{"id":540,"date":"2015-08-28T12:50:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T20:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=540"},"modified":"2015-08-28T12:54:42","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T20:54:42","slug":"armed-exterminators-putting-people-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/armed-exterminators-putting-people-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Armed Exterminators: Putting People First"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ARMDEXTERMINATORS-Image<\/a><\/p>\n

By MJ PLaster<\/p>\n

On a beautiful California afternoon, you might find Dale Rodgers, owner of Armed Exterminators (www.armedexterminators.com<\/a>), taking an occasional walk along the beach in Malibu. Those who rise with the chickens can catch him swimming laps at the YMCA most mornings. If you were to connect the dots between these two data points, you might conclude he lives a life of leisure. But things are not always as they seem.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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An Unlikely Business Start-Up<\/b><\/p>\n

In 1992, Rodgers took a medical retirement from Los Angeles County due to a medical condition that required two consecutive hip replacements. Instead of taking disability, he was determined to make a comeback. \u201cI\u2019m not the kind of person who can just sit around, but I couldn\u2019t put weight on my hips yet, so I started swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without regaining flexibility in his hips, he wouldn\u2019t have been able to run Armed Exterminators, his 18-year-old pest control business located in Pasadena, California. Swimming laps was his ticket back to a new normal and a new chapter of his life.<\/p>\n

\"ARMDEXTERMINATORS-Image<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1997, Armed Exterminators was born. Rodgers didn\u2019t come to his business ill prepared. He had mopped up knowledge like a sponge while working for Los Angeles County. He had rubbed shoulders with people from all walks of life, including county executives and coroners; he had made connections that would prove important for his business.<\/p>\n

Before opening Armed Exterminators, Rodgers went through a business development program in the hopes of securing a small business loan. He didn\u2019t get the loan, but he credits the program with giving him a firm foundation on which to build his business. \u201cThey put me through hoop after hoop, but in the end, I had no property for collateral, so I took $10,000 from [one of my] accounts, bought a truck and insurance and opened the business.\u201d He advises everyone to go through the program before starting a business.<\/p>\n

From the beginning, the business was a labor of love for Rodgers\u2019s children. \u201cAt first, I ran the business to put food on the table,\u201d he said. While his driving force is still family, his focus has changed. \u201cToday, I\u2019m still doing it for the kids\u2014to leave them a business, if<\/i> they want it\u2026,\u201d and they do.<\/p>\n

All in the Family<\/b><\/p>\n

His daughter Crystal works in the office, and his son Cliff works in the field with Armed Exterminator\u2019s third employee John. After going through several exterminators, Rodgers found John at the YMCA during his morning swims. He saw something special in John and today, he describes him as \u201cpart of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point, Rodgers\u2019s mother kept the company\u2019s books, and she did a great job. \u201cIt took a toll on her, he said. \u201cI fired her because I wanted to relieve her of the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what it\u2019s like to work with his children, Rodgers is candid about the pros and cons, \u201cYou have to make concessions when working with family. I had to adjust my attitude and overlook small things because it\u2019s great to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ARMDEXTERMINATORS-Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Together, Cliff and John form a cohesive team. \u201cCliff knows the technical aspects of the business well\u2014pest identification and solutions\u2014and John\u2019s a great salesman,\u201d said Rodgers. Because of this exceptional team, Rodgers no longer has to focus on doing the labor himself; he can devote his energy to running the business.<\/p>\n

Honesty Saves the Day<\/b><\/p>\n

The business didn\u2019t always run as smoothly as it does today. But Rodgers is a quick learner, and his honesty once saved his business. He knew to invest profits back into the business. In the beginning, there was little tax liability, but he learned the hard way, \u201cOnce you start getting big checks, throw one to the government, and get a good tax man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armed Exterminators once had an $11,000 payment due to American Express, and Rodgers had no idea how he was going to pay it. Just as panic was about to set in, the company received an overpayment of $11,000 from a loyal customer, the exact amount he needed to pay off his account. Rodgers confided, \u201cIt crossed my mind for a moment to just deposit the check and deal with it later,\u201d but instead, he called the customer and told them he had received the overpayment. To his surprise, the customer said to keep the check and use it as a deposit against future work.<\/p>\n

People First: The Secret to Success<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople first\u201d is Rodgers\u2019s modus operandi,<\/i> and not in the order you might think. \u201cMy employees are number one, followed closely by our customers. Without happy employees, you won\u2019t have happy customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> He\u2019s proud of the fact that his customers think highly of the business and the people behind the business. \u201cOur customers know us and trust us. We get very good referrals for our service, and we treat them well. Our employees know how speak to [the customers] and how to treat them; they\u2019re always polite. We\u2019re blessed with great employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers\u2019s actions speak louder than his words. He can\u2019t help himself\u2014he does his best for his customers even when it costs him revenue. He subcontracts work he can\u2019t take on without taking a finder\u2019s fee, and John and Cliff educate the customers on Integrated Pest Management or IPM, a strategy that prevents pest infestation before it begins. He wants all those who are thinking about starting a business to understand that making sacrifices is part of running a successful business.<\/p>\n

Those occasional walks on the beach? They help Rodgers maintain a work-life balance so that when he\u2019s on the job, he can give his all to his family, his employees and his customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MJ PLaster On a beautiful California afternoon, you might find Dale Rodgers, owner of Armed Exterminators (www.armedexterminators.com), taking an occasional walk along the beach in Malibu. Those who rise with the chickens can catch him swimming laps at the YMCA most mornings. If you were to connect the dots between these two data points, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":549,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}