For at least half of the Lower 48, the winter months represent a marked slowdown in business for most PROs. For some of these businesses, that means annual layoffs, long vacations and a significant decline in revenue.
Those in the Sunbelt states have something of the opposite problem. When the sun once again warms the northern climes and the snowbirds depart for home, tourist traffic slows at some of their busiest customer locations.
These PROs tell us how they handle seasonal swings in business volume to remain profitable into the next busy season. It’s clear that a strategy of intentional, planned diversification of services can be an effective buffer against profit-breaking slowdowns.
“We usually put them in the garage and they repair any portable toilets that have been damaged over the summer months,” says Linda DeHart, of AAA Wastewwater Services, Franklin, Ohio. “We cross-train everyone, so they just fill in wherever they’re needed.”
DeHart’s business is quite diversified, offering septic pumping, installation and repair as well as sewer and drain cleaning and portables. Offering a large menu of services is an approach that has served the company well for over half a century.
Slow times will also find employees cleaning graffiti and stains off the walls of portables and the company’s special events trailer unit, says Gene DeHart. “Everybody knows every part of the business, and slow times are always used to prepare the equipment for the summer months. We’re fortunate that we’ve always found enough work to do that we haven’t had to lay anyone off.”
Shawn House and his wife, Shannon, of All Star Septic Tank Pumping, Bonne Terre, Mo., recently added 100 units to the 15 they started out with on the portables side of their business. Since they’ve been moving into a new revenue stream, laying off workers during the slow months hasn’t been an issue, according to Shawn House. Having two sides to the business has helped insulate them somewhat from such doldrums.
“We still work on septic field installations and repairs when it’s cold, and we also manufacture our own concrete septic tanks,” he says. “That’s some significant work that keeps part of the crew pretty busy. When they’re not working on the pumping side of the business, we use the slow months to cross-train everyone into the portables side.
“We show them how to do thorough inspections of the units, and true maintenance work that looks at all the details on the restrooms. That includes deep cleaning of all surfaces and any repairs needed to doors and other parts. We’ll replace anything that’s too far gone to get the units looking as good as possible” for when they’re re-deployed to the field.
