Questions on business feasibility

[Clyde Isaak]

I've been asked by a Supervisor of our state USFWS Wildlife Services program if I would be interested in starting an Urban Wildlife Damage Control business. They would like to get away from doing urban wildlife control work as their main focus is on agricultural wildlife control complaints, not urban complaints. The problem is is that while they do some urban complaints the, numbers of complaints is not large, especially in my immediate area. I live in a town of 15,000 that has two small rivers going thru it. They handle less than ten complaints per year in my community with beaver complaints being the most common and with wood chucks being next. The largest town in the state, with a population of over a 100,000, is located 100 miles from me and there would definitely be more opportunities there for ADC type work, mainly because of the higher standard of living in that area and because it is a very urbanized type of area.

I am having a hard time deciding if it would be feasible to start up an ADC business. I would be looking at starting on a part-time basis at first, but am concerned about having enough business opportunities to justify the needed investments in cage traps, insurance, an so forth.


A few questions I have for some of you established ADC owners is.

How far do you feel is reasonable to travel from your home base to take on ADC complaints?

Is a 100 mile radius from your home base just to far to travel?

How do you factor in the millage when determining the inspection fee? So much a mile? Other?

While home-owners in the larger city may not have a problem with a higher fee most home-owners in smaller communities just can not afford the higher fees. Is it reasonable to adjust my pricing according to what I feel the home-owner can pay or do you feel it would be a bad business practice to go that route?
While I may be willing to lower my fee for some, I would not do a job unless I felt fairly compensated.

What are some good resources on Urban Wildlife Damage Control?
I have investigated the NWCOA web site, but that is about it. I am very interested in starting this up if it is at all feasible so would appreciate any and all replys.

Clyde Isaak

[SgtWal]

Where I live some counties have a population of around 20,000 all together. You're right in that the business will be heavier near the bigger town.
We are licensed state wide, and commonly cover a 50 mile radius. Our setup fee is setup so it goes up as we get farther and farther out. This covers travel costs. We will go farther out, if no one else will do the job, but we refer these to someone closer first.
I started with a half dozen coon cages and the same in smaller squirrel sized ones. Around here I need more mole traps and chipmunk traps than anything else.
Add traps as you feel the demand.
You will need insurance as many customers like realestate companies will need to see it before you start.
I know a fellow down state who travels 100 miles one way alot, and makes good money. A 200 mile day is common and 300 not unheard of for me. Get a truck that is cheap to operate and comfortable to ride in.
Small town folks often think you will work for free, or just to get the animal. But they will pay the Sears guy $50 to look at the washing machine. Set a fair price and stick with it.
I do offer a discount for those who clearly have problems, but I don't advertise it, I just take some off the bill at the end.
I'm guessing that if the F&W folks are calling you there is a fair amount of work out there. And from experience there will be more come as your name gets out.
Good luck.


wayne

[Clyde Isaak]

thanks for the reply Wayne. The more I look into things the more I believe it would be worth trying, especially since I will start out as a side line to my regular job. I, nor the guy from Wildlife Services, know of anyone in the state that offers Urban Wildlife Control. I also know that it will require a lot of educating the public on the benifits of the service. Thanks again.

Clyde

[SgtWal]

Remember YOU are not a wildlife manager, the State has that job. Find out what you can and cannot do and stick to the rules.
I know alot of guys who put down everything, " to prevent giving the problem to someone else". But many customers ask for a humane and live release in suitable habitat. Do you lie to them? Do you say one thing and do another? That's a slippery slope that can destroy you and your reputation. Be up front and honest.
Also keep your mouth shut. You will go into places in folks homes they wouldn't let their family see, and you have to be discrete. Do not ever comment on or touch anything anywhere. Again you run the risk of ruining your self. What you see and hear is forgotten when you walk out the door.
There are exceptions and you will know what they are in your own mind.
I don't do loose dogs and cats unless the customer signs a paper asking me to transport them. And then only to the pound. Too much risk of getting the middle of a neighborhood war.
Don't worry about educating the public. They will call and ask questions. Just answer them honestly and you will grow quickly. Remember they need you.
Write up some letters. Mail one to every pest control company, landscaper, realty office, and law enforcement agency in the area. Include a business card or two. These will be taped up next to the radio and telephone and used to refer folks who call for help.
Again good luck.


wayne

[bobwendt]

I really don`t think you have enough portential business there to cover bare bones insurance, advertizing and little stuff like business cards, let alone equiptment. serious, just not enough folks and reral urban small town types flat won`t pay enough. you need $1 a mile both ways just to cover vehicle and 10 bucks an hour getting there. 10 calls a year from usda, and obviously they don`t even want them on their set salaries. my bet, 9 out of those 10 wouldn`t pay a nickel to have the animals removed if usda didn`t do it free, as they do. if you want it, go for it, but I sure wouldn`t quit your day job ,or invest much money in this venture.

