Executive edge: Phil Steinhauer; High-end landscapes rooted in passion for art.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: Designscapes Colorado Inc.

Phil Steinhauer brushes the dried dirt off his khakis after delivering flowers to a new high-end residence that Designscapes Colorado Inc., the company he co-founded 14 years ago, is landscaping.

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"As you can see, we're still very hands-on; I still get my hands dirty," said Steinhauer, Designscapes' CEO. With CFO Scott Ascherman, Steinhauer founded a landscape-design company that would survive the economic downturn following 9/11, Colorado's dot.com and telecom bust, and several seasons of drought to grow into a $12 million annual business, employing 150 during high-season and 40 year-round. Not bad for two guys who started their business in 1992 borrowing money to buy two pickup trucks.

The company today is regionally known for its high-end custom landscape designs for everyone from CEOs to Colorado sports figures and this fall will be featured on "Landscaper's Challenge" on the HGTV network, and on the "Do It Yourself" TV network.

Steinhauer, a native of Redwing, Minn., said he stumbled on his career in landscape design after studying art at the University of Wisconsin and then transferring to Colorado State University when he realized he could combine his art skills and his love of the outdoors by earning a degree in landscape design.

After graduating in 1982, he worked on a landscape crew where he met Ascherman, who was studying for his MBA at the University of Denver.

"When you're starting a business you don't look for someone like yourself, you look for someone who is the opposite, so Scott and I were a perfect balance," said Steinhauer. "And we both knew we wanted to do something entrepreneurial."

Today Steinhauer puts his pencil to the design work; Ascherman, to the ledger sheet, although they both still insist on remaining hands-on.

"We're not sitting in an office; we're out in the field," said Steinhauer. Designscapes moved into a new $2.5...