulched by the impeller and are shot out into Isaac’s dump trailer. Then he takes them to a burn site on his Grandpa Roger’s farm.

“Lots of clients enjoy watching me work with it,” he said.

Isaac said he saw videos online and thought it would be a great addition to his services. He purchased the leaf vac in late October of this year from a private seller in Monroe City, Missouri, and has already serviced 15-20 clients. The largest amount of leaves he has picked up so far was in Mt. Pleasant.

Isaac said, “There was a line along the driveway about 150 feet long and 2-3 feet deep.”

They were no match for the 16 horsepower engine on the vacuum.

“The engine spins an ‘impeller’ that creates a powerful vacuum through the hose and sucks up about anything in its path,” explained Isaac. (Keep small children and pets inside!) “Sticks and trash, just get sucked up and mulched into the trailer. The only time the leaf vac gets clogged up is when the leaves are super wet.”

“If clients want a total property cleanup clients should move anything they don’t want to be sucked up or anything that holds leaves underneath just for a better clean-up,” Isaac suggested, adding, “If they want curbside pickup, all they need to do is blow the leaves to the curb in a nice pile that I can access. My hose reaches about 10 feet from the trailer.”

Isaac said he thought about adding the leaf vac to his service for a few weeks, but “When I put my mind to doing something I want to do, I usually end up doing it. My ‘go for it’ moment was when I thought how much of a benefit it would be for my business since the city of Winfield took away curbside pick-up. I also thought it would be a great addition to the list of my services.”

This spring, Isaac upgraded his trailer from a 5x10 to a 7x14 and added the large box to catch all of the leaves.

“I bought a bunch of lumber and metal, I welded, fabricated, and mounted the leaf vac to sit on the front of the trailer. From there I angled the chute into the trailer and built the box that catches the leaves. It took only a few days to get the setup ready to go. I had to make sure the box had no leaks for the leaves to escape and make sure to refill the leaf vac with gas when it runs out. Changing the oil and the filter is also important.”

In addition to the leaf vac service, Isaac has a long list of other lawn care services. “They include anything from lawn care to lawn maintenance to make your yard pop, such as detaching, aerating, seeding, and fertilizing. I also offer services to make your front or backyard beautiful, landscaping installations, hardscaping installations, bush trimming/removal, tree trimming, and removal and so much more,” said Isaac.

Currently, Isaac does not have anyone hired, but he said he has friends who come around and help whenever he has a heavy workload. He is looking to hire an employee for the 2025 season. His service area includes most of southeast Iowa but said there is a cutoff for certain services depending on distance.

When asked where he received his training, Isaac replied, “I did not go to school for landscaping. I’ve learned most of my work through on-the-job learning. I started to do odd jobs in 2020 to earn some money. I also loved to mow the yard so I thought I could offer it as a service. I love working with my hands and my business took off and I decided to stick with it.”

His advice to other young business owners is, “Stick to your prices and your knowledge, sometimes the client isn’t always right!” Isaac said the hardest thing about running a business is when the work is done, it’s not really done. After servicing 20 properties in one day, you would think the work ends there but what most people don’t realize is you still need to sharpen the blades, clean the air filters, and maintain your machines and yourself for the next day.

“A huge advantage of being your own boss is your work schedule. It’s a lot easier to adjust your workload, get what you need done, and have time for yourself if need be on certain days,” adding, “There are always projects that become way more than you originally thought they were going to be. Sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes not. There are always complications in life or on the job but you just have to stay on track and knock the job out.”

The most enjoyable part of Isaac’s job is swinging back and looking at the work he’s done, being satisfied with the work, and having a satisfied customer. Another enjoyable part is going back to the trailer after finishing a yard and looking at the fresh stripes.

“One last thing that I love so much about my job is the client relationships that have come and gone. My livelihood is my clients and without them, I wouldn’t be in business,” he said.

Isaac adds this bit of advice that he goes by, “If you want to do something, have a passion for it, live and dream about one day doing something you love. GO FOR IT! Set your mind to it and execute. All I have is owed to God and I thank him since day one for my business.”

To reach Isaac, call Wilson’s Outdoor Services at 319-201-9040.

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