A drive through Holmes County, Ohio, about 1-1/2 hours south of Cleveland, will turn up all sorts of interesting sights. This Mecca of tourism will introduce visitors to one of the largest Amish settlements in the country and an attendant array of shops and restaurants, enough to keep even the most avid visitors busy all day. What the locals can't provide is bestowed by Mother Nature, a geography of beautifully rolling hills and steep valleys.

John Allin, president of Allin Companies, Erie, Pennsylvania, shrugs his shoulders when asked how his maintenance division is doing. "Last year, I would have told you not so well," he relates. After suffering through what the owner considered to be several sub par seasons on the maintenance side, Allin Companies wiped the slate clean and this year started over again, with new people and a new attitude. The results have been encouraging. Profits are up and employee attitude is better all around.

For Liz and Grant Monette in Guelph, Ontario and Bessie and Mike Krsovan in nearby Waterloo, being married is more than sharing a life, it's sharing an occupation, too. Both couples operate landscaping companies. 

When you've been in business only four years and you're looking grow, what's the best form of advertising? Mike Stegner, owner of Image Lawn and Landscape, Belton, Missouri, believes it's the work you do. In the "show me" state, seeing is believing. When prospective clients pass by Image properties, Stegner wants them to see the best. And they do. 

Where do you want to be seven years from now? Scott Hayward, owner of T & S Landscape, Chester, New Hampshire, asked himself that seven years ago and today he owns and operates a $1 million plus operation. Scott is the first to admit he hasn't done it by himself. He's had a lot of help, from employees, from the equipment they operate and from little things that just make landscape companies stand out.

When he moved to Las Vegas 20 years ago, a gravel road provided access to his home. Not anymore. His house, less than 10 minutes from the famous Strip, is now located on a main boulevard. The city has grown incrementally and so too have the huge hotels and casinos that fuel the growth engine.