Latest / Epic Entrepreneurs / My First Customer Asked Me To Kill A Cat with Michael Boehmler, Buzzkill Pest Solutions

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My First Customer Asked Me To Kill A Cat with Michael Boehmler, Buzzkill Pest Solutions · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: I am Cliff McCrae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm excited to be joined by Michael Ballmer with Buzzkill Pest Solutions.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Michael, how are you doing today?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing great.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: How are you?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: How are you doing?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing wonderful, man.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing wonderful.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know it's early May and it's still pretty, pretty nice out.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's not too hot yet.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it's actually kind of on the chilly side, honestly.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: And uh that's really, really nice, actually.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: We haven't haven't started summer just yet, but you know it'll get here and you know it'll come, and we'll be we'll be complaining about the heat in no time.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: So but yeah, very much excited to have you, Michael.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go ahead and jump right into things.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: So so for those of you who may not know it yet, you know, who are you?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Who is who is Michael Ballmer and what is Buzzkill Pest Solutions?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: So Buzzkill Pest Solutions is something better.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a better pest control because I'm because I'm doing it.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: I don't need to toot my own horn, but I I spent I spent 10 years in the lab in the Florida Keys uh researching mosquitoes and other bugs and publishing scientific papers, doing tests, speaking at scientific conferences.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: And when I moved to the Greenville area, I applied to so many pest control companies when I moved here, and nobody would hire me because it I was overqualified.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: I was told that several times by several national brands.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, you know what?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: I think I could do it better, anyways.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: I the problems that that that exist in the pest control industry are largely because of these national brands and regional brands that are eating up the mom and pop shops.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I always tell people, look, you don't have to hire me.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: I want you to, of course I do.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: But I I urge you to actually do a little bit of research on the company that you're hiring because we have huge issues with whatchamacallit, private equity and uh national brands that are publicly traded are buying up mom and pop shops and they're keeping the names.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: So you have this fake competition going on.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: So you could you could say, well, I don't like this national company.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: So you go with a with one that you're like, oh, they're local, I've seen them around, but that national company actually might own that regional brand or that local brand.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: But what they do is they they don't, I don't think they actually train their people that well.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I really am not trying to denigrate any individual technician or anything like that.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: I a lot of these guys, they want to learn, they want to know how to do these things and how to how to how to chase down these insects and these pests in your home, but they're not getting the proper training on the chemicals, they're not getting the proper training on the pests themselves.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and all of that together is necessary for you actually to do a good job as a pest control technician.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that's what I'm trying to bring to the pest control industry is is knowledge and the ability to use less chemical when when necessary.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's something called IPM, uh integrated pest management.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: Or you use a variety of different methodologies to actually control the pest and not just chemical.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's just one of many, many things.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, Michael, let's just really get into it.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, real talk, what what would you say is something about running a business that people think is amazing, but it's actually a complete BS?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: Oh when people say, Oh, I like to work for myself.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, if if you're a perfectionist, then you are gonna be you're the hardest boss you've ever had.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I I definitely have that problem.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm harder on myself than anybody has ever been on me.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and you say, Oh, you know, I have the freedom.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: No, you don't have freedom.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: You you work every waking hour in order to make a business successful, and I'm still trying to get to that point.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I mean, I'm working every every waking moment in order to try to try to propel myself into what I would call success.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what and now and you may not have had this, but let's say, you know, if you have, what was the exact moment where you realized, you know, this business could either really work or it could completely blow up in my face and I lose everything?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Have you ever had that?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: No, not yet.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Because I actually I'm building as slow and and as meticulously as I possibly can.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to leverage anything.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: I I only I'm only looking at the upside.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: I can't, I can't look, I can't have a negative view of this because this is my passion.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I I'm only gonna let this succeed.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna let this fail.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, nice.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what would you say is the most stressful moment you've had as a business owner?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like a, you know, how am I going to get through this type of moment?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm actually going through it right now.