Gordon Barnes joined B&R Portable Restrooms of Brownsburg, Indiana, as managing partner a little over two years ago, leaving behind a successful career as a car dealer and a modest career in professional golf. He doesn’t regret leaving those lives behind as he focuses on a business where each transaction matters to the people he serves, and service is critical to maintaining that relationship.
Barnes entered military service following high school, then went to college to study business finance. A talent for playing golf allowed him to compete professionally.
“But sooner or later, when you pursue your passion, you either strike it rich or go broke,” he says. “Ultimately, I realized I was a good golfer, not a great one. I met a girl on the golf course and married her. At that point, I had to do something to make money, so I went into business with a friend selling cars.”
They started with 15 cars and grew the inventory to 400. But work often stretched to 80 hours per week. At 10 years, he had missed seeing his kids’ home runs and no-hitters, and knew his priorities needed to change. His friend, Scott Fitzgerald, a serial entrepreneur, opened a new possibility. Fitzgerald owned 80% of B&R Portable Restrooms, and the previous owner still owned 20%.
“He asked me if I’d like to join him as a shareholder,” Barnes says. “I researched the business, talked to my wife, and we made the offer. It was a gamble for both of us, but one that Scott and I don’t regret. I began running operations in January 2024.”
To the casual observer, the car business and the portable restroom business, both focused on customers, appear similar. Barnes learned quickly that they’re not.
“The car world is highly transactional,” he says. “I could give somebody the greatest car-buying experience of their life. Five years down the road, they’re shopping car prices online. If I’m not the cheapest, they skip past me and couldn’t care less about the experience they had. Portable restrooms are a relationship world based on consistent, good service.”
Quality first
Barnes’ first order of business was to make quality service a top priority. This would first mean focusing on his 15 employees.
“We train them on whatever they need, and stress that our customer service has to be better than anybody else’s,” he says. “An industry standard I’ve heard is five to seven minutes to service a portable restroom. When a new person comes in, we throw that out the window. Don’t worry about time. Just clean that porta potty to the best of your ability. You will get faster over time — focus on your level of service first.”
When he started, the company offered 2,500 portable restroom units and six restroom trailers. Barnes quickly overhauled the pump truck inventory that maintained them, identifying underperforming trucks with damage or tanks that were too small and selling them at auction. They then purchased 10 new 2023 Chevrolet 6500s with 900-gallon waste/300-gallon fresh aluminum tanks with Masport pumps built out by Robinson Vacuum Tanks.
The new trucks joined the older fleet, all with aluminum tanks and Masport pumps: a 2019 Isuzu NPR with a 900-gallon waste/300-gallon fresh tank; a 2000 International NPR with a 2,700-gallon waste tank; and a 2007 International 4300 with a 2,700-gallon waste tank.
“With the new and refurbished trucks, it was like getting seven or eight extra crew members on board,” Barnes says. “That’s how much additional productivity we were seeing.”
Barnes also increased company pricing and created a denser service area to maximize efficiency.
By June 2024, B&R began to experience considerable growth.
Expanding the inventory
The portable restroom inventory has now grown to 4,000 standard and 120 ADA PolyJohn and Satellite units. Restroom trailers include five from Ameri-Can Engineering (three seven-station, one four-station and one two-station), three from Comforts of Home Services (two seven-station and one four-station) and a three-station ADA +2 from Ready2Go Trailer Sales.
Del Vel Chem Co. supplies bathroom tissue, and deodorants are from Walex Products.
The restrooms are hauled on four trailers: a 16-unit Laxi-Taxi Flatbed and a two-unit Deuce from F.M. Manufacturing, in addition to two generic 16-unit haulers.
The company also offers five shower units and 200 hand-wash stations from Satellite.
B&R has also recently added four more new service trucks, all with aluminum tanks. These include a pair of 2026 Ford F-600s from Imperial Industries with Masport pumps — one offering 400 gallons fresh/900 gallons waste and the other 1,300 gallons fresh. A 2025 Ford F-250 from Amthor International offers 150 gallons fresh/350 gallons waste and Masport pump. A 2026 Freightliner M2 Plus, also from Imperial, features 600 gallons fresh/3,200 gallons waste and NVE pump.
The company now employs 20 people. The number of services performed has almost doubled since Barnes arrived, growing from about 1,600 per week to 3,000.
Quality drives sales
“We achieved that without a salesperson,” Barnes says. “We focused on delivering quality first because I want increased sales to be sustainable. My next focus will be to hire salespeople to target construction companies in certain geographical areas to create more route density. I also want to target more complex jobs that people shy away from, to give us a chance to put our talent on display.”
B&R switched to the Navusoft platform in early 2025. That allowed the company to combine many functions from dispatch and routing to invoicing and accounting. One feature has helped to ensure that the company is meeting its service promises.
Employees were already required to date and sign a sticker, indicating they’ve met the company’s service standard. That not only holds team members accountable, but also demonstrates that B&R never misses a service date. Through Navusoft, they now also upload at least two photos for each service — before and after, the condition of restroom units and any damage and repair.
“If your service day is Tuesday, you’re going to get serviced on a Tuesday,” Barnes says. “A customer portal in Navusoft allows the customer to access the service photos. A customer will never be charged unless it’s backed up by a photo.”
The company service area stretches to a 60-mile radius around Brownsburg, including Indianapolis and surrounding counties.
Growing the events market
The current business mix for B&R is about 75% construction and 25% events like weddings, fairs and concerts. A 2024 Halloween event required several hundred units. Barnes says he would like to grow the event side, particularly luxury trailers.
“I’m looking to change the perspective of people like my wife who will do everything she can not to go into a porta potty,” he says. “Special events are the difference-maker. The restroom trailer side of this world is rapidly growing, so we’re purchasing more of them. I would like to really capture bigger events by going to the larger event planners and put hundreds of these trailers into service.”
Barnes has also teamed up with different types of providers to offer additional services, including dumpsters and special event fencing.
“On the construction side, I can offer fencing because it will be on their site for months or years,” he says. “For short-term events, I would have to maintain a big inventory. It’s easier to partner with a provider for now and recommend each other’s services. Down the road, I might decide to offer special event fencing. For now, I’m learning and making money without spending it.”
Taking time to learn
Barnes continues to take the opportunity to keep on top of industry developments, attending the PSAI Annual Convention and Trade Show and the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show.
“I like to learn and see if I’m missing anything,” he says. “I like to see the new trucks and restroom trailers, new software and how AI is going to change the business. Those are the types of conversations that I like to get into. It’s really a small community of people. And I’m surprised how willing people are to tell me about their own business. Deep down, we all face the same challenges.”
At age 41, Barnes has a long-term goal to grow the business. He’s looking to expand the company’s territory to cities such as Fort Wayne and Louisville, Kentucky. However, as someone who learned leadership skills in the military, his strategic planning isn’t designed to pinpoint a specific outcome, but to create options, no matter what the future holds.
“If you build a foundation that promotes growth, you can market yourself to a potential buyer,” he says. “You can expand your company’s footprint, or even realize the big dream of having your sons take over the company one day. If you grow your company sustainably, with an emphasis on service, you’ll have a world of options.”
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