Imagine after a long day at work coming home to find that your yard needs mowing. Your lawnmower won't start, your weed killer is broken, and nothing is right. You have no idea what's wrong with your gear and you're only minutes away from closing the shop. Now you need to load all your gear into the back of your truck or trailer. You're speeding down the street to get to the store before they turn the closed sign but you don't get there in time. Not only have you wasted precious time, but you have to start the entire process again tomorrow. By being a small-time engine repairman as a hobby or business, you could save time and money by having the ability to repair equipment you own at home and fix small mechanical problems. Small engines were not the most popular item on the market until after World War I and even then the steam engine was preferred to the gas engine. One of the first small engines used by ordinary people were lawnmowers. The lawnmower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830 from England. Edwin Budding and John Ferrabee was the first mowing company and was founded as a partnership, but they did not allow other companies to copy their work until 1832. Once the idea came out, many different companies produced different types of mowers (Source A). The next huge impact on lawnmowers came in the 1970s, when Briggs and Stratton used less gas to make electric motors and also made them with 98% recycled aluminum. Then in the 1990s Briggs and Stratton made a never-before-seen “P” type engine that powered washing machines, lawn tractors, cultivators and generators. The affordability of this engine has allowed common people to purchase...... middle of paper....... Check the oil, it's fine. You check the spark plug to find that there isn't one in the mower. The last time you went to the store you bought an extra candle for this reason. You insert it, connect the plug and pull the cord. The lawnmower starts and you mow the garden. Now you have to remove weeds from the yard, but the weeder doesn't work either. Go pump it so it becomes easier to start but the bubble doesn't fill with gas. Since you are a small engine mechanic, this is easy for you, just replacing the fuel pump. Go with the weed whacker to finish the job. Clean everything up, put it away and you can come in and watch television and relax. Of all the things that went wrong, you never had to make a trip to the shop since you're a small-time engine repairman.