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: So I was I was trying to get some business funding for some larger equipment.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: And previously, I've I've actually just built it based on the money I've made and uh the equity I already put into it.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of like it's kind of like gambling.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's just like it's like, yeah, you could lose that, but I'm not losing everything.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: But I need some larger equipment right now, and so I try to get business funding and uh try to go to the SBA, the government agency, the small business administration, and it's a little wonky right now, but they offered up a private company that has I I believe gauged engaged in some fraud.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm trying to get out from under that right now.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's that's been extremely stressful for me.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: And and I still need to get funding, you know.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's just uh it's it's been a it's been a nightmare trying to navigate small business funding.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: I want to dig into that a little bit more.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, it's you know, this is all what you're comfortable sharing, but uh what do what are your plans?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Do you you know, obviously, are you just gonna try to go with a different lender or or a different person or try to get that?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I am gonna try, I'm gonna try some different lenders.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: I I got a few people I I need to talk to, and I've got a a couple of things to fall back on.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I I could take a HELOC loan out on the house, but I don't I don't like doing that.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's kind of my last resort.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I I've got some other some other banks I need to go talk to.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: And any particular reason why you don't want to take the HELOC?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of people usually use status.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: I've I've I used to work in home equity loans and before in underwriting.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of the times, you know, we used to do the high-nit worth clients.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times they would their reasoning would be to start a business or to fund a business or something like that.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely a legit, you know, way to source.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, no, you know, absolutely nothing against doing it myself, but I I'm trying to keep I'm trying to keep my family out of it, if that makes any sense.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I I don't want to I I believe in myself and I know I'm gonna make this uh extremely successful, but I don't want to leverage the roof over my kid's head if that's gotcha, gotcha.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, and and this kind of goes into that a little bit more.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if you have a separate moment, but you know, have you ever had a moment or a stressful moment you've had as a business owner, like a how am I going to get through this type of moment?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Are you kind of dealing with that now, or have you had a separate instance of a how am I going to get through this type of moment?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: Right now is is the uh is the biggest example that I can give.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: There's been some tight squeezes on on money, but it's it it's always come through.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: I've I've gotten fairly lucky with a few jobs coming through right when I needed them.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: But now I have a little bit of a monetary buffer.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and and business is picking up.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: It just takes time for a little bit of name recognition and and word of mouth to get around because right now I can't I can't throw cash at Google to get to the number one spot.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: So I I can't compete with the national brands to uh to get the number one search for pest control or or anything like that.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: So so I'm I am mainly relying on my uh expertise and word of mouth right now.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what would you say is a mistake you made early on that cost you either serious money, time, or reputation?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh money and time, I would say, is is tans amount right when you're starting out because you have you have got low low funding or low money, depending on how you're starting.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: I would say one of my friends used to say this phrase that just has always wrong with me.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm too broke to buy cheap stuff.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: So when I was searching around for equipment and stuff like that, I was like, oh well, you know, I'll I'll spend some money on on this.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: This I I can use this, it's just gonna take me a little bit longer to do the job.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then when I make some more money, I'll buy the better piece of equipment.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely not.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_02: You you you you scrimp and you save and you spend the extra money to buy the best piece of equipment that you can.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's gonna save you time and money in the future.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, you are actually just throwing money down the well.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's kind of what I did was is is buying like cheaper sprayers, cheaper stuff.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's and I I go, well, you know, I could use this until I can afford like what I really want to get.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I shouldn't have done that.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's just you know, it's the stuff breaks, and you know, it it doesn't put out like it doesn't put out like you want, or um and in one essence, I I'm I'm trying to move away from all gas operated stuff.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm trying to move battery power and and just uh all electrical stuff.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: I bought a uh corded backpack sprayer, and it's it's great.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: I mean it it's good, but you're then attached to a wall.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: So and then and then you're snagging on stuff when you're walking around a yard, and it's just it's kind of a nightmare.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: So so I I I ended up getting a uh backpack battery-powered sprayer, and it costs a little bit more, and batteries cost a little bit more, but you have the freedom.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: No, I I totally agree with you.