The septic service business was simple back in 1957, when C.A. Barnes started out in rural Indiana. All it required was some basic equipment, a strong back and a will to succeed.
“My father started out with a diaphragm type pump and a 500-gallon tank on a trailer, pulling it with a Jeep … (it) got the job done,” says Larry Barnes, now one of the owners of Barnes Sewer & Septic in Winchester, Ind.
Two generations after C.A. Barnes dug out his first tank lid, Larry Barnes and his daughter, co-owner Shawnda Bond, have ushered the company into a new century — maintaining the mission and pride of a family business, with a few changes along the way.
“Dad always taught us if you’re going to do a job, do it right,” says Shawnda. It’s a lesson the 41-year-old takes to heart. But before she took the reins, her father helped pave the way.
Larry, a master plumber, took over the business after his father died in 1986. While Shawnda had a long-time job at a John Deere dealership, she did help out her father when needed. She says, “Ever since Dad took the business over, I did the bookkeeping for him.
“They kept trying to keep me on at John Deere,” she admits. But the pull of the family business was too strong. Shawnda told her supervisors, “That business at home has got my name on it.”
BROUGHT HANDY SKILLS
Shawnda worked at the dealership for 18 years in several capacities — first as a service clerk and later as parts manager. “I had never done any weekly stock orders, special seasonal orders … (the job) was there, somebody had to do it,” she says. “There was just another hole that had to be filled. You just took it upon yourself. It was offered to me once they figured out I could do it.”
Her flexibility and diligence eventually landed her the parts manager job — even though some staffers and customers were hesitant with a woman in the position. “The farmers weren’t used to having a woman in that position wait on them,” she says. “They thought you didn’t know anything. It was kind of a learning curve. You got to know them; they got to know you.
“The ones I didn’t know kind of shied away until they got to know me … then I was the one they wanted to wait on them.”
Shawnda’s ability to step up, learn the responsibilities and stay with the company through two buyouts and a geographic move served her well when it came to taking the reins at Barnes.
With her experience at the dealership, for example, Shawnda brought much computer and marketing experience to the family business. “What I learned there, helped me promote my own business,” she says.
She actively pursues new accounts in both of the company’s specialties — septic pumping and portable sanitation — especially through local home shows, direct mail and the company’s Web site.
FORWARD THINKING
As Shawnda’s father approached retirement, she and her husband, Bob, formed R & S Enterprises in 1998. That division of Barnes Sewer & Septic focused their capital into building equipment, such as trailers, for use by the company.
“Our long-term goal was to take over the business when Dad decided to slow down,” she says. “The original plan was we were going to buy Dad out when he was going to retire.”
When Larry “retired” in 2006 — “As long as I have my health and my right faculties, I’ve got to do something,” he quips — Shawnda and Bob formed an LLC partnership with her parents; they now serve as primary officers in the company. Shawnda and her mother, Marlene, work in the office, while Bob and Larry run the septic and sanitation routes. And a fourth generation isn’t far behind. The Bonds’ children, Austin, 16, and Brooke, 9, help out as they can. But Shawnda is unsure whether they will continue the family business.
“My dad always had the policy that you need to go outside the business and learn from those experiences,” Shawnda says. “Years down the road, if you want to, you can come back. I’m kind of holding that policy with my kids.”
Mixing family and business can have its ups and downs, but Larry adds, “We have times that we don’t totally agree on everything, but we manage to work it out. I feel like we’re fortunate.”
BUILDING DIVERSITY
About a year after Larry took over the business, he branched into portable sanitation, buying four units. Barnes Sewer & Septic now has 140 standard units, eight handicap units and three VIP units (dressed up PJ3N units) — all from PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. The company usually has about 50 percent or fewer of its units out at one time, and routes are run every Monday, unless demand is higher or a weekend event is scheduled.
They also have five holding tanks and two 60-gallon freshwater delivery systems — also from PolyJohn — as well as one 100-gallon Kentucky Tank freshwater delivery system and four custom-made hand-wash sinks. The tanks and freshwater systems are used in jobsite trailers, which are provided by another company.
Recently, several competitors have entered the portable sanitation market, which has been slightly challenging during the economic recession, Shawnda admits. “Everybody was just pinching pennies,” she says of the customers. “The new competitors who come in are low-balling everybody.”
Even though customer loyalty is usually strong, Shawnda says that didn’t seem to matter much when the recession hit.
Portable sanitation, initially a bit of an afterthought, now accounts for about 60 percent of the company’s business. “In today’s world, you’ve got to be diversified,” Larry says. “Otherwise, you’re not going to weather the storm. On septic work alone we couldn’t support two families.”
Special events used to make up about 50 percent of the company’s portable sanitation contracts. “We had a pretty good mix,” Shawnda says. “But with the downturn of the economy, we’re keeping a few of the festivals, but not as many.”
Their largest event is the Darke County Fair in August. While they place only about 26 restrooms on site, they pump a lot of RV holding tanks.
“They have hundreds of campers who go through the camp office and schedule holding tank pump-outs.” It keeps the company extremely busy for the 10-day period, which Shawnda notes, coincidentally always runs the week her kids start school — adding to the family’s time demands.
Construction accounts have held up a bit better than the event side of the business, Shawnda explains. “We were some of the last to see the downturn in the economy,” she says. Because of their rural location, about 75 miles south of Fort Wayne, Ind., they would often have to travel several miles between drop-off and service locations.
CUSTOMER EDUCATION
Septic work the company was founded on makes up the remaining 40 percent of the business — that includes pumping septic tanks as well as using two RIDGID KM1500 and one K50 sectional machines, an O’Brien Manufacturing (a division of Hi-Vac Corp.), 213-JE jetter to clean drains and a RIDGID SeeSnake to examine drains.
Located 10 miles from the Ohio state line, Barnes Sewer & Septic services one county in Ohio and five counties in Indiana. Shawnda notes that the balance is such because the state of Ohio licenses septic companies by county; Indiana, however, issues a state license. Because of travel times and the challenge of finding more disposal sites, the company doesn’t expect to expand farther.
Another challenge the company faces, Shawnda says, is informing consumers of the importance of maintaining septic systems. “It’s more trying to educate the customer,” she says. “Some people moving to rural areas have never had a septic tank before. You don’t see owner’s manuals being handed out.”
The company feels so strongly about customer education that a page on its Web site lists tips on proper septic system maintenance. Barnes Sewer & Septic also works with local system installers, hoping they will share the information with their clients.
“A lot of installers, they install the tank and they hit the road. They don’t give the owners advice,” Larry says. As a result, by the time his company is called, homeowners may have a major problem on their hands. “A lot of times, they don’t like what we have to say,” Shawnda says.
Barnes Septic & Sewer doesn’t install or repair tanks, however, so they help connect customers with contractors who can effectively serve their needs.
STAYING STEADY
Not many companies hit the half-century mark. The Barnes Sewer & Septic owners are happy to reach that milestone. And while some companies are focused on growth, they remain pleased with their current situation.
“We’d like to maintain it,” Shawnda says. “We don’t look to get bigger.”
Getting bigger would also mean Barnes Sewer & Septic might have to go outside the family to hire employees — and that’s something they’re not interested in doing.
“So many people aren’t here for the dedicated work; they’re just here for the Friday payday,” Larry says, summing up his family company’s words to live by: “Don’t get too big that you can’t handle it.”
