Since we started this magazine almost five years ago, people have often told us that onsite installation is a local business.
Installers, it’s said, stay within a small orbit. They take their local training, get tanks and supplies from a local distributor, buy equipment at the local dealer, do business in a county or two. They’re not a national community.
The existence of this magazine is one piece of evidence to the contrary. Another is the installer population that attends our Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo. Yet evidence for the other side remains.
For example, the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) annual technical conference is typically dominated by educators, regulators and consultants. I’ve seen installer attendance there as low as 10 percent, maybe lower. And installer representation at our own show also tends to be on the low side.
At the academy
Finally, there’s the annual NOWRA Installer Academy, held in Las Vegas in December. It started in 2005 with a skeleton crew on hand. It has grown significantly and last year added some excitement with a Ro-de-Hoe equipment operating competition. Still, attendance was just 250.
That’s a respectable figure, but when you consider how many installers there are — this magazine mails to some 16,000 design and installation professionals — it looks like a small slice of the market. So, why don’t more installers attend the one national industry event held just for them?
Maybe it’s because installers can in fact get most of what they need, in materials and education, close to home. In particular, many state associations hold annual conferences and have excellent training and certification programs.
Still, no matter what industry you’re in, there’s no substitute for going to a larger-scale event and getting a broader perspective on the industry. We can grant that installing is different everywhere because topography and soils vary. So do regulations, and so do the types of treatment systems permitted. But many aspects of the industry are uniform.
What stays the same
For example, no matter where you operate, the principles of running a business — marketing, accounting, purchasing, staffing, salaries, benefits — remain the same. So do the techniques of operating and maintaining equipment, and the fundamentals of soil science, hydrology, pump selection and surveying.
The broader the venue you attend, the better your chances of encountering someone who knows more in these areas than you do, and so the better your chances of learning new things and improving your business.
All that aside, there are few things more refreshing than leaving the daily cares of business behind for a while and sharing time — business and social — with people who come from different states, speak in different accents, but share your experiences and interests.
So maybe this is the year, if you haven’t already done so, to get beyond local. Your first great opportunity is the Installer Academy, Dec. 8-10. Think of it this way: Here’s a chance to go to Vegas and bet on a sure thing.
Take your pick
All it will cost you is a flight, a few nights’ lodging and the price of admission. And you are certain to gain value far in excess of what you spend. Just one choice insight or bit of information can be worth literally thousands of dollars, not just next year but every year.
Then, Feb. 25-28, there’s our Pumper & Cleaner Expo in Louisville, Ky. There you’ll get a bigger look at the environmental service industry and how onsite design and installation fit in. You’ll learn more about your own area of business, and you may encounter a new service line or two that offer promise.
Why not make this the year? Make the commitment to a bigger perspective on your business. Pick one of these events and go. Then the next year, attend the other. Your business will be better for it.