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: I actually have a quick story about that as well.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: I I did the same thing when it comes to my my yard.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Same thing was using gas-powered stuff, and then I then I went the same rate, went to a quartered thing, and it was running, I was running over it with the lawnmower and stuff.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then I ended up just getting some nice DWAL.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if what brand you guys have, but I have the DWALT uh battery-powered ones, and it's excellent.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you you want to talk about great.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's nice to just be able to get up and go and just not have to worry about cords and and it works great.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's probably it's better than the the gas powered stuff was.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: So battery powered stuff is great these days.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, back in the day, I guess maybe they were underpowered and stuff, but now these days, 2026, now battery-powered is the way it goes.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, gas, gas is is great.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's been people have been using it for years and they've been they've been tweaking you know, backpack gas sprayers for a long time.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: But I had to be honest, you know, the size and the portability of of electric stuff, you just can't beat it.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: You just can't beat it.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, yeah.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I just pop my battery right into my lawnmower and I and I go do my thing.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Don't have to worry about getting gas.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Don't have to, you know, it's just really convenient.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Michael, what would you say is is something about you personally that had to change in order for your business to grow?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Have you had to make any changes to your personality or the way you do things or look at things?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I get a little too excited about bugs.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: I I I talk to homeowners a little bit too long.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: I tell them a little too much information, and and I have to remind myself, people aren't as excited about bugs and the biology and habitats and and the ecology of bugs as I am.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I I could see people's eyes just kind of glaze over sometimes, but it does, it's it's kind of one of those kind of catch 22 situations where some people are like, holy crap, this guy knows a lot of stuff.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then other people are like, buddy, get out of my house.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm trying to get you to kill the bugs, not show me the dead ones that you found.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like, uh, and I'm so I I gotta dial back that intense, that intensity for bugs a little bit.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the passion that you have for it.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: No, I get it, I get it.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: So and and this is all hypothetical, this next question, but let's say if someone shadowed you for a full day or even let's say a full week, what would you say would surprise them the most about how you operate your business?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: How much I read and reread things that I I have used before.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: So in the pest control industry, the label is the law.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: It is federal law.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: You cannot deviate from that label.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: So in any new instance that I come across, I'll pull out the chemical that I'm using and I will reread the label.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: And just to ensure that I'm not misusing it or double checking my rates, things like that.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: And people are like, well, haven't you been using this for years?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, of course.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, you want to make sure that you are compliant with the law because you can be fined, you can you can miss misuse stuff and uh and cause damage to people's yards or property or pets or anything like that.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: So so you gotta make sure that you're actually using it correctly.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: And to do that, sometimes you just gotta reread stuff you've been using for for years or decades, or sometimes the labels change.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: So you gotta you gotta double check everything.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, how long have you been in business so far?
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: How many years?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I've been in business for myself for 15 months.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: So 15 months, okay.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: Very, very slow start, no money for advertising.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's been it's been a pretty slow start, I'll say.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: But okay.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm getting there.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: Now what oh I'm sorry, but I'm getting there.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're getting there.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Now, and that's that that's actually the reason why I asked.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So what would you say was the exact, I mean 15 months, but what would you say was the exact moment where you, you know, and we're not really trying to get into anything specific, but where was it where you you found like the turning point where things started to scale and and started to grow and you started to become profitable?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm actually not paying myself a dime right now.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: So technically, aside from aside from gas and spending money on equipment and chemicals, I mean, I technically I'm running, I'm running a profit, but I I turn all that money right back into it.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, I'm I'm I want the I want the best equipment, I want the best chemicals, I want to make sure that I've got everything I need for a job and to make sure that I I'm providing a quality service.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: So so currently, you know, I I am not paying myself.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: So technically, I guess technically I'm not making a profit right now.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: But like you said, you're getting there and yeah, hopefully that'll change pretty soon, you're thinking, right?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, absolutely.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what would you say actually moves the needle most in your business right now?
