We had the good fortune of connecting with Noah Fishman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Noah, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I was in high school, I was working for my town’s public library. One snowy Sunday, my coworker and I decided to shovel some properties. After only 5 hours of work, I had made double the amount of money I was paid the day before to work 8 hours. That math was clear enough for us! When it warmed up, my coworker and I quit our jobs at the library and began mowing lawns. That business evolved over the years to become what Lighthouse Landscaping is today. However, I soon realized what was really the best part of running my own business: I get to choose what I do. I get to make a difference in the world by using electric and hand-powered tools whenever possible and thus provide a service that doesn’t pollute the air that our clients and their children breathe.

What should our readers know about your business?
A quick background on Lighthouse Landscaping is that we started out as Student Natural Lawn Care (later renamed Student Natural Landscaping to match our specialty better) in 2017 in the Northwest Chicago suburbs. I worked after school, on weekends, and during the Summer until I graduated college. I’ve had multiple business partners, but Sean Haley quickly rose above the others to become a true partner in the business. After college, we both happened to be living in Denver and decided to open back up – this time in Colorado!

What sets Lighthouse Landscaping apart is our commitment to quality and integrity. Through a lifetime of practice, it has been ingrained in who I am to always deliver the highest quality job in the most ethical way. I’ve learned that helping others is really the only way to live. It probably sounds a little cliche if not like downright propaganda but ask our clients and they’ll tell you!

This is our first year in Colorado, so we’re still in the beginning stages of the business. Currently, the biggest obstacle is finding other people who share our values and believe enough in our mission to risk joining the crew. We are still looking so if you know anyone in the Aurora, Colorado region who might resonate with this kind of company, we’re certainly eager to meet them!

The biggest lesson that we’ve learned so far is to challenge our assumptions. While we knew that Colorado was a completely different climate than Illinois, we still assumed that our business would comprise of many small jobs each day and thus finding new jobs would be the hardest part of the business like it was in Chicago. However, the projects here are usually much bigger and take multiple days to complete. The challenge quickly became finding employees, not finding jobs. Had we known this, we might’ve focused more prep time over the Winter on securing candidates before the busy season. We’ll be sure to keep this lesson in mind as we continue to grow!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I went to college at CSU in Fort Collins, so I’ll give you my picks for the city I know best in CO!

Fort Collins-
Nature: Horsetooth Reservoir, Red Feather Lakes, City Park
Food: First Watch (breakfast), Bluebird Cafe (breakfast), Petra Grill (Mediterranean), Slyce (Pizza)
Places: Pinball Jones (arcade and bar), Ace Gillette’s (jazz bar), The Social (20’s bar)
Hotel: Armstrong Hotel

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout my parents and grandparents, Angela, Mark, Bob, Madeline, and Norton who all have owned their own businesses and encouraged me to believe in myself enough to do the same.

Website: lighthousescaping.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lighthouse_landscaping_co/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lighthousescaping

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lighthouse-landscaping-aurora?osq=lighthouse+landscaping

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.