Become the Expert Worth Hiring
Become the Expert Worth Hiring
Tom is the CEO/founder of a successful home-service business known as Miche Pest Control. The company services DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Baltimore. Tom’s business has grown exponentially since it was founded in 2019 and has a consistent 4.9-star Google rating which is incredibly impressive. Today, we’re going to dive right in to learn more about how Tom has found success so quickly within the industry.
How Did You Get Into the Business?
Tom was searching for a new job, and one of his friends suggested he look into door-to-door pest control sales. He explains that he felt he was mediocre at the position and wasn’t very passionate about what he was doing. He began riding along with one technician on the field and discovered that he was much more interested in doing hands-on work, which prompted him to switch positions within the company. It only took him a month for him to realize that he wanted to work for himself, but he knew he had quite a bit more to learn, so he worked at this company in particular for a total of eight years before going off on his own in 2019.
How Was The Transition From Technician to CEO?
Tom let his current job know that he would be starting a new business in the near future. He made the decision to cut back his hours to focus on his new venture but agreed to continue working at his current company part-time, so they weren’t left without help. He was commuting a significant distance to continue accommodating his job, which was very time-consuming and stressful. Eventually, he began running his business full-time and has been succeeding ever since.
How Did You Grow Your Business in a Short-Amount of Time?
Tom has only been in business for two and a half years but has managed to open four different locations, which is extremely impressive! He explains that in his eight years working for a pest control company, he learned a great deal about operations, marketing, and advertising which gave him more confidence when starting his own business. He has learned to utilize SEO and other business marketing strategies to get his name out there and generate as many leads as possible. ThumbTack has been an excellent resource for him, along with Yelp and his business website.
How Do You Get Great Reviews?
Miche Pest Control has a significant amount of positive reviews. He utilizes a CRM program known as PestRoutes to communicate with clients. They have automated text messages and emails that are sent out upon completion of service to ask for reviews. They’ve found this strategy extremely effective in getting positive feedback. On Google, Miche Pest Control maintains a 4.9-star rating out of over 1000 reviews which is very impressive!
How Do You Handle Negative Reviews?
Tom explains that if someone leaves a negative review, they immediately try and figure out who the client was and how to get in contact with them. They never ask anyone to change their rating but ultimately want to figure out what exactly went wrong and what the company can do to make things right. Tom finds that in a lot of situations, negative reviews stem from a miscommunication which is why following up with clients on poor feedback is so important.
How Many Employees Do You Have?
Across all of Miche’s locations, they currently have a total of nine technicians and three office staff members, with a few people who are in training. The office staff are completely remote and work in different locations around the country. We asked Tom if he has struggled to find good employees recently, but he says that the company hasn’t had a hard time finding people as he always makes it a point to pay well. When he posts about hiring, he checks what the current pay rate is for the position and always lists the job above the average salary plus benefits and bonuses.
What is the Best Advice You Could Give Someone Who is Looking to Start Their Own Home-Service Business?
Tom says, whatever dollar amount they anticipate they need to complete a service, double it! He also says that it is absolutely necessary to stick within your service area because any extra time you spend driving is time that could be better spent generating income. Lastly, Tom expresses how important it is to make sure you are charging enough for your services! You must figure out exactly what your expenses are and how much you need to be making in order to make a profit!