Anthony Allen knows the joy of mowing.
“It kinda puts me back into where I started in the business of cutting grass and I really like making stuff look good.”
Anthony intended to keep his popular landscaping business when he and his brother-in-law started Lost Mountain Outdoor Power Equipment in Dallas, Ga., from the ground up. It took him around four months to realize that the new start-up was going to take off and that the landscaping had to close.
“Customers were like, ‘I want Anthony here! I want Anthony to talk about my flowers,’” Anthony said. “I just didn’t have time to do both.”
Over the next 17 years, Anthony would put his time into growing his shop in suburban Atlanta until he could boast of multi-million dollar sales and a giant parts department that dazzles both professional landscapers and residential customers.
“I stock more parts than most anyone in Atlanta,” Anthony said. “I keep belts, blades, spindles. Very seldom am I out of something.”
Anthony recalled the time a guy came in looking for a part to a 15 year old piece of equipment.
“Wow. I cannot believe you have that in stock,” Anthony remembers him saying.
Customers who need work done on their equipment benefit from that large inventory as well, Anthony says, because of a quick turnaround time.
“I’ve got five mechanics. They can get it in, diagnose it, and they don’t have to wait on parts.”
Lost Mountain Outdoor Power Equipment sells popular brands such as BOB-CAT, Echo Bear Cat, Husqvarna, Shindaiwa, Honda power equipment, and Kawasaki Engines. Anthony says he spends most of his day educating people on how much better these brand name products are.
“I have a customer who still has a 25 year old Shindaiwa. ‘Hey, can you just give me a tune-up; it’s running great, just needs a service.’ That’s pretty amazing.
“BOB-CAT, same way. People come in with 25 year old BOB-CATs. I’m still servicing them.”
Along with other members of his team, Anthony doesn’t mind going back to his roots to offer something else.
“A couple of us were in landscaping, so we help with advice on how to do landscaping as well as run equipment. We do take care of our customers.”
Expert advice is the thread that runs deep through every corner of Anthony’s business.
“I tell people: I don’t care if you buy from me or from somewhere else…look for somebody who is an independent dealer that has mechanics that are going to help you because it’s mechanical. Eventually, you are going to need help.”
When you see Anthony out there on his mower, cutting the grass around his shop—“It’s a peaceful time at work where I don’t have to think about 50 different things and all I gotta do is cut grass and make it look good”—you’re seeing a man who is proud of the business and the team he has built.
“It’s been an interesting ride. Honestly, I just wanted to be comfortable working with people and keeping them happy.
“With good people in place, you can do anything.”