My guest today is Scott Picker. Scott was born and raised in Oregon and went to college at Washington State University where he majored in agriculture education and horticulture, before starting Aspen Creek Landscaping in Sherwood, Oregon. Over the last 20 years, Scott has built a 55 employee landscape construction and maintenance company focused on high end residential and local wineries. During the episode we talk about him planning out and building Aspen with his wife from the ground up, how it has evolved over time and how he’s had to change his role to suit the company, building a great, customer focused team, succession planning, and his side business raising 160 longhorns on his ranch. This episode was an amazing look at what running a company looks like on the inside and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. For the full transcript and more information, visit our website at alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I’m also the founder of The Operator’s Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.