Think you do your best at your portable restroom business? You probably do, but there’s always room for improvement, right? Or at least for some sage advice from those who have been in the industry awhile. Whether you’re new to the industry or a longtimer yourself, it’s wise to listen up when industry veterans agree to share their best tips.
“There are no secrets. It’s all hard work.”
That short and sweet statement comes from Mitchell Weiner, CEO of Mr. John/Russell Reid in Keasbey, New Jersey, a behemoth in both the septic and portable restroom worlds. Not only is his company big, Weiner knows his stuff. Weiner, who has worked in the industry since the late 1970s, was recently honored with the PSAI Andy Gump Award, the most prestigious honor awarded by the association.
Quite simply, he says, hard work is the key – for both longtime practitioners as well as newcomers. That’s because, he says, in the restroom industry, “Most jobs are coming to an end. Almost every job needs to be replaced with another.”
As one construction job ends, another needs to be found; it’s the same with special events. And while some PROs are lucky to land long-term or exclusive contracts, most jobs require a dedicated selling effort.
That’s something new practitioners need to be aware of; often, the jobs just don’t come your way. That’s why having a sensible and studied startup plan is essential.
Have a plan
“Guys who start up (businesses) … most of them are great operators but aren’t great business people,” says Weiner. It’s essential to learn to deal with money issues like monitoring cash flow. “Cash flow planning is the essence of this business,” he adds.
“You need to be prepared to carry the customer,” if funds don’t come in as quickly as expected. So while capital is needed to buy hardware and other equipment, it’s also needed to support accounts.
Money doesn’t always come in as fast as it can go out, especially when purchasing equipment or planning an expansion. Weiner believes that’s another key point of a successful business – planning expansion carefully.
“You need to have a plan so there’s capital to fund expansion,” says Weiner, whose company has grown, over time, to 250 employees and 10,000 portable restrooms.
Flay Anthony, retired former owner of Porta-John of the Piedmont in North Carolina, agrees that growing a company too fast can have drawbacks.
“It’s a comfort level for each individual … what they feel they are comfortable with in terms of a debt load or being able to handle those things,” says Anthony, who worked in the industry for 30 years and was recently honored with a volunteer award by the PSAI. “Some individuals are accustomed to handling debt a little better than others.”
He recalls one time in his career when things were slower than they had been, “but we needed to make a decision about (getting) some new equipment so we could keep pace when things came back.
“We had a good maintenance program set up so things were in good shape.”
Maintenance matters
Anthony stresses that it is essential to have a maintenance program in place. “If you go out, for example, and pick up a restroom and it’s got damage to it … when you bring it back, you’ve got to have some type of maintenance program,” he says. “All of those things are absolutely crucial … for both restrooms and vehicles,” regardless of the size of the operation.
Weiner goes a bit further, advocating having serialized inventory to keep track of all restrooms and equipment. That may be more difficult for smaller companies, he admits, but he believes owners should know all their inventory and where it is; that type of organization can also extend to accounts payable and receivables, especially in implementing an easy-to-use billing system.
In addition to monitoring the day-to-day work of the portable restroom world, both Anthony and Weiner agree that challenges do arise, but good preparation, mentoring and research can help, especially in the beginning.
Learn from others
“To some degree, it comes back to being educated,” Anthony says. “Competitors come and go; you have to say to yourself, I’m in this for the long haul. I’m not in it to just be a few years and out. I’m prepared to weather the storms, (and) there are storms that go on in all kinds of industries.”
Unlike Weiner, Anthony didn’t enter a family-owned business, but both men had mentors who helped pave the way. For Weiner, that was his father, whom he started helping when he was still in college. Weiner notes that his father, likewise, had pros to lean on.
“Seek the advice and counsel of someone you trust who has the range of experience you hope to have,” says Weiner. “It’s great to bounce ideas off someone.”
Still, some of the best input operators can get is from customers, and exemplary customer service cannot be overstated. “Continue to provide a high level of service, regardless of how tough it is, so that the customer knows they can count on your company,” says Anthony.
And, Weiner adds, it’s important to remember, “It’s not just the guy in the field.
“The experience when the customer contacts you — by phone, email, etc. — is equally important as the part where we do the service.”
Doing your best in whatever you do is perhaps a no-brainer, or at least it should be. But perhaps Anthony says it best, “I think it is still a great industry; every day, we fill a need. This industry is one you have to be dedicated to and be out there and willing to accept the challenges that come with it.”
