Gavin Andersen and Steve Dierkes (courtesy Lawn Barbers)
Steve Dierkes and Gavin Andersen — co-owners of local lawn care business The Lawn Barbers — have dealt with snakes, poison ivy and swarms of cicadas when caring for the lawns of Arlington residents.
But they say the bugs and weeds were worth the experience of running a company together.
The two dabbled in lawn care in high school, and when their summer internships were canceled due to the pandemic, they decided to turn their high school jobs into a business.
“I was going to work at a big consulting firm in D.C. — so a little different than landscaping,” Andersen said. “We tried to find a silver lining in an otherwise gloomy situation.”
“I was going to work at a think tank and, frankly, I’m not too upset I ended up in landscaping,” said Dierkes.
The two built up their client base on Nextdoor, trading names with other area lawn care businesses. After…
