Sportsdog

As with most start issues these days I would suspect a partially clogged carb. Since the introduction of ethanol into our fuel these type of issues have become most common. Even with fuel stabilizers gas will still accumulate water within a couple weeks. If you use fuel that is older than 3-4 weeks, you already have some water in your gas. They it out, leave a few cups of gas outside in a vented container like an empty soda bottle with the cap off. You will have visible water in the bottle after only a couple weeks. My guess is that the machines at work are used more often and have a quicker turnover in the fuel which keeps it fresh. I would try a carb clean out before anything else. The newer Briggs are pretty simple. You can put your model motor into a search engine and find a video that will walk you right through it. If this helps replace your gas can too. If my power equipment gas sits more than 3 weeks I dump it into my truck and refill can with fresh gas. No more performance issues since doing this. Good luck