What would you do if you were six months from celebrating your 60th birthday and your boss walked into your office and said, “The company has been sold and you are not part of the sale”?

Cal Kearns was in the landscaping business for five years before he realized what it took to be a success. The owner of C&D Landscape Company in Dayton, Oregon, had to suffer through early growing pains and a bad economy before he “needed to turn his small company into a real business.”

Your customer list includes 60 Homeowner Associations (HOAs) and 120 residential clients, and all told, you mow between 400 and 500 acres of grass a week. Not bad for being in business only 10 years. Isn’t it about time you slow down?

David Wright’s business card speaks volumes. After the catchy name of his company, Wright Way Lawn Care, comes this teaser: “A firstclass cut is measured by the yard.”

In business only nine years, this young entrepreneur already maintains some of the highestprofile properties in and around Lafayette, Louisiana. “It’s all about projecting the right image, catering to customers,” says Brad Breaux, referring to working with high-end accounts.

When Alan McClellan was 20 years old, mowing lawns for a living was probably the last thing on his mind. Then, while walking around the Branch County Fairgrounds, he spotted a Walker Mower for the very first time.