I’m not used to backing up; I want to go forward,” says Teresa Wood as she navigates her pickup truck in reverse while delivering portable restrooms to a customer. It’s late on a Friday afternoon, and Wood is making an emergency last-minute stop at a local sports arena. Afterward, the remaining units onboard will be delivered to the local high school. Even though she hadn’t intended to spend her afternoon this way, Wood is grateful to be doing what she’s doing — and doing it on her own terms.
Wood’s comment could just as easily describe the long road she and her husband, Frank, took to realize their dream of business ownership. Today, the couple are the owners of La Pine Septic Service, a full-service liquid waste and portable restroom rental company located in La Pine, a town of 1,585 in central Oregon. (The population of the greater metropolitan area is about 10,000.)
The road getting to this point, however, was a long one. The couple, now both 49, yearned for this day for as long as they can remember. They had to work hard, but always had the goal of business ownership at the front of their minds.
The Woods, high school sweethearts who married at 16, had long careers in unrelated industries while they raised their two children — a daughter and son. Finally, in 2006, their big break came when an opportunity to go into business for themselves fell into their lap.
“Ever since we were young we would have rather had our own business, but the opportunity never showed itself,” Teresa Wood says.
Teresa worked in accounts receivable and collections for 20 years for a building materials wholesaler, while Frank was an auto parts manager and service director for car dealerships for 23 years. Both were successful in their own right, but the work was never as gratifying as they dreamed it could be. Each of their vocations, however, prepared them in more ways than they knew for the challenges inherent to business ownership.
“We gleaned as much as we could from the corporate world, and brought that into owning our own business,” she says. “It’s a small company, but we brought many of those ideas into La Pine.”
RIGHT PLACE AND TIME
As the saying goes, timing is everything, and that was the case for the couple leading up to the purchase of La Pine. The Woods’ son-in-law, a local contractor (and now, also a customer), was talking with La Pine’s former owner when he expressed interest in selling the business. The couple jumped at the chance, and the sale was final less than three months later.
Coincidentally, it was not the first time Teresa and Frank Wood had encountered La Pine. The company, under its previous ownership, had been called to their rental house at the time, when they reported a septic backup to their landlord.
“The previous owner was cordial and came in on a weekend,” Teresa remembers. She and Frank continue that brand of 24/7 customer service today — happy to answer emergency calls on weekends, when necessary.
The couple also continues to focus on living up to the reputation the former owner built. Giving customers the same level of quality service was an important goal. They also attribute some of their good fortune to luck.
“Everything fell into place with the finances and having a wonderful owner who was willing to help us learn to pump the septic tanks right.” Teresa adds that the former owner taught her husband the right way to do things, allowing the couple to pick up where he left off and meet and exceed customer expectations to this day.
SMOOTH TRANSITION
During his years in the auto industry, Frank Wood had always had a knack for taking parts and service departments from barely breaking even to profit centers that generated more revenue than vehicle sales. That drive to succeed and an appreciation for good customer service served as building blocks for business ownership, as he was able to apply much of what had made him successful to running La Pine Septic.
“We strive to provide the cleanest toilets possible and the best customer service possible,” Teresa says. “We treat all of our customers the way we would want to be treated by any other company.”
The pair also make it a point to never lose sight of what this business is about. “From the smallest order to the largest, customers are all very important to us. Not just monetarily, but as people also. Yes, it’s a very people-oriented business,” she adds. “You've got to love them.”
When La Pine’s previous owner turned over the reins, ensuring the transition was seamless for customers became the Woods’ top priority.
They negotiated the use of the company’s existing phone number, which meant the calls kept coming in without interruption. They also retained the business name so as not to confuse customers. Finally, they very publicly announced the transition, and vowed to uphold the service customers had grown to value and expect.
“There’s a local paper here that everyone in La Pine picks up. We took out a full page ad that had a letter from the previous owners saying goodbye, and introducing us,” Teresa says. “That way, they knew they weren’t being left in a lurch. It was important to the community to let them know.”
