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BEMIDJI — Someone must brave the cold to clear the snow during and after the latest snowstorm to allow a steady pace of life to continue despite frigid temps.

No one better to tackle this feat than self-described snow enthusiast Kyle Redland, founder of

"I've always kind of had this weird obsession with snow," he said with a smile. "My parents didn't have a huge driveway. It was big enough to where you could shovel. And so there were times that I'd get up and shovel before going to school just because I enjoy doing it."

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

"I've always been fascinated in equipment and stuff too," Kyle continued. "This is kind of a dream come true to own two big front-end loaders and get to wake up in the middle night to go use those."

Bemidji Snow Removal is a seasonal landscaping company comprised of 26-year-old Kyle, his wife, Claire, and a handful of employees who work on an on-call basis, awaiting the next snowfall.

The company works with commercial and residential clientele to clear driveways, parking lots, walkways and roofs while also relocating snow and providing ice management with salt and salt brine.

"We have a pretty good system down now, between Claire and I," Kyle said. "We take a lot of pride in our work, too. There's a lot of nights where we're out and just sitting in the park, waiting for it to snow, because you never know with the weather."

Kyle unofficially started Bemidji Snow Removal in 2017 at 19 years old when he purchased a pickup truck. He began providing snow removal services for his parents, Claire's parents and their friends.

But growth was steadfast and by 2019, Bemidji Snow Removal was a major player in the winter landscaping scene, nabbing a contract with Walmart.

The success was celebrated, but it didn't come without challenge.

The team struggled to get other clients initially and was traveling as far as Grand Rapids to work. The team also had a smaller collection of equipment and the winter was much stronger than anticipated.

"When we started in 2019, we had two back-to-back, really good snow years; they were almost record years," Kyle said. "We didn't have much equipment; those were the stressful years. We were running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

He noted that it was important to be adaptive during those difficult days.

"A lot of times, there's equipment that's got to be fixed or repaired during the middle of a snow storm and that can set you back a little bit, but you just learn to roll with the punches," he said.

Claire echoed his sentiment, expressing the importance of remaining resilient in the early years of a business.

"I feel like in those beginning years, you kind of get whatever customers you can, right?" she added. "And then it kind of goes from there. The beginning years were not easy and it's never been easy."

The young entrepreneurs excelled through their challenging start and used it as a prime learning experience.

"I feel like a lot of it is kind of learn as you go," Claire said. "I think there's definitely a lot of room for growth, but at the same time, I still feel like we're just two kids. I realize we are 26 years old. We're not kids anymore. I still feel like it's crazy."

They have continued to watch their company grow, now serving 30 commercial and more than 100 residential clients within a 30-mile radius of Bemidji. They've also steadily built their snow fleet and even added a base of operations: a large, heated garage at their home outside of town.

But ultimately, they cannot control the weather. Their first two years may have been snow-packed, but the latest two years have featured little snowfall, a rarity for Bemidji.

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

"Now that we've kind of added more equipment we get these two slow years, but it's nice to know that we're prepared for more of those big snow years now," Kyle said.

Less snowfall means less work for the team of seasonal employees as well.

"When it's not snowing, it's tough to keep them busy," Kyle said. "That can be a little bit of a struggle for a year like this, but we find ways to work around it."

"All the guys are just good guys and they really don't complain about the scheduling," Claire added.

From house-to-house snow removal with a four-wheeler to large contracts with the likes of Walmart, the Redlands have come a long way in building their empire of snowy landscaping work.

The first two years were filled with more snow than they could keep up with contrasted by the recent two years with little snowfall. But through the good and the bad, Bemidji Snow Removal has persevered.

"There's definitely been a lot of support and a lot of help along the way," Kyle said. "It's tough to build something yourself, especially when you're young and coming into something like this (but) hard work pays off."

TJ Rhodes / Bemidji Pioneer

In the future, Kyle hopes his company continues to grow. Claire hopes the company continues to be known for strong, consistent and quality work.

"I really believe that if you keep working hard, you keep doing honest work, that you will be successful and I think that's exactly what Kyle does," Claire remarked. "I hope that in the next 10 years, we'll still be here."

Looking back on their success throughout the first five years was sobering for the pair as they picked up and completed each other's thoughts.

"(It can be) very scary. I think there's a lot of times when we both wondered if we're doing it right," Claire noted. "Is it worth it? Are we doing the right thing?"

"I think you have to be confident in yourself and confident in the process of building," Kyle responded. "It takes time."

Claire picked off right where he left off.

"I think that if we could look back and tell ourselves that in year one, this is where we're going to be, we would be like, 'Oh, really? Okay, keep going. Keep going,'" she said.

Kyle concluded that, while it can be difficult to have a confident mindset during the beginning stages of starting a business, it's worth it in the end.

"It's tough going into that initial startup and you don't know what's gonna happen," he said. "You don't know if you're gonna make money doing it. (But) it's worth it."

Now, the Redlands are focused on the future and hope it is filled with lots of snow.

Those who are interested in snow removal services in the future, whether commercial or residential, can contact BSR at kyle@bemidjisnowremoval.com or by phone at (218) 760-9889 or (218) 444-9889.

Commercial season typically runs from October to April while the residential season lasts from November to March.