EP# 214 Turning Challenges into Success: Luke Hall's Journey in the Pest Control Industry

What happens when you combine a family connection, entrepreneurial spirit, and a knack for customer experience? You get Luke Hall, the co-owner of Certified Pest Control, who turned an unexpected opportunity into a thriving business venture. We sit down with Luke as he recounts his journey from his early days in the pest control industry in 2008, inspired by a successful uncle and a cousin's recommendation, to launching his own company in 2014 alongside his wife, Adita. Luke's candid reflections on navigating the challenges of balancing business growth with family responsibilities offer valuable lessons on resilience and the importance of hard work.

Listeners can expect an conversation that digs into the lesser-known facets of the pest control industry, including the misconceptions that often cloud it. Luke’s insights not only shed light on the complexities of running a family-owned business but also inspire aspiring entrepreneurs with his story of perseverance. Whether you're curious about the inner workings of pest control or looking for motivation to tackle your own business challenges, this episode promises to enlighten and empower. Tune in to discover how Luke has transformed obstacles into stepping stones on his path to success.

Certified Pest Control
Luke Hall
8981 Daniels Center Drive #209
Fort Myers, FL 33912
239-877-4041
[e-mail]
certifiedpest.com

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Cabo Jim.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Schaller.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast, episode number 214.
Today we have Good NeighborLuke Hall from Certified Pest
Control.
Welcome.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thank you for having me on.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, absolutely Excited to learn a little bit
more about what you do over atCertified Pest Control.
So let's jump right in.
And why don't you share alittle bit about what you do?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah, so I own Certified Pest Control alongside
my wife, adita.
We opened our doors in 2014,and we are a local family-owned
pest control company focused ongiving peace of mind by
providing health, safety andfinancial protection.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Perfect, perfect.
So let's back up your story alittle bit.
How did you get involved in thepest control industry?

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yeah, I was.
Well, my journey with pestcontrol started back in 2008,.
Really, I came out of college,I needed a job, and one that
didn't have odd hours, you know,such as retail and things like
that.
I was really wanting that morecliche nine to five job, but at
that time there really wasn'tmany places that were hiring.

(01:17):
I put out you know a lot ofdifferent applications, with no
luck.
And then I had a family member,a cousin of mine, who was
currently in the company and hehad suggested that there was an
opportunity where he was workingat.
And you know, at the time Ineeded a job.
You know, beggars couldn't bechoosers, so I put in the

(01:37):
application and was hired.
And I was happy I was hiredbecause shortly after that I
began to become extremelyintrigued with the pest control
industry.
I didn't realize there were somany more moving parts than just
going out and spraying you know, quote unquote for the bugs,
right, right.
So, um, you know, when I begandiving into the business aspect

(01:58):
and the, you know, the marketingaspect, the customer experience
aspect, you know, you know allof it, just really it pulled me
right in and so I knew, rightthen, and there, okay, this is
what I wanted to do.
Since I was a kid, I had a highdesire to own my own business.
I had an uncle of mine who ownsa business and is successful,

(02:22):
and I had the opportunity ofwatching him succeed and grow
and it put that entrepreneurialbug in me.
And so fast forward to workingat that pest control company
where my cousin helped me getthe job.
I put in my time, I learnedeverything I needed to learn to
become certified in all theproper categories and then from

(02:44):
there I began mapping out myplan to start a business and you
know business planning, thingsof that nature and then I, march
3rd 2014, I pulled the triggerand decided it was time to take
action there you go and you werein business like that we were
in business yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
So let's talk about some of those, those challenges.
Obviously starting a newbusiness can be a challenge in
itself, but is there somethingyou can look back at now and say
you know what it was achallenge at the time.
But I can look back at now andyou know kind of I'm better for
going through it.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah.
So you know, one of the majorchallenges that stands out is
navigating those early stages ofbuilding a business.
I mean, I think most of us whostart off could agree with that.
It's daunting, it's challenging, it's different, especially if
you're brand new to the businessworld, right?
So balancing the demands ofgrowing a business while

(03:39):
providing for my family requireda lot out of me and a lot of
perseverance, a lot ofadaptability.
And there were, you know, a lotof perseverance, a lot of
adaptability, and there weretimes where, honestly, resources
were tight and I had a lot ofpressure.
I wasn't sure if I was going tomake it any further than what I
already had.
But those experiencesultimately did teach me
resilience, problem solving andthe value of hard work.

