Entrepreneurial Bug

Entrepreneurial Bug

CEO Q&A by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Truly Nolen built the pest-control company that bears his name into one of the largest in the industry. One key to success: humor.

Truly Nolen, 78, the chairman and chief executive officer of the pest-control company that bears his name, is always quick with a joke.

But building his company to one of the top 10 pest-control firms in the country with $82 million in annual revenues is serious stuff, especially growing it without making acquisitions or turning to the public markets.

Still, humor is a part of everything Nolen does, from dressing up his pest-control cars as mice to naming his children unusual names such as True Spyder and Scarlet Sahara.

The title on his business card reads Head Mouse.

Humor helped him through the toughest ordeal of his life as a polio victim when he was 23 years old. He fought for his life encased in an iron lung and emerged a different person.

Nolen, an aircraft pilot, runs his Tucson, Ariz.-based company from Naples. He recently was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award from International College at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples. The Review caught up with him after the ceremony:

Q: Why did you use your own name for the company?

A: I really learned that from my father. He named his company Economy, because it was the Depression. People wanted cheaper things. It's like an actor who happens to be good looking. He would use his looks. If you've got something, use it. That's why I named my kids such funny names. There's Sincere Leigh, Scarlet Sahara and True Spyder Nolen.

Q: How did you get the idea to dress up your cars?

A: One of the big expenses in the service business is transportation. You've got a very small amount of capital and when you start buying vehicles it gets very expensive. Since advertising is also very expensive, you might as well bring the two together.

Q: How did you come up with the mouse ears and tail?

A: I experimented. We tried scorpions, we had a bat mobile, we had a red ant, we had a ladybug, all kinds of different things. With the Volkswagens, since they're so bug-like anyway, we first painted the ears on it and it didn't look right. Then we made the ears, put them on and wow, that's it.

Q: How did your battle with polio shape your management style?

A: It's the philosophy, mainly. I used to worry about making money and earning a living. I worried too much. After I was lying there in the hospital, I was thinking if I can get out of this it's going to be easy. And it was. It was like a revelation.

Q: How important is humor in managing your business?

A: It just makes life better. I started using it when I was sick. I actually started reading Reader's Digest for the jokes. The humor section really made each day better. I just see things through those eyes. Everything's funny.

Q: Have you ever considered taking your company public and if so why haven't you done it?

A: Sure. The reason to go public is to raise money. We don't need to raise money, we're debt free, so why go public? If you're going on the acquisition trail to buy a competitor it may make some sense. It's also a way for people to bail out their cash for tax situations, but I pay the taxes and it doesn't bother me.

Q: Does being privately held give you an advantage?

A: Yes and no. We have five major competitors and they're good companies. I own stock in all of them. But the next quarter's stock value becomes a focus and I think that kind of takes away from the focus on their employees and customers. They're so money oriented.

Q: What is the benefit of franchising versus company owned?

A: Two things. One is capital and the other is getting people who live on beans and work 16 hours a day for low pay and the possibility of success. I sort of got into it by people approaching me. I wondered how to control quality and it hasn't been a problem.

Q: Why hasn't it been a problem?

A: Well, it's their business. We had only one case when a guy got in it for a fast buck and we got rid of him. And that was a lesson to learn.

Q: How do you keep the people who want to make a fast buck out?

A: We're very careful who we select. It's the same difficulty in hiring people, but with franchisees you have a bond.

Q: What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?

A: Most businesses are highly competitive, so start in a small town. Don't go to a big city. Big cities are much more ruthless. In order to get a name and reputation, it's much more risky in big cities.

Also, make sure your family wants to pay the price too. Sometimes they don't. You may find that you don't spend enough time with the kids and you feel real guilty about it. I felt real guilty about my own kids that I didn't spend enough time with them and looking back I wish I had.

Q: How do you balance work and family?

A: You just have to do the best you can. I'll tell you a funny story. My oldest son, when he was seven or eight years old, when the company was just started, said: 'Dad, how about you spend the whole Saturday with me and let's do something together?' I said, 'OK, I won't go to work Saturday and we'll do whatever you want to do. You name it, we'll do it.' He said, 'Let's build something.' I said, 'What do you want to build?' He said, 'I want to build an atomic bomb.'

REVIEW SUMMARY

CEO. Truly Nolen

Industry. Pest control

Key. Funny cars are serious business.