# Tell Me What Ya Think



## sullivanplumb (Mar 29, 2014)

We currently run a plumbing business. I provide complete plumbing services, along with drain cleaning, camera inspection , sewer repair and replacement, septic installs and recently acquired a pumper truck.

So with all the knowlege and equipment we have for the sewer and drain segment I have been thinking of opening a second business directed more towards the sewer and drain side. 

I would most definitely still have the plumbing business, with the addition of the other sewer and drain side, so what do you guys think? Is it a good idea to specifically target each market? 

Tell me what ya think.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Cheaper to keep it all under one roof. No?


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## sullivanplumb (Mar 29, 2014)

That's one thing I'm trying to figure out, both business would operate out of the same facility. The main thing would be the additional advertising.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

In my opinion advertising an additional service does not justify overhead for a second business.


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

Thing is you'll never know unless you try it. It can get costly but could also prove worth it. I'm going to be doing the same thing in the near future once I get all the details worked out. A few more big costs would be a dedicated truck, techs, uniforms and everything associated with performing the service calls. 
Almost everything else could be split and shared percentage wise between the two companies since they're sharing the same space.


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## Flyout95 (Apr 13, 2012)

Why not just add your new services to your already open and solid company? As far as advertising, just add it to your web site, send out a mailer, and have your employees spread the work?


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

I do already offer it but rolling out a niche company is an itch I gotta scratch. If it takes off all calls for that service will go through the new company.


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## CPR2010 (Nov 25, 2014)

You may want to keep in mind the DOT requirements. If you have any company vehicle that has a CGVW or is rated by the manufacture to weigh or have a maximum weight of over 10,000 pounds then you need to have your company trucks registered with DOT and along with that ALL you drivers have to meet some requirements for or have a Commercial Drivers License. That may cause problems for trying to run two separate entities. Or it may be a benefit if you can put all your DOT truck under one company then less to worry about when it comes to your DOT Audit.


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## PPRI (Aug 27, 2013)

When we add a new service we run it under an already operating business. When that service gets a dominate share we will split it off from the parent company. They are all llc business structures owned by the parent corporation. The corporation is owned by a privately held llc. That's the legal speak. 

In terms of business it is cheaper to piggyback a new business or service to get it started. Once settled it can become it's own beast. We do this as cheap insurance to protect the corporation and also with the thought that should we want to sell out a branch of the business it is easier to sell.


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## Greg755 (Sep 16, 2015)

In the beginning I would NOT separate it. What I would do is just get a different phone number and add that in all my advertising.

So all your ads would have Plumbing cal 55555555 drain cleaning call 3333333.
Now that you have two lines each can be answered differently. This gives you time to get everyone used to the new name and you have time to work out the kinks

Once the division grows then you can break it of and pay all the additional expenses.
Just my 5 cents


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## sullivanplumb (Mar 29, 2014)

PPRI said:


> When we add a new service we run it under an already operating business. When that service gets a dominate share we will split it off from the parent company. They are all llc business structures owned by the parent corporation. The corporation is owned by a privately held llc. That's the legal speak.
> 
> In terms of business it is cheaper to piggyback a new business or service to get it started. Once settled it can become it's own beast. We do this as cheap insurance to protect the corporation and also with the thought that should we want to sell out a branch of the business it is easier to sell.


This is pretty much exactly what I am talking about. From the very beginning I set up the "parent company" and am running my plumbing business under that now, so if I decided to start the nnew business under a different name it would also be under our main company umbrella.


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

You could open multiple plumbing shops, too. Capture a bigger share of the market. Happens more than you think. 

There's one guy here that has 3 plumbing companies and all the trucks are unmarked. In Seattle, I know that the bigger companies have multiple "branches" with different names.


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## 760GWS (Mar 16, 2015)

I've thought about doing the same thing for a few years, Sullivan. Now that we have our JNW jetter and CS6pak it's really enticing to try some cell division in the company. We'd still provide drain, jetting, and inspection service under the main identity as nurture another seedling identity. Kind of like fishing with 2 baits on one line I imagine. I think just running the 2nd identity through a dba should be sufficient until it's time to actually setup a separate entity. It would probably be 2-3 years before that happens. I like ur idea man.


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