Justen Heiserich has always had a passion for working with diesel engines. In his high school years, he worked as a mechanic when he wasn’t in school. When he was 16, he repaired a totally demolished Jeep. Now at the age of 22, the 2000 Kimball Area High School graduate, with the help of his parents, has done what he has always wanted. On May 12, he opened his own mechanical business, Pickups n’ Powersports in Rockville. “It has been a dream come true for me,” Justen said. “I had actually been planning for this for five years.” Planning is one of the many things he has done. After high school, Justen went to St. Cloud Technical College to expand his knowledge of mechanical engineering. Every job he has had prior to the opening of Pickups n’ Powersports has been in the same line of business. In a statewide mechanical diagnostics contest two years ago in the Twin Cities, Justen came in fifth. His parents then decided to help him achieve his dream: To run his own business. “We (my husband and I) wanted to start this business for him and for us,” Maureen Hesierich said. “My son (Justen) has a mechanical engineering mind.” Pickups n’ Powersports is very much a family-operated business. While Justen performs all the mechanical duties, his mother does the bookkeeping, and his father Arnie orders parts for the business. His sister Monique is also contributing her part now that she’s graduated from high school. Maureen also has some business experience to draw from. She ran three weight- loss clinics, at the age of 27, when she lived in California. She’s also not a total stranger to the automative business. For the last five years, she has consistently provided her assistance to Justen, by ordering parts and keeping track of his finances , when he was working on a mechanical project for himself. Pickups n’ Powersports, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., mainly provides mechanical services for diesel engines, cars and small engine vehicles like snowmobiles. Used diesel-engine pickups and John Deere tractors are also for sale, and Maureen is confident that they will eventually carry brand-new models at some time in the near future. As for the climate of the business, it has taken off on a positive note considering that it only opened its doors a month ago. “We’ve had people come from Rockville, Cold Spring, Kimball and a few from St. Cloud. We’ve even had repeat business,” Maureen said. “The business is building very strongly and it is being built by word-of-mouth.” Maureen also feels that their location, just off Minnesota Highway 23 in Rockville, has helped bring in customers because of its visibility from the highway. Justen, while thrilled, is also surprised that the business has started out this well. “Everything is turning out better than what I had expected,” Justen said. “Everything is going well, considering that we haven’t advertised at all.” One thing he feels that has helped garner customers are his capabilities. “People will just pop in and I will fix something for them, but then they realize that I can do more than what they came for,” Justen said. At the moment, Justen Heiserich carries out all the mechanical work at Pickups n’ Powersports and deals with all his customers directly, but may eventually hire another mechanic if things get busier. Justen isn’t thinking a lot about that just yet. Instead, he is just enjoying doing what he has always dreamt of. “This business has opened up a lot of opportunities for me compared to what I was doing before (working for other companies),” Justen said. “I now have a nice facility to work in and the chance to make more money.”
