How Bugsy’s Pest Solutions bounced back from early growing pains to enjoy success

When I started Schopen Pest Solutions in 2006, I hired a family friend to do my taxes. He was a certified public accountant (CPA) and had done some work for my dad’s pest control company. We had built a friendly relationship over the years, and he even helped me set up my corporate paperwork.

In 2009, I received a knock at my door. A young woman introduced herself and explained she was with the IRS (cue “The Imperial March [Darth Vader’s Theme]”). She informed me that I owed several thousand dollars in taxes, penalties and interest.

I was shocked. I asked the agent whether she had the right person. She pulled out a file with all of my information in it (creepy) and showed it to me. She explained I would need to start paying immediately or the IRS would be garnishing my wages.

I was dumbfounded and reached out to my accountant. His answer? “Maybe you mailed in your payments late.” He doubled down on this statement by hinting that maybe I didn’t pay my taxes at all. I was madder than a mosquito in a mannequin factory.

That night, I went to my office and searched through every payroll, monthly profit-and-loss report and tax payment. After several hours of research, I realized my accountant was to blame. As shocking as it is to believe, he was putting the decimal in the wrong place on my payment coupons. For example, instead of paying $4,300 for a quarterly tax payment, I was paying $430. Even for a start-up business, you can imagine how much money I owed.

Zach Bernstein and Kiki Uher.

Setbacks from the start

Zach Bernstein and Kiki Uher, co-owners of Palm Beach, Fla.-based Bugsy’s Pest Solutions, had some growing pains of their own during their first 18 months of business:

• A roofer tried to blame them for a mutual client’s leaky roof, after Bernstein did some exclusion work.
• They hired an office staff person who flamed out.
• Their social media “expert” never delivered on what he promised.
• Their search engine optimization (SEO) “expert” did not work out either.

Regarding the last two points, Bernstein says being a young company is a disadvantage when dealing with specialized online service providers. “Once they found out we were just a two-person business,” he adds, “they were like sharks swimming after blood.”

Bugsy’s received private messages on Facebook, as well as dozens of emails, from several online consultants and specialists. They all promised to deliver big results. Unfortunately, picking the right company can be like buying a lottery ticket. Bernstein and Uher used what little money they had on someone who didn’t pan out.

“The company we hired took our money but really didn’t do anything with it,” Bernstein laments.

Another huge setback was a videographer who promised the couple he would shoot 12 hours of footage to create three months of content. He promised them he would double their revenue. But after giving him a significant deposit, things changed quickly.

“We hired a videographer, not a consultant, but this gentleman wanted to tell us how to run our company,” Bernstein says.

Every Friday night for three months, Bernstein and Uher met with this person but instead of producing videos, he tried getting Bugsy’s to purchase more and more items and services. With no videos ever being produced, they eventually fired him and disputed the charges.

Great year ahead

What I have learned over the years, and what I teach the companies I am mentoring, is that failing at something should not deter you. How you handle adversity is what defines you. I’m happy to report that Bugsy’s bounced back. Bernstein and Uher reached out to another “Schopen Start-Up Stories” company, Sasquatch Pest Control. Kris Elling, co-owner of the Bellingham, Wash.-based firm, has been using his expertise in marketing to help Bugsy’s move up in its local online rankings.

They had another win in hiring an enthusiastic office manager/customer service representative (CSR). She also helps with SEO content and name recognition.

“Part of her job is to make ads for us, take action photos and edit videos,” Bernstein explains.

Despite the speed bumps, Bugsy’s is having a great year. Bernstein and Uher are poised for double-digit growth. They hired two full-time and one part-time technicians, and one salesperson to go along with their new CSR.

And talk about making lemonade from lemons: The roofer who blamed them for the leak backed off his statement; he was actually so impressed with Bernstein’s professionalism in the matter that he now regularly refers Bugsy’s to his clients.

I wish I could say the same for my first accountant.…