SBA recognizes SMSU graduate as Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Layne Lozinski originally wanted to become an agricultural banker.

But the 23-year-old Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) graduate spent the summer before college at a major tile company and fell in love with the jobs, the equipment, the variety of projects and working outside in a company. that is still linked to agriculture. He also realized the demand for additional tilers in the area. So he switched gears and founded Maxx Drainage, LLC in December 2020, at the age of 19, fully launching about five months later. It gives him great satisfaction to take ownership of his work.

“There aren’t many businesses in the agricultural industry that are unique to you,” he said. “If you sell Pioneer Corn seed, you work for Pioneer. This is a company where you do some work and put your own name on it.”

Lozinski’s efforts recently earned him recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration as Minnesota Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Busy all year round

Maxx Drainage, which currently serves Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine, Redwood and Lac Qui Parle counties in southern Minnesota, handles a wide range of projects. Its specialty is installing and repairing drainage systems in the field, but it also optimizes land for agricultural use and carries out excavation work for various products.

He said drainage work on farms is busy in the spring and autumn, while on-site excavation work is busy in the summer. He finishes the year clearing snow for commercial hog farms in the winter. He declines to provide specific financial details, but indicates he has more than enough work to keep him busy all year round.

Built a work ethic early on

Lozinski grew up in Minneota, where he played football, wrestled, participated in Future Farmers of America and showed livestock during 4H. He also worked part-time washing pig stables, administering vaccinations, milking cows and picking stones. This latter work left him with several contacts who hired him when he started Maxx Drainage.

“That was networking from an early age,” he said. “What is very popular among teenage children in rural areas is work for local farmers. It is flexible in terms of time and it pays well.”

Lozinski’s success comes as no surprise to Joel Skillings, currently an assistant wrestling coach at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. Skillings coached Lozinski during a 31-year stint at Minneota and says that while Layne was not the most skilled wrestler he had worked with, his work ethic and team-oriented nature were unparalleled.

“Layne is really resilient,” Skillings said. “He wants to help a lot of people. He was a great team wrestler. He always worked hard. He had all the characteristics you look for.”

When Lozinski was told he was starting Maxx Drainage, Skillings indicated it fit his interests and added that he would likely be successful because of his intelligence and work ethic.

“That’s the kind of thing Layne was prone to,” he said. “He was quite passionate. He is an extremely hard worker. I think highly of Layne – I’m glad he’s found his feet. He’s a class act.’

Although Lozinski has proven himself as a business owner, he sought help from the Southwest Small Business Development Center (SBDC) several times in his early years. The organization has helped guide his initial strategies and activities, and recently assisted him in his expansion through the purchase of equipment. A consultant from SBDC helped with the cash flow analysis and securing a working capital line of credit.

He appreciates that the organization can give him an unbiased second opinion about his plans. “There is no conflict of interest,” he says. ‘You don’t have to ask people you don’t trust. They are easy to trust.”

En route

Frankly, Lozinski said his first choice would be full-time farming. He finds it unlikely that he could own a farm large enough to do that today. So he’s picked a solid second choice that he likes and keeps him busy.

He has delved into agri-banking and believes he could still do well there, even if the work does not take place in the field. He estimates that about 30 percent of his work is in the office environment, making plans and maps.

But Maxx Drainage has provided a pleasant second choice. Given that he had done a lot of post-secondary education in high school, he says, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to complete his degree at SMSU.

“I had to take the day off work to go to graduation,” he joked.

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