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say, you know, leads, conversions, pricing, or is it something else?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely depends on the client.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: If someone is just looking for a quick remedy, sometimes you get people that are just gonna Google like pest control near me on Google Maps and they find me.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: Or sometimes they they shop around for pricing.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: But I I I always have to warn people, you get what you pay for.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I I'll I'll be the first one to say, look, I'm not the cheapest for quarterly, but I guarantee my work.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I I tell you everything that's covered, and I'll I'll even handle I'll even handle stuff that's not covered if I'm already there, and I've got I've got stuff right there in the truck, and I'll just take care of it for you.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: But I I do free inspections simply because a lot of the time when I get to a place and show them what the problem is and show them exactly what I'm looking at, they they see my expertise and they know they know that I know what I'm doing.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: So so I get my conversions to sales that way by by free inspections.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Love it, love it.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, getting into that a little bit more, what what would you say?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because you said you do you do stuff, you know, kind of when you're already there.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: What would be an example of that of you doing something when you're already at somebody's house, like kind of including it?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: So typically when when you have like a quarterly quarterly treatment, and this is something I did yesterday.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: So typically when you have a quarterly treatment, you've got pretty much all general pests are covered.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: This one of my clients, she's got an issue with a door jam.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: So there's some pests that just have free rain coming into her house.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, Look, I can spray all day long, but you basically have an opening in your house that needs to get sealed up.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: So she's gonna get a new weather stripping on her door, which unfortunately I didn't have on my truck at the time.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: But but I said, Well, let me double check your crawl space and make sure that there's no gaps in your like around your plumbing, because cockroaches tend to hang around plumbing in damp spaces and they'll they'll find their way into the house around the edges of that plumbing.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: I just went ahead and went down there and uh took a can of spray foam and sealed up the uh the little holes.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: Typically that's an extra charge, but I just said, no, I'll take care of it.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: No, no big deal.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Things like that.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: It it just it's kind of you go you you go an extra mile every once in a while when when you can, and sometimes it's too much.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: But this particular time it it was a quick quick little spritz of spray foam.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: Why would I charge somebody a bunch of money for that?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna do that.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what would you say is an unf is something that you're doing that gives you kind of an unfair advantage against your competitors?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: In terms of doing is just being me.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Having the knowledge base that I do and having the ability to I I'm I would I'm what what is called scientifically literate.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people can read, sure, but can people can everybody read a scientific paper?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Not not really.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I can actually read I can actually read stuff from scientifically published journals that are coming out now that haven't made it to the trade journals yet and and learn about new techniques and learn about new chemicals that are either coming onto the market or they're better in this situation versus that situation compared to somebody else.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: So my knowledge base and my lust for knowledge and and getting better every day, that's what that's what actually I think gives me an edge over my competitors.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, nice, love that.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Now, would you say, you know, and and you know, I'm not sure.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have employees right now?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: Any employees I can't do it?
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: I don't, no.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now, have you ever had to make a tough call, like, you know, cutting something off or not refusing or do it to do a job, and it ended up being the right move in the long term?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: So this is actually kind of a funny story, depending on how you look at it.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: The very first call I got, the very first request I got was to come out to somebody's house and kill their cat.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Kill their cat.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: So the cat had scratched her kid, and I totally understand the the the initial response there.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, I I can't do that.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't want to say, buddy, like you are my first business call, like my first customer call that I've ever gotten.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: Is for me to come out and you figure as your cat.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: I can't do that.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: Legally, morally, ethically, I I was like, I what are you asking me to do?
