When business owners/leaders get into their 60s, it is normal to ask, “What is going to happen with the business”? Dean and I are at that age. We remember how, around 25 years ago, our parents gracefully handed us the business they had started from scratch. Like many family business owners, our parents dreamed that Walker Manufacturing would remain a family-owned and operated business for generations to come. The survival record of all kinds of businesses is about 30% per generation, so keeping the dream of a multigenerational family business alive is a big challenge.

My writing has purposefully been reserved for topics besides promoting the Walker Mower. With this column I will digress a little bit and look at the opportunity to compare the differences in zero-turn riding mowers. There are some real differences, and it would be beneficial for buyers to make the comparisons and understand the differences before purchasing. Since the beginning, the Walker, with its deck mounted out front (front-mount deck), has stood apart from a market flooded with the mid-mount style mowers, and offers many unique advantages. A well-versed dealer’s salesperson can point out the differences in the showroom and during a demonstration.

Some of the best and most exciting stories are from people stepping out for the dream of a better opportunity. “Stepping out” has been a part of many of the stories we have told in Walker Talk and that is one way we have been able to keep Walker Talk an interesting read. What is it about some people’s makeup that causes them to step out while others choose to stay home?

The other day I saw a truck leaving our factory. The thought flashed through my mind that the truck driver’s opportunity to have a job was in part due to the existence of Walker Manufacturing. A further thought was that the Walker operation creates many more jobs than just the 150 employees working under our roof. While economics is a complex subject, and I would not pretend to know all of the workings of an economic engine in creating jobs, it seems pretty clear that businesses like Walker do create jobs and opportunities that boost the economy and raise the standard of living for our citizens. At least it looks that way to me, a farm boy from Kansas.

After the passing of my Dad in September, there were lots of handwritten notes in the cards received, face-to-face visits, and also many phone calls and e-mails. It warmed my heart to know that Dad had touched so many lives in a positive way, and that the stories told and remembered showed how one life, well-lived, can make a difference.

In simple terms, finding an opportunity to be in business is often thought of as finding an unmet need and creating a product or service to fill that need. In addition to unmet needs, there is the possibility that new emerging technology, new solutions and new combinations of ideas provide opportunities to provide a better way to meet needs that are currently being met the “hard way”.