(04:02):
So, looking back at that, Icould confidently say that
overcoming those earlychallenges definitely made me
more appreciative of the successthat we've been able to build
are Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
So let's talk about some of the myths or
misconceptions surrounding thepest control industry that we
can kind of clear up for ourlisteners today.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, great question.
So oftentimes one of the mostcommon misconceptions that we
come across is that the productswe use are harsh and harmful,
and in fact, nowadays theproduct that we use are less
harsh and harmful than mostconsumer products that are found
in many homes today.
So that's probably one of thebiggest misconceptions.
I mean pesticide control.

(04:45):
It definitely has evolved quitea bit since its inception.
I mean, yes, early on thingswere extremely dangerous and a
lot of those products have beenremoved and now they're on the
restricted pesticide usecategory or not available at all
.
But it has evolved greatly andthe products now and not just
the products, the methods toapply these have changed for the

(05:09):
better.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Absolutely so.
Do you notice anything trendingwithin the industry?
New?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yes, there's some new technology great software,
proposal software.
There's really good softwarenow the monitor rodent activity
these types of things arehelping push us further.
Different types of organic orgreen approach to the business

(05:39):
are starting to really take onand so those things are new to
the industry and new technology,especially the road and one
being able to monitor theactivity without actually being
on site, so in between visits wecan have real time data and be
able to respond to that and knowwhat to do when we're heading
out for that next visit.
Respond to that and know whatto do when we're heading out for
that next visit.
That's a bit of technology thatthey've implemented in the

(06:02):
industry that we find, you know,helpful.
Absolutely Got to lovetechnology.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
It makes our jobs easier in the long run.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
So are you from Southwest Florida originally.
I am actually I like to jokethat I'm a rare breed.
You know I was born and raised,actually, in Collier County,
spent a lot of my and basicallyCollier and Lee County, so I'm
pretty well familiar with eacharea.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
You've seen a lot of changes down here, I'm sure I
have?

Speaker 3 (06:34):
I definitely have.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
So when you do.
I know owning a business can bevery demanding every time, but
when you do get a moment of freetime, what do you enjoy doing
outside of work?

Speaker 3 (06:43):
So I enjoy learning.
I know that sounds kind ofsilly, but I'm a learner, I love
to learn.
I like to read articles andbooks.
I'm involved with peer-to-peergroups.
I like learning from othersthat have had the experience,
have been there.
That, um, you know, one of thethings I found about myself and
a lot of people, uh, I surroundmyself with is we're we're

(07:03):
guilty of, we don't know what wedon't know.
And so you know, for me, ahobby is learning.
I I I like it.
But if I'm not reading books orlearning from others, I, I do.
Recently, I've taken the kamadogrill.
It's a kind of like that biggreen egg, so grilling out, you
know, learning different ways tocook things that I've never
cooked.
I find that to be exciting.

(07:25):
And, most of all, I reallyenjoyed traveling, you know,
experiencing different culturesand different foods, you know,
and I love doing that, all whilespending time with my family.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Wow, you sound just as busy as you do at work.
Yeah, you've got a fullschedule, but that's what it's
all about.
End of the day.
That's true, so is there onething you wish our listeners?

Speaker 3 (07:50):
knew about certified pest control that maybe they
don't know.
Yeah, I wish they knew that weoffer Florida's most inclusive
pest program.
It's the Platinum Pest Program,and the reason why this is
unique is because it covers themagainst more pests than any
other company in the greaterCollier, lee and Charlotte
counties.
It comes with a lifetime bedbug warranty.
It includes webbing spiders,unlimited rodent control as well

(08:13):
as all the common pests thatare found here.
So no other company in thisarea offers that, and so we
truly do believe in providingmore value to the end consumer,
in other words, more bang fortheir buck.
It's better for them to calltheir company and hear yes, we
could have somebody out thereright away, instead of hearing
unfortunately, mrs Jones, you'renot covered for that, but let

(08:34):
me sell you this, and so that'swhat differentiates us.
We'd rather go ahead and giveyou the value from the start and
follow through with that, andand we tailor that program
specifically to the eachindividual's needs.
So that's one of the thingsthat we we wish, um, you know,
consumers, the community knewabout us absolutely.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
You know it's about customer service at the end of
the day, so how would ourlisteners go about contacting
you if they wanted to learn moreor had some concerns?

Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yes, they can visit us at certifiedpest.
com or call or text us at239-877-4041.
You can shoot us an email atsupport@ certifiedpest.
com.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Perfect, perfect, luke.
Any last words for ourlisteners?

Speaker 3 (09:20):
No, thank you for having me on.
I appreciate anyone thatlistens to this.
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
Absolutely Appreciate you.
Thank you for being such a goodneighbor and I hope to see you
out in the community soon.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yes, take care.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast, estero.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPEstero.
com.
That's GNPEstero.
com, or call 239-296-2621.