From healthcare leader to landscape curbing expert: Pajtash’s journey to Elite Landscape Curbing

Seth Pajtash spent nearly 25 years in healthcare, working his way from CT scan technologist to clinical manager at Aspirus. But by 2022, he was ready for something new.
“I was ready for a change away from the corporate model,” Seth said. “I enjoyed my career helping patients over all those years, but I found myself not aligned with the direction of healthcare under the larger corporate model and was not happy anymore.”
He spent 2022 planning his exit strategy and preparing to launch Elite Landscape Curbing LLC in spring 2023.
Seth said the path to curbing came from an unlikely source — a poor experience with a curbing company at his own home about four years ago. He had been considering some kind of career change into landscaping, but he knew he didn’t want to tackle the full scope of the field. The disappointing curbing job at his house gave him an idea.
With his experience focused on providing great customer experience and always striving for quality work with attention to detail in the radiology arena, Seth began exploring how he could apply those same concepts to a career as a landscape curbing contractor.

He and his wife, Stephannie, researched product vendors from North Dakota, Florida, and Appleton before deciding to train with the company in Appleton. They paid for their training and still use that vendor as a resource three years later.

Building the business while working nights
The transition from his career in healthcare to landscape curbing business owner wasn’t easy. During the first year after opening Elite Landscape Curbing, Seth worked night shifts at Aspirus Medford Sunday through Tuesday nights while building the part-time business during the day.
“I would typically come home and sleep 4-5 hours on Monday and Tuesday and then go do estimates or something else that needed to be done for the business,” Seth said. “On Wednesday mornings, I would get home from working nights, change clothes, and load up the trailer and go right to a job site for an install. I just made it happen, because the success of the business was that important to me.”
During the second season of the business, Seth worked both a full-time job at the hospital and had the landscape curbing business operating full-time. It was challenging.

By summer 2025, the schedule demanded a decision. When Seth looked at the jobs on the books and the available days to complete them, it was time to take the leap. In early July, he left healthcare to focus solely on Elite Landscape Curbing.
“The goal was always to go full time with the new business, but I stayed in radiology on night shifts until the business was busy enough that I could step away completely,” Seth said.

A family business with local roots
Seth and Stephannie both grew up in Merrill, graduating in the Merrill High School (MHS) class of 1999. They started dating in fall 1999 at UW-Marathon and have been together ever since, celebrating 22 years of marriage this past spring. They now live in the Town of Corning.
Their oldest daughter, Emma, graduated from MHS in 2022 and is now a senior at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Their youngest daughter, Olivia, graduated from MHS this past May and is a freshman at UW-Oshkosh. Both are nursing majors.

Stephannie works full time as a dental hygienist in Rib Mountain, and her employer lets her take Fridays off from May 1 to October 1 to help with Elite Curbing during the busy season. She also owns and operates Razzle Dazzle Shaved Ice, which keeps the couple busy at events and festivals on summer weekends.
Growing up, Seth saw firsthand what it was like to be a business owner. His grandparents, Eddie and Betty Miller, owned and operated Eddie’s Bakery in Merrill for many years.

Beyond basic curbing
Elite Landscape Curbing offers traditional colored concrete curbing with rolled patterns on top, but the company’s specialty is what Seth calls the advanced or premier line. These curbs feature color-mixed concrete with four to five additional colors, coating the entire curb to create the appearance of stone or hand-hewn wood beams. This year, the company offers 14 different stone styles.
“Ninety percent of our work was stone work when we had just 2 styles, so we added 11 new organic stone stamps this year, which have been very popular,” Seth said.

The process starts with working with the customer to paint lines to ensure borders are positioned correctly and have good flow. Next, the crew uses a bed edger or sod cutter to create a working bed where the curb will be installed by removing dirt or sod. Once the bed is ready, they mix concrete made specifically for curbing on site. The concrete is moved and shoveled into the curbing machine and extruded into the slant profile curb. After troweling, the crew completes finish work specific to the chosen style. Five to seven days after installation, Seth returns to apply a poly sealer that activates the colors and provides a protective layer from moisture, UV, and natural elements.
“We recommend a second coat [of sealer] the same year of the install and then every two years after,” Seth said. “Colored and decorative concrete needs to be maintained with sealer to protect the concrete and maintain the colors. Sealer wears off over time and from the elements.”
Based in Merrill, Elite Landscape Curbing serves an area as far south as Wisconsin Rapids and also covers the Northwoods including Minocqua, Rhinelander, Eagle River, Phelps, Manitowish Waters, Mercer, and Boulder Junction.

Investing in local youth
Elite Landscape Curbing employed seven local high school and college students this season and participates in area Youth Apprenticeship Programs. The current crew includes two students from MHS, three from Wausau West, one from DC Everest, and one from UW-Madison. Stephannie also works in the business on Fridays and weekends to help with installs as well as doing concrete seals.

The season typically runs from April to mid-October, starting when the snow is gone and yards are dry enough to work without causing lawn damage, and when freezing temperatures have passed. During April, the season begins with a focus on estimates, trade shows, and preparation. If conditions are dry enough, Elite Landscape Curbing might do a weekend job, because employees are still in school during the typical work week.
In May, Elite starts with one to two jobs per weekend until school ends. From then until Labor Day, the crew works five days per week. After Labor Day, the crew returns to weekend installations in September and October while, during the week, Seth conducts fall estimates — primarily booking for the following season — and reseals previously installed curbs. He continues to book estimates and schedule jobs for the following year as long as there isn’t snow on the ground. Last year he conducted estimates into December, he said.

Lessons learned
When asked about the biggest challenge in starting a new business, Seth said gaining credibility and building trust with customers came to mind.
“I think we mostly overcame it by really working to get Google reviews after jobs, as well as building a strong referral base,” Seth said.

His biggest revelation, he said, came in redefining success for himself.
He reframed his thinking, so that now, “the definition of success was more about being happy with what I am doing and continuing to be able to do it, rather than what others expect me to be doing with my career,” Seth said.
His management experience prepared him well for running a business, but when asked what advice he could give other aspiring entrepreneurs, Seth said, “[To] meet with someone that runs a business to make sure you have all the things accounted for that you will need to factor into your operational costs so there are no crazy hidden expenses that you did not factor into your pro forma for start up.
“Make sure you also have realistic gross revenue expectations the first few years while you continue to grow your business. It just takes time and persistence to keep growing into what you want your business to be.”
He emphasized patience and persistence.
“Entrepreneurship is great, but it takes a lot of time and effort to make it successful,” Seth said. “Building a business doesn’t happen overnight, so you have to be patient and have realistic expectations for the first few years. It’s a grind, so you have to be patient with all of the ups and downs and just keep grinding. You will get out of it what you put into it.”
Seth handles his own bookkeeping and has an accountant manage taxes. For marketing, he participates in spring home shows, holds membership in the Wausau Area Builders Association, and has completed work for four Parade Homes over the past two years. He runs money-saver ads for the Wausau area several times per year, posts frequently on Facebook in community groups, and recently signed with a marketing company to manage the business website and explore additional growth tools.
“Just as with my background in healthcare, we run our curbing business with my focus being customer service and quality, trying to provide the best product in central Wisconsin and the Northwoods,” Seth said. “Customer satisfaction is the #1 goal.”
For information, call Elite Landscape Curbing at 715.204.4727 or go to elitecurbwi.com or find them on Facebook.