When the economy faltered in 2008, Baron Burems, owner of No-Clogg Drain & Sewer Cleaning Service, Inc. in Pasadena, Calif., made a decision to run leaner. He got rid of his building, replaced his six 1-ton service trucks with two half-ton trucks and cut his staff in half. Despite these changes, the company has maintained its $230,000 annual profit level by focusing on smaller jobs and getting them done right the first time.

Burems saved $3,000 per month in rent by eliminating the building and working remotely using mobile devices like a smartphone and iPad. Switching from 1-ton V8 trucks to half-ton 6-cylinder trucks halved fuel consumption and reduced insurance and vehicle registration costs. The smaller staff reduced payroll and insurance expenses. An $800 monthly Yellow Pages ad was replaced by $175 monthly online ads. Also, Burems switched credit card processing providers to avoid monthly fees. Altogether, the company is saving approximately $27,000 annually by eliminating unnecessary expenses.

In 1995, Burems began No-Clogg as a specialty drain cleaning service. Today, the company performs 80 percent drain cleaning and 20 percent sewer line repairs within a 30-mile radius of Pasadena. Three quarters of the jobs are commercial, with most being for restaurants, office buildings and homeowner associations. Burems performs the work himself, along with another full-time plumber and a part-time laborer who was hired through a placement service. Both employees have been with the company for three years.

The money’s in the sewer

At first glance, it may seem that larger plumbing jobs would be the most desirable for the profit potential. However, Burems built his business model with the opposite in mind. Instead of new construction work, Burems prefers quicker drain cleaning jobs. The team averages six to eight jobs per day.

“We do a lot of drain work. That’s where the money is,” Burems says. “No parts involved, just labor. We don’t have time to sit on a new construction job for a week. We have so many other customers calling us all the time.”

In addition, No-Clogg regularly handles hydrojetting, pipe bursting and a variety of plumbing repairs for its customers. In fact, it is the only small company within 20 miles to have its own hydrojetter, making it the go-to service provider for many other contractors in the area.

Since California’s infrastructure is relatively well maintained compared to other regions of the country, the demand for hydrojetting is less common, so equipment is cost prohibitive for many contractors. That has proven to be an advantage for No-Clogg.

“Most guys won’t spend $40,000 to get their own jetter,” Burems says. “We also have three cameras. A lot of companies won’t spend $10,000 for a camera. We have everything the bigger boys have. I’m here to help the little guys, and I do help bigger companies, too.”

No-Clogg’s operations revolve around a stable of Spartan Tool hydrojets, a Gen-Eye Digital Locator, Gen-Eye Super-Vee drain cleaning machine and Gen-Eye POD pipe inspection system, all from General Pipe Cleaners, Warthog sewer nozzles (StoneAge), three Ratech Electronics inspection camera systems with recording ability, a RIDGID NaviTrack plumbing locator, a Gorlitz waterjetting machine, Gorlitz drain cleaners, Piranha jetter hose and a Root Rat cutting nozzle (Chempure).

Although No-Clogg owns most of its equipment, it still rents less common items like pipe bursting equipment. The company hopes to grow its pipe bursting services in the future, but for now, the $70,000 equipment investment doesn’t make financial sense. According to Burems, plumbers who are new in the business should avoid buying too much equipment too soon.

“I believe in using equipment to its full potential. Why spend $1,500 for a jackhammer when you can rent one for $100 per day? Buy it and it collects dust. It’s coming out of your pocket,” Burems advises. “Buy the everyday stuff and rent everything else.”

Running lean with repeat business

One way to keep costs low is to reduce the investment in new business promotion. For that tactic to be successful, however, a company needs to maintain as much repeat businesses as possible. Repeat customers such as restaurants, realtors and apartment buildings are the key to No-Clogg’s success.

“Once we do three or four good jobs for them, they keep calling us back,” Burems says. “That is one of the things that we work on, having people call us back and giving good reviews.”

