[My Biggest Mistake] Working IN vs. ON My Business

Clint Miller Exterminating provides GPC and termite control throughout North Carolina.

When you put your name on the sign in front of your new pest management company, you feel a strong sense of accountability to provide your customers with the very best in quality and service. Like a lot of my peers, I learned the hard way that this does not mean you have to deliver that quality and service personally. If your vision is to grow your business to be a strong competitor in your market, you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, develop a business plan and trust the people on your team to do the work you hired them to do. Once you let go of the idea “If I want it done right, I have to do it myself,” you multiply your opportunities for business growth and improve your own work/life balance.

I started Clint Miller Exterminating as a one-person shop in Mount Pleasant, N.C., in 1984, landing my first clients by going through the White Pages and asking homeowners if they would like a free termite inspection. When I heard “yes,” I would jump in my truck, perform the inspection, secure the customer relationship, come back to the office and make another call. An answering machine took messages for me when I was out on a customer visit.

As business grew, I hired someone to answer the phone and took on one helper, then two, then three. Before I knew it, I was up to a half-dozen or so trucks and bringing in more than a half-million dollars a year in business.

Then business stagnated. And guess what? I was the problem. I had created a bottleneck by spending too much time in the field and not enough in the office. I was still operating with a small-business mentality, thinking that a couple of hours in the early morning and then a few in the evening were all I needed to spend running the business. During the workday, I was servicing customers, helping my technicians troubleshoot issues for their customers and, because I was so intent on assuring quality on every account, following up on all of our newer technicians’ accounts. Business conversations — ordering supplies, talking with my insurance rep, working on new service contracts with my lawyer, etc. — took place on my cell phone in between stops.

On top of my business troubles, I was personally facing mental burnout. I knew I needed to make a change.

I compromised by setting aside two days a week to be in the office handling business matters. Then I started adding more office time as I reduced time in the field. Today, I go out just one or two days a week, and I service only a handful of customers — those who have stood by my business and me since the beginning.

Here’s how everyone involved is winning now that I’m working on the business more than in it:

• Customers. This management structure has given me the opportunity to put tighter controls on inventory and waste, which translates into improved pricing for customers. They’re also getting better, more consistent service, because I have been able to dedicate more effort to developing a training program for our technicians and our office staff.
• Staff. The confidence level of our employees has soared. They’ve become more knowledgeable and versatile, which gives them a greater comfort level at accounts. And they like that I’m not always looking over their shoulder! I’ve empowered them to do their own troubleshooting; if they have a really tough challenge, they confer with one of their co-workers. They call me out to an account only as a final resort.
• Me. I have much more time to spend with my family, doing the things we missed out on for a number of years. Knowing you can go on vacation without a phone is an incredible feeling. I know I can rely on my team and that they have the knowledge and tools they need to carry on while I’m getting some much-needed R&R.
   

My advice to entrepreneurs who are starting out is to budget your hours the same way you budget your money. Don’t keep investing more and more hours into your business as you lose family time. If you’re working more than 60 hours a week, or whatever your magic number is, then think about what kind of changes you need to make. You’ll benefit, your staff will benefit and your business will have much greater potential to grow.

As told to Donna DeFranco.