Local small business owners got to hear one of the most successful business leaders in the area talk about what it takes to be the best, writes Dan Sokil for the Lansdale Reporter.

Co-owner of Horizon Services Mark Aitken gave the keynote address to the PennSuburban Chamber of Greater Montgomery County’s Annual Business Expo at Gwynedd Mercy University on what he considers should drive any company.

“In a lot of businesses, people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” said Aitken.

They also heard about Aitken’s personal struggle with addiction before he was kicked out of the family home.

“I sat there as a 20-year-old, hungry, hopeless, alone, on the verge of being homeless, and I’ve never, ever, ever forgotten what that felt like,” he said.

That was a wakeup call for him, and after successfully beating his addictions, he started Horizon Systems with his business partner in 1989. They soon turned their small plumbing, heating, and air conditioning firm into a business with 725 employees across four states, completing nearly 15,000 transactions per month.

Read more about the keynote in the Lansdale Reporter by clicking here.