An old saying holds that when you face trouble, you find out who your friends are. Katie and Troy Resor found out they had many friends in the onsite industry. 

The Resors own R&R Septic Solutions in Waverly, Iowa. About two-and-a-half years ago, Katie was diagnosed with breast cancer and had great difficulty with the chemotherapy and the aftereffects of surgery. She also developed symptoms that turned out to be Lyme disease. As a result, she had to curtail her system maintenance and inspection workload significantly. 

Troy picked up much of the slack on top of his onsite installation and repair work and his status as a full-time firefighter in nearby Waterloo. That alone wasn’t enough though, and so the couple turned to their contacts in the area contractor community.

“Some of the first people we told about my cancer were competitors,” says Katie. “I always joke around and say I’ve got a phone that’s full of guys. I have 1,641 contacts, and a lot of them are in the septic industry. We had become very good friends with a number of local contractors. Without knowing it, we had been laying the groundwork over the years, never anticipating that one day we would need them. All of them were happy to help.” 

R&R Septic had a diverse business: Katie handled the maintenance of advanced treatment units and many time-of-sale system inspections while Troy did the heavy work in the field. Their friends in the profession pulled them through, although last January, the Resors sold the maintenance side of the business because Katie could no longer do the physical work. But even with that, positive relationships with other industry professionals made giving up that side of the business a little easier.

Joining forces

Troy Resor was the first half of the couple to enter the onsite industry. The work fit in well with the traditional firefighter work schedule: 24 hours on, 48 hours off. After joining the fire department in 1996, he started R&R Construction and Excavation. He installed his first septic system in 2008 for a home an uncle of Katie’s was building. 

Katie, meanwhile, earned a bachelor’s degree in family services from University of Northern Iowa, then worked for an insurance company, as a stock trader, and in banking before taking a job in 2009 as a special education associate at an elementary school. The older of their two sons, Toby, is autistic, and Katie’s work hours meshed with his class schedule.  

In 2016 the Resors had the opportunity to buy out a contractor’s maintenance business. Katie recalls, “I was hanging up laundry when Troy called and said, ‘Do you want to own your own business? Do you want to make X dollars a year, and make your own schedule so you can take care of the boys?’ 

“I said, ‘Can I wear blue jeans?’ And he said, “I think you’re going to want to.’ And I said, ‘Yes, I’m in.’”  

Katie started the maintenance business as R&R Septic Solutions in January 2017 with 96 contracts. By June 2021 it had grown to 200, and that’s where she kept it. “I could have grown it to 300, but we felt like 200 was our magic number,” she recalls. “I helped some contractors in the area get started in their maintenance businesses because there was more than enough work to go around.”

In the field

Meanwhile, Troy installs about 10 treatment systems per year. The equipment inventory includes: 

• 2012 Bobcat E80 excavator
• John Deere 35D mini-excavator
• 2020 Wacker Neuson ST31 track skid loader
• 2009 International single-axle dump truck
• 1980 Peterbilt semi tractor and 53-foot step deck trailer with ramps
• 2013 Ford F-350 enclosed service truck
• 24-foot enclosed trailer 

The installation work spans nine counties. Soils in most of the territory are suitable for conventional systems, but areas with small lots and limiting layers call for advanced treatment units. Troy installs AdvanTex (Orenco Systems), E-Z Treat and Waterloo Biofilter systems. For drainfield media, he uses low-profile chambers from Infiltrator Water Technologies. 

Initially, Troy and Katie kept their businesses separate. That changed in 2020 during a discussion with their accountant at tax time. Katie recalls, “Our CPA said ‘You have a lot of duplication here — you should just combine your businesses.’” 

They did so and decided to go forward under the name of her business, R&R Septic Solutions. “Troy says it was a hostile takeover,” Katie jokes. “Depending on who I’m talking to, I just say that I bought my husband out.”   

Since then, things have changed a little. When Katie’s health limited her ability to keep up with the maintenance demand, they made the decision to sell that part of the business. “We sold the maintenance side in January to Jeff Sherman, someone who has helped us a lot with projects over the years,” Katie says. 

Today the excavation and installation side of the business carries on with Troy at the helm and Katie helping when she can. 

