Pest Management Professional, February 2019

A STARTUP STORY How one California PMP began a pest management company with the right hand aid of his distributor T here is a huge learning curve that comes with opening your own pest control business even if you have a lot of experience So when Caleb Raymond a nineyear industry veteran decided to strike out on his own to open and operate Mission Pest Control in San Diego Calif he was grateful for the guidance and support of Target Specialty Products At his former companies Raymond ADVERTORIAL Angelica Romero Caleb Raymond had worked with two product distributors one of which was Target Specialty Products Eventually however the companies phased out the other distributor and worked solely with Target Specialty Products The reason Target Specialty Products customer service which was impeccable Because of this Raymond knew he was in good hands when he started Mission Pest Control last May Making each day easier Raymond says that Target Specialty Products has been a huge asset in helping him and his team learn and stay compliant with Californias pest management regulations The distributor has helped with everything from personal protection equipment tests to regular checks to ensure Mission Pests licenses are up todate They made sure that my employees and field experts had the training they needed and that California required says Raymond Target Specialty Products did a walkthrough of my office to make sure we were in compliance They even provided labels for products in my truck Raymond praises his Target Specialty Products sales representative Angelica Romero for going above and beyond in assisting him It makes a difference he adds that she works afterhours and thinks nothing of driving an hour or more through the infamous southern California traffic to make a delivery Ive had times when Ive run out of a product and Angie drove across the county to make sure I had what I needed in my arsenal before we went into the field says Raymond Once he says she drove around Los Angeles to locate cradles for his Birchmeier backpacks as he was unable to find them locally and made a truck to door delivery An incalculable assist In the space of a year and a half Raymond got married and became a new father all while starting a business He looks back to see life has been nothing short of interesting not to mention exhausting Unfortunately you can only foresee so many fires and try to prevent them but some just spontaneously combust he says noting that as prepared as he thought he was to open the business he couldnt prepare for everything Beginning Mission Pest Control and leading as its president have been a complete and utter whirlwind of great and awesome and terrible says Raymond Its the hardest thing ever Ive never been more stressed in my entire life but its great Having Target Specialty Products in his corner to help with problems has been a tremendous asset and a great relief to the new business owner www target specialty com pmp