I had written a little of the history of Walker Talk in Volume 25. With this column it seems a good time to answer a few questions people ask us about Walker Talk.

Your son or daughter plans to tour the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque. What can he or she expect to see? Southwestern architecture and an abundance of cacti and native landscape? You would be right on the first count, but wrong on the second.

Jim Martin, owner of James A. Martin Co. Inc. in Burlington, Massachusetts, is celebrating his 30th year in business. He makes no bones about it either. He attributes his success and longevity to people—from wife, Sue, and childhood friend, Steve Archibald, to each and every one of his 14 employees, not to mention his dealer, PRO Equipment.

Brad Pearson is a Chevy man, but Nick Tammaro drives Fords. Brad’s company, Pearson’s Anything Goes, mows and maintains primarily residential accounts, but Tammaro Landscaping provides full-service landscape management services to commercial customers. Pearson is 18 and Tammaro is 23. Are they as different as night and day? Hardly.

Are you really making any money? What part of your business is most profitable? How do you handle depreciation? Do you have enough cash flow to support your growth? How do you compare to others in the industry? When can you afford new people and equipment as you grow? 

From 1993 to 1996, Tony Sposato taught health and physical education at a junior high school where he also coached three sports. In the summer of ’96, he traded in his whistle and blackboard for a full-time ride on his Walker Mower. Eleven years later, he finds himself running a multimillion dollar company that employs more than 150 people during the busy season.