Ross Parcel is one of Alta’s youngest business owners

Ross Parcel is one of Alta’s youngest business owners.

At just 19, his business – Ross Parcel Landscapes – is blooming.

Ross’ interest in landscaping work started when he was just 13 when he began working during the summers with Wes and Brad Bunjes and their landscaping business. He learned a great deal from them. When he was 17, he began doing a few small projects on his own, hauling what little equipment he had at the time in a 6’x5′ trailer.

Through word of mouth, he was being called on for more and more projects and he realized he had something going. He graduated from Alta-Aurelia High School in 2012 and added to his equipment, including a truck, and this year he added a second truck and trailers, purchased with dollars received from completing projects.

Ross attends Kirkwood College, double majoring in the landscape construction and design courses. When he returns, he will be learning in greater detail about ligthing and irrigation. He has completed one year and will be done in May.

He enjoys living in Alta and intends to remain in Alta, in fact, he just purchased two lots in the Alta Municipal Utilities addition from the city/utilities to put up a hoop building to store his equipment and house an office. In his three-year plan is the addition of a greenhouse.

While there are two landscape businesses in the community, they don’t really compete. “There’s plenty of business,” he said. Both business complete projects in Alta and throughout a large area around Alta.

“It’s different work everyday and that’s what I like about it,” Ross said. “Many of the projects don’t take more than a week to complete and that’s what keeps it exciting. The ideas are endless. It’s fun to go to a job where the yard is all grass and create something and to see the customer happy with their changed yard.”

Clients have ideas in mind when they meet with him while many ask him to come up with a design. Though computer programs are available for drawing up plans, he prefers to draw them free hand which allows him to express more ideas. If a 3-D picture is requested, he uses the computer.

Being young, Ross often gets peculiar looks when clients meet him for the first time but once they see the quality work he does, they realize that his young age doesn’t matter.

At this time, Ross does not have any fulltime employees working for him but does have a few guys that help out when needed.

Friend Alex Stephan will be attending Kirkwood come this fall, also majoring in landscaping. Just as the Bunjes brothers served as mentors to him, he will pay it forward and share his knowledge with Alex next summer by offering him an internship.

To contact Ross call 712-2xx-xxxx. You can view some of his projects at the Ross Parcel Landscapes Facebook page.