No Job Too Small

On almost any given day, properties across Southwest Florida buzz with busy workers whose jobs are to make life easier for the rest of us and create a positive first impression.

They manicure lawns, sweep pools, spray for bugs and perform any number of tasks, and they represent a significant portion of our regional workforce. But their existence suggests another

dynamic: The service industry is a place where hard-working and enterprising individuals can build a successful business.

"South Florida is a great place to start a service-based business," says Althea Harris, spokeswoman for the U.S. Small Business Administration's South Florida district office, which is based in Miami. "Folks can find opportunity to do the things that other people don't want to do."

The amount of disposable income, number of elderly residents and volume of home starts in Florida have created a strong market for service businesses over the past few years. "People were confident; they were spending on discretionary items," says Francisco Marrero, director of the SBA South Florida district office.

But he warns that changes such as the real estate slowdown, combined with additional spikes in fuel prices and interest rates and declining consumer confidence, could make it tough for new ventures.

"We're entering times of uncertainty," he says. "We may see a decrease in service businesses."

Here are examples of three businesses, in three different sectors, that have common links reflecting a commitment to quality and growth through pure word of mouth.

Making a Splash

Every week, Colonial Pool Supply's four technicians visit about 200 homes in Lee County, providing routine service and repairs. Shayla Cherry says the family-owned business is continually growing, having added more than 100 new customers in the past year.

Most of the business comes from repeat clients, many of whom are Europeans and snowbirds with second homes in Southwest Florida. When they're not in town, Colonial Pool keeps in touch, especially during hurricane season, through e-mails and phone calls.

While builders, real estate brokers and others are suffering because of the market slowdown, Cherry's business isn't feeling the pain. It's experienced 30 percent growth in revenue over the last year. "There's not really any hiccups," she says.

It's definitely a small business. Cherry oversees the Oakley Avenue retail store, which sells chemicals, equipment and other pool-related items. Her home-service staff of four takes care of all the chemicals, cleaning and repairs for customers, which are mostly in Lee County although a few clients are in north Collier. The costs range from $70 to more than $300 a month, depending on size and needs.

Cherry has found that business generated by advertising in newspapers, on the radio and in the Yellow Pages is minimal compared to plain ol' word of mouth. It's all about doing a superb job, which will generate a recommendation when customers are chatting at the clubhouse or golf course, she says.

The Fort Myers-based business, which is more than 20 years old, is fortunate to have friendly competitors who share in finding qualified labor. It's a "pretty tight-knit bunch," Cherry says, so if someone receives a good applicant and is overstaffed, that person will call another business owner and recommend the job candidate.

"It's a challenge to get the techs that we're comfortable with," she says. "We can train people to do pools. We need people that we trust and we're very comfortable with."

That's a major factor in the level of service Colonial is able to provide. Customers can be demanding at times, Cherry says, but she reminds her employees to consider what it would be like if it were their home. "With so many people being gone, we're on their properties. We're there at their homes when they're not there," she says.

From Autos to Lawns

The beauty of Naples compelled a Detroit automotive executive to become a Florida entrepreneur. Blake Crawford founded Crawford Landscaping in July 2004 after moving to the area from Michigan, where he was director of marketing for Cambridge Industries, a $500 million automotive supplier.

Crawford decided to take the lessons he learned in the automotive industry about attention to detail and strict operating procedures to create a successful landscaping company.

Another key step was bringing in a partner with experience in Naples-Tim Felts, superintendent of the north course at Mediterra.

Their due diligence didn't focus specifically on Naples or Southwest Florida but on the landscaping industry, with Crawford concluding that there was a "general lack of sophistication" among most businesses.

"I felt in landscaping in particular you have a lot of business owners out there that really love to get dirty and really love to perform the work," he says. He spent time planning how to use solid operating systems and invest in software to ensure excellence, from the first client consultation to the final evaluation.

Crawford Landscaping first built the single-family residential client base; one strategy to market itself was by driving flashy red trucks. It then moved to a commercial client base, where Crawford had relationships. He had previously founded a real estate company that managed apartments in Indiana and Florida as well as commercial and industrial properties throughout the Midwest and Florida, including the Fifth Third Center in Naples.

Over the past six to 12 months, Crawford Landscaping has nearly tripled its multifamily base, which Crawford says has become the focus of the business.

The company, which has 60 employees, is projected to reach $4 million in revenue this year. It provides lawn, horticultural, landscape and irrigation design, installation and maintenance, fertilization and pest control to more than 220 clients.

To stand out among the 2,500 landscaping companies in the area, Crawford Landscaping is seeking ISO 9000 certification. Having a disciplined workforce and control measures ensures that a company can continue to provide the same level of service as it grows, Crawford says. Such efforts as becoming certified make service measurable and repeatable, no matter the size of the company, he says.

"You learn the value of replicating that quality," he says. "Whether you have foreman A or foreman B, it shouldn't matter. The job they do, the way they service their client should be the same."

As with other businesses that rely on Hispanic laborers, Crawford is keeping an eye on immigration reform. If illegal workers had to leave the country, it could be devastating not only in reducing the labor pool but in driving up the pay for the remaining employees, he says.

Already faced with the challenge of finding workers, Crawford attempts to offer competitive pay and benefits in addition to an appealing environment. The way you treat employees, the benefits offered and the career path provided offset the "leaving for a quarter increase" mindset, he says.

He wants employees to take their work seriously. They receive weekly evaluations and are encouraged to grow from performing one skill to leading an entire crew. Crawford hopes those and other efforts will give the company such a good reputation that "when Crawford hangs up the help-wanted sign, people line up at the door."

Cleaning it Up

Michelle Spitzer is often making sure her own operation is spotless. Streamlining and improving efficiencies are critical components of the success of her MaidPro franchise, which marked up $2.2 million in 2005 revenue and projections of $3 million this year. It's made her the top MaidPro franchisee, and with two offices in Naples and Fort Myers, she plans to open a third branch in Sarasota by 2008.

Spitzer, who became a MaidPro franchisee in 1999 after owning her own cleaning business, employs 90 service providers along with 12 call center employees. The focus on quality starts there, with employees generating professional phone estimates by using sophisticated software and listening to clients' specific needs.

"It's about the systems you have in place," Spitzer says.

Roughly 90 to 95 percent of her clients are residential; the remainder is commercial. About 80 percent of all her business comes from repeat customers.

Her staff, working from a 49-point checklist throughout the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living areas, hallways and stairs, can log more than 600 man-hours a day at the height of season. The typical average is 400 to 500 man-hours, Spitzer says. The next day, each client receives a personal phone call thanking him for his business and asking for feedback on the quality of the work.

The busy seasonal work includes making homes owned by corporations spotless for visits, and cleaning condominiums after one guest leaves and before another arrives. MaidPro recently added a division, available year-round, that offers dry carpet cleaning, upholstery shampooing, mattress sanitizing and a home-watch service, among other extras.

Although the sheer amount of business can be rewarding during the season, Spitzer has to be savvy about managing cash flow to be prepared for the downswing out of season. With more year-round residents, particularly younger families, the seasonality isn't as significant a drop as it used to be, she says. "Previously there were major, drastic swings," she says. "It's not so severe."

She relies on referrals from within to combat the labor shortage, providing cash incentives of $300 if the new employee stays for at least six months.

After nearly nine years in business, several workers have been with Spitzer the entire time. She believes that's because of MaidPro's operating systems and having proper supplies, opportunities for training, recognizing staff with awards and prizes and generally keeping the environment "happy and positive"-even having Cuban espresso for workers in the morning.