The High-School CEO: Building a Business One Driveway at a Time
Some businesses start with a plan. Aiden Fillator's started with a phone call from a pastor who needed his lawn cut.
He was in grade seven at the time, living in Valley East, a quiet, close-knit community just outside Sudbury, Ontario, where most people know their neighbours and word travels fast. Aiden had access to his family's lawn tractor, a dad willing to drive him to the job, and enough of a work ethic to make a good impression. His first cut led to a second and before he knew it, he was earning referrals and had his newly created company name, Picture Perfect, printed on business card that he was handing out before most kids his age had their first shift at a summer job.
"I always wanted to just make a bit of money and start saving," Aiden says.
It Started with a Lawn Mower
For the first few years, Aiden kept things simple with lawn care operation running on word of mouth, a borrowed tractor, and a dad who was willing to load the trailer and drive his son to every job. Since Aiden couldn't legally drive, let alone pull a trailer himself, his father became a fixture in the early days of Picture Perfect as a steady presence who showed up when it counted. He taught Aiden the fundamentals of keeping equipment running, like grease points and fluid checks, alongside how to respect a machine that has to perform in any condition.
"I knew I didn't want to work at a restaurant or a grocery store like my friends were starting to do," Aiden says. "I just kept growing what I was already doing."
The clients kept coming. His pastor sent him to a neighbour. That neighbour sent him somewhere else. Valley East is the kind of community where a good reputation carries further than any advertisement, and Aiden was earning one.
From a Shovel to a Fleet
Snow removal came into the picture in ninth grade, almost by accident when a contact of his dad's needed hedge trimming done. Heading into winter, the client asked if Aiden knew anyone who handled snow and because Aiden didn't want to turn down an opportunity, he said “I’ll figure it out.”
It turns out figuring it out meant showing up with a shovel for his first two clients. His dad would pick him up during his lunch break, drive him to the properties, and Aiden would clear the driveways and get back before the afternoon bell.
"It was always cold on the face," he says. "But I didn't want to say no."
By eleventh grade, the operation had outgrown what any shovel could handle. But before Aiden made any equipment decisions, the brand choice was already settled. His dad's years working in Kubota's mining division had given Aiden a strong working knowledge of the machines, why they held up, and what it meant to own equipment you could depend on. When it came time to invest in his first tractor, Kubota was the answer. The dealership, Tracks and Wheels, was local, and that mattered to Aiden just as much.
"Why go out of town when you've got one right there?" he says. "I always want to support local."
He lined up around 30 snow removal contracts that winter, financed his first Kubota L3560, and went to work and by the end of the season, he was at 50. Then he posted on Facebook to a local community group in Sudbury called Valleys, which had about 12,000 followers from the surrounding area. The calls didn't stop (nor did the mid-route flag downs) and quickly his 50 clients became 300 going into his second season. Aiden moved fast and added two Kubota L4060s and brought on a local employee, a pipeline worker who had been laid off for the winter, to run routes from where the second tractor was stationed. And if Aiden can’t cover off his route due to school or other obligations, his dad steps up to run it.
"People want their driveways cleared before they leave for work in the morning," he says. "You need the equipment that actually delivers on that."
Aiden’s fleet now includes three Kubota L-Series tractors and a Kubota Z422 zero-turn mower for the summer season. And he’s already planning his next purchase – an L4470 from the new L70 Series – particularly looking forward to the redesigned cab: controls repositioned to the front, a swivel seat, heated mirrors. After a winter of early mornings in some of Sudbury's heaviest snowfall in years, those details are not lost on him.
"They think of everything," he says. "It just makes the job easier."
More than a Client List
The community Aiden serves is roughly 70 percent seniors, long-time residents who need someone they can count on when a Sudbury winter hits hard. Aiden shows up in person when they call to price every job and has no interest in scaling past the point where that connection stops being possible.
"My first clients really helped me get started," he says. "I always want to be there for them 100%."
Across the road from where Aiden lives is a maple syrup farm. Every Christmas, he goes door to door with bottles, one for every customer on his list, as a thank-you for their business and their trust.
That same instinct shows up in everything else he's building. Last year, his school board named him Entrepreneur of the Year, awarding him $5,000. But the prize money didn’t sit in the bank for long, as he and his dad drove to Toronto and reinvested every dollar back into his business through commercial equipment.
While in eleventh grade, Aiden started an annual bursary for graduating students at his school. He funded it again this year and plans to keep doing it. He's also the president of his French high school, and his teachers have grown accustomed to his business, adjusting around him during heavy snowfall weeks without missing a beat.
Now in twelfth grade, Aiden is almost ready to take Picture Perfect full-time. The community has already made its decision; it just had to wait for him to graduate.
Picture Perfect is a locally owned snow removal and lawn care business based in Valley East, Ontario, serving the greater Sudbury area.