Many small business owners, when asked how they got where they are today, will say, “Because I had a great mentor.” Will Frye, owner of Vets Septic Service in Oklahoma City, can count himself among them.

After 23 years of operating his own septic pumping and installation business, Frye still remembers that one poignant moment many years ago with his mentor — Dennis Cady, the owner of a Phoenix-based septic company for which Frye worked while in his early 20s. It was a moment that sent him down the path to owning a business of his own:

“We were out fishing one night,” Frye recalls. “My boss was extra sharp, and he knew I was fixing to come back to Oklahoma, and he said, ‘I tell you what — you go to any city in the United States, buy yourself a pump truck and get a decent Yellow Pages ad, and you’ll make a living.’ And he looked at me like, ‘Did you catch that?’ And I did.”

It was a simple bit of advice and Frye took it seriously. Using money he saved during a two-year stint with his mentor’s company, he moved back to Oklahoma City and bought his first vacuum truck. His choice of company name — Vets Septic Service — paid tribute to his mentor via the sincerest form of flattery: He chose to use that company’s same name.

With the foundation of his septic business in place, including a working knowledge of the ins and outs of pumping, Frye started fielding calls and the business was up and running. In much the same way he learned from his mentor — by listening carefully and absorbing information — Frye has succeeded by sensing changes in the business environment and adapting accordingly. This responsiveness to new market demands and customer needs has allowed him to capitalize on new opportunities — in marketing the company and providing niche services — to grow to eight employees and run three service trucks. In addition, the business now hauls in five times the gross revenue than it did in the early 1980s.

TIME TO DIVERSIFY

Frye has always been quick to latch onto an opportunity and evolve his service menu to respond to customer demand. Shortly after he started pumping, he traded a Corvette for a backhoe and began offering excavating and installation services. After that, he added a few more vacuum trucks, another backhoe, and a bulldozer to his fleet.

The current fleet includes a 1998 International with 1,800-gallon steel tank; 1999 International with 2,200-gallon steel tank, 36-inch rear hatch and hydraulic lift; and a 2006 S1900 International with 2,300-gallon steel tank. All trucks are equipped with 753 water-cooled Wallestein vacuum pumps and were built by Mid-Continent Truck Sales Inc.

“We have found these trucks to be adequately sized for our business. They are light enough for residential driveways and yards but still big enough for all of our commercial needs.”

The company also has a 1995 International flatbed truck used to transport backhoes to and from jobsites; a 1999 Kenworth, 10-wheel dump truck and two new 3/4-ton pickups, a Chevy and a Ford, for transporting trenchers or other rented equipment.

“We now install all sewer systems that are applicable in Oklahoma, including drip systems, lagoons and lateral lines. We also install evapotranspiration absorption (ETA) systems.”

STORMY WEATHER WINS

Storm season in Oklahoma is legendary. And the storms can be deadly. One precaution homeowners take to protect their families is installing storm shelters on their property; these are self-contained, pre-fabricated underground capsules with a hatch that homeowners use to escape severe storms and tornadoes.

Frye was one of the first in his area to begin offering them 23 years ago. Now, he says, the price is half of what it used to be — about $2,500 — so the company has seen the demand for the shelters skyrocket. The shelters, made of precast concrete reinforced with fiber and steel rebar, are produced by the same manufacturer as Vets’ septic tanks: Hausner’s Precast Concrete Products. Most homes in Oklahoma don’t have basements due to the high water table, so these shelters take the place of basements as a safe place to wait out a storm.

Although they’ve been available for a century, Frye says he has witnessed an uptick in interest in storm shelters for a couple reasons: they’re more affordable now, and also, the housing boom has drawn transplants from all over the country — new residents who have a mental picture and a good amount of fear about the wrath of the storm season. Frye says the company has installed nearly 400 shelters over the last four years.

Many people choose to add a storm shelter for new construction, but they’re also popular for existing homes, and for some of the American Indian businesses and homes prevalent in the area. Oklahoma has a large American Indian population — 11 percent. That’s a tie with New Mexico and second only to Alaska as the state with the largest American Indian population. Vets has installed nearly 200 storm shelters through tribal organizations over the past four years. Vets also has installed approximately 500 septic systems for the tribes, about 15 percent of them for casino projects.

“We also provide services for Indian Health Service of Oklahoma. This includes new systems and maintenance for existing systems in mainly residential areas,” Frye adds. About 85 percent of the storm shelters and septic systems for Indians are residential homes.

Frye estimates about 20 percent of people choose to add the shelters when building their homes. Frye himself can attest to their utility, as he has had to use his own three times over the past 10 years. In 1999, the biggest tornado ever recorded wound through the area, and the storm shelters Frye had installed were put to the test.

“We had 100 (shelters) in that storm, and none of them were hurt,” he says.

Storm time is prime time for shelter sales — as soon as storm season as over, sales drop off. The season, however, fortunately coincides with when people receive their tax returns, and Frye sees a correlation between receiving those checks, and placing a call to Vets.

“A lot of people buy storm shelters with income tax money and that money comes around right before storm season,” Frye explains. And, he adds, “The (tax return) amount is about the same as a storm shelter.”

MARKETING MILESTONES

Targeted marketing has also been an essential ingredient in Vets’ growth. Half the time, pumping services are prompted by an emergency. For that reason, it’s essential to be front and center when people open up the Yellow Pages.

“In the pumping service business, the marketing we do is 100 percent needed,” he says. “When it comes to installing, it’s probably only 10 percent — reputation and time and expertise are the other 90 percent.”

Frye has experimented with television commercials promoting its storm shelter sales. But, while it led to increased business, the revenue wasn’t sufficient to cover the high cost of the media. Where Frye has seen a good payoff, however, is through his Web site, launched with the desire to reach younger customers.

“It has introduced a new clientele, and that has increased our business probably 8 percent in just a year,” he explains. The site offers basic information on cleaning and maintaining septic systems, as well as information on the storm shelters and other services.

“Ten years ago, you catered to the old folks — that’s who had the money. Now, the 25- to 30-year-olds are getting financially stable and using the Web site,’’ he explains. And at a cost of $200 a month, which includes the development, hosting and design, it has more than paid for itself.

Another marketing tactic is Frye’s trucks, which he calls “moving signs,” and a surprising number of calls come in from people who’ve seen them, he says.

“If anybody’s going to go into the septic business you better have some nice signs on your trucks. Don’t make it gaudy, make it clear and clean,” he adds. “I think (our trucks) have a modern, clean straightforward look. They’re black and white. I think a clean, straightforward (design) looks better than any flashy truck.”

It all goes into the Vets formula for business success — a formula that’s really quite simple.

“In the time we’ve been in business, good equipment, good employees and the proper person answering the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week” have been the keys to growth. And, adds Frye, the company’s name seems to resonate with people, another gift courtesy of Frye’s mentor.