When we describe our company, we often refer to ourselves as relationship-based in our approach to business.

Walker Manufacturing has had a stand-out presence at GIE+EXPO for 33 years, but this year was one of the best shows in a long time. With outdoor and indoor interactive booths, a Beautiful Cut viewing theater, and enthusiastic team members including the Walker family, employees, and distributors, it’s easy to see why we had a busy few days. Part of the success can be attributed to the rising interest shown by customers who are unfamiliar with the Walker mower.

Chances are, selling your company is the furthest thing from your mind. Even so, running your business like you’re preparing to sell it will not only make it an attractive buy (if and when that day comes), it’s also the only way to operate and help ensure your future and that of your employees. This advice comes from veteran landscape contractor Mike Rorie.

There’s an application for every mower and each machine has its advantages and disadvantages. Before purchasing any mower, or for that matter any large piece of equipment, it is incumbent upon the buyer to demonstrate it, ensure that it operates well, and determine that it fits the application.

Big company, small company, it makes no difference. The people who operate your equipment need to be properly trained prior to going into the field. How this is accomplished, however, varies from company to company and depends on several variables, not the least of which are company size, services offered, type of equipment, and relative experience of employees.

As a Walker Mower user and reader of Walker Talk magazine, you’ve lived the story and read about others who’ve done the same. Chances are you started out mowing lawns very early in life. Your first customers were your neighbors. Obtaining a driver’s license allowed you to branch out of the neighborhood while in high school, and later, after graduation, you may have immediately hung your own shingle.