Not everyone can say they have fun at their jobs. After all, work is work. But Ricky Blosser is one who can and does. The owner of Ricky B’s EZ Cut’n Lawns, in Suamico, WI, just a short drive from Green Bay, maintains 70 high-end residential properties, with more than half located right in his neighborhood. “I like to stay close to home,” he remarked. “I’ll let my employees go to the other side of town. Me, I stay right here and mow my neighbors’ lawns. You can’t beat that.”
Ricky Blosser maintains 70 high-end residential properties, with more than half located right in his neighborhood.
Blosser mows them with one of his three 48-inch GHS commemorative Walker Mowers. When asked why three, he kind of shrugs his shoulders and said, “I’ve always liked Walker Mowers and I’m now in a financial position to afford these rather unique ones. They’re kind of cool looking, with their lights and different paint, and frankly it means a lot to me to have three of them. There were only 235 built and I’m proud to say I have numbers 78, 86 and 87.”
They’re not just for show and tell, either. All three join forces today with two model B’s, all with 48-inch decks, to keep properties looking neat and, yes, striped.
“Walker Mowers weigh less and have a smaller footprint than other mowers I’ve tried,” Blosser explained. “Their bagger systems are more compact, controls are easy to use, and you can’t beat out front cutting for visibility and trimming around garden beds, trees, and other obstacles.”
Having all five with 48-inch decks allows his company to keep patterns the same from one property to another, an effect that truly stands out when mowing neighbors’ lawns.
AS EASY AS 1-2-3
Blosser divides his company’s evolution into three stages: hobby, career, and fun. In the late 90s, having spent several years in sales management in the automotive industry, he wanted to try something different and make a little extra money. Making a few thousand dollars in one month dethatching lawns convinced him there was a future in mowing and maintaining yards. Purchasing a Scag zero-turn mower and a Husky walk-behind added lawn mowing to the service mix, and his hobby was underway.
In 2003, Blosser, with wife Kim, who he emphasized has been an integral part of the business from the start, became more serious while picking up properties beyond his neighborhood. A year later, he purchased his first Walker Mower, a diesel, followed by another diesel two years later. Each, he added, had accumulated 4,000 hours of mowing time before he traded them in.
Blosser’s commemorative mowers are not just for show. All three join forces with two model B’s to keep properties looking neat and striped.
Blosser’s commemorative mowers are not just for show. All three join forces with two model B’s to keep properties looking neat and striped.
During this growth period, the now career-minded Walker Mower user picked up a few tricks of the trade. A degree in business and entrepreneurship gave him a good handle on how important it is to know his costs. When fuel went through the roof preceding the ’08 recession, Blosser sent a letter to customers asking them for a one-time donation to help defray costs. He received $2,200 from customers, helping him avoid a mandatory surcharge and them a price increase that may well have become a permanent fixture.
Not to say a price increase is bad. To the contrary, knowing the cost of doing business was always going to rise, he decided early on to raise his cutting rate one or two percent a year versus a more sizeable jump every few years. As he put it, “One to two percent is understandable, whereas customers are more likely to question the need for a five or ten percent price hike.”
Ricky Blosser learned that while double cutting is a bit more time consuming, it also has benefits.
Blosser also learned that while double cutting is a bit more time consuming, it also has benefits. “There’s really no place to dump clippings around here,” he emphasized. “Mowing first with a side-discharge deck and following up with a GHS deck left some of the recut clippings on the lawn, adding important nutrients. It also meant that fewer were caught in the catcher and had to be disposed of. Another side benefit? The mowers’ already natural striping effect was even more pronounced."
Football fans know that Green Bay winters come early and can be brutal. Yet Blosser was not to be left in the cold when it came to creating a seasonal competitive advantage.
“We don’t plow snow, but instead rely on snow blowers to clear our customers’ drives,” he explained. “Snowplows can wreak havoc with brick drives, and they’re costly to operate.”
Currently, Blosser uses all Ariens snow blowers, but a Walker Mower Model H with a hard cab may be in his future plans.
What isn’t is expansion. As he put it, he’s having fun now. “I’ve made a conscious decision to stay relatively small,” he said. “Most of my employees are part-timers, although they have plenty of mowing experience. I’ve learned to say ‘no’ to prospective customers while maintaining focus on customers with whom I enjoy doing business.”
Being near Green Bay, it’s not surprising that many of his customers are Packer players and coaches. He noted they appreciate his attention to details and fair-mindedness.
“I try to treat all my customers the same way whether they play football or not,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned about Packer players is they want to talk less about football and more about how I can help them get even more enjoyment out of their properties. That may mean getting in touch with an arborist to remove a storm-damaged tree, finding a landscape designer for a renovation project, or getting assurance the beautiful stripes left by my Walker Mowers will be here next year.
“I tell them not to worry because next year, just like this year, the owner of Ricky B’s EZ Cut’In Lawns will be busy cutting their lawns with a commemorative Walker Mower.”
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