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Backstory: Jonathan Orcutt

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Photos: Driven Landscapes
Photos: Driven Landscapes

Jonathan Orcutt

Founder/President
Driven Landscapes
Norfolk, Mass.

Education

Medfield High School
Medfield, Mass.
Class of 2003

“From the time I was in elementary school I did neighborhood lawns. By high school I was a little more serious, and while I was in college in the summers I always fell back into landscaping.”

West Virginia University
Morgantown, W.Va.
Business administration/marketing
Class of 2007

“My sister went there a year ahead of me. I had an incredible time visiting her, and I knew I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Work Experience

2006-2009
Ryan Homes
Intern, Project Manager
Wilmington, Del.

“One really important thing that stuck with me was they didn’t want to hire people who knew how to build houses. They wanted to hire people who wanted to learn and had the ability to learn how to build houses.”

2009-2012
Assurant Field Asset Services
Field Manager
New England

2012-present
Founder/President
Driven Landscapes
Norfolk, Mass.

“In year two I realized we had something special. I knew I wanted to take our brand national, and I wanted to grow the hell out of it. So, I read a lot about franchising, and we developed our franchise program.”

Did you know?

Orcutt and his wife, Jill, have an 8-month-old daughter, Riley, and a 6-year-old chocolate lab, Charlie. “Parenting has been an incredible journey so far. It’s taught me a lot about patience and slowing down.”

“My true passion is teaching, and that’s one of the reasons I started the (‘The Business Side of Landscaping’) Facebook group.”

Words of wisdom

“I always tell people to dream big and ignore the noise around you.”

“Always seek advice from people who are in the position that you want to be in. You want to surround yourself with people that will support and encourage you, so choose your social group wisely.”

“You never want to be the smartest person in the room. If you are, then find another room.”

Photos: Driven Landscapes

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri is an experienced Green Industry editor who's won numerous awards for her coverage of the landscape and golf course markets from the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA), the Press Club of Cleveland and the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). In 2007, ASBPE named her a Young Leader. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, cum laude, from Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism.

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