J. Arenz Lawn Care, Corporation

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Lawn Rangers, a lawn care company owned and operated by Jeff Arenz and his partner Dan Milnes. The company was started in the summer of 1995 when the owners' parents decided lawn care would be a good summer job for their sons. Over the subsequent five years The Lawn Rangers acquired additional equipment and clientele. The Lawn Rangers was a profitable venture for both partners and proved to be a very good summer job. During the spring of 2000 the partnership was dissolved when Dan obtained a full-time job in a brokerage firm. This dissolution of the Lawn Rangers led to the birth of a new company, J. Arenz Lawn Care, Inc. J. Arenz Lawn Care, Inc. was created by the merger of The Lawn Rangers and a lawn care company that Jeff’s brother, Jon, had bought from his partner. The decision was made to shift the company from a partnership to a corporation. The section titled Research on Corporations and Taxes has information regarding the many different types of business organizations including sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corporations, S Corporations, and Limited Liability Companies. As J. Arenz Lawn Care, Inc. was incorporated as an S Corporation, this section also contains information regarding the tax practices of an S Corporation including how S Corporations are treated as tax paying entities and what, if any, taxes the S Corporation itself may have to pay. The information presented in this paper would be useful as an informational guide for starting a lawn care company. The summary of potential categories of businesses is useful for deciding the appropriate type of business. Also included is a presentation of the costs incurred and benefits gained in the ownership of a lawn care company.