Love for landscaping turns talent into thriving woman-owned business

Jolee Younkin working outdoors. Photo: Provided.

Jolee Younkin worked as a nurse her entire life. On stressful days at work, she came home and decompressed with her favorite hobby: working in her yard, mulching, mowing, or enhancing the landscape somehow. Her grandfather was a master gardener and instilled in her both a love and talent in it, which she shared with family, friends, and neighbors.

“During the pandemic, nursing was hard. Working in the medical field became much more challenging. Between policies and politics and having patients I couldn’t help, I told my husband, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I don’t ‘feel like I’m making a difference,’” Jolee said. Then she asked, “What else would I do?”

Her husband didn’t even have to think about it; landscaping was her passion. Jolee wasn’t immediately convinced that the idea was feasible since she had no formal training. While she mulled it over, she entered a Maker’s Month contest sponsored by Craftsman Tool’s that was centered on the theme of taking pride in your home and community. For her entry, Jolee worked to improve the appearance of a local home, power washing, adding landscaping and other enhancements. She won.

With the confidence she gained from her contest win, Jolee began developing the idea and connected with Somerset’s Startup Alleghenies coach Matt Reckner. As a female business owner in a predominantly male field, Jolee felt strongly about completing formal training and earning certifications that would add credibility to her talent.

“Having had a long career in nursing, I had confidence and the thick skin I need to handle certain situations in this field, plus I have the knowledge base and the drive. But the support I had from Startup Alleghenies was so valuable. Without it, I may have given up.”

Matt connected Jolee to JARI’s Rodney Patterson who continues to help her navigate various licenses and certifications that are helping Centerville Enterprises qualify for jobs in West Virginia and Maryland, in addition to Pennsylvania. Jolee offers services beyond basic landscaping, like excavation, site-preparation, sediment and erosion control, and other small construction.

“I immediately started soaking up all the training I could and sat for all the exams personally to earn certifications for the business,” Jolee said. “As a woman-owned business, I feel it was important to prove my personal knowledge and earn respect from customers and other people in the industry.”  Her company is a licensed contractor in the State of West Virginia and holds codes for landscaping, excavation, and land clearing. The company is also a certified Women Owned Business and Small Business is WV. Recently, the company gained national certification as a WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise) by the national certifying agency WBENC-East.

“Rodney Patterson (from JARI) also helped me to become HUBzone certified and is currently helping me earn other federal certifications specific to woman-owned businesses,” Jolee said. A HUBzone certification is designed for businesses in locations that have been historically underutilized for federal contracts.

“I can’t say enough positive things about how Matt and Rodney have helped and influenced me on this journey,” she said. “They helped with my website, with applying for loans and recently connected me with a resource that will help with recruiting employees when I’m ready.”

According to Jolee, the biggest impact Startup Alleghenies made on her business was a critical suggestion for generating early revenue: “It was initially hard to get people to embrace a female-owned-and-operated landscaping and construction firm. Matt and I sat down to discuss this challenge and he suggested expanding our services to offer commercial cleaning—there was a considerable need in our area and I had expansive knowledge about sanitation, blood borne pathogens and disease vector transmission from years of nursing. It actually made perfect sense. We can make a home or business shine, inside and out. “I feel pride in the services we offer. We can keep our community healthy and safe while providing beauty and curb appeal.”

“The addition of cleaning services was a game-changer when I was struggling to get a foothold,” she continued. “Now, I get referrals from cleaning customers for landscaping projects and vice versa.” Commercial cleaning ultimately grew into additional services like move-in/move-out cleaning, post-event clean-up and vacation rental turnover for the growing number of Airbnb properties near Hidden Valley and Seven Springs.

“Having support from my family and friends, and from experts like Matt and Rodney, is what gave me the courage,” Jolee said. “Having had a long career in nursing, I had confidence and the thick skin I need to handle certain situations in this field, plus I have the knowledge base and the drive. But the support I had from Startup Alleghenies was so valuable. Without it, I may have given up.”

Jolee also noted the value of the networks she’s established through local networking organizations and through Startup Alleghenies services. “They offer classes like marketing and finance bootcamp. I loved them. You learn and you get to be involved with other professionals who can share their experiences,” she said. “Word of mouth is so important. Meeting other small business owners has been invaluable for advice and for referrals.”

Startup Alleghenies helps startup and emerging small businesses succeed by providing free coaching to entrepreneurs in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. To access personal, one-on-one support from a coach in your county, including guidance, resources, tools and networking opportunities, sign up at startupalleghenies.com.