Young Dexter Entrepreneur is Grounded in Ambition

By Delaney Krause, STN Writer

Just beyond the glowing orange canopy of Dexter's A&W drive-in lies a field of potential for high school student Miles O'Brien. Miles, the son of Coley O'Brien (owner of A&W), is currently a sophomore at Dexter High School, and his dad has granted him the use of this space. Aside from fishing, water sports, tractors, and large machinery, Miles is very passionate about "[being] outside and [getting] things done." This passion has manifested into quite the entrepreneurial venture: Miles Landscaping and Lawn Care LLC.

Miles' business started in the lull of 2020, primarily in the realm of lawn care; "I wasn't very official and was just mowing a couple neighbors' yards… [and] I now have roughly 25 lawns that I mow on a weekly basis, many of which are larger commercial accounts". In the early days of his business, Miles also "started a roadside firewood stand, which had more theft than success," – prompting him to sell and deliver larger quantities of firewood. As a 15-year-old without a driver's license or a car, this created a new set of obstacles for his budding business; Miles said, "My dad had to ride along for every delivery. This wasn't great for my dad or his truck". That August (2020), Miles purchased a 2008 LMM Duramax with 90,000 miles and a dump bed, "perfect for firewood". Not long after, Miles celebrated his 16th birthday and grew to be almost entirely independent in his business.

Miles credits his early motivation and success with aiding the funding of the current firewood operation next to A&W. In the first year of his established business, Miles produced approximately 12 cords of firewood– a cord is the standard measurement for selling firewood; one cord is equivalent to 128 cubic feet, or a pile of wood measuring 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet wide. The following year, he produced 30-40 cords, and finally, this year, Miles said, "I have produced almost 300 cords". With this volume of wood and a place to store it, Miles hopes "to advertise more for this coming cold season" and, ultimately, increase business through this existing inventory. When considering the future of his business in general, Miles emphasized, "My biggest goal is to buy the lot I'm using from my dad this coming fall/winter"; "Additionally, [I'd like] to build a small building and start scaling the company into something much larger, ideally with 2-5 trucks and other commercial equipment".

Miles Landscaping and Lawn Care LLC offers a large variety of services on both large and small scales. Aside from the pride that Miles takes in producing high-quality firewood, he also stressed: "I do a lot of landscape work and tree work [as well]; it just "isn't as visible as my piles of firewood." His services include but are not limited to firewood, snow removal, commercial lawn maintenance, hardscaping-mulch installation, tree work, small koi ponds, driveway grading, and spring/fall cleanups. He hopes to expand on these lesser-known aspects of his business as well as his firewood operation.

You can contact Miles Landscaping and Lawn Care LLC by phone (pref.) at 734-255-5778 or at milesobrien21@gmail.com. Or, if you happen to stop by A&W for a half-off coney dog and root beer float, just ask your server for Miles' business card.

Photos by Delaney Krause