Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Mickelson
Hi Joel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Joel. I grew up in the Chisago Lakes Area and currently live in Lindstrom on our farm with my wife, Katie and our two children. I graduated from Chisago Lakes High School in 2006. Immediately after graduating, I began working with a variety of landscaping companies in the area. This sparked a passion for landscape design that led me to Dakota County Technical College to specialize in Landscape Horticulture. While going to DCTC, I was able to travel to Atlanta, GA for a competition with PLANET Student Career Days. I placed 56th out of 865 students who competed. A couple years later, I joined the United States Marine Corps. In 2012, I deployed to Afghanistan. Upon returning to the United States, I finished my Landscape Horticulture A.A.S. from DCTC and graduated in May 2013. In 2013, I began working for a well-known local landscaper, who was (and continues to be!) a wonderful mentor. Soon after, I felt inspired to begin my own journey in the landscaping field. In 2014, Mickelson Landscaping was started. Our business is built on the foundation of classic core values; integrity, respect, and value.
In my free time, I can be found taking the tractor for a spin, working on our home farm and taking care of our animals, woodworking, and spending time with my family.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One challenge of our business has been battling the weather. Our work is highly weather dependent, so if it is raining or snowing we typically aren’t able to get out and complete work for the day. We also run into obstacles finding employees who want to be outside all day, work hard and maybe even get a little dirty. It seems that with the boom of the internet and online, work from home jobs, the interest in physical labor jobs has waned. It may seem a little old-fashioned, but we can’t think of a better way to spend the day than to work outside, get in the sunshine, and our eyes off a screen!
We’ve been impressed with Mickelson Landscaping, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Mickelson Landscaping provides block and boulder retaining walls and paver patios, as well as landscape and lakeshore design services. We are “different by design” in that we customize and care for our customers, providing the highest quality landscaping services in the Chisago Lakes Area.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Stick with it and don’t be afraid to invest in your business and yourself for growth and development. Keep the first things first-for us, this means keeping our faith first and foremost and a strong emphasis on family time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mickelsonlandscaping.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickelsonlandscaping
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickelsonlandscaping
