The Right Way

Startup companies show success doesn’t have to take decades if you follow the right approach.

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We usually feature contractors who have been in business for decades and have established reputations that travel well beyond the reach of their marketing efforts. This month’s issue of Cleaner is a bit different.

Marian Bond penned both profiles in this issue, and each features a contractor who entered the cleaning industry within the past few years. Both brought experience from the construction trades, but neither worked for a cleaning company. Still, they applied their experience and quickly found a path toward success.

Kris Norris formed NCM Hydro Vac Services after spending three years with his brother’s construction firm. Norris has a long family history of entrepreneurship, and he wanted to find his own successful niche.

With the help of financial backers, he purchased a 2006 Vactor combination unit that was set up for year-round sewer work and hydroexcavation in his home ground of Ottawa, Ontario. He maintained the family connection by hiring his father, Dana Norris, as his first employee, and the duo began the daunting task of promoting the newly formed company. He faced established competitors with larger fleets, and prospective customers were often skeptical and told him to come back when he had a second or third unit.

Norris was quickly able to establish NCM as a specialized remote hole excavation company, and worked hard to grow the company. He was fortunate to secure work within the fiber-optics community, as well as municipal work cleaning catch basins and culverts and flushing storm and sewer lines. The company also formed relationships with larger contractors and began cleaning culverts – anywhere from 40 to 500 feet long – in preparation for relining jobs.

Norris was committed to success, and he went about it the right way. I’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating: This industry provides an opportunity for success to anyone who is willing to work hard and do business the right way. Norris is a good example, and so are Wayne and Becky Thompson, owners of Crawler Pipeline Services in North Carolina.

The Thompsons were operating an infrastructure contracting firm when they decided to change gears and start a new company focused on cleaning and inspection. They bought a couple camera systems, then added a jet/vac truck and began a promotional program through their website touting the hydroexcavation process, which Wayne saw as a wide-open opportunity for expansion. The business has steadily progressed from there.

Crawler Pipeline is now serving several municipalities along with residential customers, and has carved out a valuable niche in the gas and oil industry. The business has come a long way just shy of its second anniversary, and while the Thompsons’ knowledge and experience have played a big part in their success, it really boils down to being honest, on time and doing quality work.

That’s how you do business the right way. It’s an approach we celebrate in Cleaner, and it’s one you should emphasize in your business.

I hope the stories of these companies’ success can help you find your own.

Enjoy this month’s issue.



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