Growing Your Pest Control Business: How To Know When To Grow and Tips for a Successful Expansion

Your pest control business is experiencing rapid success. You've added numerous new clients in the last month and considered hiring new staff to handle the extra workload. 

Business success, though desirable, can be overwhelming at the same time. You're wondering how to know if it's time to open a new location for your growing pest control business.

In this guide, we've included some questions you can ask to help determine if it's time to expand your pest control business. You'll also learn what to consider and tips to help you get started.

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Should You Open a New Location for Your Pest Control Business?

The answer to this question is relative. You, the business owner, must make this decision — it can be very subjective. 

Asking yourself specific questions can help guide you in decision-making. 

To start, reflect on these questions:

• What makes a pest control business successful?
• How is your business successful?
• How much growth have you seen over the past year?
• What do you want your business to look like in five years?

Evaluating the future of pest control can also help you make a decision. Statistics are proof that this industry grows each year.

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Is Your Current Location Stable?

You can only expand if you already have a stable business. 

Think about this example:

• Before extending a bridge outwards, you must have a stable foundation to support that type of movement. 
• If your foundation isn’t sound, the entire bridge can tip over, taking your foundation along with it.

The same can happen with your business. Take your time and do your research before making any big decisions. 

To be considered stable, you don’t need to be the most dominant company in your area. However, you should have a few technicians working for you with consistently filled routes. 

As lovely as it would be to command the market where you are, expanding is not 100% dependent on this factor. There may be various businesses in your area. You don't need to have the top sales to be the one that expands.

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10 Tips for Opening a New Location for Your Pest Control Business

Take advantage of expert knowledge to reap the benefits and grow your business. To help you on your journey, we’ve included ten tips to aid you in expanding your business.

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#1: Know Your “Why”

It is essential to clearly understand why you want to expand and to stay focused when opening a new location. 

There are many reasons. It is up to you to figure out your why. 

Here are some example questions to reflect on:

• What is the reason you want to move into a new market?
• Are you so busy at your present location that you can’t handle all the business? If you are in demand, then that is a good sign. 
• Do you want to open a new location close to home or move into a new area or state?
• Do you know more people who want to join your team?

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#2: Be Sure You’re Financially Ready To Expand

You must be able to afford a new location. 

Here are three areas to consider when deciding if you can afford this new location: 

• Your cash flow
• Your revenue profits
• Your financing options

Pest control is considered to be a recession-resistant industry. This concept can support your expansion plans. 

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#3: Confirm the Need

Do a market analysis to ensure your business is needed in a new location. 

For example, take some time to reflect on the following questions:

• Is the prospective area already overrun with pest control businesses? 
• Have you been getting a lot of requests for pest control services in the new location?
• How and why will potential clients from your new site recognize and trust your brand?
• How do you know there are potential clients in the new market?
• Who would be your competition in the new area? How could the competition threaten your business?

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#4: Choose a Location Nearby

The beauty of a pest control business is that since it is a home service-based business, you can generally “expand without expanding.”

The following information explains this idea further:

• You don’t need to buy a brick-and-mortar office. 
• All you need is a stable foundation where you are already present and a nearby territory that has potential. It is ideal to be close enough to use your current location to build a reputation in your new location. 
• For example, potential customers might say, “Oh, that’s just one town over, and I’ve seen their trucks.”  Eventually, you can get actual office space in a new location.
• You don’t need to train a huge staff for the new location. Start small with a skeleton crew.
• Find an office space to rent for a minimal amount — it can essentially be a closet with a desk. 
• You most likely need a legal address for flyers, the IRS, and your website (not a PO box, as they don’t work for Google).

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#5: Create a Marketing Plan

Knowing the needs and desires of your target audience is critical. You want to develop a relationship with your customers and ensure they love and recommend your brand. 

