Pest Management Professional, November 2009
S P O N S O R E D B Y NORTHWEST The Silver Lining Sawyer Inc s answer to a rough economy employee training and diversified advertising is paying off for the Boise company By Frank H Andorka Jr Editorial Director B y the time the fourth quarter of 2008 rolled around Todd Sawyer owner of Sawyer Inc in Boise Idaho had been dealing with the recession since 2006 Not that the fourth quarter of 2008 wasnt bad Housing starts ground to a complete halt Housing prices plunged 30 percent Major area employers slashed their work forces by nearly 50 percent Sawyer described the situation late last year by saying that the economy was clearly collapsing around us But since Sawyer had prepared for just such an event over the past three years he didnt see as dramatic an effect on his business as others around the country We were pretty well positioned by the time the recession truly hit the rest of the country because wed been adjusting our business for so long Sawyer says We werent as focused on revenue growth as we were on making sure we stayed profitable Todd Sawyer Sawyer Inc whose business mix is 70 percent residential 10 percent commercial 10 percent turf and ornamental and 10 percent other services ended 2008 flat He fully expected 2009 to be flat as well but as it turns out his projections were wrong If business through the fourth quarter continues as it has throughout the year Sawyer says hell end the year up 4 or 5 percent The credit for his performance during such miserable economic conditions was training and investing in his team Sawyer believes the decision to invest in his people was the best decision he could have made Our profits this year can be traced back to the happiness of our employees Sawyer says What our actions told them was that despite what was going on around us we were stable and we were here to stay and we were s4 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL NOVEMBER 2009 www mypmp net
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