Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader
Logan Bigstone has been landscaping since he was 10 years old and dragged a push mower from door to door in Slave Lake. This year, he started his own business called Big-stone Lawn Maintenance.
“It’s been going good,” he says. “Been staying busy, and taking on challenges I’ve never done before and doing my best.”
One of these challenges is cutting down trees.
There’s a lot of planning involved to identify and guard against hazards, says Bigstone. To prepare for his first tree, he watched a lot of videos and asked people for advice.
“I grew up here in Slave Lake,” says Bigstone. “Lived here all of my life.”
When Bigstone was young, he started mowing lawns. By the time he was 15, he owned three lawnmowers and a trailer. Over the years, he’s also worked with for Mourad Group, which includes a landscaping business. He still works for them on the side. Mourad Group has been very supportive of Bigstone starting his own company, he says.
“I’ve been around this industry for quite few years,” says Bigstone. This year, he decided to “step up and do something for myself and my family.”
Bigstone took the plunge in March, a few months before the landscaping season gets underway. This gave him the chance to deal with the paperwork and other background work to start the company.
Asked about the biggest challenge in starting a business, Bigstone says, “It’s the first step. You’ve got to be sure. After the first step, you start feeling more into it.”
Landscaping season runs from around the beginning of May to the end of October. Depending on the year, snow removal season is November through April.
Big-stone Lawn Maintenance does “a little bit of everything,” says Bigstone. This includes lawn mowing, tree pruning, gravel work, and fencing. In the winter, the plan is to add snow removal.
To start his company, Bigstone saved up to buy all of the equipment himself. He has a couple of employees, and hopes to expand next year.
The best way to contact the company is by phone at 780-260-0198.
