Tragedy and a Kind Gesture Turn into Big Business for Miguel Ortega
By Gary Newman
Ashland Beacon
It’s National Lawn Care Month, and lawn care companies are in the full swing of spring. Ortega’s Lawncare, Landscaping, & More is hard at work keeping customers’ lawns looking great. You can tell there’s something special about owner Miguel Ortega from his warm smile and gentle nature; there’s a natural desire to like him. He’s genuine, honest, humble, and thankful. He’s not only the kind of guy you just want to cut your grass, but he’s the kind of guy you just want to know.
The origin of his lawn care journey was built on a kind response to a family tragedy. “It’s a sad history. One day, I was working in this little house. We were remodeling it, me and my brother,” Ortega began, “my brother got a phone call, and it was bad news for him.” That phone call alerted Miguel’s brother that his wife was bad off with Leukemia, so he went back to Mexico and Miguel stayed. “Three days later, he called me and said yeah, my wife has passed away,” Ortega recalled, “I was thinking what can I do to help him out. I start thinking why not get a side job. I asked my friends if they want me to cut their grass. Some of them still give me grass cutting jobs. I started with a push mower, a weed eater, and a little gas jug, and the old van. I used to put the push mower, weed eater, and jug in the van. That’s how I started. I never thought I’d be where I am now.”
Hard work is certainly not a new thing for Ortega. With a farmer father, he recounted the reason for his work ethic, “When I was little, he always taught me how to work.” He remembered picking coffee beans in season, and that there was always some type of work that needed to be done on the farm. “When I was little, I always had my mind looking forward to being somebody,” Miguel remembered, “Thank God and the customers that give me the opportunity to be who I am.”
Now, years later with a family of his own, he’s teaching work ethic to his son, who helps him in the continuously growing lawncare business. “People stop by and ask if I pick up yards every day,” Ortega shared, “People stop by and ask if we can do this – tree removal, grass cutting, landscaping.” Ortega’s Lawncare, Landscaping, & More services customers within a 25-mile radius of Ashland, extending into Ohio and West Virginia. “We do lawns, landscaping, pressure washing, painting, a little bit of everything,” Miguel noted, adding, “When they see how we do their work, then they recommend us to cousins and brothers. People like to see the job; word of mouth is where I get my customers.”
Miguel is very complimentary of his customers, too. “They are number one. They like how we do things and that’s the main thing that makes me happy,” he detailed, “Just to see the happy people, happy customers when we get the job done. I’m proud of myself that people think that about me.”
Recently, Miguel had another life-changing moment when he completed his path to US Citizenship. “I had to study some questions, and I did it. I am a citizen now. I cannot describe how happy I was when I got my citizenship. It means a lot!”
All things considered, Ortega expresses one thing above all else: Thankfulness. “I thank God for the blessing. I was going to help my brother, and it’s led to where I am right now.” His gratitude spills over toward all his customers and the people who’ve surrounded him. “I think Ortega’s Lawn Care is doing real good,” he stated, “It’s an important thing to help people, and a lot of people have helped me out.”
You’ve got the recipe for a very successful business when you love what you do and genuinely want to take care of people and meet their needs and expectations. It’s not one Miguel Ortega looks forward to walking away from. “I like to work,” he said, “I’d like to get old and keep working.”