For many entrepreneurs, business is the end goal. For Paula Bunyan, it is a means to something larger. Through Paula Bunyan, LLC, Paula Bunyan has built a model that connects everyday services with a broader educational mission. At its core, the business operates across two distinct but deeply linked areas. On one side is a lawn care service designed to deliver reliable, visible results for homeowners. On the other hand is a growing children’s book series focused on reshaping how young readers think about careers, particularly in skilled trades.
Before launching this model, Bunyan spent more than two decades in the corporate world, building a foundation that continues to inform her work today. With a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology, she focused on how individuals identify their strengths and find alignment in their careers. Over time, a consistent pattern emerged. Many of the most empowering and satisfying career paths, particularly within the skilled trades, were rarely introduced to children during their formative years.
That realization ultimately led to a significant shift. In her 50s, Bunyan stepped away from her corporate career to pursue a different direction, one centered on expanding how children understand work and opportunity. The transition was not without its challenges. She recalls that when she first shared the decision, some people questioned whether the messages were even real. “People thought I had been hacked,” she says, reflecting on how unexpected the change appeared from the outside.
Her path into entrepreneurship was also shaped by experimentation. After an early attempt at running a tree stump removal business, an experience she describes with humor and hindsight, Bunyan shifted her focus and built a lawn care company that now serves as the operational backbone of her broader mission. “Always buy the machine with more power,” she says, pointing to the lessons that come with starting something new.
Rather than separating these efforts, Bunyan has chosen to integrate them. The revenue generated from lawn care services directly supports the development, illustration, and publication of her books, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem built around purpose.
“I wanted to build something where the work people see every day connects to something they may not immediately see,” Bunyan says. “When someone invests in their lawn, they are also supporting a bigger mission that helps shape how children think about their future.”
That mission is rooted in a clear observation. Many children are introduced early to a narrow set of career paths, often centered around traditional office roles. Bunyan’s work aims to expand that perspective by introducing skilled trades as viable, empowering options.
Her upcoming book, focused on the ABCs of Trades: The Electrician, reflects that intention. Designed for early readers, it introduces both vocabulary and concepts tied to hands-on professions, encouraging curiosity at a formative stage.
“I want kids to see that there are many ways to build a meaningful life,” she explains. “Skilled trades offer independence, creativity, and resilience, and those are qualities worth highlighting early.”
The structure of her business reflects the same philosophy. Her lawn care service is positioned not just as a functional offering, but as one that emphasizes consistency and attention to detail. The idea is simple. Deliver a service that people trust, and use that foundation to support something with a longer-term impact.
This approach has resonated with customers who recognize that their spending contributes to more than a single transaction. It becomes part of a broader effort to fund educational content that might otherwise struggle to find traditional backing.
“Not every idea that matters fits neatly into conventional funding models,” Bunyan says. “Sometimes you have to create your own path to bring it to life.”
Her journey also reflects a willingness to challenge assumptions about how businesses are structured. Instead of treating the lawn care service and publishing efforts as separate ventures, she has intentionally connected them. The result is a model where operational work fuels creative output, and where each side strengthens the other.
At the same time, the business remains grounded in execution. Lawn care, as a service, requires reliability, responsiveness, and consistent quality. Bunyan has focused on delivering those fundamentals while maintaining clarity about the larger purpose behind the work.
That balance between practical service and long-term vision is central to how she approaches growth. The goal is not only to expand the reach of her children’s books, but also to continue building a business model that supports that expansion in a sustainable way.
“There is value in building something that stands on its own while also supporting something bigger,” she says. “If you can do both, you create impact in more than one way.”
As her book series moves closer to publication, Bunyan’s work highlights a broader shift in how entrepreneurship can be defined. It is not always about choosing between purpose and profitability. In some cases, it is about designing a system where each reinforces the other.
“I am not just building a business,” she says. “I am building a way to keep this mission going for as long as it needs to.”