[Clyde Isaak]

Thanks for the additional replys Wayne and Bob. I understand what your saying Wayne and I won't have any problem with dealing with the public but you can be sure that I would always be cautious not only of my business reputation but my personal reputation.

I definately understand what your saying also Bob. I deffinately would not quit my day job if I started something like this. I believe I could start this with a reasonable investment, that would not create a financial hardship to me if it didn't work out. The insurance cost would be the major exspence in the whole deal. I know the Wildlife Services people personally and understand where they are comming from in wanting to get away from the urban complaints. With the few complaints they handle here I would certainly have to find other customers and I do believe they are out there, but you are right in that most will not be willing to pay what ADC operators are getting in other parts of the country. I will be investigating many things before I make my final decision. Clyde

[bobwendt]

you have to have at least a yellow pages ad or no one can find you. also insurance and a bare bones sign on truck and some specialized gear not applicable to fur trapping. I`m sure some liscencing requirment from ytour state. would there be enough to even cover these costs, let alone a return for you investment and labor (time) ? in sparsly populated areas or small town america, it just won`t fly. as a thought, ask usda if you can work as a sub contractor for them and get covered by their insurance and etc.

[trappnman]

Bob- for a small business man, a yellow page ad is not worth the cost. a simple listing does nothing and a ad spread is WAY too cost prohibitive.

Pick a name like "Wildlife Animal Control- and highlight it in bold in the white pages...

[bobwendt]

still costrs money. a business phone is at a higher rate than residential, as is bold print. . who would look in the white pages? with 10 referrals from usda, likely 9 of which are looking for gree service, wouldn`t even pay the phone.

[Clyde Isaak]

What I am trying to figure out now is whether there are more problems than what only the Wild Life Services guys are doing. I know that the downtown area has problems with pigeons and that they had someone poison them a few years ago, but that caused quite a public reaction when the pigeons started dropping on main street. They canceled that program quick and have never done anything since in controlling them. Will be talking to the down-town association to see if there is any interest in using cages to help control the numbers. We do have a potato processing plant outside of town that does have problems at times with coons and skunks. They have a pest-control company take care of their bug and rodent needs but they generally do not handle those type of animal problems. I found this out talking with someone who works there so I will be contacting them also to see if they would be interested in a maintenance program. There are a few other possibilities that come to mind and I know that the wild life services guys have not handled any of those type of complaints. Most of the complaints they handle are for the city. I just don't think most town people even know that wildlife services has people that may be able to handle those type of problems.

What I am am doing now is to just talk with the above people and others that may have some idea of wildlife problems locally and in surrounding communities. Such as animal control officers, sheriff and police departments, city parks department, local game wardens, local vets, road departments, etc..... I do believe there is opportunities out there for urban wildlife damage control work, but I agree with Bob in that will they be willing to pay for it. My gut felling is that most homeowners will not but that quite a few will. Especially those in higher income neighborhoods which are also right along the river, which increases their chances of wildlife problems.

Also to start off I would not have a "business" phone but would use my cell phone number. No Yellow Page adds, No sign for the truck, no new truck just use the pick-up I already own, no license needed except for a current trapping license, get a tax number from the state (free), Register with the Secretary of State a business name ($25 fee), have most supplies now but will have to get a few cage traps. Would start on a very small scale using contacts for referrals, business cards, flyers and word-of-mouth. Like I said before the biggest expense would be the $600 to $700 for liability insurance.

Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have a better idea of what I will be doing. Clyde

[bobwendt]

well, good luck. it sounds like you are doing your homework on it. let me suggest see if you can get an annual contract with the potato processor for say a grand, enough to cover bare bones out of pocket expenses. if so, worst you can do is work free. if not, you could end up actually paying a grand to work. I still think there might be oportunity to work thru usda w.s. as a temp. do that say one season and you will see what is out there volume wise. temps get 10 bucks an hour for summer skunk programs in wyoming, and often that temp position is a stepping stone to full time employment with benefits.

