What It’s Like Running A Family Business In Vancouver WA

What It’s Like Running A Family Business

As with any family run business, there are shared perspectives when it comes to what it’s like running a family business because of the role each member plays. For Amber, fulfilling the administrative role that keeps the business flowing, holds its challenges. Once perceived as a glamorous lifestyle, it has quickly proven to be all consuming which was a huge reality check upon realizing that running a family business meant you would eat, sleep and breath the daily operations of the business. Instead of working a 9-5, the work it requires is constant as there is no one to turn to but yourself as the owner. As an owner, you are the only one who dictates whether your business will run smoothly let alone stay afloat and that can be a lot of pressure.

Brandon shares these sentiments but also appreciates the fact that as an owner, he gets to decide what ethical characteristics are implemented within the business and because he values people over profit, this is a reward that far exceeds any challenges. Training and teaching his children as they prepare to become a part of the business has been another rewarding part of running a family business. Though it takes a lot of time and patience to train others according to your ethical values as well as expertise, the dividend is that your family business will carry a signature stamp that will not only become generational but also play a part in establishing your brand name. Along with the learning curves and growth that each experience, the rewards that come from running a family business far exceed the challenges.

Adapting Our Business To This Covid-19 Season

Many businesses around the Vancouver, Portland-metro region have been dramatically impacted by Covid-19. For Get Smart Rat Solutions, this impact has not only been seen throughout other family run businesses but with their clientele as well. More people are working from home or forced to stay home as they deal with the ever changing effects of Covid. This has caused many to learn new ways of operating within life and for Get Smart Rat Solutions, that has meant learning to adapt their business to this Covid-19 season.

When it comes to rats, Covid has no effect. If mice or rats are infesting a home then the problem has to be taken care of, otherwise, these rodents will continue to populate and destroy the integrity of a home. What is most often seen with homeowners being home more is an increased awareness of just how bad their rodent problem is. Rodents are known for being nocturnal but that doesn’t mean you will not hear them throughout the day. Staying home when rodents are moving through your walls and over your heads is disheartening and leaves homeowners feeling very uncomfortable, making it necessary to eradicate the issue. With the pest industry still able to continue their work, Get Smart Rat Solutions has learned new methods when meeting with clients and treating their homes to ensure they feel safe and their rodent problem is taken care of. If that isn’t saying enough, they have even offered continued pest control service for those already on a service plan so clients have the peace of mind in knowing that any past rodent problems will not be an issue in the future.

The Challenges With Working From Home

The challenges with working from home have been shared amongst the masses and for Amber, those challenges have been learning how to manage a business while still running a household of eight. When it comes to Covid, this is where running a family business has impacted her the most. Not only does she find herself neck deep in administrative work but she now has to make time for their kids’ schooling as they have been forced to homeschool for the season. This, of course, requires a lot of multi-tasking which isn’t new for a mom of six but instead of multi-tasking one area of her life she is now multi-tasking three separate areas of her life when it comes to family, the business and her household. Time management has become essential in learning to find balance within these three areas but just as Covid has taught them to adapt in business, Amber is learning to adapt to a new and temporary way of life when it comes to the challenges with working from home.

Why Run A Family Business?

Why run a family business you ask? Because running a family business means learning and growing together, knowing you are providing a foundational security for your loved ones and what parent doesn’t want that! Currently out on the field with his kids, Brandon started training his children young in the ways of pest control. Over the past couple of years he has watched his two oldest sons build interpersonal relationships with clientele and be able to accomplish pest control services for their clients that other companies have not been able to succeed in. This in turn has led to a reputation of Get Smart Rat Solutions that speaks of the knowledge, ethics and relationships they have offered and built over the years. Watching his children take everything he’s trained them in and seeing them perform at such a high level of expertise has been one of the most rewarding elements in running a family business for Brandon. Get Smart Rat Solutions has not only built a reputation that reaches from clientele to referrals but even other professional pest control companies seek the knowledge and skill level of this family run business.

A Growing Appreciation For Our Community

It has always been the goal for Get Smart Rat Solutions to build their company on personable connections, sound ethics and knowledgeable service. For Amber, these connections often happen over the phone when scheduling pest control services. Especially during this season of Covid, Amber has found herself in personable conversations where both her and the clients are able to connect and truly build relationships with one another. Clients share their appreciation for taking care of their rodent problems but even more than that they share their lives and during this season, that is something special. It’s been rewarding in knowing that they can offer homeowners peace of mind but has been even more rewarding when those same people feel they can open up and share a piece of themselves and for this, Get Smart Rat Solutions is truly thankful. These conversations are what keeps the business going, especially when it comes to those who are less fortunate. Brandon himself has always felt a responsibility to be generous, so when it comes to the community, he is quick to take notice of those who have a need for his service but cannot necessarily afford it. For him, meeting the need is an opportunity to build trust and honor the integrity of the company he has built. People over profit becomes more than a mantra but a standard of operating his business.

Running a family business will always present its challenges but as Brandon and Amber have shared, these challenges are greatly surpassed by the rewards that come from running a family business in Vancouver.