Being an educator

Since the sale of the maintenance business, Katie works for Kahn Tile Supply, a business in New Hampton, Iowa, specializing in the supply of drainage tile, plumbing supplies, septic supplies and likewise products.  

“The bottom line is what got me here is the relationships I made in the septic world,” Katie says. “I’m so very thankful I get to use the knowledge and relationships I made in this role.”

Homeowner education has always been and remains a key role for Katie. That often means long conversations over the telephone, covering which household products to use and which to avoid, how to spread out hydraulic loading through the day and through the week, and much more. 

She would often take calls from people who needed a time-of-sale inspection or a new septic system. “A lot of times people have no clue what a septic system is — they just know they need it, or they need to have an inspection,” she says. “So I’m willing to take the time.

“If they need a new septic system, I tell them, No. 1, this will be expensive, so you need to have a couple of people give you quotes. No. 2, here is how the process will work. You’ll need to get a hold of a sanitarian. You’ll need to get hold of a contractor. They’re going to do a site evaluation. They’ll have to dig a 6-foot test hole. Depending on the county, they might want a perc test. It’s not uncommon for it to be a 40-minute phone call.”

For inquiries about time-of-sale inspections, her approach is similarly thorough, and she’s not at all shy about stating her price: “I charge almost double compared to some of the people around us. I don’t work for free. For some people, that’s a turnoff; they want the cheapest they can get. That’s not going to be me.”  

Most often, she says, callers appreciate her taking time to give a full explanation: “They say, ‘Thank you for that, I might give you a callback.’ And in the end, usually they’re like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have a problem paying more.’”

Pulling through

What had been a smooth-running business hit a rough patch in December 2021 when Katie’s cancer was diagnosed. On top of recovery from surgeries and the chemotherapy side effects came debilitating swelling and nerve pain from Lyme disease, which apparently had lain dormant in her system for decades.  

“I’m pretty sure I’ve had it since junior high,” she says. “I know that I didn’t get it while I was out doing servicing. It was something I picked up probably about 30 years ago.” 

During her treatment and recovery, Katie could still do the business paperwork, and she continued her teaching at the college, in the classroom when she was able and otherwise online. Still, she and Troy — who essentially was holding down three full-time jobs — needed help to make it through. 

As she dealt with what she calls “chemo brain,” the permitting paperwork took her longer than usual, and she asked the county sanitarians for their understanding. “I told them I would get to it, and they knew that I would,” she says.  

“I always prided myself on having good relationships with the sanitarians and the regulators. So when all this happened, they were willing to work with me. They would say, ‘If it takes an extra couple of weeks to get this done, don’t worry about it.’ They would remind me if something was missing.” 

Reaching out

Meanwhile, contractors including competitors gladly threw out a lifeline, notably Andy and Stacy Barber of Crystal Plumbing, Heating and Excavating. “I don’t even know how many meals she made for us. She brought us a care package.  

“And he and his crew, if there was anything I needed when Troy was at the fire station, one phone call and they would drop everything to come and help, whether it was for a customer or something I needed at home. My advice: We’re all in this together. You never know when you’re going to need your competitors’ help. Don’t burn your bridges. They’re competitors, yes, but also your best allies.” 

Another of those allies was Jeff Sherman, owner of Sherm’s Septic who bought the maintenance division from them. 

Even before her illness Katie had looked to competitors for assistance. When she started doing time-of-sale inspections, she often needed someone to dig for access to septic tanks. “I don’t run equipment,” she says. “Troy was so busy that first summer that almost all of my digging had to be done by competitors.”  

And when it comes to industry knowledge, “I don’t have a problem saying I don’t know something. If I don’t know, I say I don’t know. I guarantee I have somebody in my phone who knows the answer or knows somebody who will.” 

Moving on

With medical issues now mostly in the past and the maintenance business sold, the Resors are essentially back to where they were almost a decade ago with Troy’s business. Son Toby helps with tasks like laying chambers. Younger brother Tyler operates equipment and does some troubleshooting, although he is mostly focused on college studies in diesel technology.  

“Had we known that I was going to end up with health issues, would we have still done it?” Katie asks. “Yes, because I’ve really enjoyed doing it. It was fun to go out there and get dirty, to be able to hang with the guys, pull my weight and do it well.”  

And, all the while, wearing blue jeans.