A Fresh Perspective

With his father’s support, a young Florida pumper starts his own company and competes with the family business.

When Brian Miller left his employer to start a competing septic pumping and installation business, he didn’t go far. He parks his equipment in the same yard, in fact.

Three years ago, Miller formed Brian’s Septic Service in Tallahassee, Fla., and went into competition with Miller Septic Service Inc., the family business founded by his grandfather, B.B. Miller, in 1960, and run by his father, Buck Miller, since 1970.

Brian Miller wanted to modernize the business, especially using a computer to improve management. His dad prefers pens, pencils and paper.

“You know, he is from the old school, so he doesn’t think you need a computer to run a business. That was probably so back then, but I often tell him, once you learn it, your life will be so much easier,” Miller says.

Dad was not convinced, so Miller says they came to an amicable parting of the ways.

“I said I’m ready to go in a different direction than where you are going,” he says. “I said I could buy your business or branch out on my own.”

Miller’s father had no interest in retiring, so suggested his son strike out on his own. He also said that if it didn’t work out, Brian was welcome to come back to work for him.

“If I didn’t have him standing behind me, supporting me, I probably wouldn’t have tried it on my own,” Miller says. “People say to me all the time, ‘You’re in competition. You must not like each other.’ ”

His father’s only request was that Brian choose a company name that would not confuse the public, so he picked Brian’s Septic and left the Miller name off.

Miller says he uses the computer for a customer database, invoicing, bookkeeping, managing his Web site, informing customers about when their systems are due for pumping and for answering e-mailed questions from customers who visited the Web site.

Both companies have Web sites, and incorporate some of the same information, such as tips on taking care of systems. But Brian’s is a bit more extensive, including a complete but simple explanation of how septic systems work.

“Most people don’t understand how septic tank systems work, so I wanted my site to be simple and to the point,” he says.

Adds installing

Miller, 33, also added maintenance and installation to his range of services, something his father had stopped doing.

“It got to be too much for him and he just wanted to pump,” he says.

Miller says competition is not an issue and they often give each other work.

“He sends me work, and on days when I’m putting a tank in or making repairs and I get a lot of calls, I send work to him,” Miller says.

Miller developed his customer base the old-fashioned way, by going to worksites and handing out business cards.

“I told them who I was and how long I’ve been doing it. I said I’m not here to steal anybody’s work, but if you need my services, please give me a shot,” he says. “You do a few jobs for people and word gets around.”

His father’s company is larger, running two vacuum trucks and servicing about 100 restaurants for grease trap cleaning.

They both work out of the same yard, which is about three miles from the wastewater treatment plant and centrally located to Miller’s service area.

Brian’s Septic has about 15 regular commercial accounts and works with 10 contractors. Miller says they pump 10 to 15 residential tanks per week.

Miller’s service rig is a 2007 International 4300 with a 2,500-gallon steel tank built by Lely Manufacturing. It’s powered by a 255-hp DT466 engine linked to a 6-speed Eaton-Fuller transmission. Vacuum comes from a Challenger 367 heavy-duty pump.

Rounding out his young company’s fleet are a 1992 Ford F700 chassis with a hydraulic boom for setting tanks, a 2006 Kubota 161 Series excavator, two 2005 Anderson Manufacturing Inc. trailers and 2007 Ford F-150 and 1999 Nissan Frontier service trucks.

Disposal challenges

Miller’s residential business is in rural areas. He said there are still some septic systems in Tallahassee, but the city has its own vacuum trucks and does not allow non-municipal pumping. Disposal mostly takes place at the City of Tallahassee wastewater treatment plant.

Miller says rising disposal costs at the plant have been an issue with pumpers. In April 2007, the city raised rates from 2 cents a gallon to 7 cents a gallon without announcing it beforehand. Miller says his dumping costs went from $23 per truckload to $75.

“To our regular customers, that was a shock,” he says.

It was a shock to pumpers, too. Miller says they went on strike for a week, prompting the city to revise the rate hike schedule to give companies and their customers a chance to adjust.

“That was aggravating for a while. I guess sewer fees went up and they wanted everybody around on septic to pay their part of it,” he says.

When working in Wakulla County, 30 miles to the south, Miller uses the wastewater plant there, which still charges 2 cents a gallon. The plant only accepts local wastewater, he says.

Brian’s Septic has about 10 competitors in the Tallahassee area, including his dad, but Miller says there’s more than enough work to go around.

“We all stay pretty busy,” he says.

Personal touch

Miller, a certified onsite system installer, says he works on every repair and installation and many of the pumping jobs.

“I answer my own phone. When people call, they talk to me. I can answer the questions over the phone and a lot of time save a service call,” he says.

Miller provides only septic services. He considered the portable restroom business, but he’s not ready for that yet.

“What I’m doing now, I’m making a good living at. I don’t want to spread myself thin trying to start another division,” he says. “The way the construction industry is down, it might be a good time not to jump into it, to invest a lot of money until the economy gets going again.”

Also hampering any expansion plans is the necessity of finding good employees. Miller has two workers who’ve been with him three years and one year, respectively.

“I can find people who will work, but to find quality people who want to pump sewage, they are not knocking on your door every five minutes,” he says. “The two guys that work for me, I pay them really well and they perform really well for me.”

Miller offers his employees health insurance and a 401(k) savings program.

“The way I see it, you pay people more money, they are going to do a better job and take care of your equipment,” he says.

He says customer service training began their first day of work.

“I treat customers like I would want to be treated,” he says. “I trained them from day one, ‘This is the way it’s going to be if you work for me.’ ”

Because it’s Florida, and hot, Miller and his workers wear T-shirts with the company name and logo, going through two or three a day. They also wear shorts in the summer, and the service truck has a 5-gallon water cooler to make sure everyone stays hydrated.

Finding customers

Miller has a Web site — it’s one of the directions he chose to go that didn’t appeal to his dad — plus he advertises in four Yellow Pages books, on billboards and on radio.

“I cover all the tracks and I’m still trying to figure out what’s working for me. Slowly I’ll probably cut down from that,” he says.

Even with all the advertising, the majority of Miller’s business comes through referrals.

“If I can help them out and save them some money, they are going to tell a neighbor and a neighbor’s friend,” he says.

Miller may have the best telephone number in the history of business telephone numbers: 309-0000.

“A lot of people will go to write it down. I’m serious, if you can remember 309, you can remember 0000,” he says. Miller acquired it as a personal number about 10 years ago. The telephone representative asked if he had a preference and gave him a list of available numbers.

“I saw that number and said ‘You can remember that’,” he says. When he started Brian’s Septic, it was a natural choice for the business phone number.

All work … for now

Even with a computer to help manage, Miller faces the same workload as any small businessman, regularly finishing his 12-hour days by doing paperwork at home. He has a wife, Lisa, and two children younger than 3 years old.

“My wife gets onto me for working all the time, but you’ve got to keep it going. I don’t let people down,” he says.



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