You can do this best with a marketing plan that includes the following:

1. A clear idea of the services you offer and who your target audience is
2. Strategic use of your website; and
3. Taking advantage of different marketing tools

First, make sure it’s clear what type of services you offer and who your ideal client is. 

Do you deal with common pest issues or provide specialized services? Be thorough in your explanation, so your target audience will know exactly what you do. 

Spend time thinking about your ideal client by building an ideal customer profile. You need to offer what your customers want, so you must figure out who they are and how you will help them. 

Second, use your website for advertising your new location.

Since your current location and new location are linked, you want to keep everything on one website. You will want to develop a new landing page to start SEO marketing strategies for the new location. Tie everything in with your Google Business Profile. Be sure to have the correct address in all places, so everything stays consistent across all platforms. 

Third, take advantage of all the marketing strategies at your disposal, including:

• Social media
• Flyers; and
• Email marketing

Use these tools for advertising your product or service. 

Get your consumers excited by offering promotions such as:

• Grand openings
• Anniversary; or 
• Discounted prices

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#6: Don’t Hire Onsite Staff Too Soon

At first, you can send technicians a little further to manage a new business in the new location. Expanding step-by-step can help you build an excellent foundation to continue growing steadily. Your goal is not to get in over your head. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

Once you have enough business to hire a technician in the new area, you can hire a new person to manage your office and continue adding technicians as needed.

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#7: Hire the Right People

Quality employees can be hard to find, so show appreciation when you find suitable employees. 

Hire people who are:

• Dependable
• Hard-working
• Honest; and
• Loyal 

Suppose your current employees are reluctant to take on more responsibility or your customers only want to do business with you alone. In that case, there may be better times to expand your business. 

To branch out, you need the right people behind you, so invest in your hiring process.

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#8: Capitalize on Your Current Success

Your business is expanding because you’re doing something right. Keep doing what makes your business successful, and keep your offers consistent and reliable. 

You can always add new products or offer different services. However, don’t make things too different in your second location. The idea is to copy your previous success.

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#9: Maintain Company Culture

One way to have your business operate like a well-oiled machine is to focus on company culture, with a concentration on communication.

Start by asking yourself and your staff, “What makes the business unique?” 

To maintain your company culture while expanding your business, members of the Forbes Business Council suggest the following:

1. Focus on your employees and listen to their voices. 
2. Be consistent with your communication.
3. Model the business relationships and skills you desire. Ensure everyone knows the company’s core values. 
4. Build relationships throughout the company. Emotional connection helps people feel responsible and part of the effort. 
5. Adapt when needed. Communicate the company’s mission clearly, especially with new hires. 

Everyone needs to be on the same page when opening a new location for your pest control business. You can do that by:

• Creating training materials so everyone can incorporate the same processes and documentation. 
• Spending time with the management so they understand your style and energy and what you expect. You want them to represent your vibe.

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#10: Obtain the Required Licensing

Be sure to research all information regarding business licenses depending on where you are. 

Establish a business license at your primary location. Next, you can apply for additional business licenses to work with clients and customers. 

Be sure to keep your licensing up-to-date.

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Cedar Pest: Pest Control Management Software for Businesses of All Sizes

Cedar Pest is a pest control management company. 

We understand the ins and outs of running a pest control business and offer pest control software that explicitly supports this industry.

What sets Cedar Pest apart from other pest control management software companies?

1. We're a veteran-owned and operated company offering modern, premium software to you.
2. We are dedicated to building tools to help make your life easier. Our engineers and product designers build tools and solutions that will revolutionize your:

• Daily operations
• Customer experience; and
• Business insights

3. We are committed to making a lasting impact on small pest control companies. We know how to operate an independent pest control company. We are the experts.

With Cedar Pest, you can find solutions to your problems when dealing with:

• Reporting
• Customer management
• Sales
• Scheduling & Routing
• Mobile tools
• Integrations
• Payment processing

Contact Cedar Pest today to grow your business and increase your revenue.

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