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I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

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Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#31

Post by d675 »

colesantiago wrote: post #22

There is definitely money in the pest control SaaS business, mine is running at $2M ARR for a few years now. There are lots of antiquated operators not having newer technology for pest control, which makes this area lucrative for even $50K MRR. Go for it!

also starting in a blue-collar field soon as an operator-ish in a facility management company. I've already lined up an awesome new SaaS in the main industry. Pest control will be one of the verticals the company has customers fo so I will be keeping an eye for it, was thinking of just starting a pest control business it self.

Does your software do anything fancy or is mostly for organization, good workflow, and being the central source of truth?

Did it require a lot of development after getting a few customers on boarded?

are you a 1 man show?

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#32

Post by DrewADesign »

mememememememo wrote: post #30
DrewADesign wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as a recent white->blue collar convert, (union metalworker,) tech workers are usually far less qualified than your average vocational high school graduate, way less physically capable, and waaaaay less tolerant of the sort of workplace unpleasantries in these types of jobs at the entry level. Your tech experience gets you pretty much zero advantage, and there are lots of very…

I agree. I am not naive! I would not be doing it as a lifestyle choice though. I'd do it because I need to. I have worked in a factory before so culture shock wont be there at least. I get my pay would half (luckily I am not on the US West Coast monster TC so merely it would half).

It’s far worse in the restaurant industry. We’re going to see a lot of really awkward concept restaurants and bars open and close in quick succession.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#33

Post by refulgentis »

DrewADesign wrote: post #27
mememememememo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. I am thinking what my blue collar alter ego will be.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as a recent white->blue collar convert, (union metalworker,) tech workers are usually far less qualified than your average vocational high school graduate, way less physically capable, and waaaaay less tolerant of the sort of workplace unpleasantries in these types of jobs at the entry level. Your tech experience gets you pretty much zero advantage, and there are lots of very…

Hate to see you in gray, I went from dropout waiter to Google via my own startup in between. And you nailed e v e r y t h i n g, I am screenshotting this and reading it over and over again for years to come. Great writing too. Cheers.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#37

Post by fma »

tezclarke wrote: post #6
MisterTea wrote: post #4

Interesting pivot. What I don't understand is how the SaaS software fits into it or helps grow a pest control company.

I don't believe SaaS is a good option in this sector - the incumbent VSaaS is decent, cheap, and ubiquitous. By "tech-enabling", I mean layering tech into the ops where it adds value and helps to scale the business. Obvious wins are upselling, hands-free data entry to the CRM, smart traps/stations. My choice is to compete as a tech-enabled operator, rather than sell AI/SaaS to incumbents.

Similar boat here. Many of these service industries are cheap. I've built my own CRM/management system that no big company will ever touch. Even if I can sell to 1000 companies and charge them $25 a month...I'd have staff overhead, maintenance to support it. SaaS isn't some little photo editing app or something you can just launch and forget.

I'd rather grow my business and make as much money. If I can crush it with my business I'd make more than that.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#38

Post by deweywsu »

This might be a bit of a gold rush of sorts at first, in that the first people to transition from tech to running a small business, whether tech-enabled or not, will find a bigger piece of the pie waiting for their taking. But as the stream of many others increases over the years, the pie's slices will get smaller as competition for the same market segments increases. Not trying to paint doom and gloom, just that I'd imagine, as the author says, this kind of white to blue collar shift will accelerate, and as it does, competition will rise, lowering the chance for overall profits.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#39

Post by qwertyuiop_ »

DrewADesign wrote: post #27
mememememememo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. I am thinking what my blue collar alter ego will be.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as a recent white->blue collar convert, (union metalworker,) tech workers are usually far less qualified than your average vocational high school graduate, way less physically capable, and waaaaay less tolerant of the sort of workplace unpleasantries in these types of jobs at the entry level. Your tech experience gets you pretty much zero advantage, and there are lots of very…

Agree having made the switch from construction -> Tech job. Having sat around at least 25,000 tech related meetings until now worked with thousands of people in various roles in tech, i could count on my one hand the number of people from each tech company I worked that could qualify to survive the real blue collar world.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#40

Post by spenczar5 »

dsalzman wrote: post #34

Doing something similar. Bought a business in the petroleum equipment service space. Building internal tools for ourselves. Pen and paper still dominates the industry.

Does it matter that pen and paper dominate? How much of the business's expenses are overhead?
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