While in high school, Kayce Peters worked in the wastewater industry selling parts for Vactor trucks, never imagining 20 years later she’d swing back to the industry as the owner of a portable restroom company.
After graduating from college, working as a dental assistant, getting married, having six kids and spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mom, her husband Chris suggested starting a portable restroom business based on a recommendation from a friend in the industry. Her response — “No way.”
But the idea grew on her, particularly after a septic contractor put her in touch with Katy Feldt, a retiring owner of a successful portable restroom business. Feldt was generous with her time, advice and encouragement.
MIND MADE UP
By November 2023, Peters was ready to commit and bought seven Satellite Industries portable restrooms and a 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater aluminum Wabash slide-in tank with a Masport pump for their 2005 Ford F-350. On Jan. 2, 2024, she was in business.
She soon needed more units, and by October she had 74 along with 16 hand-wash stations. In November she bought a 2007 Isuzu NRR, which carries eight units and has a 600-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater steel tank and Masport pump.
Peters operates the business, Buenos Baños, out of their home in Chino Valley, Arizona, which has a 1,200-square foot garage. Restrooms are kept at an off-site storage unit.
Peters is proud to be a woman in the industry. “I’m 5 foot 3 inches, 120 pounds, and when I jump out of the truck people just look at me bug-eyed. And I’m, ‘Yep, it’s all me. I’ve got six kiddos — I know how to clean a mess.’”
EARLY DECISIONS
Company name: “We went through so many ideas,” Peters says. “Buenos Baños means ‘good bathrooms,’ and we work with a lot of Spanish-speaking people. Plus, I just thought the name had a ring to it.”
Niche: When Peters looked for the best place to fit into the market, small construction sites seemed right. “Bigger companies don’t want to waste their time on those. But they’re a big percentage in this area.” She also does small events. Her first one was for an auction house in their rural area for which she’s already been invited back for 2025.
Color: Peters carefully considered color when buying her first units. “I thought orange would hold up well to the intense Arizona sun,” she says. “I noticed dark-colored units quickly faded. And it’s a good safety color with high visibility.”
HELPERS
Feldt was an invaluable resource for Peters, but many others have also contributed. Peters’ husband, a diesel mechanic, is her biggest supporter, occasionally running routes and maintaining the vehicles.
Their children, ages four to 14, help out. Their oldest son can service a unit, and their eldest daughter helps with deliveries and child care. The others attach stickers and sometimes tag along. On weekdays Peters takes her four-year-old with her, which gives customers a smile for the day.
Peters’ aunt, Christine Walsh, owner of a high-end graphics company in Baltimore, has been an inspiration and provides advice and support along with printing. A friend made a hat with her logo on it, and another friend made shirts, one with a QR code on the back.
Other contractors have also been helpful, including Keith and Lori Galland who sold them the Isuzu. When Chris flew to Washington to look at it, they gave him lots of encouragement and advice. “And Lori told me if I ever have questions or just want to talk shop, I was always welcome to call her,” Peters says.
Looking ahead to the near future, Peters is training her retired father Rick Beauchesne and friend Mary Way to run routes.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
Peters wanted a logo that was simple yet effective. Her husband drew something up and her aunt digitized and printed it.
She designed her website and regularly posts to social media. “I like to make fun videos for my Facebook page,” she says. “I get a lot of hits on those — over 1,000 on some.”
She joined the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce and right away got a contract for a September 11 memorial. She also joined the Prescott Area Young Professionals, through which she met contractors and landscapers. That led to an interview with the Prescott Times which was filmed and put online. From that she landed a contract with a local asphalt company.
PROVIDING MORE
Peters says she’s price competitive but offers more benefits than others. For example, she always ties units down. “It’s included in the price,” she says. “I use a 1 1/2-foot lag that I screw into the ground.”
Event units are always stocked with hand sanitizer. But she also puts in motion sensor lights (J&J Portable Sanitation Products). “It’s a little extra pizazz,” she says. She services units once a week, “rain or shine.”
Peters works hard to erase the stigma of portable restrooms. “My standard is to clean a unit to where I’d feel comfortable letting my babies use it.”
RESPONDING TO MARKET NEEDS
When people started asking for RV pumping, Peters bought a hose attachment from Keith Galland who also explained how to do it. She also relied on YouTube videos, then worked with a customer who was willing to be her guinea pig.
Her asphalt customer requested a one-unit trailer they could pull around and a friend said hunters would also like those. So, she’s in the process of making that happen.
In the more distant future, Peters would like a few pink units. “And I really want to deck them out with sparkly lights — something fun for weddings or women-type events.”
OBSERVATIONS
Challenges: “The bank would not give us a business loan,” Peters says. To finance the company the couple sold a few possessions, got a loan on a 401(k), used tax return money and fixed up and sold vehicles.
Unexpected: Peters continues to be shocked at what she finds in the tanks — alcohol bottles on construction sites, a drug pipe, underwear, shirts, shoe insoles, a dead bird. But on the positive side, she never expected the business to grow so quickly. “It’s definitely an ego boost,” she says.
I’ll never do that again: “To save money we drove, with kids, eight hours each way to Fresno to pick up our first units, unassembled,” she says. “We got back late, watched a Satellite video to see how to assemble them, and then it was just hours and hours in the garage.”
Advice: Don’t be afraid, don’t underestimate yourself, pursue your dreams. “If you work hard and do what you say you’re going to do and bend over backwards for people, you’re going to make it. And I tell people it’s not as dirty and disgusting as you might think.”
