Exchange business cards with Scott Graby and be prepared to get more in return than you gave. Whereas the normal business card fits nicely into a wallet, his 3.5”x9.5” card barely squeezes into a coat pocket.

In addition to promoting our products and our company, an important purpose of Walker Talk is to communicate ways to success for our readers. “Work hard and play hard” as the mantra for successful living tells the popular culture in the USA. In our family and our company, we believe that “rest and worship” are being overlooked and ignored by many as an important part of successful living; living life as it was meant to be lived.

Joey Daigle has never cut a head of hair in his life, yet he still considers himself a barber. “You don’t want just anyone cutting your lawn,” says the owner of Lawn Stylists, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “No, you want someone to style it, and that’s what we do. We consider ourselves to be the barbers of lawn care.”

After being in the family grocery business for more than 20 years, Jeff Gardner awoke one morning and said to his wife Tracy, “I want to maintain lawns.” Just like that, he turned in his apron and started down a new career path. Jeff made that decision three years ago.

How much do you charge for your services? Do you have a minimum fee for maintaining a property? What criteria do you use when coming up with a pricing strategy? Do you have a different pricing strategy for different customers or when using different pieces of equipment? These are just a few of the questions Walker Mfg. asked in a survey sent to a random sample of 2,000 Walker Mower users in September 2002. More than 400 contractors responded to the survey. The results follow.