Earlier this year, three university economists hit the road to meet with small business owners across America. What they learned turned into the Roadside MBA, a Stanford Business multimedia project.

One of those businesses was Scott Turbon Mixer in Adelanto, an hour and a half east of Los Angeles in the California desert. In this remote country, Bill Scott and his loyal workforce make a very high-end mixer used in product production around the world. But their patent expired, and anyone can copy their machine. Yet instead of losing their clients, they grew. How? This company builds a custom process, not just a mixer. Add to that some pretty unique ideas from Bill Scott himself — and you have a recipe for success.

See for yourself at Scott Turbon Mixer. Or check out all our Roadside MBA profiles for a look at the other small businesses on our route.