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I I I can't.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: I but I'm sorry, buddy, I can't do that.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they couldn't just drop the dog off or the cat off at like a one of those you know shelters or something, you know, give it away.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe somebody will want the dog as a cat.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm not I'm not really sure what happened with that situation.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_02: I I I hope it was a I I hope it was a uh a peaceful transition for the cat, whether it's to a new home or to a farm upstate, as they say.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, no.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that is insane.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: That that is a good story.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: I actually I've never heard that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's a good one.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's insane.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody on your first call is just, hey, could you take care of my cat?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, what?
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Just give them give give them away.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, people, you know, people take pets or just let the cat just drop them off in a field somewhere.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's more humane than just taking them out.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh good God.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's you got me flabbergasted there.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even know how to, I don't even know how to process that.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, imagine me when I was on the call.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: I was just pretty speechless.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: That that well, that's not awesome for the cat, but you know, it's a it's a wild story.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's something I I now have to carry with me for the rest of my life.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: And being my very first call ever, I mean, kind of hilarious, but you know, my first call, I thought it was gonna be like, hey, I got a cockroach problem.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: No, I've got a cat problem.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's my cat.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they think of cats as pets.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: So that's interesting.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Pest solution, they think to kill a pet.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: All right, well, so we're gonna head into what's called the quick fire round.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, how this works is I'm going to give you one word, and I just want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business, and then expand upon why you chose that in a couple of sentences.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: So that makes sense.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: First word is success.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: Success would be for this to be my full-time job 20 hours a day, hiring a crew and teaching them everything that I know.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I mean the opposite, I'm sorry.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I that's just I mean to to pass on my knowledge and to and and and and to improve this field would be fantastic.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then the opposite of that, failure.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: I don't not an option.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: I I I I don't think about it.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: I won't let it happen.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Burnout.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: I impossible.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: I love this.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: I I love doing what I do.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's I think the only type of burnout I could possibly get would be dehydration from working too much during during a hot summer day.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but mental burnout on this, I'd I love it.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: I love doing it.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Scaling.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: Scaling would be starting the the hiring practice, getting into uh big commercial accounts, getting a fleet of trucks.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Hiring.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely can't wait.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: I I can't I I love I love teaching and education just as much as I I love doing this this stuff.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I can't wait to teach people my ways and learn from them from what they know.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I I I I absolutely look forward to it.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_02: Competition I I'm gonna try not to say anything rude.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think about the competition too much.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't see them as competition in the league that I think I'm in, if that makes sense.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I get it.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're thinking you're at a higher base than your competition right now.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is that what you're saying?
• 26:27
  unknown: Okay.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: And the last word is freedom.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: Freedom would be to be the boss of a crew where I'm I'm teaching and I get the choice to go out in the field because there I don't see a future where I'm not actually going out and doing the job as well as doing the office work.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: So the freedom to choose to be in the office or outdoors and helping clients, that's freedom to me.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, nice.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love it, love it.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so I appreciate you getting through that quick fire around there.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: So where do you think your industry is going?
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, all this talk about AI and automation, where do you think your industry is going in the near future?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, let's say five years from now, and what are most people getting wrong about it right now?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: So for pest control, actually, when I was a research biologist, we uh we helped a company out of Israel try to identify mosquitoes using AI.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I I don't want to say that they were they were doing pretty good at the time, and that was a few years ago that we were we were sending them a particular species because they were having an issue with one species that looked similar to another one.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_02: So we were we were trying to help them out with training the AI.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: But based on a lot of uh Google lens and people clients telling me, like, oh, you know, AI is telling me it's this bug and it's completely wrong, currently not an issue.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: But the big issue is when clients say, you know, Google or AI, I don't want to say, I don't want to pick on Google, there's so many AIs out there now, but AI told me that it's this and I have to do this for it.