Ken Novotny sums up his business philosophy like this: “The more you can do yourself, the better. If you get too big, it means your service might suffer.”
This quality over quantity approach has served Novotny well during the past seven years at Gotta Go Portable Toilet Rentals based in Grande Pointe, Manitoba, Canada.
Novotny has tapped into mechanical aptitude — developed while growing up on a wheat and cattle farm — to build a customer-focused portable sanitation business. He also has developed a strong network of friends in the portable sanitation industry that he can turn to for advice.
FROM THE GROUND UP
Novotny, 46, decided to go into business for himself after growing tired of the on-again, off-again layoff cycle at the Motor Coach Industries bus factory in nearby Winnipeg. He’d learned the portable sanitation business one summer by helping a farmer friend, Carl Zylema, who pumped septic systems and rented portable restrooms as a sideline.
“It was one of those jobs where you learn from your mistakes,” he says. “Fortunately, we both caught on.”
Novotny launched his new venture with a bank loan and help of a government program that helps unemployed workers launch startup businesses by paying unemployment compensation during a nine-week business development course. He came away from the class with a business plan in hand, including knowledge that the Winnipeg metropolitan area (population 672,000) had only three portable restroom operators at the time.
Gotta Go made its debut when its telephone directory advertising appeared in April 2003. By that time, Novotny had put the pieces in place. A key early step was making a seven-hour drive from Winnipeg to Minneapolis to shop for portable restroom units. There, he met Dave Holm, president of On Site Sanitation Inc., a large portable sanitation operator serving the Twin Cities region. The two hit it off right away.
“Dave’s become sort of a mentor to me. He’s been very generous with help and advice,” he says.
Novotny purchased 28 new portable restrooms from Satellite Industries Inc. He also bought his first service truck and 84 used Satellite units from Holm. From there, he started knocking on the doors of special events coordinators and construction companies in and around Winnipeg.
DELIBERATE GROWTH STRATEGY
Novotny has carefully kept Gotta Go in sync with his ability to serve his customers. He gradually added about 50 units a year until reaching the present total of 330 restrooms.
Most of Gotta Go’s units and 16 hand-wash stations are from Satellite. About 20 used PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. units came from a Winnipeg-area operator. Novotny recently added a trailer-mounted VIP unit from NuConcepts for weddings and special events.
“I really think we’re at an optimum size right now,” he says. “You get to know your customers and they get to know you.”
Novotny’s nephew, Cory, 26, is Gotta Go’s only other full-time employee. His daughter, Lindsay, 26, also jumps in to haul units. His wife, Lois, helps out as needed. Novotny sees several advantages to staying small:
Inventory management: Newer units are held aside for weddings and special events, while older units are sent to longer-term rentals at construction sites. Having a relatively small inventory helps Novotny keep track of the units’ condition.
Specialization: Novotny cultivates high-visibility special events that provide repeat business and generate referrals. These include a dragon boat race, sports tournaments, fairs and festivals. He’s found that event organizers are more comfortable when they know the company owner is available to resolve problems.
Flexibility: As a small operator, Gotta Go can quickly respond to customers. It’s not unusual for Novotny to honor a customer’s request for an extra day on either side of a special event. “The thing is, you have to be reasonable. When you give good service, people will remember you,” he says.
Appearance: Novotny believes that maintaining clean service trucks and portable restrooms are powerful advertising tools. He says that keeping his operation at a manageable size gives him enough time to sustain the spotless appearance. Each truck is equipped with a Honda pressure washer so units can be quickly cleaned and returned to service.
STICKING WITH PORTABLE SANITATION
Gotta Go’s customer base is a 50-50 split between construction customers and special events. Novotny notes that agriculture and energy exploration has helped insulate Western Canada’s economy from the slowdown that affected much of the U.S. the past two years.
“Construction is a good, year-round base for us,” he says. “We have a fairly short special events season. One day in 2009, we had all of our units out.” Typically, Gotta Go has 70 to 80 percent of its units rented during the area’s June-July-August events season.
In response to requests for septic service, Novotny is in his third year of providing limited septic tank pumping and waste hauling. He says he sticks to a 20-mile radius of his Grand Pointe base to keep from taking time away from servicing portable restrooms.
“I don’t push the septic (business), but the calls keep on coming,” he says. Portable restrooms provide about 80 percent of Gotta Go’s annual sales and Novotny expects that ratio to continue for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the area currently supports seven portable restroom operators, including Novotny’s old friend, Zylema. “Winnipeg keeps growing so there’s still room for all of us,” he says.
In addition to telephone directory advertising, Novotny keeps the Gotta Go name in front of current and potential customers by handing out refrigerator magnets, flashlights and pocketknives.
THE HANDYMAN
Novotny spends some of his downtime in the winter months building and maintaining the service fleet in his own shop. The shop’s equipment, including a welder, bench grinder, press brake and variety of hand tools, came from the farm where he grew up.
“Sometimes on the farm you couldn’t wait around for parts to arrive. You just had to make do. That’s where I learned it,” he says.
Novotny did the build-out on two of his current service trucks: a 1999 Ford F-550 with a 750-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater steel tank and a 2000 Ford F-350 with a 350-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank. Both are equipped with Jurop pumps.
He says he got ideas for how he wanted the rigs to look from viewing service truck displays at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International. Then, he returned to his shop and assembled the vehicles from tanks and components acquired used from other portable restroom operators. Additional welding and metal work for the wintertime projects was done at Winnipeg area metal fabricators.
Novotny remodeled a snowmobile trailer into an enclosed transport that keeps up to 14 units clean and shiny during deliveries. He also has modified an open, former snowmobile trailer to transport up to 10 units and a small trailer that carries two to three mounted portable restrooms and is rented as a package for events at remote areas.
“If you have the right tools, you can build pretty much anything you need,” he says.
Other vehicles in the Gotta Go fleet include a 1989 Ford F-450 built out by Satellite Industries with a 250-gallon waste/150-gallon freshwater steel tank and an Onan pump. The rig features a flatbed with a power tailgate that hauls six to eight units. Gotta Go also runs a 1999 Ford F-550 built out by Keith Huber Inc. with a 750-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater steel tank.
Septic service and other waste hauling is handled with a 1992 GMC TopKick with a 2,000-gallon steel tank and a Jurop pump.
A New Holland LX665 skid-steer is used to move units around in the yard.
HAPPY CAMPER
Novotny appreciates the friendships he’s made among portable restroom operators. He regularly talks with much larger operators, including On Site Sanitation’s Holm, and Scott Edwards of Scotty’s Potties in suburban Detroit, whom he met at the Pumper & Cleaner Expo.
“It’s really great to know people from companies that are a lot bigger than you who can give you pointers,” he says. “I’ve gotten lots of advice over the years on how to promote ourselves.”
Although he’ll consider adding another full-time employee, Novotny is in no hurry to do so. “My goal now is to just keep my customers as happy as can be,” he says.
