Meet Dan Gates | Lawn Care and landscaping business owner | Musician

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

Hi Dan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had been working for someone for around 7 years. I was at a point in my life where I was looking for an opportunity to make more money. The person I was working for offered me the opportunity to buy him out of the lawn care/landscaping part of his business. I had been doing that type of work and running that part of the business for him. It seemed like a good direction to go. The work was there and he helped me to make it happen. 25 years later I still have the business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Aside from being a business owner I’m also a musician. I’ve been playing guitar for almost 35 years. I’ve traveled all over the country playing music. I am always writing and recording music. I’ve released lots of music over the years. Times are a little different than they used to be. So keeping up with the times I now release music on YouTube and several social media platforms. And I’m still playing live. I just did a 3 week tour of the eastern half of the United States. Traveling the country in a van with other people can be challenging but it’s also very rewarding. I’m planning to do more touring and I’m trying to do music a little more professionally. I’m not as young as I used to be but I’m still trying to live out my dreams.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would check to see what music events are happening in the area. I’m always interested in live music. Especially heavy metal shows. There are venues in Cleveland such as The foundry, No Class, House Of Blues and Grog Shop. Theres also a venue in Canton called The Auricle. While in Canton we could have dinner at Lucca. In Akron The Merchant Tavern is a good spot for dinner. If you’re closer to Youngstown Westside bowl is a cool place. They have bowling and 2 stages for live music.

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?
Chuck Lawrence is the name of the person that I worked for prior to starting my business. Chuck was a great person to work for and one of the nicest people I have ever met. He went way above and beyond to help me get started in business. Without his help I probably wouldn’t have been able to start when I did. He sold me all of his equipment and we had already established a clientele. His business provided a bunch of different services and he didn’t really have an interest in being in the lawn care business. So it worked out for me that I could take it over. Chuck passed away a few years ago but I’ll never forget everything that he did for me!

Website: www.dangatesmetal.com

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Youtube: www.youtube.com/dangatesmetal