Pest Management Professional, November 2009

the state of your industry Focus on 2010 S P O N S O R E D B Y Its All About Focus PMPs used the economic challenges of 2009 to take a closer look at how they do business F ocus on the business Focus on the customers Focus on the employees During every conversation I had in preparation for the 2010 State of the Industry the word on everyones lips was focus Last year we produced the State of the Industry during a period of intense uncertainty The real estate market plunged The Dow dived Rumors of the collapse of credit markets around the world shook peoples confidence What these economic conditions produced was a sense in the pest management industry that it would be no year for double digit revenue growth Single digit growth would have to do and it offered pest management professionals PMPs the chance to take a cold hard look at their businesses to see what was working and what wasnt As I reached out to PMPs to talk about how their years had gone I expected at least a handful of horror stories massive customer cancellations layoffs and PMPs struggling to get by What I found instead were PMPs who had streamlined and renewed their businesses during these tough economic times The growth while not spectacular was steady I also heard stories that reminded me of the unbelievable creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that drives this industry From Todd Sawyer of Sawyer Inc in Boise Idaho who has been dealing with the recession for more than four years to Joe Pestana from J P Pest Services in Manchester N H who refocused his business on his employees and customers companies across the country turned their attention inward retrenching and re evaluating every aspect of their businesses To my great surprise few companies had to lay off team members and so far theyve helped their teams do their jobs more effectively and productively than ever before Its paid off in profits The solutions to the myriad challenges the industry faced this year were as varied as the PMPs across the country Its a tribute to the resiliency of this industry that despite the rocky economic outlook it maintains its strength despite the challenges Im no seer but its hard not to be optimistic about the economic outlook for 2010 The housing market appears to be slowly coming back The Federal Reserve board recently announced the results from its survey that showed economic activity increasing Temporary staffing firms noted a slight uptick in requests for workers which the Fed says is typically the first step toward an increase in permanent staffing Perhaps this recession is nearly over I believe PMPs around the country share my cautious optimism Those who took the opportunity to refocus their businesses and deliver value to their customers are looking forward toward having a much better 2010 Thats not to say 2010 will be a breeze but it looks like the worst may be over and the industry has weathered yet another economic storm Heres to a great 2010 I cant wait to report on your successes next year PMP By Frank H Andorka Jr Editorial Director As I put together Pest Management Professionals 2010 State of the Industry I heard stories that reminded me of the unbelievable creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that drives this industry You can reach Andoraka at 216 706 3735 or fandorka@ questex com www mypmp net NOVEMBER 2009 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL S3