When John Simison went to see a doctor in September 2012 for severe mid-back pain, he figured it was just a backlash from a summer of full-bore, hard work at Bouse House Enterprises, the septic service and portable sanitation business he cofounded in 1983.

Unfortunately, his self-diagnosis was woefully incorrect. An MRI scan revealed a crushed lumbar vertebra and a fractured sacrum, significant injuries in and of themselves. But the cause of the injury was exponentially more serious: The bone was weakened by multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that affects plasma cells in bone marrow.

So instead of actively managing operations throughout the company’s Cape Cod service area, Simison found himself in a struggle for survival. As hard as it was, Simison, age 61, was forced to put the Sandwich, Mass.-based company’s operations on the backburner while he underwent treatment.

As many pumpers get older, the odds increase that they, too, will face similar situations. Simison learned how difficult it is for a hands-on business owner to step away and delegate tasks to others. But his story also demonstrates how taking a step back from the hectic pace can provide valuable new perspectives on business and life.

MAKING CHANGES

“It definitely was an adjustment because I was working all the time, seven days a week,” says Simison, referring to his absence from the business from October 2012 to June 2013. “If there was an emergency, I was first one to jump in a truck. Whatever the company needed, I’d go get it done. Now I stay in the office … and I come in late and go home early.”

Simison says his wife, Nancy, stepped in to help run things and oversaw the process of hiring a manager, Mark White, who greatly relieved the work burden. “He’s been doing very well,” Simison says. “He came from the septic industry, so he fit right in and took things over right away. He’s a very good manager of people.” Simison also credits his employees for carrying on, as well as the support he received from many friends and colleagues.

The first step in Simison’s treatment was an operation to repair the crushed vertebra, which was filled with plastic to reform the bone. Then he endured radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Then he underwent a stem-cell transplant, which involved an 18-day hospital stay.

Simison’s cancer is in remission. But because his immune system remains weakened, he’s barred from any contact with wastewater, which essentially restricts him to the office.

GOLF CARTS TO VACUUM TRUCKS

Simison moved to the wastewater industry after he lost his manager job for a golf cart manufacturer. A friend, Paul Bousefield, approached him about becoming a partner in a business he was starting up, and Simison agreed.

“It looked like it had a lot of potential for growth,” Simison says. “Construction on the Cape was booming so it sounded like a very good business proposition. And it proved to be just that.”

Simison became the sole owner in 1995. “Things took off like crazy in the 1990s,” he recalls. That growth ended briefly with the economic recession several years ago. Overall sales dipped 25 percent by 2009. Income from the septic side of the business helped slow the financial bleeding, but Bouse House also took a hit from new portable restroom competitors whose strategy was to buy market share through low-ball pricing.

“You go backwards for a while when guys are always low-balling you,” Simison says. “Sometimes we’d match a [lower] price and other times we’d bite our tongue and let the customer go. But lately a lot of them have come back, especially this year, because they’ve found we provide great customer service.”

Simison takes pride in quality service, which he says is a key differentiator in a competitive market. To assure good communication with customers, Bouse House route drivers are trained to talk regularly with job site supervisors to understand their needs. This helps resolve small problems before they become issues that could spur customers to change vendors.

DENSE ROUTING

Bouse House uses a GPS system for routing, but Simison notes it’s not as beneficial as it may be to other wastewater contractors. That’s because customers on Cape Cod tend to be densely grouped and routes are easy to plan. “An average restroom truck does 20 to 30 stops a day in winter and 60 to 80 a day in summer,’’ he says. “We can cover a lot of ground in a day.

“In summer, traffic congestion is an issue,” he adds, as the region’s population almost triples on summer weekends. “But we know a lot of roads that tourists don’t know about, which helps the drivers quite a bit. And we try to make runs early in the morning and late at night. Some drivers start at 4:30 a.m. and make deliveries until 7 or 8 p.m.”

Today, about 75 percent of Bouse House’s gross revenue comes from portable restroom rentals and about 25 percent from septic service. On the restroom side, about 75 percent of the volume comes from construction and the balance from special events.

Bouse House also performs septic system inspections, a requirement when homes are sold in Massachusetts. The inspections serve as a marketing tool because the technician leaves behind a flyer and a diagram of the septic system, with the hope that Bouse House will have an edge when it’s time for the new homeowner’s first pumpout.

EQUIPMENT CORNER

The company has about 3,000 restrooms, including roughly 25 handicapped-accessible units and 75 that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Most units are made by PolyJohn Enterprises and Satellite Industries. The company also owns three restroom trailers used for special events.

A fleet of vacuum trucks include, on the septic side, a 1990 Mack with a 3,500-gallon steel tank built by Shorey Manufacturing and a 2003 Mack truck with a 4,500-gallon aluminum tank built by Progress VacTruck. Both rigs are equipped with Masport Inc. pumps.

For restroom service, the company runs trucks from three builders. From Keith Huber are a 2012 Mitsubishi Fuso FE160 with a 650-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater steel tank; a 2006 GMC C5500 with a steel 650-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater tank; a 2006 Isuzu NRR with a steel 800-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater tank; a 2007 Isuzu NRR with a steel 800-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater tank; a 2008 Mitsubishi FE180 with a steel 650-gallon waste/350-gallon freshwater tank; and a 2008 Mitsubishi FE145 with a steel 650-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater tank. From Progress VacTruck is a 2014 Hino with an aluminum 800-gallon waste/450-gallon freshwater tank; Crescent Tank Mfg. provided a 2012 Mitsubishi Fuso FG140 with a steel 550-gallon waste/250-gallon freshwater tank. All the trucks use Masport pumps.

BETTER TIMES AHEAD

As for the future, Simison predicts growth for Bouse House. Because of his health, he says he’s not interested in growing the company through acquisitions at this point, but doesn’t rule it out in the future.

But he also expects to continue spending less time on the job. His cancer is in remission, but doctors tell him it’s something that will always be present in his body; medication is expected to keep it at bay. And his immune system will always be somewhat compromised. All that gives Simison plenty to reflect on, and there’s no doubt he has newfound perspective on work and life.

“Being sick made me realize that work isn’t everything,” he says. “I should have hired a manager years ago. The cancer kind of grounded me … both literally [being office-bound] and figuratively. It was a very good lesson for someone who always thinks they can do it all. My advice for others is don’t always try to do everything … and take time to enjoy what you have.”

MORE INFORMATION

Crescent Tank Mfg. - 585/657-4104 - www.crescent-tank.com

Hino Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. - 248/699-9300 - www.hino.com

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America - 866/441-9638 - www.isuzucv.com

Keith Huber Corporation - 800/334-8237 - www.keithhuber.com

Masport, Inc. - 800/228-4510 - www.masportpump.com

PolyJohn Enterprises - 800/292-1305 - www.polyjohn.com

Progress VacTruck - www.progressvactruck.com

Satellite Industries - 800/328-3332 - www.satelliteindustries.com

Shorey Manufacturing - 508/432-0596