Whatever Works: Where Product is King

The partners had no doubt that such a catalog would fill a need, but, as with the startup of Dr. Leonard’s, the problem was what to call the book. An associate, Margaret Hickey, piped in and said, “All these products work. Why not call it ‘Whatever Works.’”

As Brown suggests, the title of the catalog helps them concentrate on coming up with core products. Among their best sellers: Spider Fighter, Deer Repellent, Squirrel Pouches and Bird Barriers. Other items that aren’t easily found at retail: mole chasers, silverfish and slug eliminators, animal traps, a plastic mat with spikes that keeps pets off the furniture, gutter and leaf cleaners, termite killers, and a bat house that encourages a bat colony to live nearby and kill up to 48,000 insects a day.