[Clyde Isaak]

Thanks for the info Bob. I was thinking the same thing with the potato plant. I understand what your saying regards to working for the season for Wildlife Services but that just wouldn't work out for me at this time. I may be able to do some contract jobs at times but could not commit for the whole season. I know they would be willing to refer my name to people that want problems taken care of faster than what they may be able to get to them as they get quite backed up in beaver complaints during the summer.
Clyde

[trappnman]

actually- quite a few people look in the white pages for specific titles.

[Bob Jameson]

Having been in wildlife control services for 30 some years now I came up the ladder slowly so have had all sides of the coin to evaluate. I service a considerable area and will only travel for the projects worth traveling for. Which are primarily in my business are bat control projects and bird work. These we travel to several states annually.

As far as starting a business I recommend you start with the time you have to devote initially and learn the ropes. It is a business more so then it is control work as time will show. It is advertising as much as your budget will allow. White page listings will not pay the bills in any business in the beginning or later on to any degree. You must use yellow pages, yellow book, new paper seasonal ads,referral services of any kind, Realtors, law enforcement, dog catchers, 911 listing ,etc. to name a few.

As has been pointed out by Bob W. a small demographic area will certainly impact your number of calls weekly or annually. It greatly depends upon the working class of people as well. If you are in primarily farm country you will starve I am sure to tell you. If you are in a upper middle class area you may be just fine if you learn how to bid work and not give your services away. You must lose the trapper mentality and be business minded all the way.This is difficult for some to do.

Top money from urban control work is not in trapping so much but in the repair and exclusion work after the job is complete. It is a business and depending on your business experience this will determine how successful you shall be down the road.

Start up costs, travel expense, equipment, vehicle expense, logo signs , business cards , shirts etc. all represent a part of your professional presentation and image in the public eye. Contrary to some opinions what people see is as important as what you do and how you present your self when you sell a job.

I would certainly encourage you to test the waters and learn as you go. There is alot of support out there now. At one time a man had to learn on his own and do the best he could. Go with your budget. Eventually if you want to really see how well you can do you must advertise in the yellow pages. If someone has a problem 85% of our calls are a direct result of advertising. The rest are repeat clients and referrals from other clients.

If you have a problem and you didn't know who to call where would you go for help? The average Jane Doe will make 75% of the calls to your business not the man. It has been a great experience for me over the years. Your life will change, as you will get calls for things you have never done before and you will be challenged as we all have been at one time or another and your knowledge will grow.

The only limitations that you have will be those that you put upon yourself.

Good Luck. BobJ.

[trappnman]

I don't know where all this fasination with the yellow page ads comes in. Talking ma bell yellow pages now. For the price you pay, to me they are NOT worth it.

Research shows 2 things with yellow pages- 1) the custumer picks the first listing or 2) the custumer picks the BIGGEST listing.

Inbetweeners get ignored.

[Bob Jameson]

There is no fascination with yellow pages and yellow book advertising it just a means of putting your business and services out where you can be seen and found. I don't believe I know of any successful service oriented business that doesn't advertise there.

If you want to run a business like this or other types of businesses you wont make it if you dont advertise to the public. Been down that road for a long time so you cant make me believe any differently. If you want to just run a hobby type business while working another primary job and depend on local referrals in time you may build up a little business and a base clientele. But you certainly wont make it as an independent self employed operator and pay the bills,put the kids through school or live a very comfortable life style.

Advertising certainly is not cheap but it is an expense that is a must to run a business like we do. Big ads are seen first certainly then they trickle down the line. I have done the big and the medium size ads and started with a small column listing many years ago.

You must pay to play as the old saying goes.The Yellow Pages made and built our business to where it is now and continues to provide for us. We spend thousands of dollars annually on our advertising budget but the results are very rewarding and we couldn't do what we do and keep our employees if we didn't get the work.

Even a one man show operator wont go far without advertising to some extent just happens that when someone has a problem they go to the pages for help. If you cant be seen they will call someone that is seen, that is how the cards are dealt.


If you know of another way to generate new regular daily business that I am not aware of I am listening. Always looking to learn something to improve my business and save me $$$$$$$.I know if I dropped my advertising in the books I would be out of business as I know it and likely have to lay off my technicians.
The only business we would have would be from our established seasonal clients and old business contacts.

Ad layouts and your language choice can make the real difference in the number of responses that you get from the general population even though you have a smaller ad.Our success has been in great part to our ad layout and language use with some nice graphics listed as well.

