Word-of-mouth was the most powerful tool Dean Flygare had going for him when he opened Flygare Excavating in 1992. Residents in his small hometown of Annandale, Minn., had watched him develop into a first-class heavy equipment operator and licensed onsite installer while working for his brother-in-law, Ed Purcell.The rural area, peppered with lakes and single-family homes, proved an ideal location for Flygare to build a full-service excavating company specializing in mostly residential onsite installations. To stay busy in winter, he plowed and hauled snow, thawed soil for construction companies and jetted frozen pipes with hot water.Flygare, 53, runs the business
