Growth can create as many challenges for a sweeping contractor as it solves.
Over 11 years of building Smith Property Services, Bill Smith has navigated rising operating costs, labor challenges, changing customer expectations and the growing pains that come with taking a small operation to its next stage.
One of his biggest lessons has been learning that operators do not have to figure all of it out alone.
Two years into owning the business, Smith says he was close to walking away. He was approaching $1 million in annual revenue, trying to manage nearly every aspect of the company himself and struggling with what came next.
“I was done. I couldn’t handle it,” Smith says. “I was trying to do everything.”
Then he attended Sweeper Summit. While waiting to leave for the airport, Smith struck up a conversation with another contractor and explained where his business stood and the challenges he was facing. That brief conversation prompted him to make a critical hire: an administrative assistant who could help him manage the operation.
Smith stayed in business and grew revenue to approximately $1.5 million the following year.
“If I had not gone to the Summit, I wouldn’t be here today,” he says.
Today, Smith is preparing to become president of the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) in January. The experience of building his own company, and the help he received along the way is shaping how he views the association’s role in helping other sweeping contractors build stronger businesses.
Building a Business That Can Grow
Smith entered the industry working for another sweeping contractor. When the owner decided to retire, Smith bought the business and began with a dump truck, pickup truck and Billy Goat vacuum.
Over the next four years, Smith Property Services grew to five routes operating every night. Next, Smith began investing in broom trucks and launched a union division, Union Sweep of Rhode Island. That operation has grown from one truck to six in roughly two-and-a-half years, with trucks now running two shifts per day.
With each stage of growth, Smith says the demands of running the company have changed.
Equipment, fuel and insurance costs create ongoing pressure, while finding and retaining dependable employees remains one of his biggest challenges.
“Labor is the biggest issue,” Smith says. “Learning to deal with help has been challenging for me.”
His own management style has had to evolve with the business. As the union operation has grown, he learned that a larger and more structured workforce requires clear procedures and more consistent management.
In the end, when it comes to help he says, “Hire the right people who do things the right way.”
For other contractors looking to grow, Smith says it is important to recognize that each new stage requires more than simply adding customers. More revenue can require additional equipment, employees, management and capital, and operators need to be prepared for the infrastructure that comes with the next level.
Customer Service Still Wins
The economics of sweeping have also become more difficult. Smith says equipment and operating expenses have climbed while customers continue to put pressure on contractors to keep pricing competitive.
That makes customer service one of the most important tools operators have to differentiate their businesses.
“You must respond. You must be on top of it,” Smith says. “If you need sleep, you’re in the wrong business.”
At its peak as a broader property maintenance operation, Smith Property Services handled everything from sweeping to painting and touch-ups, cleanouts, landscaping and snow removal. Smith’s philosophy was simple: when a customer needed something, he wanted the company to find a way to handle it.
“I never said no,” he says. “I wanted the customer to have one call and be done.”
While the services a contractor chooses to offer may vary, Smith believes the underlying approach remains valuable: respond quickly, treat customers fairly and make it easy for them to do business with you.
Why Industry Connections Matter
Smith brings the same practical approach to his involvement with NAPSA.
He sees training as one of the association’s most valuable resources, including for employees who may never operate a sweeper themselves. His administrative assistant, for example, completed industry certification and can now review GPS information with a better understanding of how a truck should be operating in the field.
“She can look at the GPS and say, ‘Why is he going this way? Why did he sweep with that side of the truck?’” Smith says. “It’s basics you are taught, but they are basics you learn to live by, and it makes you a better company.”
Networking has been equally valuable.
Smith says he regularly speaks with owners of other sweeping companies, exchanging ideas and asking questions. Relationships developed through industry organizations have also changed how he views competitors. When his company is overbooked, he can call another operator. When he has an equipment issue, he has people in the industry he can turn to.
“If you’re just a sweeping guy and there’s another one four towns over, you typically don’t talk,” Smith says. “But by attending the shows and being part of the organization, you have that network.”
For Smith, the business impact has been tangible. Industry connections have produced valuable leads, including one account worth approximately $300,000 annually. Another connection helped lead to the union operation that has grown from one truck to six.
Helping Smaller Operators Take the Next Step
As he prepares to lead NAPSA, Smith wants to make those resources more accessible, particularly to smaller sweeping contractors.
“It’s so important to help the little guys,” he says.
Smith views one-to-five-truck operators as a critical part of the association and wants them to feel comfortable asking questions of contractors who have already navigated the challenges they are facing.
“The big guys kind of have it figured out because they’ve experienced challenges that come with growth,” he says. “But as a one-to-five guy, you don’t always feel like you can approach the bigger guys.”
He also wants industry education to reflect the different stages of business growth. A conversation about reaching $5 million in revenue may have value for some contractors, he says, while another operator may need help getting from one truck to five.
Even businesses that have reached several million dollars in revenue encounter another set of challenges as they continue growing.
“It’s more money you have to put out. More equipment. More everything,” Smith says.
Creating stronger communication among operators is therefore one of his priorities. He would also like to see NAPSA membership provide additional tangible value through vendor and sponsor discounts that can help contractors offset operating costs.
For someone entering the sweeping business today, Smith says join industry organizations, attend events, ask questions and build relationships.
The conversation that kept Bill Smith in business happened at the Summit.
Meet the contractors, manufacturers and industry leaders who have already solved the problems you are facing — Sweeper Summit & Outdoor Equipment Expo, November 3–4 in San Antonio.
Register NowSmith knows firsthand how much one conversation can change the direction of a business. Now, as he prepares to lead NAPSA, he wants established contractors to be willing to have those conversations with the operators coming behind them.
“The guys who have been in business need to help the smaller operations,” Smith says. “We’ve all gone through the growing pains. If we can share what we’ve learned and help each other, everybody gets better.”