GOOD EQUIPMENT
Her customer service background also eased the transition:
“I was able to ease any reservations that the customers might have with the change in ownership. We also were able to keep the employee the original owner had, and in doing so, the service was not interrupted.” The Woods’ 27-year-old son, Frank Joseph, “Joe,” also joined the team as a full-time employee.
“We have had several customers comment on how smooth the transition went — that it was barely noticeable. They have also stated that the service has even stepped up to a higher level than it was in the past.”
Along with the business, the couple acquired a 2006 Peterbilt 335 truck for portable sanitation built by FMI Truck Sales & Service, with an 1,700-gallon waste/800-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank; and a 2004 Peterbilt 330 from Pacific Truck Tank Inc. with a stainless steel 3,600-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater tank. They have since purchased a 1997 Ford F-350 flatbed pickup, which carries a 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank; and a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SLT pickup for hauling portable restrooms.
“We needed four-wheel-drive to make it up some of the mountain terrain to the jobsites of our contractors in the snow and ice. We service year-round, be it sun, rain, snow — which can be four to seven feet — and ice; we will be there once or twice a week as ordered by our customers,” she says.
The portable restroom inventory includes 268 standard and nine handicap units, six wash stations and five trailer-mounted units. All are from Synergy World Inc.
UP TO SPEED
Forging a strong relationship with La Pine’s former owner was essential in navigating the learning curve in an industry that was completely foreign to the new owners. Thankful for the seller’s help, they took the previous owner and his wife out for a steak dinner when the deal closed.
“He (joked), ‘Good luck, and we’re here if you need help, but we hope you never call.’ And we’ve never had to,” says Teresa.
That’s where good training leading up to the final sale paid off.
“Frank drove with the owner for several weeks — he’s a really great guy. We really appreciated him a lot in how he showed Frank how to take one of the Peterbilts into the tightest places, and these aren’t small trucks.
“We were able to make the transition very easily since the previous owner was accompanying Frank with the routes for the first month that we had the business,” she adds. “He introduced Frank to every contractor that we came in contact with and helped him pump septic tanks so that he would do the job right the first time.”
A “fantastic” payroll clerk on the La Pine Septic team has also helped Teresa stay on top of the books.
These combined forces have been effective, allowing the new owners to grow the business 15 to 20 percent since purchasing it just over a year ago. Currently, the septic pumping business services 85 percent residential and 15 percent commercial customers.
Still, the Woods face hurdles as new business owners. Because they’ve been in business such a short time, it’s difficult to get financing for capital expenditures, such as new trucks or more equipment.
“All financing places want you to be in business for at least two years in this type of business,” she says. The Woods have had to rely on personal savings for the purchases they’ve made thus far. Teresa looks forward to a day when their credit allows them to purchase more trucks or tanks so they are prepared for more calls, within a larger geographic range.
MOVING AHEAD
Their son-in-law’s status as a local contractor has helped them secure some business, too — he gets the word out. “In the beginning, that really helped.” Word-of-mouth has been the Woods’ best marketing tool; their Web site has been a close second.
“We have a Web site that does wonders for reaching the people outside of this area. We have people give us a call throughout Oregon and Washington, and most of them located us over the Internet.”
While the Woods can easily put in 60- to 70-hour weeks in the warmer months, they still value their newfound freedom to work when they want to, all the while knowing that every effort they make is rewarded.
“What we put into the business is what we get out of it. Energy, time, finances — all directly correlate with what you get back.
“We love the freedom,” she adds. “And we know that as we get larger, we’ll have more of that.”
High standards of customer service and a solid reputation have put La Pine on the fast track to growth. Finding a successful transition strategy was a start, but there’s one big factor they say is essential in this business:
“Always putting the customer first,” Teresa says. “Just like the deliveries I’m making now. They called two weeks ago and said they might need this delivery. They called this morning, after I already sent my drivers out and said they needed it and asked if there was any way I can do it.”
The answer is — almost without fail — yes. “We try to meet the needs as they come,” she says. “And I always try to meet the requests with a smile.”
