Cha-ching! (8-10)

In an era when solution-based retailing equals success, Louisiana Nursery Home & Garden Showplace has the formula down pat.

Practically everywhere visitors go in any of the company's four locations in the Baton Rouge area is marked by inspirational ideas, as well as by practical merchandising that shows how customers can succeed in their gardening endeavors.

Even the company website is geared toward helping customers find solutions to projects or challenges they face. The Spring 2011 Project Planner helps guide them through a variety of garden- and home-improvement activities, from building a barbecue to crafting a pond, from constructing a wood bird feeder to renovating a lawn.

Clearly, the father-son ownership team of Roger and Mitch Mayes have crafted a model that is big on showing customers the path to success. Along that path, customers inevitably become better gardeners -- and express their thanks for that evolution with big chunks of "Cha-ching!"

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