It’s not unusual for business owners to have Type A personalities that make it difficult for them to give up responsibilities and delegate them to other people. While that driven mentality can produce rapid growth, it can be a double-edged sword that also leads to burnout and stress.
For proof, look no further than Derrick Nelson, who bought his father’s septic pumping and portable restroom business, Nelson Sanitation & Rental in Rice, Minnesota, in 2011. He proceeded to transform its service offerings and expanded into hydroexcavating and cleaning and inspecting sewers and related infrastructure.
But about a year after Nelson bought the company, he realized he was already getting overwhelmed.
“You can’t do everything yourself — you can’t be on every job,” he says.
So Nelson hired Amanda Gunther to answer the company’s phones and handle payroll and some dispatching. She turned out to be such a valuable addition to the company that she now serves as operations manager.
A few years later, as annual growth continued, Nelson hired Chad Houg to be the company’s sales and marketing director.
“At times, it was a little hard,” Nelson concedes about delegating responsibilities. “But overall, it was a win-win situation.”
The entrepreneur says that adapting to growth is a constant business challenge.
“We add a position to handle growth and it leads to even more growth,” he explains. “And if we add more people out in the field, then we need more equipment. It seems like we’re always behind — it’s hard to keep up.”
But having the right people in the right positions has helped immensely. So has creating a caring company culture that fosters a family-like atmosphere and motivates people to work hard and do right by customers, Nelson says.
“The most valuable thing I’ve learned in the past 10 years is to make sure employees get what they need and that you get from them what you need,” he says. “A happy employee is the best benefit you can have. I think we now have the best staff we’ve ever had.”
Read more about Nelson Sanitation & Rental in the March 2025 issue of Cleaner magazine.
