If you’re interested in starting a pest control business in your area, you might be wondering where to start and how to make it happen. Well, here are a few essential steps you need to make if you want to officially start running your pest control business.
Determine Which Pest Control Services You’ll Provide
Before you start your business you need to determine exactly what kind of pest control services you will be providing. Firstly, this depends on the area in which you plan to open your business. Examine what type of pest problem that area is dealing with.
While some areas of your town may be dealing with ant issues, some other parts of the town may need some help solving termite damage. So, according to multiple different pest issues an area may be dealing with, there are different types of pest control services that you can think about offerings. Here are some of them:
- Baiting
- Bed Bugs
- Fumigation
- Lawn services
- Fleas and ticks
- Rodent control
- Termite control
- Mosquito control
- Trapping varmints
- Attic and crawl space treatments
- Removal of nests (e.g. bees, wasps, hornets)
Also, keep in mind that with weather changes, the types of pests that occupy a certain area will also likely change and so will the pest control services. During those times of the year, it would be a good idea to add those specific pest control services too.
In addition to regular weather changes, natural weather events such as earthquakes, floods, and fires are likely to cause specific infestations too.
Lastly, don’t forget to determine whether you will handle commercial, residential, or both kinds of services in your company. You may as well start considering the contracts you will be using and what kind of packages you will be offering to your clients.
Develop Your Value Proposition
Then, you need to think about what your value proposition is. In other words, what helps your business stand out from other pest control companies?
To find answers to those questions, you can start by asking yourself:
- How does my business solve my client’s problems?
- What benefits do my clients get from my services?
- What am I going to do better than my competition in the business?
Once you get to the core and find out what makes your business unique, you can move on to creating your brand.
Build your Brand
Building your brand is like creating your business’s identity. This includes some of the most important marketing characteristics that make your business recognizable.
So, if you want to start a pest control business, you need to create your logo, colour scheme, tagline, business name, and even the font you will use for it.
You want to make something recognizable and memorable; something that will get people’s attention. Then, once you have that figured out you can move on to creating a website and finding your target audience.
Licence, Registration, and Certification
In order to actually start running your business, there are a few pieces of paperwork that you will need to take care of. Before you start running your business, you need to check your state’s regulations and laws regarding your field of work.
For example, there can be a few state, federal, and county registration, licensing, and certification processes you will need to go through to open your business officially. In this business, you will be dealing with a lot of potentially toxic and life-threatening chemicals so you will most likely need red tape.
Federal law will probably require your staff to be certified according to EPA regulations, as well as territorial, tribal, and state laws. This is due to the fact that you will be working with restricted use pesticides in your field.
On top of that, most of the states require certification for all commercial applicators, not just the ones that use RUPs.
So, make sure to check out your state’s laws and what certifications courses you and your staff should take before opening the business.
Protect your Business with Insurance
Lastly, you need to think about purchasing insurance for your pest control business.
What happens when you accidentally damage your client’s property? What if you stain the material with chemicals?
In this case, having an insurance plan that can cover the damage for you is vital. After all, paying out of your pocket for accidental damage is the last thing you want.
Also, once you start hiring employees, make sure to look into their compensation and auto insurances too.
Before you opt for the insurance for your company, do a thorough research to see what insurance options you have in order to choose the right type of insurance one for your business.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when opening a pest control business there are a few factors that you need to take care of before you officially start running the business. This guide will help you through that process.