You must set yourself apart from the other ads to make it all work but the investment will work. However your type of market area ( rural or residential ) will play a major role in your success and your real dollar potential in those advertised areas.

[Mike Barcaskey]

hhmmmmmm,
I went into business fulltime for myself in 1991. Since then I've been partime 7 years and fulltime 8 years. The correct outlook on advertising in those early years probably would have saved me from having to find a "real job" to supplement my income.

My business entails
tree service, forestry and logging
WPC work, wildlife propagation and habitat management
writing

I have not advertised the tree service in two years, 148 bids given last year and all but maybe 16 or so were repeats and word of mouth. That is the type of business it is.

However I am finding that that formula DOES NOT work in the WPC biz. Very few repeats and referrals and maybe 6 or 7 other WPC guys within 10 miles of me.

I got my WPC license initally to compliment my wildlife and habitat management work and I only wanted the jobs I wanted to do.
I still only want certain jobs (Bob J. if I ever get a bat call, it's all you), that being a luxury of it not being my sole biz.


Bob J. said, "Top money from urban control work is not in trapping so much but in the repair and exclusion work after the job is complete."
Very true, so you better be part carpenter or roofer. I offer a warranty on return calls (certain restrictions) only if the customer has me do the exclusion.

I think the rule of thumb is 80,000 to 100,000 population in your area for the business to fly

[trappnman]

I don't believe I know of any successful service oriented business that doesn't advertise there.


Then you haven't looked enough. They are all over here.

When my dad and I have the print shop- we had a college team anayalize out custumer base- where the heard of us, why the choose us. Simple "saw you in the yellow pages" wasn't even close to the #1 reason.

Better ways to advertize than yellow pages? By better- more cost efficient.

1) word of mouth- in rural areas, word of mouth is going to get you as much new business as anything

2) sponsered activites- rodeos, farm events, craft shows, etc- where a BIG ad is cheap and gets read by people already wanting ot support the "cause"

3) weekly papers and shoppers. I can run a box ad very cheap, or a simple classified in the Farmers section even cheaper.

4) advertizing oin the vehicle. Truck signs get noticed- a lot.

5) Business cards- cheapest form of advertizing there is. Give them out like candy, post them wherever you can ,etc.

6) LOCAL yellow pages

Not trying to change anyones opinion, but don't agree with the advice of having someone starting out a small business hang themselves with a ma bell yellow page ad.

Perhaps this is another East vs west thing. Here- its still small town USA.

[Bob Jameson]

Having a store front or a walk in trade business is advertising in itself. You are in front of people all the time , driving past daily, established repeat and word of mouth business is typical in that type of business. Some businesses fly very well in a good location and having a history in the area.

I assure you these businesses are not remotely related in the services area nor can you take the same advertising approach in the Wildlife Control business.You would live a meager lifestyle as a full time operator and most likely just have a hobby type business at best if only depending on the advertising mentioned as your primary means of attracting new work.

It doesnt matter if you are East or West to a great degree. The biggest obstacle in the real western areas would be the lack of a good population base to sell too and the gas expense to have to travel if you are very rural.

I know many successful wildlife operators that are personal friends with years of experience as a one man show and others with employees as I do that would not make it with the fringe advertising that is mentioned. You may certainly get some calls over time but not enough to really make a difference for a fulltime operator.

I have done all the ones you mentioned to a great degree trying the cheap approach over the years. It just didnt produce. If folks have a problem and they arent aware of who you are and what you do, you wont be found very often without direct phone book advertising help.

In a small community area I am sure word of mouth will be your best bet in most cases since everyone knows the other person or someone who knows someone etc. But I wouldnt quit my fulltime job to do wildlife work in farm country alone without an urban population within a reasonable distance to support you.

I did not imply anyone getting in over their head in my post with book advertising. I stated that one should test the waters and go with their budget initially and see what the population will give you in respects to calls and leads. If the cost efficient advertising isnt working well then the only way to find out if there is a real business opportunity is to advertise in the yellow pages. Even a small column ad listing can help a newcomer alot early on. But perspective customers must be able to shop and see your service ad and what you do in order to call you.

I encourage anyone that has the interest and time to get a sideline control business started. The biggest problem most have early on is pricing, dealing with a residential setting and people, then getting a contract developed. It is a learning experience all the way .


BJ

[trappnman]

We will have to disagree on the value of yellow page advertising.