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_02: Well, unfortunately for them, when AI gets gets the insect wrong, you get the wrong control measures, and then you get sometimes you can actually make the problem worse and you can make my job harder, and then it becomes more expensive for the homeowner.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: So currently, AI is a non-issue in in the field, and AI can't go out into the field and actually get into the crawl spaces and get into the tight, tight corners, and uh, and treat these insects and find them where they're at.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, so no issue for the foreseeable future until we start making small bug-identifying robots that are 100% accurate all the time.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that that's gonna be quite some time.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so all right, and and you know, I want you to be as candid as you can on the next on this next answer for this next question.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, let's say if you know a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode with you today, and let's say they're having just a rough day, or let's say they're having a rough month, or or you know what, let's just say they're having a rough go of 2026.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: We're almost halfway through the year already, and and it's just feeling stuck or overwhelmed, and they're just not profitable, and they're just I mean, they just can't make ends meet, and they're just not making it.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: What's a piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_02: I tell them I'm right there with your brother.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like 2026 is a hard year, and oh let me hold your hand through it, but no, the I think you really just need to find your passion in what you're doing, and whether it's it's one aspect of the job, so find the passionate part of what you're doing, and everything else might be terrible, it might it might be horrible.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Just find that passion, spend a few hours on that passionate part of it, and what like you enjoy that part of it, just spend your time on that to kind of give yourself a mental rest and and then come back to the hard parts.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: That that that's what's helping me is just find what you enjoy about it and and then kind of lean into that a little bit, and then you have to come back to the hard parts, and then you can handle those a lot easier.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, okay.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, what would you say is next for bus kill pest solutions?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: What should people be excited about coming up in the near future?
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_02: I've got I've got a few ideas.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna start coming out with hopefully when I have some time, I'm gonna come out with some I I I like I like doing funny funny stuff.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: I I like to tell people I'm I'm not a serious man, but I'm a serious scientist.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I like to joke all the time.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I I'm I'm gonna try to put out some like funny skits and funny uh funny videos on all my social media that I have, probably expand on that, maybe, maybe get TikTok and join the younger crowd.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_02: But but also that and I've got a company vehicle.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really want to talk about it right now because I don't want to give my competition any ideas.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: But it's gonna it's gonna be something that people are gonna notice.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a little wacky, a little zany, and people will see it.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_02: If they don't see it on the road, they'll see it on social media, I'm sure.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you all do?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I have a website at BuzzKillPS.com.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: You can learn about my my history, my resume, and what we do, some of the prices are on there.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: You can go to Instagram, BuzzkillPest solutions.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm on Facebook, but Facebook seems to not be able to search for my business.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I got I I gotta fix that.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's weird.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: But you can search Michael Bemmler on Facebook as well and connect with me there.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_02: And pretty soon I I'm gonna start a YouTube and a TikTok as well.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, great, great.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: Is that gonna be all that buskill pest solutions?
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like the handle.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, great, great, guys.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that'll be coming up here in the near future.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, Michael, this has been fantastic.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for sharing all of your great stories.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you had some really, really wild ones here that I'm going to remember.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm never gonna forget that one about that cat, that's for sure.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm a pet lover.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I have, I have, I had three dogs.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: I just had to put one down, unfortunately, but it was 18 years old.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but you know, he was 18 years old.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: He lived a long good life.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: But I just had to, but yeah, we have two dogs, two huskies.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a dog lover, I'm a pet lover.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, that's a wild one.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: I I think I'm gonna remember that for I don't think I'll forget that one there that somebody called you and tried to have the cat pulled down.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's I'm a dog guy too.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: I got two dogs.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: I've never really been a fan of cats, but I'm also not gonna come to your house and kill your cat.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: I'm actually gonna I'm gonna actively avoid doing that.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: So to all you cat lovers, I I appreciate your pets.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, yes, we certainly do.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, but yeah, thanks again for coming on, man, and uh we really appreciate your time.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: And we wish you continued success.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I'd like to come back to you again, maybe, and uh like to see uh, you know, maybe in the future, maybe in like two or three years, have you on again and uh see how things are going, man.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you scaled and you got all these employees, you got all this fleet of fans.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Love to talk to you in a few years and see how that's how that's working out.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like I said, failure's not an option, so I'll be here.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: All right, perfect.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: All right, thanks, Michael.