A 17-year-old Bowling Green High School senior has been in business for four years.

“I’m not into video games,” said Evan Romero. “I like working with my hands more. I like keeping busy outdoors.”

At age 13, he started his business mowing lawns in his Otsego-area neighborhood.

“A friend of my dad’s asked me to start mowing his yard, and that was the beginning of what’s now my own business of landscaping.”

Romero, who will graduate from high school on Sunday, has gradually grown his business from just mowing yards to a full landscaping endeavor. He has also expanded the business to other areas of Wood County, now getting into Pemberville and Perrysburg.

In the beginning, Romeo had only a small push mower but now has a riding mower.

“I got other tools over the years, like a leaf blower and a trimmer.”

Romero said videos and social media play a big role in his business.

“I use Facebook to spread the word about my business and I use YouTube to find ways to do the work better.”

He said he also depends on word of mouth to get new customers.

“I have found that if I do good work and charge reasonable prices for my work, it goes a long way.”

After he got his driver’s license, he bought a used truck with the help of his parents, Al and Pam Romero.

“I got a 2007 Chevy Silverado (pickup) truck to get me and my equipment around. Then I bought a new trailer that I hook up to my truck to haul it all around.”

The endeavor has become a full-scale landscaping business, trimming bushes and trees, leveling topsoil and putting down mulch. He has also bought a snow plow that he has installed on his truck to do snow removal in the off-season.

“I’m looking to buy another rider mower soon.”

He also now has three employees to help him with the business.

In addition to running his own business, Romero has been active in high school sports and other activities.

He has been participating in cross country and track and field, and is a member of Future Farmers of America.

He works his own schedule so he is able to work around his sports and FFA activities.

The past few years, Romero has been able to get out of school earlier in the day as part of a co-op program at the school.

“I get two credits for that program, and it allowed me to leave school early. I took up another class this year, but I still get out early.”

As soon as he leaves school he goes to work, following his plan he has laid out beforehand.

He normally works until about 6 p.m., but sometimes until 8 p.m.

“I don’t like to start a job that I can’t finish the same day” Romero said. “Of course, there are bigger jobs that take more than one day, so sometimes that can’t be avoided.”

He is proud that he has been able to maintains a tight sleep schedule, getting seven or eight hours of sleep most nights.

“There are still times that I get only six hours (of sleep),” the young man said.

When he turns 18 this summer, he wants to start a new chapter in his life, doing road construction for a company he has already chosen.

“If that works out for me, I want to do that for a living.”

He may end up selling his lawn mowing and landscaping business to devote his time to a road construction career.

He doesn’t plan to go to college at this point, but may attend a two-year college to get a degree in a field that goers along with his plans at that time.

Romero sums up his success with a basic philosophy.

“I like people and I smile a lot.”

That philosophy has served this young man well the past few years.

Some may even call him an over-achiever.

Graduation Edition

Today’s special section insert celebrates Wood County seniors.