There's no business like snow business Plow-totin' teen cleans up in Seattle
CASEY MARTIN - KUOW/Courtesy David Holston, 18, of Coeur d’Alene, made $35,000 plowing and removing snow in the Seattle area in just four days when the region was pummelled by historic snows earlier this month.
In just four days, 18-year-old David Holston raked in — or rather, plowed in — more than a lot of folks make in an entire year.
The Coeur d'Alene entrepreneur capitalized on the early-February snow storms in Seattle, where he was already visiting his mom for her birthday while she recovered from a surgery. A friend gave him a head’s up about the coming snow, and he brought his snow plow and snow removal equipment with him, just in case opportunity knocked.
Oh, it knocked. To the tune of $35,000.
"I was working over there much more than I usually do in Coeur d'Alene," Holston said in a phone interview with The Press on Wednesday. "I was charging a lot per hour, anywhere from $500 to $750 per hour. That's how I was able to make that much."
Holston, who owns a local landscaping and snow plowing company, put an ad on Craigslist when Old Man Winter began to besiege the Emerald City. Holston’s phone rang relentlessly.
"It was nonstop work," he said. "I could have employed quite a few plow trucks if I had them."
Holston said his customers didn't care about the price — they were just happy to employ his services.
"Everybody that I plowed for was really grateful," he said.
Holston, too, is grateful that he landed the financial windfall. He gives all the glory to God, quoting Bible verse Luke 12:31: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."
"The Lord blessed me with the whole situation," he said. "He can take away money and give it to us in a day … When you put Christ first, everything else comes along."