Although building a profit through smaller jobs is slow, it has a longer-term impact on the bottom line. That’s why No-Clogg pays workers with hourly wages and not commissions – so plumbers are not incentivized to up-sell services that customers don’t need.

“Some companies don’t want plumbers, they want a sales guy who can take a $50 job and turn it into a $5,000 job. They are sharks,” Burems says. “I can’t sleep at night knowing that I took advantage of a customer. We don’t live on the philosophy of a one-time deal. I want you to call me back. I want you to tell your kids and neighbors about us. I want to make sure you are 100 percent satisfied and happy.”

Treating all customers equally and not pre-judging people has allowed Burems to grow business in seemingly unlikely places. Some contractors may avoid an area because of its ZIP code and automatically assume that a person can’t pay for the work. No-Clogg does not subscribe to that way of thinking.

“I don’t judge a book by its cover, whether in a low-income area ghetto or Beverly Hills,” Burems says. “Just because someone lives in a less wealthy area doesn’t mean you don’t treat them the same as anyone else. I don’t mind going into certain areas because they pay for the work, and they pay cash. We go into every job knowing we will treat everyone fairly.”

No more cracks about plumbers

Disappointed about the bad reputation that plumbers can have, Burems has distinguished his company by simply providing top-quality service at an affordable price. This means paying attention to details, like calling the customer 30 minutes before arrival, arriving on time, providing a professional appearance, listening thoroughly to a customer’s concerns, offering solutions and pricing up-front, respecting property by laying down a cloth for tools, thoroughly cleaning up afterwards, and asking for customer feedback.

“Other plumbers may pull up the truck and drip oil in a customer’s driveway, track dirt on the carpet, have a butt crack or underwear showing, or give a price after the job is done,” Burems says.

After every job, No-Clogg plumbers provide a response card for customers to fill out on the spot. “I want a check-off that the job was clean, and the guy was on time and presentable,” Burems says. “We want to make sure we get a good review. We ask customers to email us a good review, or go to our website or Google Maps to give us a good review.”

In the event of a negative response card, Burems contacts the customer immediately, offers an apology and provides a coupon for the next service call.

To keep top of mind with happy customers, No-Clogg provides refrigerator magnets and applies company stickers in the areas that were repaired, such as under a sink or on a water heater. If a problem arises in the future, customers will immediately know who to call.

Networking for growth

Broad-reach advertising is not the only way to gain new customers. Often, word-of-mouth promotion is even more effective. After a residential job is completed, Burems leaves door hangers at an average of nine to 12 neighboring homes to say they were in the neighborhood.

In addition, Burems belongs to a local professional networking group that meets every week to exchange leads. Thirty-five professionals from various businesses such as electrical, realty and insurance gather to share prospective customers that might need specific services. For example, if group members are at a restaurant or other public place and notice a problem with a toilet or other plumbing issue, they can hand the manager a No-Clogg business card as a referral.

When Burems goes to a location for a plumbing job, he shares his portfolio containing group contractor business cards and invites customers to take cards for services they may need. Then, at the next meeting, the group swaps prospective customer information and later discusses whether the jobs were successful.

A family affair

No-Clogg is a family business – Burems’ wife and daughter handle administrative duties. By keeping the number of employees small and tight, Burems has created an environment that values family and personal time.

“I keep a slim schedule. I take my kids to school in the morning. I go work out afterwards. My first job is at 10 a.m., and I pick up my kids at 3 p.m.,” Burems says. “There’s only a four- to five-hour window to do jobs. I’ve been in this business long enough that I can get at least four jobs done in that time.”

All employees have off on Sundays and work half-day Saturdays or every other Saturday. The family atmosphere and flexibility garner respect from employees, keeping them happy and more likely to stay. If No-Clogg had the higher expenses it once had, the team would likely be working longer hours to be profitable. For Burems, the end goal is not about making a fortune.

“It’s a family business that I would like to keep around for my kids,” he says. “I don’t need to make $200,000 per year. I’m not driving a Ferrari or living in a big house. I’m basic and simple.”