Danielle Borelli doesn’t sell and tell. Her company’s client list includes the wealthy and celebrities, but she won’t name names.

That level of discretion is part of expected customer service, especially when servicing the elite and affluent – a major clientele of Elegant Essentials (a division of HeadMaster Industries), the Hicksville, N.Y. portable sanitation business co-owned by Borelli and her husband, Michael, along with close friends Glenn and Gina Russo.

Careful customer service and carrying top-of-the-line products has served the “moms-and-pops” company well, even in lean economic times. In just three years, the company has grown steadily, and now has 11 employees and more than 500 restroom units.

Despite their success, portable sanitation was the furthest thing from the minds of the Borellis and Russos just a few years ago.

 

BEYOND WALL STREET

Michael Borelli and Glenn Russo started their careers trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, eventually becoming partners at the same company. Some decades later, after changing firms, the stock market began to decline, and, according to Danielle Borelli, “They both moved on with their jobs. The industry had changed, and it was time to move on.”

The close friends didn’t go back to work immediately – instead, they tossed around ideas for starting their own business. A family friend working in portable sanitation and septic services in a non-competing region sparked the idea.

“There were many ideas,” Borelli says. “They had talked about that idea and revisited a lot of business opportunities. They kept coming back to (portable sanitation).

“I think one of the reasons why we finalized that decision is because it is a necessity, especially on construction sites, and we were able to do a lot of homework.”

About four years after their Wall Street careers ended, the couples financed the launch of HeadMasters Industries, with a spin-off division called Elegant Essentials.

“We realized the upscale end to it,” Borelli says. “It would be a specialized company within the company; this is something that I would really take and run with.”

Each co-owner has a niche role with the company: Borelli is marketing/sales; Gina Russo (the company’s primary shareholder) is bookkeeping, purchasing, graphic design and computer work. The men primarily work the routes and maintain the units and fleet.

 

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

The workhorse equipment includes a 2003 Mitsubishi Fuso with a 1,500-gallon waste/500-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank, a 2008 Ford F-550 with a 270-gallon waste/130-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank and a 2010 Ford F-550 with a 650-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank; all tanks are made by Boston Steel & Mfg. Co.

HeadMasters began small, with 50 green units from PolyJohn Enterprises, 15 to 20 white flushable Fleet regular and ADA models, 10 Applause hand-washing stations and two 22-foot restroom trailers from Rich Restrooms.

The restroom trailers have become the company’s most requested product, squarely hitting that high-end clientele Elegant Essentials was seeking.

Today, the company has grown to 500 PolyJohn restrooms, including ADA-compliant units, flushable units and Poly Lift units for high-rise construction projects.

“The increase (in units) was gradual over the years to keep up with demand from the construction portion of our business as well as the special event business,” Borelli says. “We always need to have enough units on hand because we make it a point to never turn away business.”

 

ELEGANCE APPRECIATED

An inviting ambience – complete with electric fireplace, marble countertop and stereo system – has surprised clients at upscale events Elegant Essentials has served.

“As a woman, the thought of using an outdoor restroom … I would shun the whole idea,” says Borelli, the mother of three school-age children. “It was such a contradiction. You’d be all dressed up, and you had to use the bathroom and it made you feel like you were going into a construction site.’’

But her own reaction to some negative portable restroom experiences made her more convinced to get into the business to provide clean service.

“The trailers are really helping sell business. Ours are fully loaded … even down to very beautiful soap dispensers to just make it a little more high-end,” she notes. “Women, more than men, will come up to me and say they can’t believe this even existed.”

The restroom trailers have been utilized for a wide variety of events, from small parties to larger events. The investment has clearly paid off, so much so that HeadMasters has two more 12-foot trailers on order from Rich Restrooms.

“It’s less expensive, and it targets a certain amount of guests,” Borelli says of the new compact units. “This is kind of your happy medium” between the larger trailer and the company’s Fleet units. “We try to have a product that suits everyone’s budget and needs.”

 

SPREADING THE WORD

Elegant Essentials isn’t encountering a lot of competing PROs when going after discriminating customers, charity events and celebrity clients, according to Borelli. She says her marketing arsenal has two powerful tools – networking and tapping into the party industry.

“Before this (business) was even an idea, we had more time and interest with three children to get involved in the community, charities and building more roots (here),” Borelli says. “Over those years, I have met different types of people in different types of positions and just networked.”

Now when she mentions their fledgling business in community circles, she can transform some of those contacts into clients. Party planners and vendors also have provided a vital network. “I’ve even gone to the people I’ve rented from,” such as tent companies, and asked who they use for portable sanitation needs,” Borelli says.

And when she attends a party, she’s talking up her business as well. “You have to be out there and talk about what you do,” she says. “Once you do that, then that subject starts to roll … people are very genuine, and they really want to help you, especially one woman to another. They want to see you succeed.”

 

ON THE GROW

The couples have been pleased with incremental growth and better-than-expected financial performance for a fledgling company.

“We grew quicker than we thought, which, in turn, meant investing in more product,” Borelli says. “But we knew going into it that those first few years … there would be a lot of growing pains.”

Borelli says it’s hard to estimate the percentage breakdown of their work orders, between special events and construction. While they focus much of the marketing efforts on upscale clientele, they work hard to be known in both areas. The construction business would be better 10 years ago, she admits, but it’s better than they thought it might be in a down economy.

“I wouldn’t say it’s booming, but I would say this area is more metropolitan than maybe some other areas.” Much of their service territory is within a 15-minute commute to New York City.

But no matter what the venue, HeadMaster/Elegant Essentials is committed to making their journey from Wall Street to Main Street a successful one.

“If you asked us 10 years ago, would we see us doing this, the answer would definitely be no,” Borelli admits. “But times change. Circumstances change. Priorities change. In this case, we had to reinvent ourselves.”