Currently celebrating 25 years as the owners of Complete Septic Services in Isle La Motte, Vermont, power business couple John and Kim Littlefield credit their success to their appetite for learning and putting the customer first.
The couple met at Champlain College where John was completing a degree in business management and Kim was pursuing her associate executive administration degree.
“My father ran an excavation business and I worked summers in the office,” Kim says. “After John and I graduated we became serious, and in 1992 my father asked us both to come work for him.” While the company offered septic system installation, it did not provide septic service.
In a few years, John and Kim’s family had grown to include two sons, Chad and Travis, and the couple was inspired to start a company of their own. Complete Septic Services was launched in 2000, leveraging the couple’s experience in a wide range of excavation projects and expanding into a septic division offering installation, service and pumping.
In the beginning
“We started with a 1992 International with a 2,500-gallon tank so that we could advertise ‘complete’ septic service,” John says. “We often found that we were delayed in replacing septic systems because they needed pumping. At the same time, offering pumping service allowed us to identify systems that were failing, and that led to more installation work.”
The company soon grew busy, and John performed much of the work with the help of a part-time employee. By 2007, Complete Septic hired its first full-time worker.
For many years, the business operated from the Littlefields’ home and garage, sharing space with kids’ bicycles and lawnmowers. The company moved to its own space in 2016 and now operates out of a 40-by-96-foot building with three service bays.
John is no longer pulling the weight on his own as he now works with a crew of four, including son Chad. Kim manages the office side with the assistance of a part-time employee, daughter-in-law Shea Littlefield.
John is very much a working owner and likes to get out to the project sites whenever possible.
“I’m not a big fan of sitting behind the desk, although I know that work is very necessary,” he says. “My crews are well-adapted to working on their own, but I would much rather be on the job. I don’t care if it’s in a dump truck, on a loader or an excavator or in the trench. I also like to show the crew that I wouldn’t ask them to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”
Business breakdown
While the company’s business offerings have expanded to include portable restroom rentals and service and pipe jetting and thawing, the septic side of the business has consistently chalked up about 45 to 50% of revenue through the years.
“We’ve done both commercial and residential septic system installations,” John says. “But the commercial work requires tighter timelines for larger projects and more resources to complete, so we’ve primarily concentrated on satisfying our residential customers with the level of care they expect.”
Complete inventory
The company’s fleet has also grown extensively. Pump trucks all feature aluminum tanks and include a 2022 International with a 2,500-gallon tank, built by Imperial Industries; a 2022 Western Star with a 4,700-gallon tank, also built by Imperial; a 2012 Ford F550 flatbed with a 300-gallon waste/150 fresh skid tank supplied by Best Enterprises; a 2015 Hino with a 900-gallon fresh/300-gallon waste tank; a 2017 Ford F550 with a 650-gallon waste/250-gallon fresh tank by Crescent Tank Manufacturing; and a 2023 Ford F600 with an 800-gallon waste/350-gallon fresh tank by Robinson Vacuum Tanks.
Excavators include a 2020 Volvo Construction Equipment ECR 145; a 2021 John Deere 35G; a 2023 Volvo L60E; a 2022 CAT 310; and a 2021 Takeuchi TL8 track loader. The dump truck fleet features a 2007 Freightliner FLD120 tri-axle, a 2001 Freightliner CL120 tandem and a 2021 GMC 3500 one-ton.
The company performs roughly 90% of vehicle service in its own shop, with John handling most of the maintenance work.
Techs in the field are equipped with a JD-4009 Brute Jetter from Jetters Northwest; a Milwaukee M18 FUEL High Speed Chain Snake; a Milwaukee M18 Drain Snake with cable drive; and a Goldak Triad Series 23X locator. Inspection cameras include a pair of SeeSnakes by RIDGID — a C40 and a Micro CA-340 — and another by Electric Eel Manufacturing. They’re often transported on the contractor’s 2022 Ram ProMaster inspection van.
On the portable restroom side, the company offers 300 units, primarily from PolyJohn and Satellite. They’re generally used for large events, concerts, construction, campgrounds, local stores and seasonal restaurants. The company’s Classy Potty division also offers a six-unit luxury trailer supplied by Comforts of Home Services in addition to the top units from the inventory to supply events such as weddings.
What’s going where
Complete Septic serves three counties in Vermont — Grand Isle, Franklin and Chittenden — and Clinton County, New York, just across the border.
“We’re literally 15 minutes from Ross’s Point bridge to New York,” John says. “It works out well because New York has been adopting Vermont’s standards on septic system installs.”
The island is served by bridges, but the local population is small, so traffic is rarely a problem — even when the population of Isle La Motte swells from 491 to about 4,000 during summers.
While Vermont is often thought of as mountainous, the terrain of the Champlain Islands area is relatively flat and includes heavy clay soils over bedrock. Engineers submit their system plans to receive a State Wastewater Permit.
“For larger lots, the typical installation is a mound system with a 1,000-gallon septic tank with a 1,000-gallon pump station and force main to the mound system,” John says. “In tighter areas, or sensitive environmental areas affected by our shoreline protection regulations, we often install pretreatment systems.”
Complete Septic is a distributor of Hydro-Action aerobic treatment units and will often install these systems when incorporated into the design.
The company orders traditional precast concrete tanks from Onsite Septic Solutions in Cambridge, Vermont. The Littlefields prefer to get their system pumps from Liberty Pumps and risers from PolyLok.
Pandemic growth
Complete Septic achieved its greatest growth through the COVID pandemic as newcomers flocked to the state, which was one of the last areas affected.
“Everyone was at home all day,” Kim says, “There was more water and toilet usage, and septic systems were strained. That led to more frequent pumping and repairs so our pump trucks got out there. There were also more system failures, so our excavators were replacing systems. Washrooms along the interstate highway were closed and our portables were always rented. Our staff worked 24/7.”
Kim also stepped up the company’s marketing during that period, from ads in the local newspaper to Complete Septic’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. The company recently updated its website, improved its search engine optimization and added a chatbot to the main page.
Hard hiring
The company is happy with the current employee team, but the Littlefields find hiring is one of their biggest challenges.
“I don’t think we could pick up another crew member tomorrow if we tried,” Kim says. “There aren’t many people with the skills we need, and even if you hire someone, they don’t last long.”
John is now 55 and Kim is 53. While retirement isn’t on the immediate horizon, the company’s succession plan would see Chad, currently 28, buying out the business when his parents retire.
“We’ll pass along the leadership role,” Kim says. “In the meantime, we’ll continue to develop our talent internally and prepare them for the future to ensure that our positions are filled smoothly when we move on.”
While son Travis, 25, is not part of the business, he’s launched his own local company, Island Plumbing Solutions. The Littlefields see the two family companies strategically supporting each other with referrals well into the future.
“Watching our two grown sons succeed in business just highlights for us the time that’s passed since we first launched Complete Septic Services,” Kim says. “In a way, it’s surreal, like a dream. Where did the time go? But then John and I look at each other and see it another way — look how far we’ve come.”
