Early business plan helps Wyoming company prosper.

Landscape & Irrigation, March, 2000 by Burchfield, Gary

In 1982, Randy Stevens got laid off from his job in a Wyoming coal mine. Today, Randy and wife Laurie own and operate Quality Landscape & Nursery in Saratoga, WY. Because they're based in a town with less than 2,500 people, their crews do landscape design and construction projects all over the state. Randy and Laurie also operate a retail nursery and garden supply store, and the company has been named "Business of the Year" by the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce.

Their introduction into the lawn/landscape business was almost a fluke.

Laurie was working as a waitress at the Old Baldy Club, an exclusive country club and residential development on the outskirts of Saratoga. She visited with a club member who needed someone to take care of his lawn....